Hi Gang,

I'll be the first to admit, this is supposed to be small peanuts...a scraped bumper.

I was backing down from a tall driveway this weekend, and scraped the bottom front right bumper. It screwed up the bottom of the bumper, and I am wondering if it's worth getting repaired. I won't do insurance because it would be less than 500 for sure. It's one of those things that just is going to bug me unless I do something about it. I tried touch up paint, and from a distance it looks okay. How much would a paint shop charge for a repair. Is it worth it. Many would say it's just a small 2 inch spot on the bottom of the bumper and it might happen again. So why fix it. It just won't be fun detailing it knowing i won't be able to get it perfect. I used a sponge like touch up stick...

Maybe I am just nuts, but I am plain sick over it because the car was flawless before.

If anyone one can give me advice (not pitty because besides you guys, I have not uttered a word to anyone). I knew buying a 50,000 plus car would bring a few headaches, but this scratch really bugging me.

 

Did the exact same thing to my car when it was several weeks old, really frustrating on a brand new car. But mine is now almost three years old, so the prices I quote are a bit dated. Depending where you are will affect labor as well. I never actually had mine done, so I'm still riding around with the scrape, but being low down makes it hard to notice.

First, find out who your dealer uses for body work. At the time, my dealer thought the scrape could be buffed down and repainted. No perfect but definitely less noticable and less expensive. The obnly other option is to buy a new bumper cover (I think that's the term they used) and have it painted. As I recall the cover, primed but unpainted was around $250. Depending on labor in your area, you're probably looking at $250-$300 or so for painting and install. At least that was what I was quoted 2 1/2 years ago..

 

Thanks for your insight...this looks like just a repaint since the cover bumper was only scratched, but it gives me hope I will just get over it and move on... I will for the heck of it, get a quote for the work, just for peace of mind.

 

Where is the scrape? Is it underneath the bumper? What color is your car?

I scrape the bottom once in a while. I have the M-Tech kit and the scratches bug me too, mostly because I know they're there. So, I sprayed undercoating on the bottom of the bumper. I put the car on my Rhino ramps and taped it off then sprayed away using 3M Undercoating (it's black and textured). It looks great and easy to touch up when I scrape something. I once pulled too close to a concrete parking stop and scrapped the lip where it wraps around. When I sprayed the undercoating, I wrapped it around to cover the spot.

 

Yes, you will get over it! It may take a while, but you will. Just a scratch can likley be repainted. Mine has some deep gouges in the plastic, hence talk of replacing... Good luck!

 

The first one always hurts the most

 

2 things you can do

1 upgrade it with the M kit or AC kit that way it will cover it.
2 just leave it ( that is what I have done)

I dont think itis worth it just to get the 2 inch mark painted again. what happens if you mark it again got it painted again.

wait for 1 to 2 year and get it painted then you will get stone chips on the front.
I got about 15 stone chip 2 big 1`s

 

I lived for a year with a rash on the lower right corner of the front bumper. Finally paid $200 to have a guy come to my house and air paint it. ie. no oven needed. I would not recommend this for any body panel other than the lower bumper skirts. BUT... On the lower bumper, I can never tell that the area was sanded, filled, sanded again and painted. It took the guy 1 hour in all. His truck was fully equipped with compressor and the basic colors he needed. He had a manual that helped him mix the color perfectly once he had the TI GRAU II code from under the hood. Best $200 spent on the car.

The service is available in most cities.

http://www.aerocolours.com/locations.html

 

I've lived about 5 months now, after my girlfriend parked my car and scratched the bottom corner of my front bumper. She hit one of those parking blocks thing and dented the bumper, so I asked her to back it out and played around wtih it a bit, the dent came out fine, but the scratches were there. I was so upset, but lived with it, cause when I bring it in, my dealer was like, its very likely it'll happen again, plus with scratches like these, its better to leave it then to fix it, because they have to spray a much larger spot than just those scratches, so its not worth the trouble.

 

I recommend to find a local mobile painters they come to you tape up your bumper they paint on site
the scraped part of the bumper and blend in the rest this is the most tarzanian way but its better
than spending lots of money on painting and possible labor costs...

ps: your most famous local car wash people might have a contact of mobile painting service
it should not cost you more than 100 depending on the scrape of course

my 0.02..

best regards,
Tony