I need to replace the front bumper on my '01 CL, the color is black... Does anyone have any places they would recommend for having the bumper painted so it's a perfect match to the original color? Has anyone had this done in the New Jersey area, and are there really no sources for prepainted acura bumpers? I'm looking for siggestions and advice on this... Anyone..?

 

I'd say ask Park Ave Acura who they use. I seem to remember someone on this board, maybe StonedCL had some body work done by PAA's recommended body shop and they did a great job.

 

Can anyone recommend a place to buy the bumper from that would be cheaper than directly from the dealer? The best dealer price I have for an unpainted front bumper is $240 so far...

 

Buy it painted!! Try acura carland.
I don't have the link at work, if no one posts it by tonight, I will.

 

I got in a wreck and needed my front bumper repainted. I went to my local Acura dealer and the paint didn't match at all. At night it looks fine, but in the daylight it looks like a lighter-shade of silver. I wasn't pleased with the work they did at all.

 

Buy it HERE

$189.17 for just the bumper cover. Do you need the shock absorbers as well? The link has everything you need.

 

I don't think the shocks were damaged... I haven't had a chance to climb underneath and inspect it completely yet, but this was a slow-moving collision. To be honest, the bumper isn't really all the damaged structurally, although on close inspection there is some rippling near the center. It's mainly deep paint scratches and a single deep gouge where one of the license plate holder screws sliced the bumper. That wouldn't be worth patching, so I'd rather go for a new bumper. I'll check acuracarland (aztecrol, if you could help out with the info i'd appreciate it) and also the link nsxnext listed. I'd really rather get a prepainted one, but would like to be sure the paint is an exact match. My CL is black, the kind that shines a little bit metallic blue under direct sunlight.

Dammit, this is what I get for keeping my car so damn clean and shiny.

 

NSXNEXT posted the link i was talking about!!!!

 

I noticed that once I actually went to both of those sites.. However, I called acuracarland and they say they don't sell them prepainted... aztecrol, were you specifically talking about acuracarland when you said to "buy it painted"..? I talked to them last night and they say they sell them primer-painted, but it would be up to me to have it painted after that...

 

I thought they might sell them painted. I got rear-ended a while back, and the body shop got the bumper already painted. It was from the dealer. I was hoping that Carland would sell them painted as well. How much does the dealer want for a painted one??? I just think it would be cheaper in the long run. Good luck and keep us posted!!!

 

well, both dealers I've spoken with so far are only able to get unpainted ones, and then they recommend you to their 'prefered' bodyshop to have it painted. I haven't yet followed up with those bodyshops, but I'm going to try to get in touch with park ave acura that nsxnext reco'd and see what they have to say. In the end, a $25-$50 difference isn't "really" going to bother me as much as a mismatched paintjob will.

 

I found some chips on my new CL-S and brought it to the dealer. Since the car is less than a week old, they will warranty the work (new car, shouldn't be chipping anyways). But I asked them to replace it with a new one from the factory, but they told me that it only comes in black and they need to paint it anyways.

I haven't had much luck with body shops painting in the past, so hopefully they will do a good job. If your paint really doesn't match, the body shop should have it warrantied and they should do the repaint.

In the case of my '98 black GSR, they painted the side quarter panel (front) and the job looked good, both at night and in day. But after about 1 1/2 to 2 years, it started to bubble and crack in 1 place. I guess there was either some dirt or a fingerprint underneath the paint and time caused it to grow. But they warrantied their work for life, so they repainted. The rework was a pretty good match, but I did notice some print marks that were very light that I couldn't get out...probably cause their hands were dirty and they touched some spots and didn't clean it before baking the car.

Even if you get a prepainted bumper, due to fading and the such, the fresh bumper may not exactly match your car anyways. I would think that a good body shop should be able to match the paint well, especially on a car that's a couple years old. But then you are still stuck with possible uneven fading in time.

Let us know what you decide to do and how the job turns out!

 

okay, so it looks like I'll be buying the bumper from acuracarland. They've got the best price ($190 + a max of $30 shipping). I've checked out a couple bodyshops in the central NJ area, and my dad is helping me out with shops in the North Jersey area. I've got 2 questions at this point:

1. Does anyone know of any bodyshops/paintshops that will guarantee their paintjobs for a number of years or lifetime...? My dad says I won't find a bodyshop in NJ that will guarantee its paintjob for more than a year, and then only for paint bubbling/rippling within that 1st year.

2. I've seen a number of photos on here of people's front ends on their acuras and they've got the front license plate dropped beneath the bumper on a specialized bracket (some commented that it looks like a chipmunk, but I'd rather do that than have it mounted flush against the bumper and creating scratches from vibration). Where does one buy such a bracket? Granted I've only just begun looking and I'll be doing my own research on it, just wondering if someone knows a place offhand. And also, is there any major tweaking necessary to mount a license-plate bracket like that, or will it mount in the stock holes in the bumper?

Thanks for all your help so far.

'02