Bumper was scratched

[martyk]

My car was parked in the parking lot and when I got back I found the back bumper was scratched by the rear fender. No dents, just scratched in two spots down to the black plastic. Of cause they did not leave their contact info. Looking for a good body shop in the Thousand Oaks, Calif, Ventura County area, north of L.A.

Thanks for your help,

Marty

 

[Southern Boy]

My car was parked in the parking lot and when I got back I found the back bumper was scratched by the rear fender. No dents, just scratched in two spots down to the black plastic. Of cause they did not leave their contact info. Looking for a good body shop in the Thousand Oaks area.

Thanks for your help,

Marty

Can you provide a little more location information than just “thousand oaks area”?

 

[Rey]

There are mobile repair trucks that specialize in fixing, painting modern plastic bumper covers. It is comparatively cheap and done on-site. The public is not aware of these repair trucks. Their customers are mostly car dealers who want to rehab cars on their lots. If you take your car to a conventional body shop it is as likely as not that the shop will farm out this repair to a mobile truck at a huge markup to you. Ask around dealers, etc. to locate these repair trucks.

 

[Fast55]

Call Luke at Amazing Bumper. Mobile service that comes to you as suggested. He filled the front bumper holes from the license plate mount on my car when everyone else wanted to pull the bumper for $500-$700+ to do the work. 818-340-2867

 

[martyk]

Can you provide a little more location information than just “thousand oaks area”?

See my edited thread.

Marty

 

[Mark_888]

I would get an estimate for replacing the bumper cover, and one for repairing it. A new plastic bumper cover is about $300, not including labor and painting. Your insurance company may be a good place to get a recommendation on repair shops. I know that State Farm lists the ones they do business with on their website.

 

[Fast55]

I would get an estimate for replacing the bumper cover, and one for repairing it. A new plastic bumper cover is about $300, not including labor and painting. Your insurance company may be a good place to get a recommendation on repair shops. I know that State Farm lists the ones they do business with on their website.

For much less than that he can get his bumper cover repaired and the repair will be blended into the existing paint. R & R of a bumper cover and paint is at least double that amount by anyone who has the faintest idea what they're doing. Replacing the bumper cover is a last resort, trust me.

 

[Mark_888]

For much less than that he can get his bumper cover repaired and the repair will be blended into the existing paint. R & R of a bumper cover and paint is at least double that amount by anyone who has the faintest idea what they're doing. Replacing the bumper cover is a last resort, trust me.

I had some serious scratches on my rear bumper in two places. I called/emailed one of the mobile services, and after a week they said they could do it. I emailed in photos and asked them when they could come and fix it, and never heard from them again. Took it to a good body shop and they replaced and painted the bumper cover for about $500. Looks perfect. For me, the extra $200-$250 was worth it. All I said is get an estimate, and then decide which option to chose.

 

[PMCErnie]

These touch-up repair vans are all over the place. I know at least six of them working at the various auto dealers in my area. If you want to find the best craftsmen, ask your local Jag, BMW or MB dealer who they use.

The trick is to meet the repair guy on site at the local car dealer. Yes, they will repair your car on a Jaguar lot. Watch them do a repair, or two. That way you'll see their work first-hand before they touch your car. Their work is very cheap compared to body shops. They usually do vinyl and leather repairs, in addition to paint and pinstriping.

 

[wd40]

My car was parked in the parking lot and when I got back I found the back bumper was scratched by the rear fender. No dents, just scratched in two spots down to the black plastic. Of cause they did not leave their contact info. Looking for a good body shop in the Thousand Oaks, Calif, Ventura County area, north of L.A.

Thanks for your help,

Marty

Try Mike at Expert 818-768-3987. Have not used him in a long time but did an excellent job at a reasonable price.

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[Fast55]

I had some serious scratches on my rear bumper in two places. I called/emailed one of the mobile services, and after a week they said they could do it. I emailed in photos and asked them when they could come and fix it, and never heard from them again. Took it to a good body shop and they replaced and painted the bumper cover for about $500. Looks perfect. For me, the extra $200-$250 was worth it. All I said is get an estimate, and then decide which option to chose.

In my experience there is no such thing as a "good" body shop. Custom shops are a different story, and they are in an entirely different market and price range. You may have gotten a good result, or you may not have an eye for detail (no offense).

Typically, a complete bumper cover replacement is not a good idea because of issues with alignment/fit which is sometimes caused by re-using factory fasteners that are not really designed to be re-used, or just because the guy didn't get it on straight. This happens A LOT at "good body shops" (ask Crusty) because they simply don't have the time to do "good work". It's a very competitive business and these shops use a lot of low skill (ie cheap) labor wherever they can, and they know most people don't know what to look for or don't care.

They will also paint the cover off the car, and 99 times out of a hundred I can spot the differences in color or the amount of "orange peel" a mile away. They will not blend it into the rest of the car, or if they do, then it's even more $$$.

In any event, you confirmed it is more than double the cost of a repair, in my case 3X the amount and I can only guess how much a front bumper would be but it is after all, your money.

 

[Mark_888]

In my experience there is no such thing as a "good" body shop. Custom shops are a different story, and they are in an entirely different market and price range. You may have gotten a good result, or you may not have an eye for detail (no offense).

Typically, a complete bumper cover replacement is not a good idea because of issues with alignment/fit which is sometimes caused by re-using factory fasteners that are not really designed to be re-used, or just because the guy didn't get it on straight. This happens A LOT at "good body shops" (ask Crusty) because they simply don't have the time to do "good work". It's a very competitive business and these shops use a lot of low skill (ie cheap) labor wherever they can, and they know most people don't know what to look for or don't care.

They will also paint the cover off the car, and 99 times out of a hundred I can spot the differences in color or the amount of "orange peel" a mile away. They will not blend it into the rest of the car, or if they do, then it's even more $$$.

In any event, you confirmed it is more than double the cost of a repair, in my case 3X the amount and I can only guess how much a front bumper would be but it is after all, your money.

Doesn't surprise me that one would have a problem finding a good body shop in CA. Where I live, it is not that big of a problem, or maybe I just got lucky. I used the same shop about 6 years ago for a minor repair and got very good results then also.

My rear bumper had some very deep scratches in two locations, so I am not saying that everyone needs to get their bumper cover replaced. I only suggested that they get an estimate before deciding. The color of my new bumper cover is perfect from what I can tell, and I looked quite carefully.