I went to the parkking authority friday night after work ... fresh for the weekend... and noticed that my RL had been smacked. Someone creased the left front bumber. There is a 2-inch slash and a couple other marks below it. I am really sick. I had been waiting for the first scratch or knick since my purchase in June. I almost feel like relpacing the entire front bumper but I know that would be a waste of money. Has anyone had to deal with this sort of damage? Any advice?

 

Sorry to hear that

Best bet is to ask friends and family for a reputable body shop and get estimates. Let your insurance company handle it.

 

A while ago my folks had someone run into and semi crack almost the whole width of the front bumper of their Lexus LS430...they havent replaced it yet (at first they thought it'd be a crazy amount to waste on the repair but it turns out it wont be so I think they are going to get it fixed eventually) which at first when it happened I was annoyed that they wouldnt get it replaced but now I just shrug and say whatever as the car still functions...bugs me that people can do that and not care/notice.

Sorry about your bumper and hopefully it wont cost too much if you decide ot get it repaired.

 

As a new RL owner I am very saddened by your accident.

No matter how careful you are with your verhicle and
respectful towards others on the road, there is always
the possibility of someone out there smacking into
you. In this case, it happened in a parking garage while
you are away and the asswipe got away scott-free.

I, too, am waiting for my first major blemish.

 

Sorry dude. I know how you feel. I tire shard flew up and left a 4 inch scratch across the roof when I had only 5K miles. I debated about repainting the roof, but I would rather have the original paint with a scratch than an out-of-factory job that will fade in a few years.

 

I feel your pain as this has happened to me with vehicles I have previously owned. If you are going to be parking in a garage often, you may want to consider leaving the damage since it may happen again. If you cannot live with it, try getting a few estimates from reputable body shops. You probably would not need to replace the bumper skin (I'm saying that based on your description of the damage and I could be wrong) and you may be able to get it professionally repaired for around $500. Personally, I would not involve my insurance company either way.

 

Wow...I know how you must be feeling. I picked up my new RL on August 27th. Less than three weeks later, while parked in my gym's parking lot one day at lunchtime, I came out and noticed that someone had backed into my car and left a large gash on the front bumper beneath the passenger side headlight. The gash left residue white paint on my Nighthawk Black car. Thankfully, the young lady left her name and number. To my horror she was driving around without insurance. I had the damaged estimated at the Acura dealer (who is well known for its excellent body shop). The scratch and replacement for the chrome strip in the bumper came to a grand total of $498. I had the repairs completed last week and I picked the car up today. Honestly, you wouldn't know the bumper had been hit. I only hope the repairs look this good in 2-3 years when I go to sell it.
P.S. I got $600 CASH from the woman's ex-husband when I threatened to report her to the police for driving without insurance. So, I can relax now, the car has been "christened".

Now, all I need to do get that XM refresh problem fixed. Too bad my VIN isn't on the list. But, that's another fight I'll wage with the dealership when the time comes.

 

Wow...I know how you must be feeling. I picked up my new RL on August 27th. Less than three weeks later, while parked in my gym's parking lot one day at lunchtime, I came out and noticed that someone had backed into my car and left a large gash on the front bumper beneath the passenger side headlight. The gash left residue white paint on my Nighthawk Black car. Thankfully, the young lady left her name and number. To my horror she was driving around without insurance. I had the damaged estimated at the Acura dealer (who is well known for its excellent body shop). The scratch and replacement for the chrome strip in the bumper came to a grand total of $498. I had the repairs completed last week and I picked the car up today. Honestly, you wouldn't know the bumper had been hit. I only hope the repairs look this good in 2-3 years when I go to sell it.
P.S. I got $600 CASH from the woman's ex-husband when I threatened to report her to the police for driving without insurance. So, I can relax now, the car has been "christened".

Now, all I need to do is get that XM refresh problem fixed. Too bad my VIN isn't on the list. But, that's another battle I'll fight with the dealership when the time comes.

 

There is a toasty place in hell for those who would damage a car in a parkade and drive away.

 

Agreed. I won't lie, I had once dinged a car next to me when opening my car door, I left my name and insurance on their window. He called and I was billed 80 something to have the dent removed. He was thankful I left my information. It is pathetic that people dont have the decency to leave their insurance.

 

2 weeks after purchasing my RL, I ran into a piece of metal debris on the freeway which resulted in a deep gash and a large scuff to my front bumper...Had it been my 10 year old Avalon, I would've left it alone. I took it to 2 body shops in my area (South Calif) and they both said I needed to have the whole bumper removed and completely painted to "do the job right". They quoted me prices from $700-$800. I then took my car to one of those dent shops (mobile dent repair services) that also do bumper dings. Without removing the bumper, they sand out the gash, and blended in the paint with the rest of the bumper. Looks like brand new...I just hope it doesn't chip or fade in a few years. Anyway, they did this for $265 and I am very happy.

 

Don't let them "blend" the color into adjacent panels when they repair the bumper. This is a cheaper way (common practice and encouraged in the industry) to repair the car for those shops where people cannot match the color after the first or second try. Matching is a talent that painters either have or don't have - practice makes better but innate talent is what finally determines it. Whites, even on a three stage paint like the RL, are easier to match than say red or opulent blue would be. Find a shop that has a reputation for matching colors perfectly and ask them to paint the bumper only and insist on a perfect color match. Look at the final repair in the shade, sun, and under artificial lighting to appreciate the final color match and accept the result you think you can live with.

 

As I've posted elsewhere on these fora my Blue Pearl RL had 2 different incidents in the first month of ownership that required bodywork. My dealer recommended a couple of body shops and I ended up going with the one that they send their own cars to for repair. This shop was quite adamant about quality and - when I initially was trying to have one of the repairs done outside the scope of State Farm to save the deductible - had a disagreement with the insurance adjuster representing the valet company that was responsible for one of the incidents. The adjuster felt that some of the work listed wasn't required; the body shop was adamant that it was and said that they didn't want to do the work if it couldn't be done "right" - that it was their name on it and that someday the short-sighted repair would end up being visible in the paint. I told them to go ahead and do it right and I just filed another claim with State Farm and let them recover the costs from the valet's insurer (which ended up including my deductible so it was no cost to me). Since this body shop was pre-approved by State Farm there was no haggling nonsense.

There are people out there that still want to do a quality job. Seek them out. It's been about 5 months now and - after extensive scrutiny with a very critical eye - it's absolutely impossible to tell that my car has ever had any type of damage; most people assume it's brand new. Good Luck!

 

I am an estimator for a collision center post some pics if you get a chance and I let you know what I think would be best.