I was wondering if forum members might be able to give me a steer on something. 

 

A kamikaze pigeon went head first into the front of my vRS the other day. As far as I can tell, the damage seems limited to a broken front grill - the black moustache shaped bit located under the Skoda badge, and on which the vRS badge is clipped. I can't see any other damage to the engine just behind the grill, and as far as I can tell I have got rid of any residual feathers etc...most of the carcass fell off as I was driving home.

 

I initially booked into a dealer for a check over the car and a replacement grill, but it seems as if I would need to drive the car to and back from the dealer at least twice because the part wouldn't be in stock. Also I am being told the grill is part of the bumper, which seems to increase cost significantly.

 

First of all, am I being paranoid about the possibility of some stray object (smaller than a pigeon) ricocheting up through the gap in the grill and on to the bits at the front of the engine, possibly causing damage? And does anyone have any experience with replacement grills - are they part of the bumper - and any thoughts about ordering parts online and getting a body shop to separately install?

 

Thanks for any assistance with this.

Pretty sure it is part of the bumper. Superskoda do a honeycomb one but fitting it requires taking the bumper off and cutting out the existing one: http://www.superskoda.com/Skoda/OCTAVIA-III/Octavia-III-front-grille-in-OEM-honeycomb-design-KI-R

This is a proper bird strike: