Rear bumper rust post accident repair

Hello Everyone
Long time lurker on these threads, finally writing my first post.

I have a 2021 Ram 1500 classic, v6 all black. 3 years ago, I was rear ended in a parking lot (low speed collision) but went through insurance and ended up getting a new bumper installed on my vehicle at the Chrysler certified body shop.
3 years has passed, while changing my tires I noticed that there seems to be a lot of rust on the bumper. Attaching photos. On both the left and right bottom side of the bumper, each side has a large area of rust. There is even rust coming from the underside around the side lip (when looking at the bumper against the rear fender).

There is no other body rust on my truck. Consider the rest of the body is 2 years older then the truck, I suspect an improper sealing or paint job by the body shop. The body shop says they wont cover anything as this is common with Ram bumpers and most commonly due to rock chips and weather. I dont agree that this was due to rock chips.

Hoping someone can share some information or experience that would help in my conversation with the body shop.

The body shop is right. If the body doesn't have rust 1) you may be missing it or 2) consider yourself lucky. This is very common, you won't be winning any arguments with the shop.

RamMan15002021 said:

Hello Everyone
Long time lurker on these threads, finally writing my first post.

I have a 2021 Ram 1500 classic, v6 all black. 3 years ago, I was rear ended in a parking lot (low speed collision) but went through insurance and ended up getting a new bumper installed on my vehicle at the Chrysler certified body shop.
3 years has passed, while changing my tires I noticed that there seems to be a lot of rust on the bumper. Attaching photos. On both the left and right bottom side of the bumper, each side has a large area of rust. There is even rust coming from the underside around the side lip (when looking at the bumper against the rear fender).

There is no other body rust on my truck. Consider the rest of the body is 2 years older then the truck, I suspect an improper sealing or paint job by the body shop. The body shop says they wont cover anything as this is common with Ram bumpers and most commonly due to rock chips and weather. I dont agree that this was due to rock chips.

Hoping someone can share some information or experience that would help in my conversation with the body shop.

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You live in Calgary,what do you expect with the amount of brine they put on the roads.The bumper is easy to remove,take it off and paint it,or take it to a body shop and let them paint it. You're barking up the wrong tree thinking the body shop will cover it after 3 years of Calgaries winters.

Thanks All, I appreciate your insight. I guess I was just shocked to see rust of this size this fast when there is no rust visible else where on the original body of the truck.

Other than replacing the bumper, what are my options for keeping this under control. I don't have experience with body work, but from my understanding, this isn't just surface rust that I can sand off.

While I agree with the above, I do have a few questions.
Is this a OEM Chrysler/Ram replacement part? Or a generic brand?
Did the body shop actually paint the bumper, or did it come painted or coated and they just installed it?

62Blazer said:

While I agree with the above, I do have a few questions.
Is this a OEM Chrysler/Ram replacement part? Or a generic brand?
Did the body shop actually paint the bumper, or did it come painted or coated and they just installed it?

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I am under the impression it is an OEM replacement part.
In one of the conversations, the body shop told me that they did have to prepare it in shop before the install. I am not sure exactly what that means, if it was a painting or a coating or something, but it made it seem like it wasn't just them putting it directly on after receiving it.
Since the body shop was "investigating" the potential of warranty claim, they didn't bring this up again in conversation.

Wild one said:

You live in Calgary,what do you expect with the amount of brine they put on the roads.The bumper is easy to remove,take it off and paint it,or take it to a body shop and let them paint it. You're barking up the wrong tree thinking the body shop will cover it after 3 years of Calgaries winters.

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That’s my plan after talking with my paint guy, for the best price he suggested I bring him the bumper with all the trim removed and he paint-color match- and do the inside to keep it from happening again.
Plus have to fix a small dent where some idiot “me” backed into a sign post leaving Quick_Shifter’s shop a few years back.

