Well, of course, not a week old yet, and I managed to not pull the car quite far enough into the garage, so there's a fine scratch down the bumper from the door handle. Idiot! The top part of the scratch is in the paint, but the bottom, at that little lip, went through into the black plastic. I tried to buff it out myself a little, and that helped, but it's still noticeable, so I took it to a body shop and made an appointment to have it fixed next week.

I was wondering if any of you had experience with a car this new and minor body work. They're a reputable shop I've had things done well by before, but I want to make sure it's as good as new. They said they'd remove the bumper, buff and paint, then clearcoat. Is there anything I should request, or watch out for, or do myself? In particular, will they know how to get the bumper off on a car this new (is it pretty obvious?), and they said they'd match the paint themselves. Is this the way it's usually done, or should they be getting paint from Acura?

 

I would also like to know more about this. Some ass hole must have backed into the corner of my bumper and it left a 3 inch long mark that sticks out.

 

how big is the scratch, and what color is your tsx?

 

...its an unfortunate rule of owning a car that it WILL get scratches and dings, and the first one is always the worst... you don't have to look hard to notice one of the problems with current automotive styling, and not just by Honda, they have removed all attempts to protect the car from parking lot encounters and such above mentioned 'accidents'. The cars used to have rub strips on the bumpers and similar protective strips on the doors that were usually made of a black rubberized material. this is, more often than not, where most damage occurred. On my current Acura, which doesn't have such strips, there are black marks on all four corners from idiots who can't park or older folks who "park by touch"...seems to me with this current styling trend that, if we want our cars to look pristene, we're all going to get familiar with door ding removal guys, body shops, and know how to use our touch up paint...

Lorne Miller

 

The scratch extends vertically all the way down the rear bumper, and is about an eighth of an inch wide, except at the bottom, where the lip was pushed away. There it's about a quarter of an inch wide, and through the paint.

The car is Carbon Grey. I wonder if that's a hard color to match?

 

I was going to recommand an acura touch paint pen, but unfortunaly it doesnt come in carbon grey.

 

I had had my TSX (also Carbon Grey) for about 3 weeks when some guy bumped me from behind in traffic. The collision caused a minor scratch in the back bumper, just in that little lip that sticks out, but I also had the Acura ground effects trim package. In addition to the scratch in the main bumper plastic, the rear trim piece had two little vertical creases left by the front bumper on the '94 Cadillac that hit me.

Here's what I know regarding repair costs: the body shop replaced the rear ground effects piece and repainted the bumper. Cost (in the Sacramento, CA area) to the other guy's insurance was just under $900. The part alone for the rear trim was about $350, so if you have to have the bumper repainted alone, figure somewhere around $400 for labor and maybe $90 or so for paint, etc. That's my best guess based on the bill from the body shop. The car was in the shop for four days.

Good luck!
Todd

 

Well, I just got my baby back, and she's perfect again. The paint match is amazing. The bodyshop guy said that there's only one alternate for this color, so it was easy to get right. I guess more alternates means more variation in the lot or batch colors.

My stupidity with the garage door cost $230, but it's worth it to see that smooth grey expanse of bumper back. Needless to say, I've been much more careful with the garage door, but when I get the next ding, I know my local bodyshop (only 3/4 of a mile from me) can get it right.

 

ouch $230...could've gotten all season mats, cargo tray, and a case of you fav beer

 

Well, it turns out that the dealer threw in the cargo tray, wheel locks, splash guards and all-season mats, so I figure I'm still ahead, even with the beer. Now I'll go and buy a case, come to think of it. "Yuengling - America's Oldest Brewery"