Hey guys, just scratched the mrs rear bumper on her 2007 Mazda 3 sedan. The scratches are about an inch long - 2 of em, and deep but not too deep.

Im hoping I can get the bumper repaired without having to replace the whole thing. Can anyone give me a ball park figure of how much would be a fair price for someone to fix this? Does the whole bumper cover need to be resprayed?

Also, is it a hard job to get the rear bumper cover on and off? If I can do that myself, I can save a bit of labour. Thanks...

 

Yeah, it sucks when that happens.
To your questions: Depending how much you want to spend and how you want it to look, you might just touch it up using the touch-up paint and clear coat it.
Second choice would probably be "the professionals," unless you have a natural ability with body work? I know I don't. Been there, done that.
Cost could range far and wide depending where you are and what body shop you choose, but probably no more than a coupla' hundred. Yes, body work costs money.
If the scratches are too deep, there are fillers they can be use that are made for soft plastic parts. If it has holes in it, a plastic welder, etc....
As for you removing the cover to save $$$? Not a good idea.
Think of it this way: You pay the money and get your nice, newly painted bumper cover back. Then, with a heavy hand, and a heavy heart to match, you proceed to reinstall it yourself. But guess what? You don't have the proper help or tools, the cover scrapes the ground during the install and now it's worse than it was before!!
The good news is that body shop labor is usually cheaper than mechanical labor and they know what they're doing (you hope.) And if they don't and it is damaged, they have the responsibility to fix or replace it for you.
Hope this helps you out.

 

Thanks Virgo....Got a couple of qoutes and the best they could do was $250 so im pretty happy with that. Two of them said its hardly even worth doing, and I wouldnt worry about it, but its not my car! Thanks for your help.

 

I'm in a similar ballpark. Yesterday I was trying to get around my band's trailer to get into my garage to clean the car out... I thought I was clear of the trailer but failed to notice the wheel well sticking out. I have a foot long scrape against the rear passenger door, and also hit the passenger door mirror on the side of the trailer on accident. Ahhhh... yup.

 

I accidentally backed against a chainlink fence
Left a nice scratch about 4 inches long on the lower passenger door
I got some 16w touch up paint and a clear coat pen
Looks pretty much unnoticeable

 

Everytime I let my wife take the 3, it comes back with a scratch!

But thats another story,,,,