Luke300zx

So this morning I was on my way to work and like usual traffic just sucked and people don't know how to merge onto the freeway properly...kinda caused a chain reaction and I had a minor fender bender...

I hit a truck with a huge steel trailer behind it (so really I just hit the trailer).

From just a quick inspection of my truck all that needs to be replaced is the front bumper, maybe the grille (it only had a small scratch in it so I might just keep it), and the hood had a dent in it but I can live with that for a while.

His trailer didn't have a damn scratch on it which is good because I might not have to report all of this to insurance depending on what the damages will be like. So my questions are...If my bumper is all bent up but my grille LOOKS fine do you think I need a new one? Also, my passenger side lower light keeps falling out as I drive, What causes this? The bumper being bent? Or does it mean my grille is messed up? What are some good places to get OEM replacement parts from? I might even just get a better front bumper if there are some sick aftermarket ones or maybe even the SS Front bumper...This is my first Chevy (I usually work on my 92 Nissan 300zx) so finding parts is kinda different then just going to some websites i'm used to.

I'll have pictures up later today when I upload them onto my computer. Thanks!

JRD929

I don't know what truck you have, but my 01 Silverado has 2 pins that hold in the top headlights, and the lower lights with the daytime running lights and turn signals just pretty much clip in. So if it keeps falling out, look at the back of the headlamp case, you may find a broken clip. I believe you have to take out the headlight to see the back of the lower light.

Luke300zx

Oh sorry, I have a 2006 Silverado 1500 Z71 4x4. I took a closer look and it seems like my bumper is bent in causing my grilled to kinda be pushed out. If I fix the bumper I think it'll all be ok. My bumper is red on top (like the body color on my truck), chrome in the middle, and black on the bottom if this helps you guys out...is the bumper all 1 piece or is it maybe 3 seperate pieces? I haven't had a chance to get underneath and look yet.

JRD929

I'm pretty sure it is a 3 piece bumper.

Luke300zx

Do you know a good place I could get the top 2 of the 3 pieces I need so I can fix it?

JRD929

I'd check out salvage yards first because new, those parts aren't cheap. If you can find them at a salvage yard, it should save you several hundred dollars. I'm believe your truck has the same bumper as far back as the 04 Silverado. Dealers are always going to be very high. When I've had to buy parts new, I'd look at autopartswarehouse.com , I've haven't had any trouble when dealing with them. Just be sure to double and triple check that you have the right part matched up with the right vehicle.

Luke300zx

Just thought I'd add onto this thread just in case anyone ever needs to find this stuff.

The bumper is 3 primary pieces. The chrome is the actual bumper, the part ontop which is either black or matches your body color is a bumper cap, and the bottom plastic is the bumper cover.

I salvaged the bumper cover (no damage), I got a bumper from a local junkyard (an aftermarket that looks identical to OEM for $200, and I got a bumper cap online for like $140ish. When I took the bumper off I noticed the plastic on where the DTRL's go and the headlights go were cracked and I got those for $27 each online as well. Just do some looking around first before you buy the parts.

s34n

its a good thing you found a bumper at a salvage yard. i got into a fender bender a couple years ago. i accidentally rear ended a woman at under 10 mph and dented my bumper somewhat decent. i took it to a body shop and they said it would cost 750 for everything because they would have to order a new bumper at 350 replace a bumper bracket. and it was 3 hours labor. well i took it upon myself to do the work. i never did body work before this. but i took the bumper apart and off my truck beat out the dent with a small block and hammer. didnt crack the chrome coat thank goodness. got the bumper bracket to the same spot as the other one that wasnt damaged and put the bumper back on. you can slightly tell where the dent happened but if just walking by you couldnt tell.

Luke300zx

Yeah. I got some esitmates on my truck before I started taking it apart to see the damages and they wanted $3400...The hood has a small dent in it so they wanted to replace the whole thing, they wanted to replace the grille even though all it had was a small crack on the chevy emblem, they wanted all new bumper brackets for like $200 even though you can get all 4 for like $80. Then they wanted the new bumper, bumper cap, bumper cover (even though my bumper cover was fine), then the paint on the hood and they said they'd have to blend the paint onto the fenders...

Now I might just not know paint very well but I thought you only had to blend paint with an older paint job? The truck is a garage kept 06 with like 16k miles so I really doubt it needs the paint blended onto the fenders lol. Maybe with like a truck that was 10+ years old or something but not pretty much new.

But yeah not much damage thank god it was only like a 15mph hit. The guy isn't even going to turn it into insurance because his trailer didn't take any damage! (yay!!!!!!)

JRD929

Is it some odd ball color like pearl white instead of plain white?