Can't tell the difference.
#1
Can't tell the difference.
heyyy am currently trying to buy this car. its a 2004 . the car is 9k. it has 80k miles on it already. but am currently thinking this car has been into an accident. can anyone tell me if the bumber has been change. i feel like theres two diffferent colors. thanks
https://plus.google.com/photos/10587...46989590798386
https://plus.google.com/photos/10587...46989590798386
#3
Safety Car
iTrader: (4)
That link doesnt work for me, but I can go ahead and take a stab at your issue. First off let me say that there were a few colors that came from the factory that didnt match perfect. The most common one is silver, then white. I have seen both of these colors come brand new from the factory with rear bumpers that are clearly off in color. They say its due to the different materials, but that doesnt make sense to me since every car made has different materials between the quarter panels and bumpers and other vehicles dont have color matching issues.
Now a good way to tell if its the original bumper or not would be to pop the trunk and look on the passenger side area of the bumper cover to the left of the tail light. If its original you should see a VIN label. If its not there then either the bumper has been replaced or its been painted and covered or removed all together. All the panels VIN labels are the first things I look at when buying a used vehicle.
James
Now a good way to tell if its the original bumper or not would be to pop the trunk and look on the passenger side area of the bumper cover to the left of the tail light. If its original you should see a VIN label. If its not there then either the bumper has been replaced or its been painted and covered or removed all together. All the panels VIN labels are the first things I look at when buying a used vehicle.
James
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TrustinHFDJ (01-14-2013)
#4
Safety Car
Did you use the link from your personal Gmail account? Silly noob
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TrustinHFDJ (01-14-2013)
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#8
Safety Car
#10
Suzuka Master
iTrader: (1)
Not true. This has been covered a zillion times in the last 9 years, but there should be no discernible difference between the urethane bumper cover and the body. Honda would have been better off getting some pointers from GM as the Cadillac white diamond bumper and body is identical, same as other manufacturers that produce a car that is one color, unlike Honda.
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justnspace (01-11-2013)
#11
CARBON FIBER WDP TL
Not true. This has been covered a zillion times in the last 9 years, but there should be no discernible difference between the urethane bumper cover and the body. Honda would have been better off getting some pointers from GM as the Cadillac white diamond bumper and body is identical, same as other manufacturers that produce a car that is one color, unlike Honda.
And OP to anwser your ? you can sometimes tell if its been painted or repaired. OEM brings vin tags on them, inside and on the edge on top. Plus most of the time there a few nibs here and there that they didnt buff off..
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EvilVirus (01-15-2013)
#12
Team Owner
Not true. This has been covered a zillion times in the last 9 years, but there should be no discernible difference between the urethane bumper cover and the body. Honda would have been better off getting some pointers from GM as the Cadillac white diamond bumper and body is identical, same as other manufacturers that produce a car that is one color, unlike Honda.
Speaking of factory paint I didn't realize just how bad it was until my car got keyed when it was 2 months old (feb 13th of '06 I guess I should not have broken up with her right before valentines day lol) and the new paint job was so much better it didn't match. I'm not talking color or the gay blue sparkles, just the overall quality and lack of waviness.
#13
RPF1+RS3 FTW
iTrader: (6)
I can't remember for sure but isn't it either additives or a different type of paint used for flexible surfaces to prevent cracking/flaking that causes the trouble? Acura did a good job matching my black paint lol.
Speaking of factory paint I didn't realize just how bad it was until my car got keyed when it was 2 months old (feb 13th of '06 I guess I should not have broken up with her right before valentines day lol) and the new paint job was so much better it didn't match. I'm not talking color or the gay blue sparkles, just the overall quality and lack of waviness.
Speaking of factory paint I didn't realize just how bad it was until my car got keyed when it was 2 months old (feb 13th of '06 I guess I should not have broken up with her right before valentines day lol) and the new paint job was so much better it didn't match. I'm not talking color or the gay blue sparkles, just the overall quality and lack of waviness.
but yes what you are thinking of are what they call flex agents in the paint that can cause it to mismatch however good shops now can match them very well. I had my front end repainted a while back and am actually having it all redone again thanks to someone hitting my bumper..again. Anyways the first time I had it done they matched it so well I could not tell the difference.
