fixing up an ugly, beat up car

In most auto collision situations, the things that are often wrecked the worst and go missing are the bumpers. If someone hits you from behind, you might lose your rear bumper. If someone hits you from behind, causing you to hit the person ahead of you, and you lose both back and front bumpers. If you are the person who hits someone, your front bumper goes. What you are often left with is this sheared-off, half-gone to mostly gone eyesore on the front and/or back end(s) of your vehicle. Here are the options that your collision repair mechanics will offer you to restore the missing bumper chunks or completely gone bumpers.

Total Bumper Replacement, Sans Perfect Paint Color Match

You have probably seen some cars or trucks driving around with bumpers that fit but are nowhere near the color of that vehicle. It is not just that they are not chrome or matte/shiny black. No, these bumpers are the farthest color from the vehicle's own color as you can get. For example, a beige/gold Cadillac drives down the street with a navy blue or bright red bumper. What happens here is that the mechanic cannot get a bumper in the exact color of the vehicle, so he/she substitutes. The idea is to eventually paint that bumper the same color as the vehicle or replace the wrong-colored bumper with the right-colored bumper when one is found. 

Total Bumper Replacement, Perfect Color Match

In this situation, the mechanic was either able to locate the perfect match in color, model, and size of bumper for your vehicle. That is a very fortunate situation for you because it means that you will not have to repaint another bumper or wait to make a switch. It costs less, too, because you have the perfect bumper the first time. 

Partial Bumper Replacement

If your bumpers are metal and not plastic, you can get a partial bumper replacement. The remaining part of your damaged bumper is removed from your vehicle. The damaged end is cut clean-edged with a blowtorch. Then the missing section is taken from another bumper and welded on to the old bumper you have. It may be buffed out, smoothed, and then repainted or re-chromed, depending on how your original bumper looks. Similar things can be done with plastic bumpers, but the results are not always the best looking. Still, it is preferential to driving around with part of your vehicle exposed to everything.