Mazda Rear Bumper Cover Replace

And so it came to be that our Mazda was driven home into the garage thusly:

Two bolts on the right hand side refusing to let go, otherwise it would have been lost on the road.

Anyway, with all bolt holes and brackets broken off and a previous dent not helping any, it needed another bumper. My first thought was to take it to an auto body repair place. But then I started to think (a process which does not come naturally to me) and slowly but surely I figured out how this bumper was actually attached to the car. Previously, I had never shown any interest in bumpers (why should I?), so to my amazement I discovered that this part is not actually called a bumper, but a bumper cover!

Armed with some technical advice from son-in-law Greg, I decided to tackle the job myself. First task was to find a matching cover at an auto recycler (politically incorrect term is junkyard). I got lucky there: Woodstock Auto Recycling had a ‘97 (ours is a ‘98) in the right colour. So I drove up there (30 minutes) along with some of my tools. The cover was already off the car in the parts area, but I needed some other smaller parts, so they told me where the car was. Lo and behold, all the parts were still in one piece on the old car and were fairly easy to take off.

Next task, remove tail lights and inner lining of trunk so you can get at the bolts that hold the ‘real’ bumper to the car.

Then, remove the bumper, which is basically a aluminum beam, very light weight.

Now fit the bumper into the bumper cover and attach with clips. Notice how the aluminum bumper rests within a bed of styrofoam.

Next, lift the bumper up into its final resting place and have an assistant hold it in place while you check for fit (or go for coffee).

All done. Time elapsed: about 3 hours. A pro could probably do it in less than an hour. Total cost $113, plus gas back and forth to Woodstock. Sometimes you just get lucky.