Need help adjusting hood and bumper

[dlock13]

So I had to take my Matrix into the shop a while back to get fixed. Winter ended and I finally noticed something that the body shop didn't fix properly. The hood was a wee bit crooked and there was this noticeable gap on the sides of it which needs drop down quite a bit. On the front passenger bumper, it's sort of sagging to the point you can see the clips.

I asked them about fixing the gap, they just straightened the hood and called it a day. I asked them about the gap in the bumper, they said plastic ones tend to do that and there's not much they can do.

I'm not a car guy obviously, but I feel like that's bull shit on their end for just not wanting to take the hour (or whatever) to fix both parts. I don't want to deal with those guys again at the body shop because it seems like they're taking the cheap/easy way out of doing a little more labor (if that's the case).

Anyway, I'll take pictures of the hood/bumper and post them on here so I can get a better understanding. Is it easy to fix the bumper or hood? Will the dealership I bought it from take care of that for me?

 

[dlock13]

Here are the pictures!

Driver Side Bumper:

Passenger Side Bumper:

Driver Side Hood:

Passenger Side Hood:

 

[phucheneh]

What did you have done to the car?

They are correct. To some extent. Modern cars do not have much in the way of adjustment. A bumper cover has none. A little warpage to the plastic...never the same again. One haphazard removal...never the same again.

It takes some familiarity/finesse before you can actually remove and install your typical plastic bumper cover and leave zero evidence of your work.

That said, your issues really aren't of that nature. It doesn't look like anything is loose or installed wrong. No corners sticking out on the bumper, no excessive gap between it and the fenders, ect. I don't see much to complain about. Even the hood doesn't look bad...the gaps are wide but not terribly uneven.

Perhaps point out your issues a bit more specifically and/or take closeups?

edit: Didn't notice pics were huge. On closer examination, the hood looks like it's sitting up too high, which why the gaps look so wide. And one side of the bumper looks to be drooping at the back. Should be one 10mm bolt at the corner. Can't remember if you have to pull back fender liner or not. If it's tight, there's not much else you can do.

 

[dlock13]

edit: Didn't notice pics were huge. On closer examination, the hood looks like it's sitting up too high, which why the gaps look so wide. And one side of the bumper looks to be drooping at the back. Should be one 10mm bolt at the corner. Can't remember if you have to pull back fender liner or not. If it's tight, there's not much else you can do.

So do you know how I would go about fixing the hood? I want to drop it about .5". I think that would make it sit flush and look great.

Also, how would I go about fixing the bumper? I mean, how could I get in there to even view if it is missing a bolt?

 

[Black2na]

HA that sir was not repaired with OEM panels but with aftermarket units! while acceptable you will not Get oem body lines and fit or finish. they didnt do a terrible job with the crap they were probly given to work with. what year is your matrix and how many miles? think it like 12-18months and like 24k miles there policy is to put OEM parts on but it varies from insurance company to insurance company

 

[sontakke]

Seriously, there are very few collision repair shops which can do better job than the one yours have done. I have seen lot worse and some of that was done to my own vehicles.