Subaru scratched bumper

[Donald]

Someone backed into my Forester and scratched the paint off about 6" long and 1/2" wide. The bumper base is black. Painted white.

What is the proper repair? Repaint the entire bumper? What about the bumper pad that prevents scratching the bumper when you pull out a suitcase? I think it's held with pressure sensitive glue strips.

The person was about to drive off when someone told my daughter that the car was scratched. It had been parked.

 

[raytseng]

go to autobody/paint shop and talk it over with a pro. It is more skill/art then specific procedures and a lot depends on how much you personally are comfortable with paying and for what result. So there are cheaper options and more expensive options esp. if you're paying out of pocket.

You can just build up a ton of scratches and then just replace the whole bumper cover later down the road too rather then paying to fix it after every scratch. yes stuff like bumper pads and like badges are held on with glue, and it costs labor time for them to remove prep and replace those bits.

Sometimes it's less expensive in labor just to get a new part rather then do all hours to prep an even slightly damaged part.


As far a prevention, a big bumper pad is ugly and what's the point of protecting the bumper if you're just covering it up. especially if your intention is to keep the car. Only if you're in a tight city where it's pretty much expected to use the bumpers in parallel parking

I would suggest instead to look into Paint protection film if you want to reduce the cosmetic damage from bumps.

 

[JHZR2]

So the guilty party was caught???? Police report?

The right repair, IMO, is to remove the bumper, strip/sand/prime/paint, bake it in the oven, then re-install bump strip and re-install the bumper.

Something along those lines... IOW, off the car, proper bake/cure, etc.

 

[Leo99]

It's a war wound. A battle scar.

 

[SatinSilver]

Mobile paint repair guy will take care of it for a reasonable amount if you're paying for it on your dime. Call up some dealerhsips and ask the used car manager who they recommend. The dealerships here do it even though they state of the art body shops.

 

[05LGTLtd]

Kits like scratch wizard are a pretty cheap DIY option. Take your time and it will come out ok if not great.

I had a cracked bumper that I took off and had repaired at an Indy shop for pretty reasonable. For a scratch, I'd go the DIY route first. Good enough is good enough. It will probably get dinged again, and if you get to charge someone else's insurance, the shop will probably roll it into the repair if they are reasonable at all.

 

[Donald]

Not my dime. I will get it done right. No use making it a heap before it's time.

 

[Donald]

Originally Posted By: raytseng
go to autobody/paint shop and talk it over with a pro. It is more skill/art then specific procedures and a lot depends on how much you personally are comfortable with paying and for what result. So there are cheaper options and more expensive options esp. if you're paying out of pocket.

You can just build up a ton of scratches and then just replace the whole bumper cover later down the road too rather then paying to fix it after every scratch. yes stuff like bumper pads and like badges are held on with glue, and it costs labor time for them to remove prep and replace those bits.

Sometimes it's less expensive in labor just to get a new part rather then do all hours to prep an even slightly damaged part.


As far a prevention, a big bumper pad is ugly and what's the point of protecting the bumper if you're just covering it up. especially if your intention is to keep the car. Only if you're in a tight city where it's pretty much expected to use the bumpers in parallel parking

I would suggest instead to look into Paint protection film if you want to reduce the cosmetic damage from bumps.


The bumper pad I mentioned is on the top section of the bumper and only designed to prevent scratching the bumper when pulling a heavy suitcase from the hatchback area.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: SatinSilver
Mobile paint repair guy will take care of it for a reasonable amount if you're paying for it on your dime. Call up some dealerhsips and ask the used car manager who they recommend. The dealerships here do it even though they state of the art body shops.


That's terrible advice. The dealerships will always use the lowest cost vendor and the quality of the work is usually commensurate. Mobile paint repair services really lack the proper environment, supplies and tools to perform a high-quality refinishing job- I've yet to see one that performed decent work.

 

[JTK]

Critic, you have to consider though, the vendor the dealer uses probably isn't going to quote the quick, dirty and cheap price that they would for a dealer on site repair. You would think (or hope?), it would be a better and more costly private repair.

Yeah, that's a bummer on a white Subaru, especially being so new. Being a bumper scar on a daily driver, I'd leave it alone or just touch it up myself.

Pretty sure parking lot mishaps are all no-fault in NYS regardless, unless the other party wants to pay out of pocket to you.

 

[The Critic]

Originally Posted By: JTK
Critic, you have to consider though, the vendor the dealer uses probably isn't going to quote the quick, dirty and cheap price that they would for a dealer on site repair. You would think (or hope?), it would be a better and more costly private repair.

I guess I am a bit jaded, but most body shop work that I've seen is blatantly obvious. Shops that dealerships partner with tend to be "average" at best, so they are generally no better (or worse) than what I expect to see.