Last week I backed my 2008 RL on to a concrete column at the parking garage. The car only has 2,800 miles on it. The left rear corner is scratched very bad including the molding, plust the left rear breaklight lense is also damaged. I am so mad at me for doing this. Now I am wondering if the body shop will able to match the paint to the original smoothness.

MDs1

 

www.imageshack.us

Follow their instructions. Post the image in a post like this. [IMG](your picture's URL)[/IMG]

You're done.

BTW, I'm sorry to hear about your accident. The same happened to me with my 3G TL. I did it and was so pizzed off at myself afterward. Luckily, I have a relative that owns a body shop and he fixed the damage, including a new bumper cover, for $600.

 

it would seem to me that any quality or qualified body shop can fix thepaint and make it look like new. ask friends or even your dealer for recommended body shops. If your RL only has 2800 miles on it the paint definately hasn't had enough time to fade, because of the sun. If your dealer has a good body shop have them do the repair.

 

Sorry to hear.

Fortunately no sheetmetal / aluminum was damaged?

I think paint & body work nowadays is amazing. Being it is the bumper facia which is plastic, the paint is likely not hand sanded as is the metal / aluminum panels, so I think you will be satisfied.

FYI, I replaced the chrome trim on my RL when it was attacked by a rogue shopping cart...it was $84.

I think your big expense will the tailight. If you cannot get just the lense, it is a complex assembled piece.

Is you 08 RL a base model with no backup cam? That cam has saved me from a few scrapes myself!

 

Dear TempaRL,

My car is a Technology package with backup camera. Unfortunately, the day the incident happened, we were having a terrible storm. The garage was flooded and I was trying to save the car from 1 feet pool of water and meanuvering trying to escape from the water. Out of all these forgot to look at the backup camera. I guess when the luck goes bad it goes bad. .

I called my dealer and they have their own body shop. I am taking it there tomorrow. I sent pictures to the dealer and initial estimate is in the ball park of $1,300. I guess I could find a cheap body shop but I want to get it right.

I will let you guys know how it goes after I get back my car.

Thanks.

MDs1

 

crap!

But really, that estimate sounds on target.

I figure $600 for the bumer repair / paint

Another $100 for the bumper trim piece,

And the reminder is likely the taillight assembly? (I believe I had read on here somewhere they were $600!)

I am sure you will be pleased with the repair. It's just the aggreation and waiting. And of course the sore butt from kicking yourself in the ars.

 

neuronbob,

Thanks for the tip. Here is the link to the picture. I hope I was able to upload it.

MDs1

 

Here is another one.

MDs

 

By the way, the bumper cover came out of the clips and I had to push it in. But it didn't go all the way in to aligh with the body. The lense needs to be replaced since there is a crack at the bottom which is not very visible from the picture. So, I don't know if any of the clips under the bumper is broken or will the bumper need to be changed. I will know it once it goes to the body shop. Fortunatley, no sheetmetal was damaged.

MDs

 

Are you going to claim this on your insurance? If not, then I recommend you get at least three quotes from three good body shops, you will be amazed at the price differences. They will be able to match the paint pretty well, that's is they know what they are doing and they will have to replace the chrome trim. I had a hit and run when my car was parked a few years ago, the damage looked a lot like yours, I got away just under $1000.

 

Doesn't look too bad.

I'd prefer the scrape on my bumper to having the car flooded. I'm quite sure flooding would have FUBARed the engine.

Phew!

 

The other option is one of those bumper repair places. I know its a new car, so you're anxious to have it look like new. They did some work on my Mom's Maxima, and you wouldn't have known that there had been a hole in the bumper. Even the paint match was right on.

I went through this when someone who shall remaing unmentioned scraped the rear quarter panel of our new Odyssey on a pole. Body shops wanted between $400 and $800. Instead, I put fender moldings on the car to cover part of the scrape on the wheel arch, and did a passable job using touch-up paint on the remaining damage (using Quixx). Total cost: less than $100. It isn't perfect, but it was better than sinking all that money for an outcome that probably wouldn't be perfect either, and not perfect over a large area (they wanted to paint the rear quarter, and the side doors). Of course, I might not have put up with that kind of self-repair on the RL!

At least your bumper damage is on a natural seam, so the repair is likely to be less noticeable. Good luck! Let us see how it turns out.

Rob144

 

Your assumptions are correct TampaRL. They have to replace the raillight assembly and that is why it will cost me as much. By the way, I dropped off the car to the bodyshop this morning. They took the bumper out of the car to repair/paint so the other panels doesn't get sprayed.

MDs1

 

ouch sorry to hear but yeah that estimate is right on the money. same thing happened to my RL about a year ago.

 

RL_Lover,

Hi there. How was your repair - I mean matching paint, etc. I went to the body shop to pick up my car yesterday and the paint was so terribly off that I had to leave the car. They promosed to do it right this time but I have lost faith on the body shop.

Thanks.

MDs1

 

MDs1,

I feel your pain. I am distrusting of many body shops, but I have been pleased with the repairs made of previous vehicles. It always feels 'tainted'.

If the body work is good (which there was really no sheetmetal damaged), the colormatching can be the chore. The paint catalysts are different for the plastic bumper facias then for the metal panels, so there tends to be some color variance. Not that it is acceptable, but an explanation. Talking with an autobody tech / neighbor, he has told me the error many shops make is mixing the paint according to the OEM specs and NOT utilizing the color matching technology available to match the paint mixed to the vehicle itself. Second, the catalyst for the plastic body parts has to be mixed at the same ratios as the OEM paint process...which is, according to him, is a crapshoot. He tells me it is not uncommon to repaint plastic fascias 2 or 3 times to aquire the closest match and satisfy meticulous customers, specifically in pearl finishes. According to his shop's practice, it is expected that 1/4th of these jobs will likley require a second attempt.

Hopefully your patience will pay off.

 

Dear TampaRL,

Thanks for your wisdom and the moral support. I really needed it so badly. I holding my patience and keeping my fingers crossed and hopefully they will do it right on the second attempt.

My best to you.

MDs1

 

Just an update. I finally got my car back today after a whole week. After third attempt they finally were able to match the paint and finish of my bumer. I would say a 98% match! The first time they did it the color was way off and I was almost thinking that they will never do it right. They acknowledged that the paint didn't match and the finishing was very poor and was willing to work with me to fix it right. I told the guys at the body shop not to call me until they have it right. Finally they hit the nail right and I am pleased. I will try to post some pictures tomorrow.

 

YAY!

98% is probably as good as OEM. I often notice a slight color mismatch on plastic bumper facias.

Now admit it....fess up....

This bumper scraping was all a convoluted diversion to get your bumper repainted to rid it of some polishing scratches and an ill tought out attempt to lace up your golf cleats while resting your foot on the bumper?

 

Dear TampaRL,

Ha ha ha. Believe me, didn't have a single scratch - I mean not one. That is why it hurt me even more that I hit the stupid concrete pole .

Thanks for your humor though. All the best.

MDs1

 

Here is a picture of the bumper after it was repaired last week. I guess they did a pretty good job matching the paint. Your thoughts please.

MDs1

 

Looks very good! Glad you got her back.

 

By the way, I forgot to mention, the body shop took the bumper off of the car and painted it. No blending at all to the other parts of the car.

I am so happy to get her back! I had a terrible whole week when she was at the body shop thinking they will never make it right. It was a nightmare all week long. I never felt so attached to a car before the way I missed my RL when it was at the body shop. Do you guys miss your RL the way I do?

Happy RLing.

MDs1