I forgot to apply my parking brake last night and my car rolled forward into a wooden fence that put several scratches on my bumper.

I went to a body shop and they said they would remove the bumper and repaint it for $500.

A lot of moolah for some scratches. Buffing it would I think would improve some of it but I don't think it will completely go away. Touch up paint will look bad as there is too much of a widespread affected area.

Can anyone recommend some less expensive alternatives? Thanks!

 

That's a shame. Don't you hat it when that happens?

$500 seems like an arbitrary number. I wonder what a different shop might say.

I've had a few bumpers painted (a while back) for about $300. The paint never really adhered, though. It peeled off over the years.

I don't think that bumper painting (beyond touch-up) would be a diy proposition. They told me it took a special paint, but I was never happy with the finish or with the way it lasted.

Good luck. I'll be interested to see what you decide to do. I might have to do the same thing myself again one day.

Cheers.

 

The average price to refinish a bumper is $350 - $400. Id take that estimate to another shop and have them beat it.

 

Thanks for the tips. The smart thing would be for me to shop around, but since it bothers me to drive my car around with that blemish I wanna have it done right away. Maybe I'll ask that shop if they can lower the estimate, or I'll do a little more price shopping.

 

Sorry to hear about the little mishap. I think you can always find someone who can repaint the bumper for less but, I would take into consideration the quality of work they do over their price and find someone that falls in the middle.

 

Remember if its good its not cheap, if its cheap its not good.

 

The shop I went to is the one that my Honda dealer uses. Maybe that's why they're pricey - because the quality HAS to be good since it's used by the dealership?

 

that doesn't mean a thing. don't think you get better quality
cause the dealer uses them.
just saying do your research. so you don't get screwed.

 

Damn!!... you could almost buy a new bumper for that price!!

 

i think you should repaint it...That's the best thing to do...

 

Depending on how deep it is maybe wetsand/compound? Also if you get it repainted try to express concern over swirl marks (if you care for that sort of stuff) upon getting it back since some shops just use random rags to wipe the surface afterwards.

 

Well, I turned it into the shop just now. After a little pleading they reduced the price to around $470, so that made me feel better. Still, I had to rent a car which adds more to the tally.

After speaking with several of the shop personnel I feel more confident in choosing them.

I'll just have to make up for the cost in other places in my daily routine. Of course that will take years to recover, lol.

About the swirl marks, I have black and you can blow on the car and you'll see swirl marks. So I don't think advising them of that will help. Besides, the car is fairly clean right now and again, I get a sense that they're the type of shop that takes pride in their work.

 

Im sure they will do a good job. For that price Id buy diapers to wipe the bumper down

Hope everything works out the way you want it to

 

I got my car back yesterday and they did a fabulous job. It looks exactly stock. They also did a full detail in/out on the car and even that job showed attention to detail (they even completely cleaned between the split spokes on the wheels).

 

My family friend hook up for paint said paint has gone up in price since in Cali supposedly they are waterbased which takes a much longer time to paint and work with. I use to get my bumpers painted for around $125 and now it has gone up to about $300.

 

Thanks for that info. Yes, that water-based paint is responsible for all those paint chips you see on the front of your car.

 

clear bra time?

 

Not for me as you can see...imagine if I HAD a bra. I would have to replace the bra as well s repaint the bumper. I would rather have the bumper repainted if and when it gets pockmarked with chips down the road, which may not be long, hehe.

 

If I were you, I would wait til my next mishap... and then the next, until i need to sell the car.

I realize that a car, like people, will age, and get bruised as time goes on. worrying about blemishes on the car will only get you more gray hair, so why bother? one day it will sit in the junk yard, no matter how much you baby it today. that's life. save the 500 bucks and buy some good blue chip stocks now. that money will multiply surely in a few years as economy bounces back. at that time, use that extra money to buy a better Fit (w/ shiny new bleminish-free paint and more whistles and bells).

 

Lots of wisdom here, particularly if you like to drive a lot. They don't stay pristine if you put the miles on them, no matter how hard you try.