Ford Mondeo Mark 3 2006 - Puzzling Bodywork Damage?

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Mon 8 Aug 2016 20:00
Ford Mondeo Mark 3 2006 - Puzzling Bodywork Damage? - Galaxy

I returned to my parked car the other day to find a noticeable gap between the bottom of the rear offside wing and top of the rear bumper. I have absolutely no idea as to how this damage has occurred, but I've taken the following photos:

http://tinypic.com/r/muc103/9

http://tinypic.com/r/s650jk/9

http://tinypic.com/r/2i0ugcw/9

Could another vehicle have hit the side of my car? If this is the case then, I do have to say, there is no other damage whatsoever, and, in addition, there are no contact marks, either.

Could my car been hit from behind by a vehicle manoeuvring into a parking place behind me, so pushing the bumper out? Once again, however, there are no contact marks.

Can these flimsy bumpers just pop out like this on their own? It was extremely hot on the day this happened, so I just wonder whether a plastic internal bracket, or similar, could have broken on it's own, allowing the bumper to distort.

Of course, I am assuming the problem is the bumper popping out, and not the wing being pushed in, but, in all honestly, I'm not 100% sure which it is.

I'd be extremely grateful for any ideas, please.

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Tue 9 Aug 2016 01:37
Ford Mondeo Mark 3 2006 - Puzzling Bodywork Damage? - liammcl

I'd take a picture of the other side , Galaxy
and compare what's in or out , relative to that ....

hope that helps
Liam

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Tue 9 Aug 2016 10:20
Ford Mondeo Mark 3 2006 - Puzzling Bodywork Damage? - Peter D

Pop into a body shop and ask them. They will have seen this type of damage before. Regards Peter

Edited by Peter D on 09/08/2016 at 10:21

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Wed 10 Aug 2016 00:38
Ford Mondeo Mark 3 2006 - Puzzling Bodywork Damage? - Wackyracer

Someone has probably gone into the back of it and made the side pop out. It's probably just caught on the edge of the plastic bracket that is behind there.

I would think you could just push the bumper up from below and tap it in with the palm of your hand.

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Wed 10 Aug 2016 20:48
Ford Mondeo Mark 3 2006 - Puzzling Bodywork Damage? - Galaxy

Tried that today, Wackyracer, but I'm afraid it didn't work.

So, I paid a visit to my local Ford Main Dealer to ask for some idea as to what had happened to my car and an estimate for it's repair. They told me it was £10 for an estimate, refundable if I had the work done by them. You can't get very much done at a main dealer's for £10 these days so I went ahead.

They took some details then asked me to sit in their waiting area. A couple of minutes later their estimator came out and spoke to me, so I told him the story. We then walked over to my car.

First thing he said was that someone has definitely gone into the back of it! It didn't happen due to the heat where it was parked on Sunday. He took a few photos then examined the damage carefully with his eyes.

What he did next absolutely amazed me!

He grabbed the edge of the bumper really hard, pulled it out further still, then, as if by magic, he managed to push the whole edge back into the plastic bracket that's mounted on the rear! I just looked on; I didn't think you'd get things like that done at a main dealers! I actually thought he was going to tear the bumper in half, he was pulling on it so hard, but I guess that if you work in a bodyshop you know how far you can go with these things.

He did point out that it's not 100% perfect and he's right. The plastic edge of the bumper is very slightly out of line and the estimator told me there's a very slight dent in the metal rear wing, but I can barely see it.

So, I asked him how much that was going to cost. He replied that the £10 estimate fee would cover it! I was well pleased.

I only wish, now, that I'd asked him to continue with the originally requested estimate, but I rather think I'll probably live with how it is now. I actually looked at the other side and, to be perfectly honest, that's not perfectly in line, either. Plastic parts, don't you just love them!

I would say the repair I had done in the Ford Main Dealer's car park this morning is about 95%; on a nine year old car I would probably say that's OK.

New photo: tinypic.com/r/2cyjr45/9

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions and advice.

Edited by Galaxy on 10/08/2016 at 20:52

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Thu 11 Aug 2016 15:42
Ford Mondeo Mark 3 2006 - Puzzling Bodywork Damage? - Peter D

Park it in the sunshine on thr rear and allow the plastic to return to normal. Regards Peter

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