Where to find an M Coupe front bumper?

[jpipes]

I'm thinking I may want to replace the front bumper on my M Coupe to get rid of a considerable amount of road chips and marks. I'm not sure if it would make more sense to have it repainted or to just replace the entire bumper.

If I decide to replace the entire bumper, can I order it someplace myself or do I have to get it through a dealer only? I've checked on a few websites but none seem to have major body parts available for sale.

So far I reckon it will cost about 500-600 to have it repainted and about 900-1000 to get a new bumper (both through a BMW dealer).

If I do end up getting another front bumper, is it hard to replace it yourself? I'm not prepared to try and repaint the bumper, but replacing it is something I know I could likely do.

If anyone has any comments or suggestions on this it would be most helpful!

[JimR]

If it were my choice, I'd have it repainted.

I don't think it would be particularly difficult to remove/replace the bumper, but I don't think I'd go that route.

If you buy a new one, it's going to have to be painted anyway and depending on whether you have a metallic paint will need blending into surrounding panels (the front portion of the hood) for both the metallic paint and clearcoat. So (again, depending on your paint) you can't just buy a new one, get it painted, then take the old one off and put the new one one.

Seems simpler to find a good body shop and have them do the repair/respray.

Hope that helps.

[jpipes]

Thanks for the comments. It's a silver 2000 MC. I didn't think about the new one having to be repainted as well. If that's the case It most certainly wouldn't make any sense to go that route. You don't think that pre-painted bumpers are available someplace?

All-in-all I think you are right though, I will most likely have it repainted versus getting a new one since there isn't any damage to the bumper itself.

The only question that brings up is if having it done through a BMW dealer is better than going to a regular body shop. My thought is to have it done through a dealer since they (I hope) would be able to guarantee that the end result would match the color, car, etc perfectly. I'm not sure if a non-BMW place could be so trusted. I live in the SF Bay area in case anyone has some suggestions for places to consider.

Thanks much!!

[jpipes]

I just called around and indeed you are correct! A new bumper needs to be painted as well, so the cost would include not only the bumper but painting it too! Seems to make sense to just have the current bumper repainted.

My questions from my earlier post remain though, now that I'm going to get it repainted should I stick with a BMW dealer to do the work or look into a non-BMW body shop? I know a non-dealer will be cheaper, but will they be as good (generically speaking of course).

[MACK1]

A new front bumper should only cost you in the $350 range. Paint should only run you a fraction more. Total should be under $600 or someone is pulling a fast one.

Had it done once. Probably going to get ANOTHER front bumper and switch it out for track season.

[phrider]

And remember, your original bumper has your VIN on it. When you sell, there will be fewer questions if the VIN is on that bumper. A replacement won't have the VIN.

[mcoupejeff]

actually you can get a factory ///M bumper from BMW painted that comes right off the assembly line, its in the 700 dollar range and takes a few weeks.

[jpipes]

How would one go about getting this mcoupejeff? Have you done this before?

[eVal]

IMHO, having painted plenty of car parts and kits, the best route is finding a top notch audy body shop to have it repainted. BMW does not franchise or own any body shops in an official capacity that I know of; all the body shops associated with a BMW dealer are just regular body shops that they open juxtaposed to the dealer to take advantage of using it to fix their cars and profit from customers using it since they think its better then any other shop because of the association.

In my experience these shops are no better, and sometimes worse, then others (this is true of all makes, one of the worst paint jobs I'd ever had was from a Honda shop, the odd thing was they had the best service dept, but the autobody shop was terrible).

Any good shop goes off of your paint code and then insures it matches the rest of the car, taking into account fading, etc. Most dealers do not have a shop and use a local place - for instance I use Anthony's Autobody in San Rafeal, They do a ton of cars for the BMW dealer here, as well as plenty of exotic cars from shops and individuals. If you ask around, post on the boards, I'm sure you will find that some shop or other in your area comes up with lots of good references.

Hope that helps

[The Other Tom]

actually you can get a factory ///M bumper from BMW painted that comes right off the assembly line, its in the 700 dollar range and takes a few weeks.
Kinda difficult to do considering they don't make 'em anymore. On the assembly line, that is.

[JimR]

My questions from my earlier post remain though, now that I'm going to get it repainted should I stick with a BMW dealer to do the work or look into a non-BMW body shop? I know a non-dealer will be cheaper, but will they be as good (generically speaking of course).


Nothing against BMW dealerships, but I see no reason to use them as a middleman on this. Just get a good local recommendation and deal with them directly. Putting the dealership in the middle just adds a layer of possible communication difficulty/confusion and expense.

My $.02

Good luck.