frescagod

some shovelers decided to get too close to the cars in my parking lot and one of them scraped my front bumper. i know this because my car was flawless before the snowstorm in the Mid-A last week (bought a new 2010) and now i have a 3" scrape that could only have been done by those guys. it could not have been done by someone walking by, and it is too low for someone carrying a bag to scrape it.

it looks like it only damaged the clear coat, but i can't be certain. my car is a little dirty so i'm going to clean the area and take some pics tonight, but if it's just clear coat damage, how much do you think it would cost to buff and polish?

thanks!

kristy7911

I say just get a new sport bumper! They come already painted!

thunderbt3

+1

Find out what company shoveled the parking lot and file a complaint. They usually carry insurance to cover stuff like this.

Siding installers backed into my rear bumper, I got a body shop estimate and they paid me cash, about $600. The dealer said going with the prepainted sport bumper will be cheaper than going with the stock bumper and getting it painted. Almost guaranteed paint match an no worries about paint chipping in the future.

Similar thing happened to my Accord when I was out at school, the people shoveling the parking lot at my apartment was using a Bobcat with tires that had almost no tread. They skidded into my front bumper and it was almost a $700 repair (plus dented fender). They paid cash to repair it since they had a deal with the local ford dealer/paint shop. A year later, the clear coat started chipping off...

If you need quotes, take it to the dealer and have them cost out the sport bumper instead of going to body shops.

frescagod

the guy came over with one of his workers this morning and we looked at it. he asked me point blank if i saw someone actually scrape the car, which i had not, but all signs point to them being at fault. i just don't have concrete evidence. he then denied any wrongdoing and said he had been doing this for 10 years and never caused any damage anywhere.

i don't know what kind of recourse i have...i doubt i have any. my landlord said that they are insured, but i doubt they are...it seems like a low budget group of laborers.

i filed a complaint with my landlord and we'll see where that goes. i am month-to-month on my lease so i am more than willing to walk, at this point.

as for replacing the bumper with a sport bumper, is that an OEM sport bumper? also, i don't think this scratch is worth replacing the whole thing...i'd rather try to buff it out and move on (because given my luck, someone else will probably scratch it the week i put a new bumper on anyway!)

thunderbt3

Yes the sport bumper is OEM, also known as the Areo bumper.

007Acura

try quixx scratch remover, you can get it at walmart or an auto store. I have used it before, It works well in really minimizing the scratch to the point where you can see it.

HeavyDuty

Get some 3M polishing compound & see if it will take it out. If the scratch is whitish and not paint color you'll probably be able to get it out with that.

Just go in small circles around the area, not straight lines, then wax it afterwards.

TSX131

hey bro,

saw that you were in the area. msg me your # and i'll hook you up with a good reference. If the clear coat is just scratched: try cleaning it and once it's clean spit on your hand and rub it over the scratched area... if the scratch goes away then you can buff it out, if it doesn't go away... your paint got scratched and you'll need to have it repainted (I know a professional acura guy who could do it for around $100-300)