My Aspec when it came from the factory however was horribly mismatched with the rest of the car. So to answer your question OP, paint mismatch does not always mean it was in an accident especially with our cars it is very common.
#14
Suzuka Master
iTrader: (1)
I've stated my position before as there is no excuse for having the bumpers a different shade from the body, period. As far as using different paint suppliers, this is a poor response as the WDP TL hasn't had matching bumpers since day one, regardless of the year. The substrate and also, the addition of flex, should not have any bearing if the mix is done correctly. Back 3 years ago, a fellow scratched our WDP on the right fender and bumper, just needed to be prepared and painted. Had the fenders and cover repainted and low and behold the front is finally perfect and they all match. It took many tests before the final pearl, but it can be done, but if not, just consider it poor quality.
#15
Series Motor's
JTS has a great point, always take note that paint dries differently on different materials; making it appear different.
#16
Series Motor's
That is the exact issue, along with my point; preparation
#17
Racer
I've stated my position before as there is no excuse for having the bumpers a different shade from the body, period. As far as using different paint suppliers, this is a poor response as the WDP TL hasn't had matching bumpers since day one, regardless of the year. The substrate and also, the addition of flex, should not have any bearing if the mix is done correctly. Back 3 years ago, a fellow scratched our WDP on the right fender and bumper, just needed to be prepared and painted. Had the fenders and cover repainted and low and behold the front is finally perfect and they all match. It took many tests before the final pearl, but it can be done, but if not, just consider it poor quality.
I've painted a few cars before, and I can say for sure that pearl whites are one of the hardest OE style paint types to match. There's so many variables. Paints from different manufacturers that are all supposed to be the same color can vary greatly. How the pearl stage is sprayed can also vary the color. Even things like how think the clear is sprayed can alter the color. If the clear is just a 1000th of an inch too thin or thick it can cause a mismatch.
Add to this the fact that at the factory, bumpers are not painted at the same time/place as the rest of the car, and it's really no wonder they don't match.
As for your car, you said the bumper and fenders were painted, which means that the painter almost assuredly blended the bumper into the fenders. Odds are the painter didn't actually get a "perfect match" but rather the blending fools you eye into thinking it's all one uniform color, as opposed to before where the sharp boundary between the colors on the fenders and bumper made the misatch more obvious.
#18
Suzuka Master
iTrader: (1)
I've painted a few cars before, and I can say for sure that pearl whites are one of the hardest OE style paint types to match. There's so many variables. Paints from different manufacturers that are all supposed to be the same color can vary greatly. How the pearl stage is sprayed can also vary the color. Even things like how think the clear is sprayed can alter the color. If the clear is just a 1000th of an inch too thin or thick it can cause a mismatch.
Add to this the fact that at the factory, bumpers are not painted at the same time/place as the rest of the car, and it's really no wonder they don't match.
As for your car, you said the bumper and fenders were painted, which means that the painter almost assuredly blended the bumper into the fenders. Odds are the painter didn't actually get a "perfect match" but rather the blending fools you eye into thinking it's all one uniform color, as opposed to before where the sharp boundary between the colors on the fenders and bumper made the misatch more obvious.
Add to this the fact that at the factory, bumpers are not painted at the same time/place as the rest of the car, and it's really no wonder they don't match.
As for your car, you said the bumper and fenders were painted, which means that the painter almost assuredly blended the bumper into the fenders. Odds are the painter didn't actually get a "perfect match" but rather the blending fools you eye into thinking it's all one uniform color, as opposed to before where the sharp boundary between the colors on the fenders and bumper made the misatch more obvious.
For the entire 4 year production, nothing changed, same disparity between the body and bumpers and as Honda hasn't taken any action to correct the condition, the 4G still has complaints from the owners.
As I've said before, poor, poor quality. Changes should have been made to correct the condition, guess they're pleased with the criticism.
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