Big Problem!

[Cody Underwood]

Ok... so i was driving down a country road screwing around with some of my friends. I was probably going a little bit too fast and the road was wet. There were ditches on each side of the road about 4 feet deep. I was playing around a little too much i guess and i ended up facing the opposite direction in this ditch (my car did a 180 degree spin and my front end was slammed into the ditch). There was a culvert that my back drivers side wheel hit and almost slid over (which would have been absolute HELL). Some VERY nice people pulled over to help me and they happened to know a guy that lived down the road that had a wrecker. He pulled me out with his wench. LUCKILY and AMAZINGLY my car had very little damage. If you saw my car in this ditch you would think it was screwed. my back passenger side wheel was standing in the air. As soon as i got back into town i ran the car through a car wash and it looked fine except for about 3 places.

The bad part... lol
My parents cannot find out this happened. I managed to get my car pulled out of the ditch and back home without them ever knowing anything happened. If they found out i had a wreck on the 5th day i had my license i dont know if id ever be able to drive again! Ive been parking my car in an awkward position so my parents cant see the damage. its been about three days now. im out of school tomorrow because my school basketball team is going to state but im not going because i have to get this damn dent out before my parents see it (they'll be at work all day tomorrow). I need this fixed by friday! so ive got 1 day to do it. I have no money for a body shop.

Im going to do my best to describe the damage
My 1997 white Pontiac Grand Prix has a dent right under the drivers side driving light. (on my front bumper) it had 2 big dents in that area but i managed to get one popped out by myself in a parking lot (being as i cant work on it at my house). The other dent is in the bottom of the curve of the driving light hole. and its about 1"-1 1/2" deep. i tried popping it out with little success. There are cracks in the paint where it's dented.

Please help me! i need to pop this other dent out and figure out how to get these cracks in the paint looking a little neater (just a quick fix maybe until i get more time).

My dad has a heat gun but i dont know where it is. i couldnt find it in his garage. So would a hairdryer maybe work if i needed to use that?

[ZRX61]

(my car did a 180 degree spin and my front end was slammed into the ditch).

i had a wreck on the 5th day i had my license

I see the problem: You're an irresponsible idiot.

[Cody Underwood]

Thank you so much for your help ZRX! I believe i posted this in an AUTO BODY FORUM SITE to get advice on how to fix my bumper, if i wanted advice on being an irresponsible idiot i would have gone to the Dr. Phil forum.

[AlexeiVT]

You mentioned you were able to pop out one of the three dents in the bumper. If the bumper is plastic, you might be successful in making it a bit malleable w/ some heat...it's at least worth a try w/ the hairdryer (the heat gun, you'd want to be careful not to keep in any place too long, and if you can't locate it, it does you no good).

Be creative in pulling it out, and check to see if there is anything keeping it "squished" to its current shape...basically it's either foam or air behind the bumper...seems if one came out, the others should.

As far as dealing w/ the cracks in the paint, from the bumper flexing, you're best least expensive bet would be to sand them down a bit w/ something like 400 grit, shoot a bit of a light colored spray can primer, and then if you're lucky you could find an aerosal can of the appropriate color white to top it off...check at a larger auto parts store and see if you can get a can that approximates the color (obviously, painting the whole thing would probably make any attempt less noticeable than an aerosal blend...but, you could get lucky).

Luckily, in terms of color, "white is right", and will be the most forgiving in terms of trying to make defects less noticeable.

Realizing of course, that these are best described as "attempts on a budget", and not the surefire (and more expensive) way to do it right and have it last...but, then again, it's a 10 year old vehicle, and not a Benz.

Good luck, lesson learned.

If all else fails, find some roadkill, stuff some fur in the grill (grey matter for added effect), and blame it on a poor 'ol 'possum.

If you manage to get it fixed up well enough so that it could pass for no harm done...you might well find in the long run, to fess up an opportune time...your folks might surpise you if they see they've raised you w/ the courage and character to admit you made an error (and you don't have to give them all the details).

