Replace or repair rear bumper?
 

Would like some suggestions/opinions on how best to repair.

Dealership? Independent body shop? Pop it back in and paint over the other damage?

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...ddd7fbbad0.jpg
https://cimg3.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...5e79a44a12.jpg

IMO: The damage, doesn't look all that bad, from the pics. If it were mine, I would repair it. " Pop it back in and paint over the other damage? ", would leave it somewhat unsightly. Should be able to have it properly repaired, for a couple hundred bucks. Difficult to tell, from the pic,, but if the crack goes all the way to the bottom, the cover will have to be removed, to repair it properly. Independent Shop, should be able to handle this type of repair, with ease. .If, you have the whole cover repainted, instead of blending the repaired area, the cost will be greater.

Thanks. If you were referring to the 1st pic, it's just popped out of place and not a crack. 2nd pic is a scratch.

Any idea what proper repair entails? IE similar to spackle and paint for drywall?

Ack they want to replace the whole thing, total cost ~$1k due to painting. The bumper cover itself is ~$420.

No, I'm referring to the second pic. It's difficult to access the actual damage, from the pic. Even if the cover has to come off, it only takes 5 -10 minutes to remove it. The repair process, is NOT similar to a drywall / speckle type repair, in that, a crack, routinely, should be repaired/reinforced, from the back side, than filled in, in the front, I can't see any reason to replace that cover, nor a reason to refinish the entire cover. If, the car is MINT, and you want a PERFECT,factory match paint job, than, yes, probably need to paint the entire cover. However, blending the repaired area, would provide a hardly noticeable repair.

Yeah just bring it to a shop to fix and blend.. but even that might cost roughly the same as a new bumper cover itself.

Go Modulo!

https://www.acuraoemparts.com/oem-pa...9tYXRpYw%3D%3D

Looks like no shops want to repair, they want the replace order since it's about $500 in labor to paint it and replace it, ~$1K total with parts, fees, taxes, etc. Too much for me. The popped corner I just slapped back in.

I got touch-up paint from the dealer (~$17, overpriced a bit) and was told to get some body filler. With a few misc supplies (scraper, glass cleaner, maybe sandpaper), targeting total cost ~$50.

Just buy the Acura OEM sport bumper. It comes pre-painted. I have that on my '13 SE.

Couldn't find a pre-painted bumper unfortunately. I was told even if I could, there would be some blending work necessary so it doesn't stick out too much. And it'll still be obvious come resale time.

The touchup paint won't be sufficient because the gash made the 2 sides uneven. But useful for a couple other nicks.

Only 1 shop I contacted said they could repair but they don't really want to do that, even though they don't do replacements. Reason is they said it could crack easily on future small bumps. Cost is ~$400.

All other places want to do a replacement, which is ~$900-1000 total: 430 for the unpainted cover, rest for labor and supplies.

Even though the repair guy said he'd hunt for a used part if it were his own car, I'm considering doing the $400 repair since even if the crack reopens, a 2nd repair would still be less than the cost of a replacement. Damage wasn't caused by me so I'm inclined to risk it for the cost difference. Not in any hurry so will let the options linger a bit.

IMO: I think your "repair guy" offered the best recommendation, ( " repair guy said he'd hunt for a used part if it were his own car,") The only problem, would be in finding one. A quick check of Hollander, and Car-part.com, lists only one, for a 2012 TSX SE, and it's red. So if you decided to take that route, you would probably have to wait awhile, before one becomes available.

I don't think he had a good grasp of the costs though. The 1 place that did mention used/recertified parts, charged ~$390 vs $430 new, which barely makes a dent to the total price of ~$900 including labor. It still needed painting or at least blending.
Looking over the other estimates, I barely remembered this option because saving only ~$40 vs new was negligible if I do go the replacement route.
Here's another look in better lighting:
https://cimg6.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...ad5108e381.jpg

No interest in the sport bumper cover(Modulo)? $458 + $125 for shipping - it's 2 bolts and a few clips, literally takes half an hour to swap out. I've seen SE's with the modulo rear and I think it flows even better than the SE rear bumper cover.

Prepainted in Silvermoon:

https://www.acurapartsnow.com/oem-pa...y-08p02tl22e0b

No blend required. That is why they come pre-painted from the factory. Let's be clear that we are talking about an Acura OEM part. Perfect match to your car.

This is the Acura sport bumper on my '13 SE:
​​​​​​https://acurazine.com/forums/2g-tsx-...-aspec-951253/

Cool, did you have that replaced yourself? Can't tell that it isn't original from the pics. Shops say even if I found a used one, they'd do some blending due to differing amounts of fade or something like that. Maybe just trying to make an extra buck.

​​​​​​Just like DLCU2 said

​​​​​​This is a DIY replacement. Check out the link on DLCU2's post for the p/n and price. You can also reach out to acuraexpressparts.com and ask for Cris and see if he can work with you on the freight. Or take the p/n and go to your local Acura dealer and see what pricing they can give you.

Yes I saw a vid too on replacement, main concern was them saying it'll look out of place due to color fade.

From what I've seen, Silver moon is a very forgiving color, you shouldn't be too concerned about color fade. Looking at your first pic, your paint seems to be in pretty good shape, and color blending will likely not be needed.

Guanacorracing - That's a perfect example of an SE with the rear sport bumper. Awesome setup with the Aspecs!

Is the sport bumper from the Accord sport? Just curious about its origins. Modulo is its name in another country?

Negative. This is a TSX-specific bumper. There's also a front sport bumper, search threads. Unfortunately the front doesn't come in my color (ASM).
I bought my '13 two years ago and that's when I replaced the original bumper with the sport bumper. The original bumper had a "crease" front having been hit. I can't discern any paint mis-match and my TSX spent her first years baking in the FL sun.

Local auto shop Wanted to charge me 555$ for repainting whole bumper but its not even cracked lol

Finally got around to doing it, ~$650. Thanks for the tips!
Also used this , older gen but still helpful.

Dealers and shops were pretty farcical when I asked about it; some couldn't wrap their heads around the fact that there's a pre-painted option. I was mostly decided on doing it myself but was just curious how much they'd charge.

Some observations from the process:
- piece of the bordering red light cover came off; fragile stuff
- did not know there's a styrofoam layer in between lol

The whole thing weighed 7lbs according to shipping info. Maybe some day we can 3D print them for <$100 instead of paying $600 - $1k for a piece of plastic? Yea, wishful thinking :D

https://cimg0.ibsrv.net/gimg/acurazi...7e4c56b509.png
Aero / Modulo / Sport whatever it's called rear bumper.