WdnUlik2no

I walk out to my car today and notice a four foot long scratch from my front side panel all the way to near my front door handle. My car is always garaged and I have only been two places in it since last thursday. I did'nt notice it until this afternoon. I know the rip off body shop is going to charge at least $1500 to fix it, but in the meantime I just used some scratchX on it, and it did a very good job in masking the scratch. Its almost impossible to see unless you are right up on it and looking under the scratch, at least that is how it is now. I will be able to tell how noticable it is tommorow during the day. Hopefully it will not be that bad. Eventhough $1500 is not really that big a deal for me, I don't want any body work done to my car because it seems that any paintwork destroys the value of the car.

I also went to Acura parts webside and saw that I can get the door skin replaced for $199, and of course I will still need to get it painted. But it seems that would be cheaper than getting it repaired. Maybe I'm wrong.

Is it worth the money to repair, or will I do more harm than good in getting the scratch repaired or the door skin replaced?

TLGirl4

That sucks!!! Sorry to hear that!! Any idea who would key your car or just some jealous person?? I can't believe people can be such jealous punks! My hubby's old TL got keyed at the movie theatre once and an old friend of mine long time ago got his car spray painted.... punks!

Can you get some kind of touch up paint from the dealer? Maybe that would do the trick?

WdnUlik2no

well I did almost get in a fight with someone at the gym last thursday, but I didn't notice any scratch until today. In fact when I left the gym that night, I checked my car and didn't notice any scratches. I didn't notice anything yesterday either.

touch up paint I tried, and it looked terrible. I think tried scratchX and it did a good job in making the scratch less noticiable, but it still definetely is there

TLTrance

Smart a-holes will always target property or people not immediately after a confrontation.. They will do it later just to reduce the possibility that you think that its them...

RSA_Secure

How about trying to get your insurance to cover it...that is if you need to repaint

caball88

if you said scratch-x is good enough to cover it then it probably is not that deep. you can take it to the shop and have them try and buff it out. i have scratched my rear door against a fence and the shop was able to buff it out. check that out before asking about repainting your car. it cost me 100 bucks to buff out the scratches on the door.

Tripp11

I agree. My insurance policy has a vandalism clause where I pay a $0 deductible and my rates do not go up if claimed.

mickey3c

I'd leave it alone unless the costs associated with the scratch are worth it to you. The car will just get another one eventually.. It's inevitable... maybe not keyed... 1500 sounds steep for basically surface prep and paint. I would guess more like 500 tops..

As for the value of the car... a minor dent does not take away from the value of the car so this should not as well. I do agree that most people If they are buying used, like to know that the car is 100% intact and never saw a body shop for anything.

mn2trance

Damn dude. That sucks big time. First the rear bumper and now this. Although it's not noticeable from afar, just do the same thing you did with the rear bumper . . . live with it for now even though you know it's there.

Zed's TL

I recently noticed that some miscreant keyed my pasenger side front fender. My efforts with Turtle Way Polishing Compound were not sucessful. I will bring it to my buddy at a body shop for a professional buffing. Scratches and minor dents are a fact of life. It would be worse if I had a Porsche 911.

While the scratch is bad, the mark from some tree sap from Haliburton, Ontario looks like is has reacted with the clear coat. It looks as if it has bubbled the clear. I took polishing compound to get the stuff off. It now has left a very hard to see mark. Next time I will buy a used car and not worry about its first scratch

3PUTT

my wdp got keyed right outside my house. it was across my hood, fender to fender. wdp is pretty hard to blend with the entire car. i told the bodyshop i'll pay cash for it. they charged me $600.

2005Aspec

I was keyed, my front right fender and passenger door needed work, the hood had to be blended.


$800. Now I got a deal because it's a friends bodyshop, however it wasnt more than 20%, so considering mine sounds like more work, how is $1500 what you're coming to?

Brewmaster

If you applied Scratch-X by hand someone with an orbital or rotary polisher and some skill should be able to bring it much closer (depending on how deep the scratch is)

Find a good body shop or a good detailer and let them take a look!

hfzeus

My car, with a few hundred miles on it, has already met one of our stone walls! I took it to my Acura dealer and they recommended "Colors on Parade" for all paint repair. They will guarantee the job and it was the 2nd lowest price of 5 estimates I received.

Does your gym have a security camera near where you parked? Many do so I'd check with them in addition to filing a police report.

mtw156

I've said it once, I'll say it again. WHO KEYS CARS. Sounds like you'd get your ass kicked doing something like that.

WdnUlik2no

First would like to thank all you guys for your responses. Here are some personalized responses to some of you guys questions/comments


<B>hfzeus</B>: Yes, I called the gym and asked if they had a security camera, and they told me that they didn't because the building is leased out. I told them that someone keyed my car there, but they basically couldn't do anything

<B>2005Aspec</B>: The $1500 is just a pesimistic figure I have estimated myself based on what an Acura body shop has told me in the past. They wanted to charge me $450 just to get out a dime sized dent. (I ended up going somewhere else and got it done for $65)

<B>mn2trance</B>: wow you remembered my bumper! Yep, its very aggravating, but it seems that each scratch or blemish I get now, its less stressful than that very first one. I considered leaving it alone, but everytime I look at it, it eats me up.

<B>Tripp11</B>: Unfortunately, my insurance policy does not have a vandalism clause, so its still $500 deductible, if I file a comprehensive claim.

<B>TLTrance</B>: Yes I am pretty sure it was him come to think of it. I did a quick check of my car when I left the gym, but because it was so dark, I wouldn't have been able to notice it anyway. Also, That was the only time I drove the car since I noticed it Monday night.