Adamcr68 said:

That’s my plan after talking with my paint guy, for the best price he suggested I bring him the bumper with all the trim removed and he paint-color match- and do the inside to keep it from happening again.
Plus have to fix a small dent where some idiot “me” backed into a sign post leaving Quick_Shifter’s shop a few years back.

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Forgive my ignorance, is paint job enough to fix something like this? At some point, don't you need to cut out the rust and weld new material in its place?

RamMan15002021 said:

Forgive my ignorance, is paint job enough to fix something like this? At some point, don't you need to cut out the rust and weld new material in its place?

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Yours isn't bad enough to require metal replacement. If you really want it to last,have it sandblasted and powder coated.There's quite a few powder coating shops in Calgary just start googling them.
I put a used bumper on my old 13,and it was in alot rougher shape then your bumper,and i had it blasted and powder coated,if i remember right it cost me $175 at a shop in Airdrie,but that was also a dozen years ago.I unbolted the bumper,removed all the trim/lights etc,,threw it in the box of the truck,and left the truck with them,so they could match up the powder coating

Wild one said:

Yours isn't bad enough to require metal replacement. If you really want it to last,have it sandblasted and powder coated.There's quite a few powder coating shops in Calgary just start googling them.
I put a used bumper on my old 13,and it was in alot rougher shape then your bumper,and i had it blasted and powder coated,if i remember right it cost me $175 at a shop in Airdrie,but that was also a dozen years ago.I unbolted the bumper,removed all the trim/lights etc,,threw it in the box of the truck,and left the truck with them,so they could match up the powder coating

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Thanks for the information!
This definitely puts me at ease with the work required to get this fixed up.

RamMan15002021 said:

Forgive my ignorance, is paint job enough to fix something like this? At some point, don't you need to cut out the rust and weld new material in its place?

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According to my paint guy, he did say it would need to be completed sanded or “ roughed up” to make sure the paint adheres properly.
I know very little about proper paint/body work, I painted the hardware for my flares about a year ago and I’m surprised the paint isn’t peeling yet.

I know even less about welding, a valuable skill IMO, professional/skilled welders impress me with their abilities. I could only guess, if you had to cut and weld to fix, it might be cheaper to find a used bumper.

Tell the paint SHOP OWNER guy you want self etching primer,also known as vinyl wash.It penetrates deeply into metal after,all the rust is grinded or sanded off.If they used it the first time,then your bumper was sand blasted with road salt and rusted.New bumpers do not have that type of primer used on them,because it is extremely expensive,and it is only used as a rust preventative.New bumpers aren't rusty yet.If they do not use it it will rust again very soon,likely Jan.27.....Ask the paint prepper at the SHOP you decide to use ,to do the job. HE is the one preparing your bumper before the painter repaints it.Ask them to GUARANTEE the work.Hardly anyone actually will guarantee rust repairs.Things rust again and they know it.At the SHOP I worked at many COMEBACK rust repairs,are refused.First there is a time limit.Next ,everybody at the bodyshop knows what caused the rust.If it is not the fault of their workmanship or materials,they will tell you.Even if it is their fault they are potentially going try and get out of it(sometime).They paint 4 to 5 cars a day,and know everything about metal ,bondo,and paint. NOW,if you go back for warranty,and it is their fault,and they honour the warranty,they will only fix it again one time,quickly and not as well as the first time.Body Shops get COMEBACKS,for cars they repaired regularly,for a litoney of reasons.The manager sees you drive in and before you get to the door,he is already planning to over charge on the next job to cover your rerepair,if he approves it. BODYSHOPS do not like spending money...Hope this was helpful

RamMan15002021 said:

I am under the impression it is an OEM replacement part.
In one of the conversations, the body shop told me that they did have to prepare it in shop before the install. I am not sure exactly what that means, if it was a painting or a coating or something, but it made it seem like it wasn't just them putting it directly on after receiving it.
Since the body shop was "investigating" the potential of warranty claim, they didn't bring this up again in conversation.

