Hit a bear, what about the bumper?

[Diamondpilot]

I would not worry about aftermarket parts. Make sure though that the insurance company warranties all repairs for the life of the vehicle.

Chris

 

[jcmseven]

Well, a little follow up. In the end I am getting the new bumper fitting Monday. It will be factory and the company is to insure it for life of vehicle so all's well. After all that, I found that aftermarket bumpers for GMC 2500 Sierra's are apparently hard to find, so the body shop ended up ordering it via the dealership anyway. They even are allotting me $40.00 to replace my "Duramax" tag that was smashed by the impact of the bear.

John M

 

[Diamondpilot]

Well, a little follow up. In the end I am getting the new bumper fitting Monday. It will be factory and the company is to insure it for life of vehicle so all's well. After all that, I found that aftermarket bumpers for GMC 2500 Sierra's are apparently hard to find, so the body shop ended up ordering it via the dealership anyway. They even are allotting me $40.00 to replace my "Duramax" tag that was smashed by the impact of the bear.

John M

Good deal. I have found body shops and insurance companies pretty good overall and very fair. A good agent is the key. I take mine boating once a year and he takes good care of me and my crazy adventures.

Chris

 

[jeffsw6]

I would not worry about aftermarket parts. Make sure though that the insurance company warranties all repairs for the life of the vehicle.

My insurance company does lifetime warranty on repairs if you use their shop and aftermarket parts, or otherwise you don't get a warranty (or maybe just a short one) if you decide to use your own shop and OEM parts. It seemed like an obvious choice to me.

I did have to wait 7 weeks to get my truck back though, and I am not sure I would have had to wait so long if I used whatever shop I wanted. I could have gotten bumped up in the queue if I used a friend's place. But every shop was busy, we had an ice storm a few weeks before I got hit, and my friend's shop was so busy he ran out of places to park wrecked cars.

 

[jonyyuma]

Yes, After- market varies as the others wrote. Some of these parts look better than original. Remanufactured, well not as happy with that deal...Always insisted on the lifetime warranty, because of paint problems or future problems..Most operators here are reliable, just check out some of their other work as many just cannot prep a car before smearing on the paint...

 

[Case485Guy]

These are pretty good ones, very popular here in S. Tx, have one on my 89' F350 and love it.
Ranch Hand - The #1 Source For Truck Accessories

 

[Newblue]

The bumpers work! I've got one for my truck and put one on the wifes Jeep. Tested the one on the Jeep last spring when we hit a doe at 65 mph.

 

[jimmysisson]

I know rear bumper caps aren't the same but our Chevy 2500 2008 one rusted pimples over the whole surface in about 1 year, other side perfect. No holes through it, so no warranty. That was the last time I talked to that dealer - we'd bought 5 pickups from them in the last 6 years. They said they took our problem to GM and no joy from on high. Ptthhhh.
Jim​

 

[biggerten]

Good deal things are working out for you. I second the good agent comment, mine's great. And also a second on the grill gaurd, I put one on our Expedition, the wife complained about how it looked. A year later she also took out a doe at highway speed. The only damage was a bone splinter stuck in the rubber. Ouch. She loves the grill gaurd, now.

 

[Wyobuckaroo]

Bear road kills are a big problem in this area. (just south of Lake Superior)
Not as many as deer road kills, but more damage.

I've heard it said the only other animal worse to hit in that size range is a pig. Of course taller animals like horse, elk, etc are bad because they slide up the hood and cause dangerous problems.

keep safe