[R/T_Brett]

I had a little mishap just a bit ago. I pulled into the parking lot of a store and up to one of those parking blocks, I didn't even realize it sat as high as it did until I heard the big SCRAPE!!!!! It looks aweful, I mean for the most part it just looks scratched but it did go deep at parts. What could I do to fix this, anyone faced a similar situation. I'm still getting used to the car sitting so low. Would anyone reccommend letting the dealership fix it? My wife is so upset right now, I can't stand the fact that I messed up her car (baby) Please give me some advice, pointers, anything!

Its scraped from the left side all the way over to the center.

 

[cbrenn71]

are you planning to do the repairs yourself?

you have a few choices

1- take it to a shop. let them do the work.

2-take the bumper off, prep it, fill it with some plastic filler/epoxy, sand down,prep for paint and then:

3- either have someone spray it then or spray it yourself.

if you use touch up paint on something that scratched, it wont look very nice at all.

 

[rockadaous]

I'd just have a shop do it. Get some estimates. shouldn't be that much

 

[R/T_Brett]

That's what I was wondering. I'm taking it to the Mazda dealership to see what they can do. I'm hoping for a buff or sanding in that one area and then a paint job just in that area and not the whole bumper. Like the guy told me, don't worry about underneathe so much cause that stuff will happen eventually on our terrible Michigan roads but the visible scratch on front I should take care of, espceially since it bothers us so much. Honestly it probably wouldnt be as visible to you as it is to us.

 

[rockadaous]

That's what I was wondering. I'm taking it to the Mazda dealership to see what they can do. I'm hoping for a buff or sanding in that one area and then a paint job just in that area and not the whole bumper. Like the guy told me, don't worry about underneathe so much cause that stuff will happen eventually on our terrible Michigan roads but the visible scratch on front I should take care of, espceially since it bothers us so much. Honestly it probably wouldnt be as visible to you as it is to us.

take it to a body shop. The dealer will gank ya..... or at least get a second opinion

 

[R/T_Brett]

I'm startin with the dealership, it most likely wont be my final choice. Next choice is a friend of ours works at a chevy dealership he said he may be able to get me a deal then I will check other places. I was also told to try my insurance office, they may have bodyshops they reccommend that will eat the deductible. I have to start somewhere...I just wonder if anyone will just be able to fix the one little section and blend the new paint in as best as possible without having to paint the entire bumper?

 

[coachholland]

My guess that any paint shop will tell you it will be just as cheap to paint the whole bumper. Pretty much the same amount of prep work and they'll need to mix a minimum amount of paint anyway. Probably quicker to paint the whole part instead of trying to blend anyway and you'll be happier with the results.

 

[Dodgems]

I agree with coach. We have a couple guys in a van come to the dealership to "fix" used vehicles. They spray little areas and it looks GREAT.....for a couple months..... then you can see the paint ages differently than the original. Case in point... I found out after I bought our neon that they did some touch-up on my bumper and fender. the fender still looks good but the paint used on the bumper isnt flaking...it's just different . faded and a different shade. You can really tell it was touched up now that it's been on for a while.
Moral is to have the whole bumper painted so you wont be looking at it every day wondering when it will start to look bad again. I had an estimate from a body shop we deal with of $300. to repaint both my bumpers (misc little marks on front and under warr. my dodge dealer trashed my tailgate and bumper and I am still not happy with their work and wanted it done right), the right front wheel molding(Wife hit her Neon with my D before the temp tags were off my D arrgghhh) and my drivers door(egged). Now thats a heck of a deal for all that.....but for one bumper it shouldnt be too bad. I bet you can get it done for well under 200-300 bucks if you shop around a little.

 

[moparracer]

I used to work in a dealership body shop and the best and easiest way would be to do the whole bumper. If you are worried about a color match this won't be an issue. They will first repair the damaged area, prime then sand. Then seal the whole bumper with a clear sealer with a flex additive, then use basecoat on only the repaired area, then clear the whole bumper. This will give you excellent and durable results.

 

[Rick99]

I have a black scrape on the rear bumper of my Durango from when my wife backed into a Honda when the Durango was only 4 months old. I like it and have left it there because of the story-- totalled the Honda, scratched the D.

 

[Roadblock]

Are those pics of your Durango? If so, why would you take it to the Mazda dealership?

 

[kingstretch]

His wife used to drive the Durango, then they bought her a Mazda and he drives the Durango now. Judging by the grill and height in the pictures I'd say he's talking about the Mazda. If I remember the story correctly, his wife made some people unhappy at the Mazda forums and got banned - which I would assume is why he didn't ask the question there.

In any case, I'd agree you should just get the whole bumper done, it'll probably cost about the same amount and you won't have to worry about inconsistencies.

 

[R/T_Brett]

His wife used to drive the Durango, then they bought her a Mazda and he drives the Durango now. Judging by the grill and height in the pictures I'd say he's talking about the Mazda. If I remember the story correctly, his wife made some people unhappy at the Mazda forums and got banned - which I would assume is why he didn't ask the question there.

In any case, I'd agree you should just get the whole bumper done, it'll probably cost about the same amount and you won't have to worry about inconsistencies.

Yes I am speaking of the Mazda, sorry bout that. No my wife did not get banned from the site just a little mishap. We posted the question on both sites for as much insight as possible. Bottom line the other site isnt much helpful. So for basic issues I use this site for her car too. Dodgetalk rules!

 

[coachholland]

Ack! It's for a Mazda? In that case, I would just spray it with spray paint and call it done. He tricked us into giving good advice! j/k

 

[Thunderchild]

Krylon

 

[Roadblock]

If you bash the hood with a sledge hammer... About 10 lb outta do it...then no one will notice the bumper.. I don't like imports. Sorry!

:ylsuper:

 

[Roadblock]

Hey Rick!! Sure that wasn't a Mazda your wife backed into??

 

[R/T_Brett]

Ha ha guys, but all in all this mazda is a very cool car! I'd actually consider going with one when the D dies out, sorry but I go with anything that looks good and drives good.

 

[cbrenn71]

Brett - are you in canton ohio?

anyways, it will be just as expensive for a body shop to do the spots as it would be to have them reshoot the entire bumper as it's already been said. they have to break paint anyways, so, the only way for them to get it to match is to reshoot it all as mentioned above.

 

[R/T_Brett]

Actually since we found out this will cost close to $400 we have decided to try something else first. I have read that using touchup paint and a wet sander can make it look practically new. I am going to check around to local places that do detailing and see what they say. Check out these pictures of what someone else did with a gash in their side door. I think if we can buff it out a bit it will be fine. Truly even though the pictures look bad, the scratch is so far down on the bumper it can hardly be seen, most people have said it looks like a spalsh of mud. Check out these pictures!