Okay, I have the following blemishes on the exterior of my car:
-Two chips on the front bumper (kinda deep)
-A scratch on my right side of my front bumper
-A scratch on my right side skirt (kinda deep)
-A couples of scratches on my right passenger side door molding (kinda deep)

Should I:

(a) Touch-up these areas with touch-up myself follwed by MOTHERS touch-up paint kit.
(b) Have the dealer take care of it.
(c) Have a Professional/Reliable body shop take care of it.
(d) Do nothing and leave it alone.

Spring/Summer is around the corner. I hate having exterior blemishes on my car and tried my best in preventing them from happening. Any help will be appreciated.

 

anyone???

 

(a) Touch-up these areas with touch-up myself follwed by MOTHERS touch-up paint kit.
(b) Have the dealer take care of it.
(c) Have a Professional/Reliable body shop take care of it.
(d) Do nothing and leave it alone.


This is what I think... Just my 2cents...

(a) You can do it yourself, but it might not look as good as someone professional and might not last too long.

(b) Haha, yea right, unless your family owns it, maybe not even then.

(c) The road I would take.

(d) Don't do that, you'll regret it when your turning heads and everyone says, "thats a badass car, but did you see all the scratches", hehe

Just again, thats just my 2cents

 

Take it to a body shop.......it costs money, but the paint will look great

 

Forget the body shop, personally I would just leave it... WEAR and TEAR... Thats all... I have alot of paint chips on the front bumper, all you can do is admire the spoty look, or a little bit of touch up paint...

 

i say take it to a shop and have them do it and after getting it painted look into getting that 3M paint protection film put on. Thats how i would go anyways...




-Steve

 

I'm with these people take it to a body shop. I just had that 3M film put on my car and it's the best thing I have ever done.

 

I just got a '03 SE myself back in Dec., and I'd sure hate to start on any mods on a new car like that with all those blemishes. Besides, silver is a great color for the Max. If you plan to keep it for awhile and do some mods, I say start with a nice clean canvas and take it to a reliable body shop in your area. AAA has a listing of body shops that their members have rated to be the best all across the country. I recently took my car into one of those shops after getting rear ended by some punk kid, and they did an amazing job.

 

When I had scratches on my bumper the body shop wanted $400. I took to a place called Carnica. They do airbrushing, light sanding and light scratch removal. It only cost $125.

 

Thanks for your opinions guys. I'm gonna go to some body shops this week to see if they are able to help me on my exterior blemish problem. YAMATOSOUL,I feel the same way. I hate blemishes . Is there anything I should ask/look for when going to body shops???

 

YES, do they guarantee or warranty thier work. Are they going to use a paint sealant to make sure the paint doesn't start chipping of in a month or two?

 

As Rgamfn1 indicated, asking about warranty and paint sealant is important. But I what I always like to do after a reliable referral is to check out their staff, facility, and professionalism. Remember, any shop that offers to hide the insurance deductible in the total cost of the repair for you, is not reputible, and can end up hurting your car more than anything. Then, after I'm sold on the shop as a whole, I ask them to explain to me step by step how they will be repairing my car. I'm no pro at body work, but after so many experiences in dealing with body shops, I can tell the difference between a knowledgeable pro and a shady one. Once you come across a good one you'd know the difference too. Be sure to check with the AAA or your insurance co. They're pretty reliable. Let us know how it turns out. Good luck.

 

Actually it's illegal for them to do this in most states.
Talk to your ins. company, usually if you go to one of their recommended bodyshops, they'll guarantee the work. If anything goes wrong you can go back to your ins. company and they'll get it fixed free of charge.

 

Correct. I'm betting it's illegal in all states if not most.

 

My vote is with "C" - Have a body shop do it. However, you should address how these things happened first and adjust your habbits accordingly (park at the end of the lot, don't follow cars to closely, etc.). Of course some dent / dings / scratches are unavoidable, but the last thing you want is to go through this again.

This may cost you a bit, but after the money is spent who cares - it's gone. Unless you own real estate, chances are this is your most valuable posession. Might as well make it look as good as it can!