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Those questions are important details that affect whether or not the original shop should fix it. Surely you can find similar year and model trucks in parking lots and take a quick peak at what they look like. Too late now, but it would have been nice to see what your original bumper looked like.
As far as prep, most new bumpers (OE or aftermarket) just come as the metal piece and don't have the step pads, trim pieces, back up sensors if equipped, and even the mounting brackets. Meaning you likely have to pull those pieces off the original bumper and install on the new one. There is a chance the shop actually painted it, but I would fully expect them to have to do more to it than just bolt it on.
You can buy aftermarket replacement painted bumpers for $200-$300 while a Mopar original replacement is 3 to 4 times that much. The difference is often in the paint or coating quality.

RamMan15002021 said:

Thanks All, I appreciate your insight. I guess I was just shocked to see rust of this size this fast when there is no rust visible else where on the original body of the truck.

Other than replacing the bumper, what are my options for keeping this under control. I don't have experience with body work, but from my understanding, this isn't just surface rust that I can sand off.

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Maybe have part or all of the bumper sprayed with bed liner such as Line-x.

Most likely when they ordered the bumper it came in black and they just installed it. The problem is that on a factory bumper it's covered in an E-coat which is more or less a factory primer and it isn't meant to be exposed to the elements like paint. You have to prep it and paint it or eventually it comes off starting at the edges as it's a fairly thin coating. Aftermarket metal bumpers used to fake an e-coat with semi-gloss paint with the same result. From your photos it's lifting completely away from the metal so I'm reasonably sure I'm right. They might fix it, won't hurt to ask but look at your policy and see what your insurance warranty says. I owned a shop for 20 years and to avoid potential headaches always sanded, primed, and painted them to try and avoid this. However you fix it paint the outside of it first with a decent grade of paint, tape it off after it dries completely (I'd put it back on the truck and run it a week) then mask off the shiny side, run bolts down into any threaded holes and spray the back with a good rubberized undercoat.

In my experience with changing a few bumpers. The after market bumpers always rust fast. After dealing with 1 or 2. When/if I have to swap a bumper chrome or painted , I always try to find a used oem. I replaced the chrome 1 on my 04 ( tree jump out behind me) got 1 off an 02 I noticed a month or so ago it’s getting some rust on the inside. At 24yrs old i understand. About 10 yrs ago family member had a 97 obs 1500. Low speed rear ended someone . Parts used by GM dearer body shop supposed to have used oe parts. So 5 yrs later they rear ended a trailer hitch yep again low speed maybe 10mph. The bumper had already rust from the top outside & the radiator core was rusted out where it bolts to frame. As was the hood & pass. Inner fender well. So truck ends up at my house. I go & find a 96 pass fender & radiator core, hood,bumper. All oe parts as there marked by gm. The truck is mine now & the parts nor the truck have any body rust. The parts I found or the original parts , no rust. No salty roads here though. Flooded maybe but no salt.

I have been in the body shop industry for almost 40 years. Please note where the rust is on the bumper directly behind the rear tires. My question is have you ever had a rock or sand thrown at you?
Do you think the paint should stand up to a constant sand storm?
Of course the paint chips off just like when a small stone hits the windshield of your truck.
And sadly unprotected steel nature takes over and it turns back into iron ore.
And to boot the roads are covered with salt and brine accelerant.
Your best bet is sandblast and powder coat. A pair of mud flaps would also help.

As far as prep work on the bumper, if there was a fee, it is no different than the shop supply fee or miscellaneous fee the dealer has the balls to put in writing for you to see how much money they can get out of you. It is like when you look at a utility bill and see every conceivable tax there could be then see a miscellaneous tax included.

When I look at the pictures, it looks like the exhaust pipe comes out right where the paint is peeling off.

An update on the situation.

The body repair shop has agreed to replace the bumper under a warranty claim, even though my vehicle warranty is up. The bumper has been ordered and should have it replaced next week.

I'm now wondering what steps I should take to ensure I get more life out of this next one.