Front Radar
AAA priced these at $500–$1,300 as a component. Feeds automatic braking and adaptive cruise control.
Quick Answer
It Depends on What’s Behind It
No credible source publishes a current national price for bumper repair, and the tidy tables you’ll find ranking above this page are guesses dressed as data. What is documented: AAA priced a minor rear collision on a 2023 vehicle at $1,698.24 in total, of which $684.63—roughly 40%—was the driver-assistance work alone. Same impact on a car without those systems, and that 40% simply doesn’t exist.
The plastic cover was never the expensive part. That’s why no auto body shop will quote a bumper over the phone. Get a number for your actual vehicle.
What’s In There
Why Is a Bumper So Expensive Now?
Because the manufacturer put the car’s eyes in the part most likely to get hit.
A current bumper can carry forward radar for automatic emergency braking and adaptive cruise, ultrasonic sensors for parking, and on some vehicles a camera. Those are the systems that decide whether the car brakes for a pedestrian. Damage the bumper and you haven’t just cracked a cover—you’ve moved the things the car aims with.
Ultrasonic Sensors
$300–$1,000 per AAA. The small circles in the bumper face that handle parking assist.
Then the Calibration
Fitting the part isn’t the end. CCC puts the average calibration fee at $485.56; Mitchell reports $688 per estimate where it’s present.
And the Scan
Reading fault codes before and after averages $149.10 per CCC. It’s how anyone knows what the impact disturbed.
The Rule You Can’t Negotiate
Sometimes the Manufacturer Forbids Repairing It
This is the part most cost guides skip. Nissan states it doesn’t support any repair, body filler, or paint work on the rear bumper cover in the general area of the side radars. GM caps total paint film thickness over ADAS-equipped bumper systems at 13 mils, because too much paint blinds the radar looking through it. Honda instructs that a damaged or cracked radar cover be replaced rather than repaired.
Where the maker says replace, a shop offering to repair it cheaply isn’t saving you money. It’s ignoring the procedure and handing you back a car whose radar may be looking at the wrong thing.
For Context Only
What a Bumper Used to Cost
The last serious independent bumper cost research came from the IIHS, and it ran low-speed crash tests to see what a minor knock actually cost to put right. Their benchmark: about $1,000 covered a new bumper cover, reinforcement bar, and paint, and $1,500 covered that plus grilles and headlights.
That was 2009, and the IIHS bumper program has since been discontinued. We include it because it’s the only bumper-specific crash-cost research anyone has published, and because it shows what changed: seventeen years ago the whole conversation was about covers, bars, and paint. Nothing has replaced it, and the AAA figures above measure something different.
Expect This
Why Did My Bumper Quote Go Up After Teardown?
Because the first quote was written from the outside. CCC found only 45.5% of calibrations appeared on the initial estimate—the other 54.5% were added later, once the shop had the bumper off and could see what the impact had actually reached. Brackets, absorbers, sensor mounts, and wiring all live behind a cover that may look barely marked.
A revised bumper estimate is usually the shop finding the real job, not inventing one. How estimates work explains supplements and when to push back.
Quick Answers
Bumper Repair Cost FAQ
Documented figures where they exist, and a plain answer where they don’t.
How much does bumper repair cost?
There is no credible current national figure, and anyone showing you a tidy table is guessing. What is documented: AAA priced a minor rear collision scenario on a 2023 vehicle at $1,698.24 in total, of which $684.63 was the driver-assistance work alone. The cost depends almost entirely on whether sensors sit behind the bumper.
Why is a bumper so expensive when it's just plastic?
Because it usually isn't just plastic anymore. A modern bumper can house radar for automatic braking, a camera, and ultrasonic parking sensors. The cover is cheap; the systems behind it and the calibration they need afterward aren't.
Can a bumper be repaired instead of replaced?
Sometimes, and sometimes the manufacturer forbids it. Nissan states it doesn't support any repair, body filler, or paint work on the rear bumper cover in the general area of the side radars. GM caps total paint thickness over ADAS-equipped bumper systems at 13 mils. Where the maker says replace, repair isn't a cheaper option, it isn't an option.
Does a bumper repair need ADAS calibration?
If sensors sit in or behind the damaged area, yes. CCC reports the average calibration fee at $485.56, and Mitchell reports $688 per estimate where calibration is present. Only 45.5% of calibrations appear on the first estimate, so this is a common reason a bumper quote goes up after teardown.
Is the front bumper more expensive than the rear?
Usually, because forward-facing radar and cameras cluster at the front of the vehicle where automatic braking and adaptive cruise need to see. No source publishes a reliable front-versus-rear split, so treat that as a rule of thumb rather than a number.
Sources
- AAA: Cost of ADAS Repairs, 2023 Update. Minor rear collision scenario ($1,698.24 total, $684.63 driver-assistance) and component pricing for radar and ultrasonic sensors. Figures come from constructed repair scenarios across three vehicles, not a claims average.
- CCC Intelligent Solutions: Crash Course 2026. Average calibration fee ($485.56) and scan fee ($149.10).
- CCC Intelligent Solutions: The Current State of Calibrations. Share of calibrations captured on the initial estimate (45.5%) versus added later as supplements.
- Mitchell / Enlyte: 2026 Trends. Average calibration cost per estimate where present ($688).
- I-CAR: Nissan/INFINITI rear bumper repair position statement. No repair, filler, or paint work near the side radars.
- I-CAR: GM ADAS bumper refinish position statement. The 13 mil total film thickness limit.
- I-CAR: Honda/Acura position statement on radar covers. Instruction to replace rather than repair a damaged or cracked radar cover, and the basecoat thickness limit on AcuraWatch 360 systems.
- Insurance Journal: IIHS bumper test results (2009). Historical benchmarks of roughly $1,000 for a cover, reinforcement bar, and paint, and roughly $1,500 with grilles and headlights added. The IIHS bumper program has since been discontinued; these figures are 2009 dollars and aren’t current.
Stop Guessing. Photograph It.
Send photos of the damage and get a range priced for your exact vehicle, sensors and all.