Hey Chris,

I'm not "one of the guys" but I worked in the body shop industry for many
years and  this is what I would do.

Call your insurance company, pay your deductible and have it fixed.

If you are dead set against that then:

Aftermarket parts are rarely as good quality as OEM when it comes to body
panels. Often they will not align properly and even at times holes will not
match up correctly.
To R&I the bumpers and fenders should be pretty easy, even for a novice such
as yourself BUT you will have to have the parts professionally repainted to
make them look right.

If the bumper was hit hard enough, you may have hidden frame damage. Again,
the right way to go would be through a body shop. If nothing else, they can
put it up on a rack and measure it out to see if it's still structurally
sound. Most shops will give you a free estimate, this can give you a list of
the parts you will need to repair it if you're determined to do so. Remember
that there are airbag sensors in the front too, caution is important.

If you repair it yourself, and there is unseen damage or a problem later, it
may void your warranty in some way or another and can even effect the
vehicle's ability to handle another collision.

This would be a great opportunity to replace the rinky dink bumper that
comes on the Jeep with a good one. Though it may cost you a pretty penny,
you could get something that would look better, work better and protect your
rig better.

Best of luck, and let us know what you come up with!

Kate
2O|||||||O6 Rubicon

Hey all Jeep owners...I have a 2005 Rubicon Unlimited....very factory,
have made no customizations to it thus far.  I'm not very mechanically
inclined, e.g. I don't change my own oil or really do anything myself
to the Jeep.  Last week I hit a patch of ice and slammed the front
passenger side of the Jeep into a cement wall.  It shoved the front-
right part of the bumper up about 6 inches into the
fender...basically, that part of the bumper is trashed, and both
fenders need replaced.  The fog light on that side is also broken.  My
question is:

1) Would you replace the bumper and fenders with the factory stock, or
are there better non-Jeep made bumpers out there that you would
recommend?

2) Is it tough to replace a bumper, or could a more mechanically
inclined buddy of mine and I pull it off?

3) It looks like most non-factory bumpers don't have the fog lamps on
the bumper...so if I went this route, would I just disconnect the
other fog lamp that is working?

4) If I don't go the DIY route, I'm having trouble finding service
places in the area who would do non-Jeep customizations to a Jeep...I
live metro-Detroit, so obviously there are a lot of Chrysler
dealerships, but would they only work with factory replacement parts??

Thanks in advance for any advice you guys can offer!

-Chris

Aftermarket for the bumpers.  Get good steel and not that stock crap they use.
Stock for the fenders, since I doubt you want to tube fender it.

10 minutes, and a couple of wrenches is all it takes.
-jenn

For the bumper go on EBay, there are tons of aftermarket bumpers which
look nice and are cheaper then stock.  Try the Warn bumper, I have
this on my Jeep and it is great. Also so many people are upgrading
they will sell the stock bumper for next to nothing.  For the fog
lights, buy some after market 100watt ones and you will actually be
able to see.  Check out any 4x4 website.
For the fenders, just go to to a body shop and get them fixed, if not
ask them to go to a junk yard and pick up a set.

Hope this helps, remember the stock parts are $$$ while used parts are
$.