i never thought i would have done this to my own car. but the side of my car rubbed against an aluminum pole. this is the first time i have scratched any car i have owned. i feel like such a moron. anyways the scratches are light and there are some lines running across the rear door. the paint does not look scratched just the clear coat probably. does anyone know any good body shops either in nyc or LI that i can go to. i am hoping they can just buff it out and i won't have to part with the car too long.

 

caball:

don't worry about it. scratches are always going to happen. whether its you doing it to your own car or someone else dinging you.

do you have a picture of the scratch? if its not through the clearcoat, you may be able to do it yourself with some light compound to buff it out. i wouldn't go crazy with the compound, but light rubbing may get rid of some of the smaller scratches. then take like a good polish to restore the shine.
you may even be able to use like Scratch X to remove it. Since you rubbed against a pole, it sounds like it may be a little deeper...

 

Obviously, I'm no help with who you should go see as I'm from the Midwest; however, when I barely clipped a parking sign in my parking garage, I took my car to my detail guy that works in our garage. The guy has been a Master Detailer for over 25 years and he was able to "cut down" the clear coat and paint just slightly to compensate for the scratches I put in my Saab. He worked wonders on my car and just wanted $30 for his time.

Just a thought...

 

some of the scratches are very light but some are just a tad bit deeper. the paint is defintely fine but i know i will need a buff it out. i do not want to attempt it myself and prefer to take it to a place and have it done by a pro. i just wanted to know if anyone knew of a good shop in the area.

 

I think a quality detailer working out of a detail shop would be much cheaper than a body shop. Surely some of your co-workers or friends might know of a master detailer which could help you out. Or just drive your TL to Indy and I'll have my guy do it for you.

 

hahaha thanks for the offer but its kinda far from here. i'm also asking around for some detailing shops to see if they can help me out.

 

anyone ever been to Rallye Autobody, i bought my car from Rallye Acura and this was the body shop they recommended to me.

 

Are you saying you don't enjoy driving your car?!! :P

I'm still looking for excuses to drive, and here you have the perfect road trip excuse!

 

Here's an excellent site on taking care of scratches.

http://www.bettercarcare.com/articles.php?articleId=27

 

i read that article before but i am super anal about the car being perfect. i am worried that even if i tried what they say it does not come out 100%. i am going to go to the shop after work and see what they say. i'll post their recommendations and pics if possible in case anyone in the future(hopefully not) has the same problem.

 

came back from Rallye Autobody it appears that the scratches are deeper than i thought. they said it had to be repainted, quoted me 500 for the repaint of the rear driver side door. going to take it to another place to see if i can get a better deal. o man i feel like such an ass.