[Wayne1]

My daughter is attending the University of Missouri in Columbia.

She is a sophomore this year. She decided she needed her car out there. I drove out there with her and her stuff in August.

She was lucky enough to get a parking space in the structure right across the street from her dorm.

She returned to Mizzou from her Thanksgiving break yesterday. She went on a few errands this morning with her car and all was fine.

She went by her car after dinner this evening and found this:



Needless to say she is a bit upset.

No note, no nothing.

Her car is a '96 Bonneville SE that her Grandma gave her.

She has notified campus security but they have no idea who might have hit her.

Does anyone know of any cheap body shop where she can get this repaired?

She will be coming back to CO in two weeks for winter break. The car can be left somewhere for up to a month.

Thanks for letting me vent 

[JerryM]

Wayne,

Wow, déjà vu! My son is also a sophomore at Mizzou! His car got hammered from the side by an unknown villain in his parking garage! Geeze, what the hell is with higher education anymore?  Oh, maybe I just nailed it, huh? 
Anyway, I'll drop you a PM when I find out where he took his car. 

Have fun,
Jerry

[KenSeger]

My daughter went to school at Truman State just north of Columbia at Kirksville.  We needed some mechanical work on her 89 Volvo and found, by pure luck, a great shop.  I'll have to look up the name and PM you.
Ken

[Wayne1]

Thanks for the replys. guys.

I am glad she is fine. The damage to the car is not severe in any way.

I guess I am just ticked off that no one will own up to causing the damage.

[Wayne1]

Once again I am amazed at the cost of body work.

She just got an estimate of $1600.00 

[thunderbrick]

Sounds like a trip to the junkyard is in order.  Spend the balance on audio gear.

[Bob in St. Louis]

"Hardings Auto Body".
They're 2 miles from my house. Have fixed two of my cars over the years and did a very good job.
The used car department at the dealership I work at likes Hardings so much they believe it's worth the 40 mile round trip to have them do the work (and if you know how cheap a used car department at a dealership can be......)
Also Wayne, if you need someplace to store the vehicle for a while, I can keep it at my house.

One more idea, if the extent of the damage is confined to plastic bumper covers and the support structure behind it, I'll fix it for you Wayne. I can have a new bumper cover painted at a body shop, and I'll install it. If the damage got into the rear quarters, I'll pass.
{I've been in auto repair for 20+ years, so I'm not some schmuck blowin' smoke}
Recently I repaired my own vehicle when an errant tire ran into the front. The insurance estimate was just over $3,000, I fixed it for just over $1,000.
"Hardings" painted the pieces before I installed them.

Bob

[Wayne1]

Thanks for the offer, Bob.

I haven't seen the damage, just the one picture my daughter sent me.

I'll talk to her tomorrow and find out if there is any more to it than the bumper.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Wayne, the more I stare at this picture, the more I think about what I would do given the same set of circumstances.
I assume this is a parking garage as opposed to a parking lot based on the expansion joint in the asphalt.
Doesn't the school have recorded security cameras in parking garages?
You know, that whole "spooky dark parking garage thing".

Bob

[wje]

A quick Google search reflected the following junk yards that have the rear bumper assembly.

http://www.automotix.net/partshotline-pontiac-bonneville-bumper_assembly_rear-requests.html

Normally, you just submit your request through a site like the one above and a few yards will respond with their prices + shipping.  We did this before to get power steering pump for a friend's Ford Probe. 

In 2006, my '99 Taurus was rear-ended.  The sheet metal on the left rear fender was banged up - and the bumper was shot.  The total repair bill (paid by the person who hit me) was less than $1,800.  The new bumper "skin" was only about $175.00 - as I noted on the actual estimate for the work performed.

[Wayne1]

Thank you for the comments and help.

My daughter asked campus security about the cameras, but they did not see anything. It did occur in a 5 story parking structure across the street from her dorm.

I sent a copy of the repair estimate to Bob in St. Louis and he is going to look for parts there.

My knowledge of auto repair pretty much stopped in the '70s. I had no idea that such a thing as bumper covers existed.

It may turn out that the repair will not cost anywhere near as much as the estimate.

I am still upset that no one was willing to take responsibility for it.

I am also humbled by all the help offered by the members on AC.

[wje]

I had no idea that such a thing as bumper covers existed.

The bumper "covers" are just essentially molded plastic.  It would be interesting to see if the damage were less in a warmer climate - who knows?  It may not have even snapped the bumper cover as it did.  If you look at the picture, the "reinforcement" behind the bumper cover is actually molded styrofoam -- just like the same stuff you drink your coffee from.  That's why they only call 'em "5 M.P.H. bumpers" - as they usually get damaged if anything greater than a parallel parking ding hits the car.  This is not unique to just that car at all - I'm sure all new cars have the same concept of construction.  Gone are the days of those solid metal with chrome bumpers that would handle a bit more than 5 M.P.H.  However, the newer cars are better at absorbing the energy in a crash than say a 1970 Road Runner.  Beep!  Beep!

[bregez]

It's strange that the bumper cover had a "brittle" failure!  I have never seen that before.  It must have been very cold at the time of the accident. Here is another invaluable resource in finding junk yard parts for cars.
http://www.car-part.com/
Those 3800 engines in the Bonnevilles are notorious for getting 300,000+ miles, the transmissions in them are another story.
Best of luck.
Brad

[woodsyi]

This is why I have a '75 Caprice on reserve for the time when my 6 year old girls starts driving. 


No sirree.  No way, no how, no 5mile bumpers for her.  Only real steel bumpers in shiny chrome for her.   

[Bob in St. Louis]

I don't know what the bumper weighs on that '75, but I'd recon it's almost as much I do.
It takes the proverbial "two men and a boy" to lift one.
 

The few modern vehicles that still have chrome bumpers, these bumpers are amazingly light.
One handed over your head kinda light........

Bob