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Anthony.
06-07-2010, 07:38 PM
Hello!
Well basically to cut a long story short.
Went for a drive up in the mountains only to end up on a dirt road at the end.
So here I am turning around doing a 3 point turn so I could get back on the road and continue my journey. What I visioned as a smallish puddle ended up being a biggish pothole filled with water, so my front left splitter decided to go for a bit of a swim.
Any who the result isn't to great!

I was planning on getting the bumper redone when I got a bit of spare cash but i thought i'd suss out my options first. Being a full time student doesn't help either, so i've got to try and keep the costs down.

Heres some photos of the damage. Don't mind the quality. Nighttime and phone camera don't mix.

http://img804.imageshack.us/img804/5449/picture1w.png
http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/8099/picture2rt.png
http://img30.imageshack.us/img30/6379/picture3dn.png
http://img97.imageshack.us/img97/969/picture4mvf.png
http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/1152/picture5jv.png

Im willing to give it a go at fixing it myself, repairing it, sanding, priming, painting, clearcoat etc.
As ive got a few contacts who could give me a hand.
But, i thought it may be worth asking a few questions, as some of you may be able to help out if you have experience in this sort of thing and see whether or not this path is the way to go.

1. Would anyone happen to know if you can buy the paint from Mitsubishi/How much it is?
2. Would the splitter be repairable, or am I better off to get a new bumper and go from there?
3. Anyone know how much a shop will charge for bumper repair/respray?
4. Ive heard some shops are able to section it off, repair and blend it in? Anyone had experience with this, or heard or results?
5. Or if anyone has any advice or better ways of going about this.

Thanks in advance,
Anthony.

[TUFFTR]
06-07-2010, 07:56 PM
What state are you in?

Your going to need that professionally glued back together and repainted. No two ways about it. Not at all DIYable. (well you can try with off the shelf plastic repair stuff but its crap)

If your in vic around the western region I can get you in contact with the shop I used to work for (and still give a hand to every week) who can patch that up in a day.

But I wouldn't bother about trying to DIY that. Not going to work. Price up a new bumper from mitsu though, and ring around wreckers aswell, but getting it glued back together would be your best bet.

Anthony.
06-07-2010, 08:15 PM
Ahh im in vic, about 2 hours south east of Melbourne.
That would be appreciated mate, if you could PM me the info, just incase i do decide to go down that path, i could always just take a day trip up.
Yeah, I have sort of had a look at some tutorials showing plastic repairs and it seems a bit fidgety.
I had a look at Mitsubishi, from memory, they were around $345 or so unpainted? Therefore add painting and its kind off blowing the budget. But it may have to be done.
I actually tried glueing a section back together but had no luck soo.
Plus the other side has a bit of scrapage on the underside, along with a section of clear coat peeling on the front. So it might be worth just saving the extra $$ and getting the whole thing repaired and re sprayed, Or replacing it with a new one..

Thanks mate.

[TUFFTR]
06-07-2010, 08:27 PM
I will get a quote for you tomorrow and PM you...

Anthony.
06-07-2010, 08:30 PM
Ahh thanks alot mate, you didnt need to go to that much hassle. But greatly appreciated.

While were here, has anyone else got any info which may be usefull?

Anthony

[TUFFTR]
07-07-2010, 02:54 PM
Anthony, tried to PM you but inbox is full.

Anthony.
07-07-2010, 03:12 PM
Thats odd, i had 2 messages in there haha..

[TUFFTR]
07-07-2010, 03:14 PM
Ahh...your Anthony with a full stop at the end, my mistake you have PM.

Anthony.
07-07-2010, 03:50 PM
That would explain it.

Thanks heaps mate ;)

MCHenry
07-07-2010, 04:16 PM
Mate, we kinda had the same problem as you, but we hit a FRIGGIN' GINGER CAT at 100km/h....our long story short is that the cat SHATTERED our bar. Found out (after going through insurance) that buying a NEW Series II VRX bar via a panel shop would cost $350 un-painted and no more that $200 to paint it.

Ring around mate...might be worth while.

Anthony.
07-07-2010, 05:20 PM
Ahh no lol !
Yeah, I may just go around and price it at a few places, so i get a rough idea at what im looking at and go from there.
Even if i found a decent bumper at the wreckers, sand it back smooth it out a bit then get it resprayed.

But most likely, Ill probably end up going with a new bumper.

MCHenry
10-07-2010, 12:15 PM
GOD DAMN STUPID CATS!!

Just a couple of pics to show what happens when you hit a FRIGGIN' cat at 100kms/h.

http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss237/Maffsho0/Photo0151.jpg
http://i579.photobucket.com/albums/ss237/Maffsho0/Photo0152.jpg

Luckly tho, the insurance came through and got it all fixed. Took a week because I wasnt happy with their paint job.

Anthony.
10-07-2010, 12:46 PM
Ahh no !
Thats terrible lol!
It did a good job haha.

I think ill keep an eye out and find one at the wreckers and just get it resprayed. Im in no real rush.
But if the price of that isnt much different to the cost of a new bumper and paint, then ill go down that track.

By the way, since i haven't had the chance to speak to you about your car, ive gotta say, its pretty shmick mate!
I think I remember seeing it like on MCA a few months back?
Looked clean with the madonnas too, wouldnt mind a set for my car haha.

MCHenry
10-07-2010, 08:29 PM
Ahh no !
Thats terrible lol!
It did a good job haha.

I think ill keep an eye out and find one at the wreckers and just get it resprayed. Im in no real rush.
But if the price of that isnt much different to the cost of a new bumper and paint, then ill go down that track.

By the way, since i haven't had the chance to speak to you about your car, ive gotta say, its pretty shmick mate!
I think I remember seeing it like on MCA a few months back?
Looked clean with the madonnas too, wouldnt mind a set for my car haha.

Cheers buddy. Thanks for the compliment.

You should definitely give MM a call and find out that the cost would be for the bar.

Anthony.
10-07-2010, 08:39 PM
No worries mate, was the first 380 i came across on the forums haha.

$340 from memory from when a mate got one a few years back, unpainted. So ill be looking close to 600 all up, and for that sort of $$ i guess id be better off if a cat ran out and smashed my bar and bounced a bit on the bonnet dip. haha.
But yeah, ill go in there on monday and enquire.