Hi -- I have a 2006 A4 2.0T Q SDN back in the US, and I've spent the last 7 months in Afghanistan. Instead of storing the car somewhere, I foolishly loaned it to someone, and aside from several door/pane nicks, scratches and dents, she tore the front bumper cover loose in a parking lot.

The car is currently at Carlsen Audi in Palo Alto, CA for the 55k mile service.

<Blockquote>
Carlsen Audi wants $900 to fix the front bumper, but Adam (Amy's
husband) AND one of the Carlsen guys told me I could get it fixed for
a lot cheaper somewhere else. The thing about it is, it is in
perfectly good condition (not dented or anything) -- I parked at
In-and-out and the front bumper snagged on the concrete-parking-thing.
There's just a gap between the front of the car and the front bumper.

The Audi guy says it happens all the time and it's a "design flaw".
But they said they need to replace the ENTIRE bumper, as apparently
they can't just redo the screws that hold the bumper on. It's really
dumb. I simply don't have $900 or even $500 right now to fix it. I
could ask my parents, but they would be mad, but since it's my
responsibility, I'll understand if you want me to ask. ...Or, you
could try to argue with Carlsen that a design flaw should be covered
by the warranty.
</blockquote>

Aside from the obvious (finding a shipping container to store the car in next time I get deployed, or selling it at a loss before leaving again), what is the correct way to fix this? Should I buy a third-party bumper cover and self install, or find an independent shop? I saw some guides on how to do the install on the net, and they look relatively painful but no worse than working on an aircraft. I'm not sure if there are any decent third party bumper covers which would look any better. Is there anything else I can do to the car at the same time once I get the cover off, like putting in front parktronic or a skidplate, to amortize the labor?

I assume the "warranty/design flaw" thing has no real chance of being covered by Audi's CPO warranty, right?

Extra pissed off because I spent the last 7 months riding around in the back of trucks or driving horribly maintained GMCs, pining for my audi.

 

is it the bumper cover....like the leather bra that goes over the bumper or the actual bumper itself is damaged because your wording confuses me

i'll assume both scenerios

scenerio #1 just the bumper bra.....get the bitch who drove the car who put dents and dings in it and ripped the piece off in the first place to pay for it its not your problem because you didn;t do it

scenerio #2 the bumper itself ....get the bitch who drove the car who put dents and dings in it and ripped the piece off in the first place to pay for it its not your problem because you didn;t do it

either way she is the one who is responsible for this damage and if you had your bumper fixed the incident at the in and out would have never happened

also....no need for park tronic, skidplates or armour

just be more careful when you park....take an extra 10 seconds to slowly creep to the parking space thats really all i can say....