fixing Micra K12 bumper for the NCT

dybbuk · 20-03-2022 4:54pm #1

Micra K12 failed the NCT last week because of ( a wheel bearing and) a damaged/broken bumper.

I expressed a surprise because in my understanding the car passed last year with the same damage. The mechanic said that it looked recent and we walked to the car. He said "it is not secure".

IMHO it was. But I have to pay for a retest now and it absolutely should not fail again because: if I have to do another full test, the car is very likely to fail on other points ( I was surprised they passed a tyre that the very person who fitted it said would never pass).

I was unable to find another bumper, googled and tried DIY. But I pretty much failed at it. (Mainly because I tried gluing it without removing it. (It is really difficult to remove and the pins break)) I did put some glue on the inside, tape on the outside and attached the loose side off the fog light to the black grille with a cable tie.

Will this pass? Any ideas?

(pics in the next comment)

dybbuk · 20-03-2022 4:55pm

Atlantic Dawn · 20-03-2022 5:03pm

It's sharp edges or risk of falling off that it would fail on. Looking at it now I'd say it will pass, assuming it's not really loose when they inspect it.

On a side note it has been repaired before with fibreglass, this would be a great way to fix it again, it's relatively easy stuff to work with and most motor factors will sell it.

dybbuk · 20-03-2022 5:56pm

To me, the sharpest points would be the cable ties. Could they fail it on that?

And it is definitely not "really loose". But the thing is: it wasn't loose in the first test either. It looked disorderly, that's all. I saw/see no reason to fail a technical test.

It hasn't been fixed before. What you see there is what is left of my attempts to fix it:

I tried gluing a plastic mesh I had over the cracks with epoxy glues I had. On the inside I did manage to glue on a piece, albeit not where it would really hold the bumper together. And on the outside I failed completely. So you can see the epoxy glue with the imprint of the mesh that I took back off. So it has never been repaired before.

20-03-2022 6:27pm

Not sure why it fails NCT, possible dead body was on trunk. Toss it and pass NCT

Atlantic Dawn · 20-03-2022 6:43pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118810351#Comment_118810351

They take pedestrian and cyclists interacting with your vehicle for the shape edges, if they were on the side of the wheel arch they would be a danger but where they are not I can't see how someone would come in to contact with them unless they were placing their foot under the bumper. I suppose you could change the cable ties so they lock inside the bumper instead of outside to be sure.

MakersMark · 20-03-2022 7:11pm

Why are you OK driving a car that you think will fail the NCT if it gets a full test?

Wouldn't you be better off fixing everything?

Kind of like the people that take the kids car seats out before an NCT in cast they fail....dont you want to know if your car seats are mounted correctly???

dybbuk · 20-03-2022 9:57pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118810722#Comment_118810722

Remarkable! I am really not sure I can provide an answer your comment would deserve, but I feel that leaving it unanswered would be rude and a waste. So, I will try and limit myself to answering your questions, cautiously:

Why am I OK?

As a child I fell of my tricycle. It must have damaged my limbic system because ever since I rode bicycles, fell again; got into this vicious circle. Now I like living on the edge. I get a kick out of driving incompletely NCTed vehicles, eating unwashed apples not having a dental insurance, etc.

Secondly, indeed it would be better to fix everything and I used to strive to. But it was years ago, and unlike you, I didn’t do it online then. So people stronger than myself, didn’t agree with my ambitions. It only exacerbated the issue with my limbic system. If you dm me your address, I can try to replicate this experience for you.

Your last question is what makes your comment so exceptional. It is a phenomenal feat and a leap of both: deductive logic and unbridled imagination that I find hard to top.

At the risk of giving the impression of being terribly dull and inadequate, I will confess that I am a worse person than you so perceptively deduced.

My shrink diagnosed me as a “bad person”. Like most Russians, I ate my children when they were babies. So I never had these seats you worry about. My shrink, also a Russian, says I cannot delay gratification: now I will never know what my grandchildren would taste like.

Sweet dreams!

mayota · 01-04-2022 10:29pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118811543#Comment_118811543

Wtf

dybbuk · 04-04-2022 12:57pm

It is called "satire".

When I had the wheel bearing fixed, I asked a few guys there about the taped up bumper and one of them was of the opinion that it wouldn't pass because the bumper was now registered as broken - a "major" fault - and thus it was too late to try hiding the faults under the tape. But he said that it would have passed if I had taped it before the first test.

Everybody else said it'd pass and one guy said that the NCT people aren't allowed to remover the tape. I find the latter statement very interesting: it would mean that in general I could fix quite a few things with tapes, glues, pastes and paints. Is that true?

I had to be sure I'd pass this time though and this man's opinion worried me. So I removed the tape and someone kinda smeared the bumper's melting plastic with a soldering iron over the cracks and painted it over. He charged me eur50 for that. The car passed and this fix might be stronger or longer lasting than the tape and it looks better too. I can add a pic or two later if it interests any one.