mbluver111

Hey guys,

I'm really mad at myself for making a really dumb decision. I was trying to park in a garage and I thought I had enough space to turn in, but I hit the side of the right bumper to the wall. There was cement left on my bumper and I managed to remove most of it off but there is some deep scratches there. I tried to buffer out the spot with Meguiar's rubbing compound, Wolfgang's swirl remover, and liquid polish with my DA polisher but no help. I called the dealership that I bought it from to see what they can do, but I would have to wait until Tuesday since the bodyshop is closed for the weekend. Any suggestions? I am really angry at myself and I try to be as careful as possible but sometimes things don't go your way. I hope I can fix this paint scrape and they can work their magic to fill in the deep scratches. Any recommendations would be helpful and appreciated. Thanks in advance.

mbluver111

Sorry, this is my first time uploading and don't know why the pictures are upside down.

WEBSRFR

So sorry to hear about this. I bet you can get a good bodyshop to repaint that section and just blend it. Even if the blending is not perfect it will look a lot better than what it does now.

It is a travesty that with how much Mercedes charges for these cars they don't have a base option that includes the parking sensors. I know some people take pride in being parking experts or driving experts in garages but these things happen. Sometimes I feel a little dumb for making 5 three point turns when I have to turn around in a congested place but I've always been worried about something like this happening to me and I'm extra careful... Parking sensors would have saved you in this situation. When in doubt, three point turn...

I really feel for you and hope you are able to get this fixed for a couple of hundred dollars by someone who can just touch up that area for you. It is such a waste to have to repaint the entire bumper for this minor scratch.

Tomspo04

Don't beat yourself up too bad...crap happens. I know it sucks, but doesn't look really all that bad. You'll get it fixed and be over it!

RNBRAD

Yep happened to me on my second day. My dad test drove my car not being use to it and snagged a tall curve. He pulled over it before I could stop him. Nice grinding crunch sound, I was literally sick to my stomache.

mbluver111

Yes, it really does suck. Once I heard and felt that thump, I knew something was wrong. I will go get a quote from the dealership and other paint body shops to compare the prices. Hopefully it's not too much to touch up on the paint and scratches. I only had it for 6 months and I am disappointed with my incident. Eventually I will get over it once it gets fixed. Things like this do happen and I'm sure the rest of you are very cautious since these are high quality cars and maintain to keep it that way.

CEB

Don't beat yourself up about it but do not take it to a bodyshop. Bodyshops will only repaint it.

Ask about detailers in your local forums and go to one of them for advice.

BM2BZ

ouch ! i see you are so mad that all the pics were upside down . kidding aside, couple of the scratches look pretty deep. like what ceb said, ask a good detailer before taking it to body shop. not trying to be an expert/pro but i guess you'll need a new paint job. i know you are frustrated now but don't lose any sleep because of that. look at the bright side, your car still looks 1000 times better than most cars out there even with some minor scratches. good luck, buddy !

BenzV12

I am sorry to see the images but I expected something worse , good thing these are not major
Front parking sensors are necessary , I recently read a test review of R231 SL350 but despite parking sensors front end , actually lowest part of the front bumper lip was scraped

Well, sometimes I perform one more maneuvers to avert a issue like that even though I do have front parking sensors but I must say maneuverability is very easy for this size of a vehicle and turning radius is great

YYZ-E55

No big deal, you didn't damage any sheetmetal. Should be a couple hundred to spot repair or under a grand to repaint the entire bumper (assuming a proper job where the bumper is removed and reinstalled).

It's also a great opportunity to get some clear sidemarkers

W210

To make you feel better I curbed the AMG wheels less than 1,000 miles and had to fix it up too. Couldn't stand the imperfection it's too new..

Nuru

I gotta go in and get some work done on my front bumpber, a manhole bottom out, and a minor impact with some debris, so my dealer said ~$600 if they do it, but then they advised me where I could go get it done by MC certified paint shops. I should save some bucks going direct to the shops vs using them as the middle-men.

hyperion667

sheesh, sorry to read it....
first thing: forgive yourself bro!

it'll work out somehow......

mbluver111

Thanks guys. Hope everyone had a great Labor day weekend. Today is where I will shop around and get quotes from detailers, auto body paint shops, and even my dealership to compare which one has the best price and knows what they are doing.

mbluver111

Wow, what a big difference when going to get a quote from the dealership and auto body paint shop. I know that dealerships charge way more. I'm sticking with a local auto body paint shop. The right side marker is chipped so I will get that replaced as well. Hopefully this body shop will make my baby look like new again.

WEBSRFR

If you don't mind me asking, how much did the dealer and the auto body shop quote you?

Can they touch up that section or are they going to repaint the bumper?

mbluver111

Dealership quoted me around $1500 while the local body shop quoted around $450. Dealerships over charge for labor and it takes 4 days to complete while the local body shop takes only 2 days.

WEBSRFR

Thanks for the info.. I'm sure others will find the figures useful as well

By the way is the body shop going to repaint the entire bumper or touch up?

Are they going to remove the bumper and do the painting away from the car?

Dealership probably takes 4 days because it takes an extra day to send the car to the local body shop and an extra day to get the car back from the local body shop

mbluver111

The local body shop will take off the bumper and repaint and touch up on the damaged area. They said it's not necessary to paint the whole bumper and will match the exact color withe their technology. It's in the shop now and will see my baby in 2 days. Hopefully it turns out great since they have 5 star reviews.

WEBSRFR

Glad they are taking it off and doing the job properly. In a couple of weeks you'll forget it ever happened