Scuff, scratch, crack, or full replacement — price it before the shop quote
| Damage | Typical fix | National range |
|---|---|---|
| Paint transfer / light scuff | Polish, compound, spot blend | $50 – $300 |
| Dent, no paint damage | Push out / heat reshape | $150 – $500 |
| Deep scratch to primer | Sand, fill, prime, blend paint | $300 – $900 |
| Cracked cover (repairable) | Plastic weld, fill, refinish | $300 – $800 |
| Full replacement (aftermarket) | New cover + R&R + paint | $700 – $1,500 |
| Full replacement (OEM) | OEM cover + R&R + paint | $1,000 – $2,500 |
| Luxury/EV + sensors + recalibration | OEM cover, ADAS recalibration | $2,000 – $5,000+ |
National ranges reflect published 2025 collision-shop data; urban shops commonly bill 20-40% above these midpoints, and small-town independent shops can come in below.
| Vehicle class | Aftermarket cover | OEM cover | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sedan / compact | $200 – $450 | $350 – $800 | Widest availability, best fit tolerance |
| SUV / pickup / van | $300 – $650 | $500 – $1,100 | Larger covers, more mounting hardware |
| Luxury / EV import | $600 – $1,200 | $900 – $2,000+ | Often only OEM available; sensor brackets included |
Paint materials add roughly $150-$300 per bumper (more for tri-coat), removal and reinstallation runs about 3 hours of labor, and refinishing the new cover adds another 2-2.5 hours. Sensor recalibration, where required, adds $150-$550.
A bumper bill is three parts: labor, materials, and — once you're replacing — the cover itself. The calculator prices each from your inputs using standard collision-shop flat-rate assumptions, then wraps the point estimate in a realistic national range so you can sanity-check any written quote you collect.
Scuff repairs assume 1.5 labor hours plus $60 in materials; deep scratches 2.5 hours plus $90; crack repairs 3.5 hours plus $140. Replacement assumes a new cover (aftermarket $325/$450/$950 by vehicle class, ×1.8 for OEM), 3 hours to remove and install, 2.5 hours to refinish, and $150 in paint materials. Vehicle class multiplies labor and materials — 1.15 for SUVs and trucks, 1.5 for luxury and EV imports — and metallic paint adds $75, tri-coat $175, ADAS recalibration $250. The displayed range is the estimate ±15%/+25%, matching how published national ranges spread around their midpoints.
A 2019 Camry with a deep scratch through the paint on the front bumper, metallic finish, $90/hr labor: 2.5 × $90 = $225 labor, $90 materials, $75 metallic paint adder → $390, with a typical range of $332 to $488. That's below a $500 deductible, so a claim would pay nothing — this one's a cash job.
Now an Explorer that needs the whole rear cover replaced: aftermarket cover $450, 5.5 total labor hours at $100/hr on the SUV multiplier, $172 materials and paint, metallic adder, $250 recalibration → $1,580, range $1,343 to $1,975. With a $500 deductible, a claim recovers $843-$1,475 across that range — worth weighing against a potential renewal increase using the insurance rate increase calculator.
Set the severity honestly — the biggest cost driver is whether the cover survives. Pick your paint finish from the door-jamb sticker or your owner's manual (tri-coat whites and reds are the expensive ones). Enter a labor rate near you: $80-$100 covers most suburbs, $120-$160 is big-city territory. The verdict box tells you when repair beats replacement and when a claim makes sense. Full repair-vs-replace decision logic is in the bumper repair cost guide.
These are planning estimates, not quotes. Damage that looks cosmetic can hide a bent absorber or reinforcement bar behind the cover — any collision over about 5 mph deserves a professional inspection.
A light scuff or surface scratch that buffs out with a spot repair runs $50 to $300 nationally. A deeper scratch that exposes primer needs sanding, filler, and paint blending, which pushes the bill to $300 to $900. At a typical $90/hr body labor rate, our calculator prices a deep scratch on a standard sedan at about $390.
If the bumper cover is intact — scratched, scuffed, or dented but not cracked through — repair is almost always cheaper, often by half or more. Once the plastic is cracked, torn, or the mounting tabs are broken, repair becomes unreliable and replacement is the norm: aftermarket cover plus paint runs roughly $700 to $1,500 on a common sedan, more for SUVs and luxury vehicles.
Most full replacements land between $500 and $1,500 for parts, labor, and paint on mainstream cars. OEM parts instead of aftermarket typically add 60-80 percent to the parts bill, ADAS sensor recalibration adds $150 to $550, and tri-coat or pearl paint adds to the paint match. Luxury and EV bumpers with sensors routinely pass $3,000.
If the repair costs less than your deductible, a claim pays nothing — pay out of pocket. Even when the repair clears the deductible, a comprehensive or collision claim can raise your premium at renewal, so for bills a few hundred dollars over the deductible, paying cash often nets out cheaper. Compare the claim payout against the premium increase over the following three years.
Modern bumpers hide parking sensors, radar units, and cameras. Removing and reinstalling them adds labor, and many require recalibration after reinstallation so the driver assists still aim correctly — $150 to $550 at most shops. On some vehicles, the shop must program the replacement cover to the car, adding an hour or more of diagnostic time.
For light scuffs and paint transfer, yes — a $20 to $50 kit with polish, compound, and touch-up paint can erase marks that a shop would charge $150-plus to fix. Kits don't fix cracked plastic, warped covers, or damage wider than a couple of inches, and mismatched touch-up paint on metallic finishes is usually visible up close.