Hello,


We got a brand new 2015 RDX last weekend. It is great! However, we were coming out of a store yesterday to find that some jabroni had backed into it.


Everything is fine (no scratches on paint, no cracks, panels are lined up as they should be) with the exception of the grille/beak. There are several deep gouges along the bottom edge (see pictures) where the other vehicle contacted it. It appears that the silver trim and the black plastic are two separate parts.


Under other circumstances, I would live with a small scrape, but this is a week old car, and the damage is easily noticeable (my pictures don't do it justice) Here are my questions for the forum:


1. If I were to obtain the parts, is this something I could replace easily on my own? Our other vehicle is newer, and it has been some time since I have worked on a vehicle. I don't want to make things worse


2. If someone else here has experienced similar damage before, how much did the dealer charge to source parts/swap out the grille/beak?


Thanks in advance for your help

 

Welcome - even in this sad situation. Paint and plastichrome are easy to fix - much easier than paint and the guy or gal that hit you and left without leaving a note will get their lump of coal.

Yes, you can swap it yourself. It isn't the easiest but it isn't horrible either and it shouldn't be too dirty on a new car either. You might want to ask in your local forum (click on "regions" in the header) and ask if there is anyone there who might do it for/with you. There are several places online that sell parts at greatly reduced prices.

Don't even think about going to the dealer for this unless you think that they'll do the fix as a favor.

Once the part is removed you can decide if you want to replace it or paint it. The black bits painted gloss black and the chrome bits painted body color might be a nice look.

If you want to go that route, ask in your local forums for a body shop recommendation (hint: It will most likely NOT be the dealer) and ask them for a quote on painting the grille and surround.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Happy holidays.

 

ceb - Thanks for your reply! I've gotten around to getting this fixed. Went online and bought the parts, and was going to attempt this on my own, when someone from the HOA went ballistic I contacted the dealer and asked if this was something they could do. They said yes, so I brought the parts and car over last week.


When I got there, there was a bit of a mixup because they said they could not take care of me that day (in spite of my having booked an appointment) The service writer was very apologetic and got me booked in for two days later, and they did the work for free (It took them about 1 1/2 hours to complete)


Found out that I had saved about 150 dollars by getting the parts myself vs through the dealer. Glad I did that. Still, I am very pleased with how this was all resolved, and am now a big fan of the service dept at my local dealer

 

My wife "touched" something and left a mark on one of the lower grilles. I got the part alright but it requires darn near taking the bottom area of the bumper off to get to one of the screws.