In my youth, I drove a few cars that didn't belong to me, off the road...stuff happens =) The worst of them, was when I was doing 360's in the church parking lot in my dad's Datsun 280Z...when the tires spun through the gravel they caught some asphalt, launched the car over a grass burm, and somehow it not only took down the streetlight, the car ended up w/ wheels off the ground and the light pole underneath it...still not sure what happened since I think I crouched in the seat when I saw the pole going down.

That was an expensive lesson...when I came home, I knew nobody would be happy and wouldn't believe the story...so I just handed over $800 first, shrunk my head, revoked the driving privelages myself, and called it a night.

An earlier spin in a 1980 Toyota Corolla actually sound similar to your dilemma...for whatever reason I was slaloming the dashed lines w/ a rain covered road...fishtailed, spun off the side of the road onto a golf course. The only damage done was a pea sized dent in the middle of a passenger door from a tiny plastic reflector stuck in the ground...managed to miss a host of other objects.

This thread could probably make for a good one in the General Discussion forum under "Crashes in one's youth".

[AlexeiVT]

Woops, meant the "Just Talk" forum, not the General.

The spray can primer will have a bit of build to it (most likely lacquer)...though it may seem obvious, as w/ any repair, and whatever materials you use, good preparation is warranted so spend the effort to prep right.

Wash well w/ soap and water (assuming you're not going to buy a can of wax and grease remover), and ensure there is not wax or residue on your repair areas. Mask the surrounding area off well (good old newspapers and masking tape). Scuff / sand the area w/ the scratches as well as a bit of the surrounding area. When you prime, be patient, do it light coats, let them dry thoroughly before successive coats...don't pile it on, just mist it evenly (if you glob it on now, things will never dry right or look good...and starting w/ sub-par products to begin w/ is already a step back). If you still see the cracks after the first light coats of primer, sand the area back down a bit (wrap the paer around something flat like a paint stick), then reprime. Then go w/ paint...start in the middle, do a coat, and then sort of work out the successive light coats wider and wider to accomplish some degree of a blend...it's the edges between new and old paint that are likely to jump out a bit (maybe you could mask to any nearby edge where the bumper meets fender, so you have a bit of uniformity...all hard to tell w/ out actually seeing anything).

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

Not to gang up on you but I'd think it's safe to say that maybe they should find out. It'd be a good lesson for you. It's only your 5th day and your driving around like a maniac? Feel lucky you weren't injured or even killed.
You're not impressing anybody by driving wildly, you're just making an ass out of yourself. Maybe it'd be wise for you to be a little more carefull and a little more grateful.

[Cody Underwood]

At first i thought it would be easier to just tell my parents, but then again i really dont have the courage right now and it would be easier just to try and fix it myself. If you knew my parents you would probably understand why. They seriously blow everything out of proportion, but i assure you i have definitely learned my lesson from all of this. i will be more careful with what i am doing, and i am very grateful that me and my friends didnt get hurt (and for the small amount of damage). i could have hit a tree which was very close, or i could have slid over that culvert which would probably have flipped the car.

But im going to bed... i have to get up early in the morning to go work on the farm then get home asap to fix this up... i will keep you all posted on how everything goes.

[Kent]

I know this isn't repair advice but... I did something similar when I was your age. I rounded a corner going way too fast,hit loose gravel and ended up in the ditch. I told my dad that a cat ran in front of me and I swerved to avoid smashing the poor kitty. He took one look at the lack of skid marks and called me on it. He was really disappointed that I didn't have enough respect for him to tell him the truth. Once I owned up to my mistake all was good. He even repaired the car for me.

To this day, 27 years later, I have to hear about that stupid cat.
Point: Prove you are a responsible young man and tell your dad. Sure he may make you pay for it but it is better to lose a little cash then to lose a lot of respect. Chances are he probably did something similar to his dad's car.

[Sid]

I think the best advise from everyone was tell your parents, they will find out about it sooner or later, and you'll feel better in the long run that you had the courage to admit your mistakes than to think you pulled one over on them.

[damnfingers]

"If you knew my parents you would probably understand why. They seriously blow everything out of proportion, but i assure you i have definitely learned my lesson from all of this."

According to ALL kids, all parents blow everything out of proportion. Trust me when I say it's not the damage to the car they're reacting to. It's their love for you that they're expressing, even if you don't see it that way. In their minds your car is still in the ditch, probably upside down and you and your friends are all in the hospital...or worse.

