maxzma

Well, I don't know what I was thinking and I could just kick myself. Actually, I pretty much have kicked myself. The one and I do mean ONE time I asked my hubby to move my car into the garage and it gets damaged. I must have been out of my mind, knowing that him and cars are like oil and water. I even thought twice about it when I asked him and I thought, oh what could he possibly do, it will be all right.

My poor bumper was bitten by the garage door. He thought it was in far enough and hit the remote and could not stop it. I guess I should give him some credit, he did jump out of the car and push the door away as hard as he could minimizing the damage, so I guess it could have been worse. Thank goodness no dents and it could have hit the spoiler. The bracket went sliding down the back bumper making 4 deep gouges about 3-4 inches long down the center of the bumper. I tried to live with it for a couple of weeks but it is driving me insane. I went yesterday to a body shop and I'm taking it in Monday and they have to remove the rear bumper and repaint it. $350.

I have never had an accident before so I'm not familiar with body work repairs and I am a little nervous. I'm worried that the paint won't match exactly. The guy at the body shop assured me it would. Can anyone give me some reassurance and make me feel better about this? Can the body shops really match the factory paint exactly? This whole thing makes me sick because I am so careful with this car and just the thought of leaving it at a body shop for two days makes me nervous.

Tek-Niq

iTrader: (3)

I hate when work like this is done to my cars..... I did infact have had to bring my cars to get body work done, and the body shops have matched them exact...

I recommend a good known shop not a corner side job, and you should be all set..

I use to work at a dealer. the way they mix the paint is by weight, its very exact..

if you choose a good shop don't worry.....

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

i would buy a new bumper and/or if deductible is low enough check with insurance.

maxzma

If I bought a new bumper does it come prepainted from the factory? Do I just have my dealer order it and they would put it on? Any idea how much a new one would cost?

Our deductible is higher than the damage and I'm not going through insurance.

Tek-Niq

iTrader: (3)

it won't come painted, you will still have to go to a shop and get painted... then you might as well get it installed there....

maxzma

The damage didn't cut into the bumper, so the bumper itself is still good. Being that I would still have to take it to a shop to get it painted anyway buying a new bumper wouldn't be worth it then. The damage is purely cosmetic. I just can't live with looking at these deep scratches going down my bumper. The car just turned a year old.

Tek-Niq

iTrader: (3)

if you don't need the bumper thats more money in your pocket.... they might apply alittle bondo if needed then paint it...

NismoMax80

iTrader: (6)

oh, to me means that it did cut into the bumper. if it is just paint scratches, then you can try touch up paint. otherwise have hubby go around asking for estimates from different shops. Like me you probably prefer to go youself or with him, but why run around using up your time when it was his fault?

jinsatx

Don't feel that you're alone. My wife's Max is a 1 1/2 months old and when she went to the gym the other night she backed into a concrete post and scrapped up the rear bumber cover to the tune of a $230 repair. I'm still trying to figure out how she hit the post since there are only three of them in a 300 space lot and there were hardly any cars in the lot that night. Oh well, she's going to pay to have it fixed as I refuse to look at the damaged bumper for another 47 payments. Hopefully she has learned to be a little more careful when backing up.

04BlackMaxx

I shut the garage door on the bumper and it caused a 6" circular area of minor scrapes on the pass side of the bumper which I almost totally buffed away, still looks kinda dull in certain light. It sounded alot worse though. I also grazed a wall I think...at a drive through, and it removed some pieces of paint from the bumper under the gas tank door. Cant tell because under the black paint, is black plastic...ONYX RULES! Most recent was a minor crease in the pass door from a door thats so vague im the only one who sees it lol. It sounded alot worse though. All in all...2 years down with 3 to go...I feel Ive been lucky because unless youre looking for this stuff you'd never tell.

Jeffs04SE

my back bumper has some nice noticable scratches on it. one being about 3" thick and 6"s long from the snowblower this past winter. dosent bother me much since i did it but next to it there is 2 vertical scratches that were caused from the employee of the month sign at work. also happened during the same snowstorm, the snow was piled up it front of it and i backed right in to the sign. everytime i wash my car i seem to notice more knicks, dings and scratches

SilverMax_04

Best advice on this thread. Don't pick the cheapest shop. Try and get a recommendation from someone who recently had body work and was happy with the work.

I had almost 25% of my front bumper shroud (the steel bumper is behind it) "explode away" after being hit at 75 MPH by a saddle that came out of the back of a pickup truck that was hauling a horse trailer. The saddle bounced on the interstate and into my bumper as I was passing the trailer. Both right tires rolled over the saddle.

Long story short: The horse owner's car insurance and mine were the same and paid all of the costs ($2,500) to replace all that was damaged. Went to a body shop where I knew the paint tech and you can not tell that the front shroud was not even new -- it was "used" and repainted. A good paint tech can do wonders.

maxzma

I appreciate everyone's advice and support, it's been helpful. I dropped my car off yesterday morning to a shop I felt pretty comfortable with. I tried to do as much research as I could. They've been around for 23 years and are listed with the BBB reliability program. Being that we haven't lived here that long, I kinda had to go with my gut on this one. I pick it up late this afternoon so I'll let you all know how it looks.

You're right 04BlackMaxx, it is black underneath the paint. If I had the Onyx I probably wouldn't have even messed with it. I did try touch-up paint that I had my dealer order and it looked horrible. Didn't even match. You just can't paint four 4" long stripes down the center of your bumper and make it look good.

chernmax

iTrader: (15)

I had the same problem, everytime I park my car in the garage, I get out and physically ensure the garage door has enough clearance. Finally I went to Walmart and found a yellow garage mat with 2 small bumps, now I drive the car in, pass over the first small bump and close the garage door, no problem, distance is correct every time.

My buddy did it a cheaper way, he attached a Tennis ball to a string and attached it to his garage ceiling. The hanging tennis ball is low enough to touch his front windshield, when he enters his garage, he moves slowly forward till the tennis ball touches his windshield and he's in. Close the door... No Problem.

maxzma

My baby is back and I'm back in action. The shop did a superb job. It is flawless and the match is perfect. In fact, I think it looks better. (Is that possible?) I couldn't be happier. I can finally sleep now. Only bad part is they told me not to wax the bumper for 90 days. 90 DAYS!!!! Ugh, just another thing to drive me insane! Oh well, I'll do anything it takes not to mess it up. Hope I don't forget!

Great tips chernmax! I might have to try one of those. Right now I line my door up with the middle of a ladder that's securely strapped to the wall. (Hubby has now been informed of this as well) That's how I know I'm in far enough. It has never failed me. Tonight when I put it in the garage I was so paranoid after this that I had to get out and double check it just in case. All is well.