Collision in my 07ST - Stupid me!

[Pat Freeman]

I was parking the ST, head first, in a parking lot right next to a building. The building is made of cinderblock, painted white. There happened to be "decorative" cinderblocks, which look like pillars, on the side of this building. I judged the distance to the building correctly, but these decorative cinderblocks jutted out more than I thought. I drove my ST into one of these columns, right next to the license plate on the front bumper.



I stopped just as the ST touched the cinder block. I have multiple divets in my front bumper with white paint imbedded in them. I tried to wipe it clean with quick detailer, hoping it was just a little paint marred into the ST, but it was really pushed into the bumper. This thing is either going to need to be painted, or I should just try to find another front clip and get it painted and swap the parts myself to save some $$$.



Anyway, I feel really stupid. This is the first time I ever hit something in 16 years. Suggestions appreciated. The "damage" is easily noticable looking at it. The pic makes it look like it's not that big of a deal. But, it is.

 

[Todd Z]

Pat it happens, Nothing major....



ANY body shop can fix that on the truck and paint......

200-300 bucks is a fair price.... It probably will be 400 or so....

But easily fixed.........

Todd Z

 

[A1cntrler]

That sucks. Lastnight when I was putting the plates on my new '07 ST, I noticed how flimsy the rear bumper is.. I did not notice the front, is it as bad???

 

[Pat Freeman]

Thanks Todd. I'm going to stop by a collision place next week where a friend of mine goes all the time. He gets in accidents a lot and said they always do a great job.



A1, the rear bumper is very flimsy because there's really nothing behind it to keep it stable. It's there for looks and when stepping on it, it doesn't feel 100% secure like the 1st gen ST. However, the front bumper cover is just a urethane piece, with styrofoam backing for impact absorption. It's just as flimsy as the rear bumper. But, it's designed to pop back into shape if you hit something not textured, like I hit.

 

[Tom Schindler]

Pat,



Another place to check would be a detail shop. Not those places that do the wax on, wax off thingie. We have two places in my area that do minor body work at your house. They primarily do things like lease turn in where you have a little dent, scratch, or something minor. In my area, they call themselves "Ultragloss".



Dad had them fix a scratch and dent on his Taurus. I think he paid $200.00 and you would never know anything was done to it. It looks that good.





Tom

 

[Thomas Rogers]

Here is my question:



How come cars don't come with "real" bumpers anymore?



Or, in the absence of a real bumper, at least a rubber bumper strip at the highest profile point on the bumper?



This damage and others like it in similar "bumps" by other folks here (like me) could be avoided if there were simply a raised rubber/vinyl strip, about 2 inches wide and a 1/2" thick along the bumper's most leading edge.



Yeah, I know people like the "clean look" of no bumper strip and color matching bumpers. but c'mon...a car should be able to bounce against something and not have visible damage.



TJR

 

[Paul Howard]

Looks exactly like mine did after hitting a wall while at the Louisville meet. Cost $200.00 to fix at a body shop and you cannot find where the booboo was. I tried to fix it myself and gave up because I could still see it.

 

[Pat Freeman]

Thanks, guys. Well, being in the Baltimore metro area, things are never cheap. I drove to the body shop where my ex, along with my friend, has gone a lot. From the work they do, they are very professional and there are never any issues.



They quoted me at $375 (approx $200 labor to remove and install the bumper). I do have a "twist" in the eurothane that will need to be massaged out.



When I pulled in there, there was a Redfire 07 ST sitting on the lot. The guy working the desk, that appraised my ride, owned that ST to we were swapping stories. I told him about our site, some things we've learned about the 07 that he's experiencing and shared a tip that the 06 Explorer vent shades will fit his 07 since he couldn't find any of those, yet. He traded his 03 ST in for the 07. So, hopefully, he will check in and become another member of this fine community.

 

[Thomas Rogers]

BTW, I backed out of a spot and hit a gravel-coated trash can holder at the local Taco Bell (It was in my blind spot, under the tailgate). Anyway, I just barely scraped it on a corner, but it was enough, and it left a couple of gouges in my bumper, right in front of the towing ball hole. I colored it with paint from Autovisuals.com and it's less noticeable....and I still have $200 in my pocket (less the $20 for the touch-up paint).

 

[Pat Freeman]

Tom - I thought about filling it and then wet sanding it smooth. But, I'd have a lot of work to do. I dunno, I don't like spending money but it's for my BABY!!!

 

[Aaron Yarbough]

Pat, sorry to hear about your mishap, we feel your pain The bright side of it is that it's not any worse than what it is. Take care and good luck on your repairs, i'm sure the body shop guy will hook you up.



Lil Red

 

[FlipTrac_511]

Back when I had a 95 Ranger I remember helping a stalled van get off the road by pushing it with my truck which had the old-fashioned metal bumper. No way I'd volunteer such help with my Trac! Sorry.



I think steel bumpers are rare because they are heavy and not very aerodynamic. Or maybe just one more thing to lessen production cost.

 

[Gavin Allan]

I have an estimate for $850 to fix this little boo-boo:





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