Somehow you need to let them know you've learned your lesson...which, if you're able to successfully cover up by masking the damage to your car and not telling them...you'll quickly forget.

[Phil V]

I agree with the other guys. How do you think me and my family would feel if they were coming from the opposite direction on that road when you were driving like an idiot and you slammed into them killing my son or my daughter.
I really hoped you learned a lesson from that fiasco. If not then your parents sshould be made aware and are more than justified in pulling your driving priveleges.

I hate to admit it but we have all done stupid things while driving on the road.
So your situation is not unique, fortunately in your case as well as most of our cases no one was hurt either. A hair dryer will not get the plastic bumper hot enough to where you can work the dent out. It will take a regular heat gun to work those dents out of the bumper. Once the dents are out the spiderweb cracking in the paint will be less visible. Nothing short of sanding down and repainting where those cracks are at will cure the problem.

[ZRX61]

You may want to ask your grandparents what stupid things your parents did with their first car BEFORE telling dad what you did.... but do NOT tell them that you know what they did....

Then you can *innocently* say "well just be lucky I didn't ............."

Unfortunately I didn't think of that when I crashed my grandfathers sidecar outfit thru a 5 bar gate & embedded it into a haystack... when I was 7 & grandfather was in the sidecar "giving directions".... But in my defence I COULD say "hey! I was under instruction of an adult!"

[Cody Underwood]

First off, I thank all of you profusely for your advice... and while i dont have the courage to tell my parents right now about what happened im sure sometime in the near future i will work up some and admit what happened. they might be mad about being on a road i wasnt supposed to be on (they told me specifically not to go on any country roads) and driving a little too crazy, but they will be glad i told them in the end and might be a little happy about the responsibility i took to get it fixed. And just to let you all know i wasnt really driving like a HUGE idiot. I was only going about 45mph and just kinda screwed up a turn.

Follow Up
I was happy about being out of school all day today so i would have time to fix this dent, but last night mom told me i had to go help papa work on his farm (i was scared i would be there all day and not have enough time to fix my bumper). So i get up at 9 this morning to go over there and luckily we only had to work about 2 hours then we got rained out. the bad part about the rain was i couldnt use the hair dryer i was planning on using because you all know that water + hairdryer = disaster. But i remembered my parents know someone that owns a body shop here in town and i figured he would have a shop i could use and maybe a heat lamp or something. So as soon as i got into town from my papas farm i headed to this body shop, being as it was my last resort. he was very nice about it and let me use his heat lamp and helped me get my bumper back to its original shape. I was a little scared at first he might tell my parents but he agreed not to. The evidence of the accident is all gone now except for a few little scratches on my front end in the drivers light area and a scratch on my back drivers side wheel well. The plastic on my bumper looks normal. You really cant even see the scratches unless you get down there and look for them. There are some scrapes on it also that will maybe buff out or something but ill save that project for when i get some more time.

[Cody Underwood]

O sorry and also ill try to upload some pictures of my car in the ditch sometime pretty soon. I just have to get him to send them to me. I might be able to get them on here tonight.

Thanks again!

[JDHolmes]

Ah Cody...where to start.

The family friend who owns the body shop will tell your parents, maybe not tomorrow, but soon enough. If you think they would have been mad, wait til you see them now!!

My step daughter lost a friend last week.
My daughter lost seven friends in the last year and a half.
My son lost the above seven friends and an additional two.
Funerals for the under 18 class are not fun.

10' tall and bullet proof is our young people's attitudes but unfortunately, you are just made of flesh and bone like us old codgers and your brain cells aren't even matured yet.

Tell your parents. Tell them also how you "repaired" the car, showing your initiative and responsibility for solving an issue you created. You will earn their respect. You will also be punished. However, earning their respect you will remember forever. The punishment will be over soon enough.

On a similar note, when 17 we lived 8 miles from town in an national forest. Driving home after work late one night, an armadillo ran out in front of me. I jammed the brakes and did the 180 into the ditch in my MOM"S pristine NOVA. No cell phones in those days so I just stood there until someone came along who called and got a tractor and my parents there.

I've never braked to avoid another animal...lots of dead critters, but no more crashes.