I was driving back from Vegas today and hit a friggin' retread, which did the following damage to my bumper:
Bumper Damage
I think I need a whole new stock bumper from Acura (dang it, I've only had the car for 3 weeks!) but I was wondering if anybody has any other ideas. Also, if I do get a new bumper, is it difficult to do the work myself? Thanks for any help.

 

Try your local junkyard cause it will be a lot cheaper than buying a new bumper.

 

Does CA have no-fault insurance? Michigan does, and you pay a deductible and your premium won't go up because it's not your fault.

If not, get a new one and do it yourself. I've fixed bumpers before (although not on my TL-S), and it's really not that hard. But be prepared to spend a couple hours. Go to AutoZone or a car parts store, and they should have instruction booklets (I forgot the name of the company) which tells you everything, including the mounting points of the front bumper.

Good luck.

 

new comper covers come unpainted. So you will not be able to do everything yourself, you need to get it painted first. How much is your deductible? New bumper and painting probably costs $600~$800 depends on where you have your car painted.

 

Oops, forgot to mention the painting part.

I got rear-ended in my Eclipse a few weeks ago, and I needed a new rear bumper. Bumper, paint, and labor came out to about 550 bucks. TL-S would be a little bit more expensive, I would imagine. Expect about 700+ bucks.

 

Thanks for the responses. I have a $500 deductible on my comprehensive coverage.

So, if I'm hearing you guys correctly, I can't get a pre-painted (Anthracite Metallic) bumper? What about aftermarket parts? Is there any way to save some bucks with this route?
What about the "Genuine Acura TL Painted Front Lower Lip" for $287 that I see listed on this site? How does that attach to the front bumper?

Also, are the front bumpers the same for '99-'03 on the TL-S?

 

You know what.

If you get the OEM Body kit, which is just a add on lip all around.

The underbody kit will actually cover that part up, and you won't even be able to tell. Plus it'll enhance the look of your car.

And the there was a slight facelift in 2002. So the bumpers are different from 99-01/02-03

 

That would be fantastic. Do you know how the underbody kit attaches to the front bumper?

 

It attaches to the front bumper using many bolts, and a few screws.

Since you don't live too far, i'd be happy to assist in the underbody kit install. I'm from Pasadena area

 

So kind of ElegantTL-S.

 

Well, I just had the same exact thing happen to me a few weeks ago! I saw the tire at the last second (as I was changing lanes to the right on a dimly lit section of the freeway) and tried to swerve around it. I clipped the fricken tire with my right, front part of my bumper. Took it to a very good body shop and it turns out I need a whole new bumper and a new front underbody spoiler. Total out the door cost: $1500.00. Luckily my deductible is $250.

V.

 

why not just leave the hole there and save your money? 99% of the car appears to be fine, and you have the same interior luxury..

 

Why, thank you very much for your generous offer to help me, someone you don't even know. That's right decent of you. I really appreciate that. However, I have decided to just eat my $500 deductible and have it replaced. After all, I don't even have the license plates yet and I don't want my new TL-S looking like a beater just yet. It's going in to the body shop on Monday. They have already received the new bumper and will just completely replace the broken one.

See above explanation.