Skid plates result in cracked/ruined front bumper...

Had skid plates (don't want to name the manufacturer) installed about 3 months ago. They worked fine while the car was in FORWARD motion, but tonight I was at a party and a friend graciously let me park in his driveway instead of parking the car on the street. As I backed into the driveway in REVERSE the drivers side skid plate caught the pavement (the concrete on the driveway stuck up about 1cm but I was on an otherwise reasonable incline) and both severely damaged the attachment point for the skidplate and left a 6" crack up the bumper.

The incline was not incredibly steep and I did not go up it at a high rate of speed.

1. Has anyone experienced problems before with skidplates 'catching' things--especially while in reverse? I am trying to decide if this is a freak accident and I'm the first to ever pull this off, or if others have ruined $5000 bumpers with $400 skid plates. (This is for my future reference. I'm trying to decide if I should put them on my new bumper)

2. I saw just the OEM bumper alone was $3600 from Ricambi...so from reputable shops I figure I am probably looking at a $5000 repair just to paint and replace the bumper--is that in the ballpark?

The picture was before I got home and removed the clearbra. The white is powder from the material the bumper is made out of.

Thanks,
Parker
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I dont have experience with skid plates.

However just regarding the repair. If all this is FULLY covered by insurance, than no problem. Go for new bumper and paint. If not or not the main part, i would let it fixed by some skilled paintshop. The damage seems to me very minor. Similar damages hapened to me twice during last year while driving (my car is lowered) and my paintshop (who is authorized BMW/MB painshop) fixed it for 150 bucks each case. I can tell you that you would not find the place of repair - perfect job. Just my 2 cents...... Good luck.

 

Wow...that's some pretty gnarly damage! Really sorry to hear/see that.

I've had skid pads on both my cars and nothing like that has ever happened...nor do I know anyone else who has had that happen. The thing about skid pads is that they do protrude outward and while they offer-up their surface as a "designated" contact point, they also can catch or contact more often. In your case, the backside of your pads were apparently not beveled to account for contact in a backward direction. I've seen some pads that have a rear bevel and others that don't.

My vote is that your situation was rather freakish. It reminds me of long ago when I used to fly radio-controlled planes...we'd have the wings attached with nylong bolts so that the bolts would shear and the wing detach if you had a really bad landing. It'd almost be an idea for these skid pads but then we'd have missing pads now & then.

The question remains; to pad or not to pad. They can more often save then do damage, the general consensus is to use 'em. Again, sorry it happened, good luck getting it fixed.

 

The skid plates appear to be installed too far 'forward' on the bumper, rather than completely underneath. On the 360, there really shouldn't be a visible 'lip' protruding from the front of the car. If its any good news, the damage does not look as bad as it probably sounded. I suspect a good fiberglass repair shop can fix it. I had my chunky 348 front bumper repaired and sprayed at a local BMW shop for less than $1000.

As Steve R very accurately noted (above), the trailing edge of skid plates must be beveled specifically for this reason -- to prevent an abrupt catch on concrete aprons in reverse or forward.
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Im with Daniel, you can probably get the bar repaired by someone very competent for **** all!

I had a similar sized area damaged on my side skirt on my 348. I had it repaired and repainted for AU $200.

Probably the same amount of work to repair your car. The paintshop that did it, 'blended' in the paint in that area so he didnt have to repaint the entire side skirt. You cannot tell there is/was ANY damage there.

 

It's not just a crack...the fiberglass (or whatever material) is pretty seriously damaged, especially on the underside of the lip. I'll definitely investigate that route however. And I'll get more pics up later so we can all see if they really are too far forward or if that picture just makes it look that way.

 

I would have it repaired not replaced.
A great spray job should run about 1k (just had mine done)
If anybody charges or tries to charge you more than $1500 they are on crack.

Repair/dont replace!

 

Is there a 360 out there with a bumper that has never been cracked?

 

As previously mentioned, repair not replace. The guy I bought my 360 from was very honest and told me that he caught the front bumper on a high kerb. It was repaired by a local bodyshop and only resprayed in the damaged area. Even though I know where the damage was, there is no evidence of a repair.

 

That can be repaired. If the crack is all the way through they can fiberglass the back and fill the front, sand and repaint. That is fixable. I would not replace that bumper unless you are looking for a reason to get a CS bumper. You're in Dallas so I'd check with Stuarts-they're expensive and very sloooow, but very good.

 

I should add I have used Stuart's many times with nothing but the best results. I live in the metroplex and take them anything that needs painting because I never have to go back for a re-do. I am not affiliated with them, just don't know anyone else that can make the car look like it's never been injured.

