How Much Does It Cost To Paint A Bumper?

Your car’s bumpers are crucial safety components with a prominent aesthetic that can make or break the overall appearance of your vehicle.

A bumper paint job generally won’t break the bank, but whether a DIY or a professional paint job, it’s essential to get it right to save money and retain your vehicle’s overall aesthetic.

A car, SUV, or truck bumper needing a paint job is not something you can swiftly remedy with some duct tape and a Sharpie, especially when you consider safety factors and the visual impact on the car. A front bumper paint cost is especially worth it just to retain the overall exterior look of the vehicle.

Can you handle the job yourself? Most likely. But the cost to have it done at a local body shop or by a big chain professional auto painter may be affordable enough to consider.

Although many factors exist, including DIY vs. pro body shop, the cost range to paint a bumper is $300-$2,000.

Painting A Bumper: Methods and Options

There are various methods to fixing your bumper, which includes:

• Paint/repaint the bumper yourself
• Replace with a new bumper
• Salvage a used bumper from eBay or a junkyard
• Use a local auto body shop

Bumper Paint Cost: Do It Yourself vs. Using a Professional Body Shop

Whether it’s a DIY project or a professional bumper paint job, patience is crucial because painting a bumper generally requires waiting 24 to 48 hours for multiple coats of primer, paint, and defensive coating to dry.

There are additional concerns when considering the average price to paint a bumper. We’ll cover them here and review the costs of different car bumper painting options and methods.

Plus, we’ll share real-life experiences by fellow vehicle owners who have also wondered: How much does it cost to paint a bumper? Their stories reveal the nuances and confirmed tips to successfully give a bumper a new paint job.

Reasons To Paint A Car Bumper

There are many reasons why a car owner may want to fully repaint a bumper, usually for practical or cosmetic reasons. Vehicle owners have cited fire damage and extreme paint chipping as practical reasons for a paint job for their bumpers.

Aesthetics may be another reason to paint a bumper, such as color-matching the bumper color with the vehicle’s body color. And occasionally, minor everyday dings, dents, and scrapes to a bumper may need more than a quick touch-up.

But is the expense of repainting a bumper worth it?

Should I Repaint Or Replace A Bad Bumper?

When looking to paint a bumper, you must first decide whether you want to replace or repaint the bumper. Predictably, the cost difference is substantial.

The price to replace a new bumper on most common consumer cars can range from $800 to $2,000, which includes the cost of installation.

Using a secondhand bumper salvaged from a scrap yard can save you a lot and typically costs $50 to $500 for consumer and high-end vehicles. Installation can add another $200 to $500.

Painting over a damaged bumper certainly will decrease the value of the vehicle.

But if you’re replacing the bumper with a new one or the paint job is strictly for aesthetic reasons on an undamaged bumper, its resale value is either unaffected or influenced very little.

Cost To Paint Bumper: Materials And Time Commitments

A lot of proficient car repair workers can replicate the original color of any vehicle. This is another advantage of going to a professional. Nevertheless, seeking help from your nearby car component shop to find the precise shade should be effortless.

The cost of painting or repainting a front or rear car bumper varies greatly and generally ranges from a few hundred to a couple thousand, depending on many factors.

Car owners in popular automotive forums uniformly mention paying $300 to $2,000 to have their bumpers professionally painted at local auto body shops. Many vehicle owners say they’ve found more affordable deals at chain auto body shops.

You can do a bumper paint job in a few different ways, and costs vary considerably. Various factors affect cost, like using an independent body shop over a chain auto paint shop. And a DIY bumper paint job can cost half the price of a professional job.

A large auto paint shop offers complete car paint services for about $700. People on online forums mentioned paying about $250-$300 for painting their car bumpers at the same shop. A luxury car owner claimed that their bumper was repainted in a day and cost approximately $250.

However, if you do it yourself, you can save money. A DIY bumper paint job is likely going to cost you around $200-$250 for materials, which primarily include:

• 3 to 4 cans of spray paint
• primer
• clear coat
• masking tape
• sandpaper
• drop cloths

Cost To Paint Front Bumper

So, how much does it cost to paint a front bumper? When it comes to having a local auto body shop spray paint a front bumper, you can expect to shell out around $700.

The consensus from auto body shops when I inquired about how much it costs to paint a front bumper is between $500 and $800. However, I am aware of instances where owners reportedly paid between $1,200 and $2,000 to paint their front bumper.

If the front bumper has an irregular surface and needs resurfacing due to chips and nicks from rocks and road salt, you’re looking at costs closer to $800. The cost may also be higher if color tint matching is necessary.

A vehicle owner mentioned in an online automotive forum that he paid $300 to get his car’s front bumper professionally repainted to cover fire damage. He reportedly received quotes of $400-$900. These figures align well with what most other car owners say in notable automotive forums.

Cost To Paint Rear Bumper

How much does it cost to paint a back bumper?

According to my inquiries with a dozen of automotive shops, painting a rear bumper costs between $300-$550.

I personally know a Beemer owner, who paid $550 for a rear bumper paint job that included some minor bodywork on the bumper.

Conclusion: Bumper Paint Job Costs Vary, But Expect To Pay Between $300-$700

How much it costs to get a bumper painted depends on many factors.

Fortunately, if you find yourself faced with a bumper needing a paint job, many options are available. Whether your solution to paint a bumper includes purchasing a couple of cans of spray paint or hiring a professional, most people expect to pay at most $1,000.

A friend of mine with a Lexus LS reported quotes ranging from $850 to $1,450 to have his bumper painted at local body shops. However, some car owners reportedly got by with a $250-$300 DIY job.

You don’t necessarily have to remove the bumper to paint it fully. If you are tight on time or space, you can always use masking tape. But a trip to a chain auto paint shop may cost you a little above a do-it-yourself job, with the average chain bumper paint job costing $300-$500.