How to deal with a dent in the front bumper?

[DeDavid]

Here are the methods to deal with a dent in the front bumper: 1. When the front bumper is dented, you can use the principle of plastic softening when heated. Simply apply heat to the dented area to pop it out. 2. Once the dent is restored to its original shape, use cold water to cool it down, which helps with contraction and recovery. Additional information: Besides repairing the dent in the front bumper, it is also necessary to check the front car devices (such as the car camera and radar). If there are any abnormalities, they should be replaced promptly. Of course, for car owners who are not handy or do not want to bother with it, it is best to leave the repair to a 4S shop or a nearby auto repair shop.

[EverettDella]

I had a palm-sized dent on the front of my car not long ago. The advantage of plastic bumpers is their good flexibility—small dents can actually be fixed yourself. First, boil some water and slowly pour it over the dent to soften the plastic. Once it's warmed up, push from the inside, and it should pop back out. If you're unsure, you can buy a suction cup repair tool online for about 20 yuan—just stick it on the dent and pull. But remember to check the clips and radar sensors! Once, after fixing a dent, I realized the parking sensor wasn't working—turns out a clip had broken inside, and I had to replace the whole thing, costing me hundreds more. For major damage or paint scratches, don’t force it—leave it to professional body repair.

[JordanDella]

Just helped my younger brother deal with this situation last week. Focus on three key areas: Is it cracked? Are the clips broken? Has the radar shifted? If there's no cracking or breaking, just a simple dent, I recommend calling a repair shop first to ask if paintless dent repair (PDR) can fix it. Using a heat gun to soften the plastic and then pushing it out is half the cost of traditional bodywork and preserves the factory paint. But if, like his case, the headlight mounting bracket is also bent, you'll still need to remove the bumper for a full repair. By the way, a reminder: avoid washing the car for three days after the repair—the plastic needs time to set, and using a high-pressure washer right after fixing it can cause the dent to reappear.

[DeLuna]

Don't rush to file an insurance claim! First, squat down and check the depth of the crack. Small shallow dents the size of a fingernail can be ignored—the plastic has elasticity and will slowly rebound. If the crack exceeds five centimeters, you'll need to replace the bumper, as repair adhesives won't hold for long. I learned this the hard way: I temporarily used AB glue to seal a crack, but it split open again during a car wash six months later. Nowadays, some repair shops use plastic welding guns to fuse the internal frame, saving up to 60% of the cost compared to replacing the bumper. Be careful not to be tricked into expensive dent repairs—a palm-sized dent typically costs around 200 yuan to fix, and if a shop quotes over 500, just walk away.