 

The same thing happened to me about 7 months ago on my 430 in almost the exact same way. My friend has a raised cobblestone apron at the front of his driveway, I caught the edge of the skid plate and did significant damage to the fiberglass bumper. I took it to Wide World Ferrari (where the car is from) and they recommended repair, not replace. the whole bill, with 1 new right side skid plate was under $1500.00. they did a perfect job and you can't tell anything ever happened. My advice, repair if at all possible.

 

Same thing happen to the 355 I had. Caught something going forward and cracked the front bumber. I had mine repaired, it was $850, looked like new.
Then it was $500 more to get the clear armor!

 

First of all--sorry--that stinks.

I originally attached my skidplates with bolts, I switched to 3M auto attachment tape. That tape is incredibly strong, but I wonder if it would have sheared off, saving the bumper? Something to consider for next time (either PM may or search for info on the tape). I agree that the plates seem to be sitting to far "forward", and the back needs to be beveled to help avoid "catching an edge".

Good luck with the repair.

 

your insurance should cover that. It did happen to my 360 and after that I was very careful on the F430. No problems with the skidplates on the F430 - knock on wood.

 

Just had mine done a week ago. While it is off have the attach points done properly with screw in rivits and get rid of those wood screws that Ferrari uses to attach underside. Mine with the repair came to 1700.00. Never had prob. with the skid plates ,but per picture yours certainly appear attached too far forward. Certainly doesn't appear your bumper needs replaced . Glass is so easily repaired! New doesn't mean stronger esp. with the new material's out there.
Docf

 

I tore the clear bra off and got in good lighting with my digital SLR camera so you guys can get a better idea of the damage. After seeing the torn fiberglass do you guys still think this is 'repairable' vs replaceable? Obviously the shop will recommend what they 'think' is best, but I'd like to be as educated as possible going in. I'm really liking the idea of a $1500 repair instead of a $5000 new bumper, which is what 90% of people suggested based on the initial photo. But after seeing the damage do you guys still think repair is an option?

I'm not going to use insurance either way. What's the point--you pay now or you pay later. Might as well keep my rates down in case something really bad happens in the future.

And other than Stuart's any recommendations for good repair shops in DFW?

Many thanks,
Parker
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I cracked my bumper the DAY I got the car.. over a MASSIVE pothole.. it was repaired easily/cheaply and looks good as new now.. it's a non issue and expect to damage that thing every once n awhile.. don't even sweat it.

 

Another way to phrase that question is.......are there any 360 owners who don't have a cracked bumper who'd like to jinx themselves into having one by responding to that question?

He's right, don't sweat it. Any car that's low-down to the ground is prone to this sort of thing. Heck, most of us came-up from driving 355's and once you learn to respect that sort of ground-clearance, you can drive just about anything.

Think of this as a learning experience, part of ownership, a chance to get a fresh paint-job on your bumper and a sweet opportunity to install those Challenge Grill's you've been wanting to do!~

 

I am not a fan of skid plates or clear bra. My philosophy is: why make my car ugly (clear bra lines, edges, etc) so that the next buyer can have a nice finish underneath it? If I ever chip or scratch my paint, I will go it it fixed then. When you get a chip by a flying rock or something, you either pay for a paint job, or you pay for a removal and reinstallation of the clearbra. One way or another, you have to pay for the repair. And I have heard that the discoloration would be very different with panels exposed compared to panels covered by clearbra. That's actually a detriment to the new buyer if they do not like clearbras and choose to have it removed.

 

Make sure that the bumper cover has not been weakened from its mounts. The fiberglas cover is glued to two mounting pads (one on each side, just forward of the tires), and to a beam that runs across the front. The forward pull from snagging the skid plates could have weakened one or more of these.


Lou

 

....and further more would they like to fix it way before they sell the car or just before they sell the car. The later would be only once to fix the problem the former may result in multiple repairs for the same issue.

 

It's a simple repair, as long as it is done by someone competent with glass repairs.
If it's not done properly, it will crack again the first time you hit a bump.
I don't know who sold you those skid plates but they were badly placed, and unclear how they would work if they are not contoured to the bumper. It's a wonder you hadn't ripped them off going forward over something.
Have a look at ours, 100 bucks and the most effective on the market.
To illustrate the repair, the picture is my car recently.
Similar amount of damage, only more interesting circumstances, I side swiped a small kangaroo at speed.
Tore the bumper and enough force to bend the mounting bracket. The biggest expense was repainting the bumper.
You are right, just get it repaired and pay for it, it's certainly not worth claiming on insurance.
Ciao
Brenden
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sorry to hear of your problems ; here are the hill plates i just had put on
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I'm with you. Makes no sense to me.