Update: I called the insurance company last night and told them what happened. And also inquired would this affect my policy. They told me that just one comprehensive claim that is not my fault would just be treated as a not fault accident, so it wouldn't affect my premium. They gave me a claim number and told me to get estimates tommorow and if I wanted to continue with the claim then just to call them back. I told them if the estimate was not that much over $500 then I would cancel the claim.

Today, I went to two body shops.

The first one told me immediately that he had to repaint the panels, but because they take everything off the car so they won't have to tape and therefore making the repaint more noticable, they told me that this method would make the repaint virtually non detectable because there would be no tape edges or lines. He also told me that he could match the Anthracite paint perfectly. Total Estimate: $659

I stopped by the 2nd one after leaving the first one. This guy told me that while he definetely makes more money with a repaint, that he didn't want to repaint my panels if he didn't have to. He said that repainting hurts the value of the car even if the damage is minor, because subsequent owners want the original paint on the car, or they will think that it was in an accident. He basically told me that repainting it would hurt my car more than just leaving the scratch there. He also said that the fact that my car is so new, he advises against repainting it even more. He wants to buff it out, and he said he would be able get even better results than I was able to with the ScratchX. He also said if I was not happy with the results, then we could talk about repainting. He also said if I wasn't happy with the buff and wanted a repaint, then he would only charge half the amount for the buff. He told me that most body shops would want to make as much money as they can, which is why they are so quick to repaint, and also why the rush through their work so they can get to the next customer. He told me that he does all the work himself, and only has assistants to help him do minor things. He told me the reason he does all the work himself is because he doesn't trust anyone to care as much as his customers do. Because he does the work himself, he said unless I am in a rush he wouldn't be able to get to my car until late next week. I told him that was fine. His charge for a buff is $100.

I think I am going to go the buff route. That way I save $400, save my insurance claim, and more importantly, perserve the original paint on my car. I think I can live with a faint scratch, I am coming to terms with the fact that my car will not be in perfect condition forever. Hopefully my results will be as good as <B>caball88</B>

ElmerHiggins

Dang man, what gym was this? Lawrenceville huh, might this be a the LA Fitness on Pleasant Hill?

WdnUlik2no

bally total fitness in duluth, right behind acura carland

Raheel

you got any pictures?

WdnUlik2no

nah sure don't, you probably won't be able to see the scratch on camera any way I took one picture, but the scratch did not show.

mn2trance

Glad to hear that you're going to be saving some serious cash. With all the crap that is on our roads, our cars will never be perfect. We just have to avoid the user errors . . . like backing into a wall.

ElmerHiggins

Its a bittersweet moment, scratch=bad thing, fact that it didnt go through the basecoat=good thing, a buff should work for anything in the clearcoat but worst comes to worst, you can have the door re-cleared with another clearcoat and you will not have color match issues, (maybe a slight luster difference with the new stuff being shinier).
DO NOT REPAINT THE DOORS ANEW, go with another clearcoat after hitting the old stuff with a light sanding for adhesion.
If your bodyshop doesnt know of this, get second opinions on it.
Good luck man. I am a Ballys member but do not frequent that particulular one , never really had a problem with meatheads with too much testosterone knock on wood.
Might I ask how you and the douchebag got into the altercation?
How did he know it was your car? Did it happen outside or in the club?

WdnUlik2no

happened in the gym.

He claimed I fouled him while he was going up for a shot, but since i don't have 8 foot arms there is no way I could have fouled him. Because I was at the free throw line when he was going up for a shot. He didnt call a foul or nothing but after the game he got all in my face yelling at me to okay the game right, so I then told him I didnt even touch him because i was no where near him, but he insisted it was me, even though two of my teammates where guarding him at the basket. I told him again that I didnt touch him, but he kept being an ass about it almost threatening me. I finally had enough and told him him that he'd better get out my face with that crap. Then we started toward each other and two guys seperated us. Even my teammate it was him that fouled him and not me, but he still kept saying it was me.

we kept on playing, but he left before I did. I am pretty sure he knows what car I drive and I know his friends do.

makes no sense at all, to threaten me over some crap like a foul. I usually am not into fighting over stupid shit, but I am not going to take crap from anyone either, and no one threatens me. Regardless of who ever fouled him, if he can't take a foul in basketball, why is he even playing? Basketball is a contact sport and if he can't take the hits he should stick to ping pong or badmitton. In any case if he got fouled, he should have called it at that point, and not bitch about it at the end of the game just because his team lost. I get hit, knocked down, bust in the face, all the time when I play basketball, but I don't bitch and cry about it, I know its a part of the game. The most I do is call a foul.

Noone is out there to hurt anybody, they just want to have fun. If you get fouled just call the damn foul and keep playing. Not that damn hard to do. Noone out there is on contract, just play the damn game. I stopped going to the crunch in Buckhead because of crap like that. People take the game way to seriously.

ElmerHiggins

Thats disturbing man....sorry to hear it....the guy is a real jerkoff and should definitely not cry at the end of a game for a stupid foul.
Best of luck with the repairs, again....good to hear ur basecoat is intact.

caball88

WdnUlik2no:

the second body shop sounded very honest and is the exact same thing almost word for word what my body shop guy told me. he said he would try to buff it out before doing any type of repainting. i am sure you it will buff out fine, good luck with the car.

WdnUlik2no

thanks man.

yep, I didnt think their were any honest body shops out there after all the BS i heard over the years, but this guy sounded pretty honest for a change. I'll go to him next week.