2004 Honda Civic Can I DIY this minor bumper damage?

_CONTROLFREAK

MEMBER
2004 HONDA CIVIC

Suspension problem
2004 Honda Civic 4 cyl Front Wheel Drive Automatic 39k miles

^A pic of the damage. 2004 Civic EX.

I was doing about 25MPH then hit a thick patch of "loose gravel" (thank you, CalTrans). The car veered left suddenly, so I had to pull back into my lane. I obviously over-corrected or *something* - although I had the brake pedal floored, the car seemed to almost speed up. Long story short I ended up hitting a shallow dirt embankment.

I'm most concerned about getting that edge hooked back under the front of the car (I can't do it by hand). The underside I'm less concerned about; it's bent, but the pad is also damaged. Thankfully all the damage is cosmetic. Shops are quoting around $500 (I found the bumper for sale online for $50-$100), but that's basically my deductible. What kind of tools would I need?

Thanks everyone!

Image (Click to make bigger)

1 Reply

KHLOW2008

MECHANIC
41,815 POSTS

Hi controlfreak,

Thank you for the donation.

Damage does not seem too bad as there do not appear to be any cracks or major tears.

A hot air blower or high powered hair dryer and some basic tools should get the thing back into shape.

For any area that you wish to reshape, use the blower to heat it up evenly and when it is sufficiently hot, you can reshape it. Do not overheat as it can cause the materials to melt or go out of shape. Do it gradually and use gloves to protect your hands.

Good luck.