Done by a car trailer at the SCCA races this past weekend at Laguna Seca.

So how should I have it fixed. You think SonicMS might be good since they have been doing many conversions?

paint just that area and blend? whole bumper? new primed bumper and paint it?

You can see the cracked side marker lense on the ground from the car trailer. The owner has been cool about taking care of his error.

 

Damn, hate to see that. The bumper cover is very easy to take apart if you want to have the entire thing re-done. Also, they can add the clear protectant while it is off and make all the cracks perfect.

 

Is that his taillight lens broken under your tire? I would just touch it up wet sand and buff it. No sense in painting the entire bumper and risking a faulty color match.

 

Did the trailer ding your wheel, too?

 

Yes that is his tail light and he got my wheel as well.

I know where to take the wheel. Wheel Techniques in Santa Clara.

But the idea of touching up that one spot and wet sanding has crossed my mind. The only deal is, I want my perfect baby back.

 

Ouch Jon !!!! that's too painful to look at sorry you had to go through that at least they didn't hit the side body panel, it could've been much worse No worries, this should be a relatively easy fix: I'd go with buffing and sanding rather than repainting the whole bumper.

 

I know how you feel, my car is at the shop due to a wreck.
What kind of wheels do you have on your car, they look nice.

 

Those are the wheels that come with the P30 "Performance Package" for the E-Class.

 

Try some goof off and some compound first

 

The paint is scraped off the bumper. The trailer is unpainted aluminum. Paint needs to be replaced.

The picture is of the offending trailer.

Here is a link to a high resolution picture of my bumper

http://webpages.charter.net/djcronk/Pictures/Jon2.jpg

 

Hi res and trailer pic shows my idea is ****.........sorry

 

SonicMS will take care of you. I had some body work done there, and they matched my 6-yr old paint perfectly

 

at least try to touch it up, wet sand, then buff it and if it doesnt come out the way you like then redo the bumper but at least you know you tried. Honestly imo I would feel worse about having an entirely painted bumper than a little section thats touched up which btw only looks bad if you dont wet sand and buff. When you do sand it it will shine like new. Try it

 

if he's paying respray everything. otherwise, it looks like it would buff out with a wet sand.

 

The only downside is that the OEM paint is very durable... I don't think you have any other option then repaint. I would probably do a 3m clear kit before you take it back to the road.

 

Gents, there is no sanding out because the paint is GONE.

So this weekend I go to
http://www.capitolcollision.com/
and
http://www.kosscollision.com/

Koss was given a recommendation be an individual in the business who may not be named due to legal issues.

The advice about the original paint vs new is well taken, but it looks like no one has had experience in this area.

I will let you all know.

Cheers,
Jon

 

I have and I think everyone here has had experience in this area. We al know that if paint is not done right by the right person, that it completely overshadows the car with a bad vibe when trying to sell or present it. So if indeed you decide to go with a shop, then make sure they are very reputable. I still think its overkill to paint the entire bumper for that little scratch. Throw some touch up in the scratches and buff em out. It will be brand new...

 

If you end up with a new bumper, I'm interested in buying your current one

 

Sad to say it but CWW is dead on with this. I too have been there, and everything he posted has happened to me. Pictures and writing is your best option my friend.

See yeah

 

Everybody is always cool about damaging your car.......at first.

It's because human nature's natural reaction is to pull the wool over our own eyes when it comes to paying for stupid mistakes. So they look at it and think "oh it's not that bad, probably a couple hundred bucks will cover it."

Then, a week or two later, they start ignoring you unless you call from a number they don't recognize. And the ones that don't try the ignore trick will still balk when you fax over your repair estimate for $2k. And it will be that much. The car needs a new tire, the rim repaired, the bumper fixed and resprayed, and the fender area will need to be blended to match the bumper. If you want it done properly (which you do), it will cost money.

So then they get your estimate and the fun begins. Now you'll be hearing things like "Well, why is it so much?" "Can't you just go to Maaco?" "The tire doesn't look that bad to me, I don't think it needs to be replaced" and my two personal favorites; "Most of that will buff out!" and "If this was my car, I wouldn't make such a big deal about it." (ya farking rite!). Eventually out will come the grandaddy of stupid cop-outs; "The same thing happened to my (insert name of crappy american car), and it was only $14.95 to fix, so I'm not paying this ridiculous bill. I think $300 should be more than enough to cover it."

I have been where you're at a couple times before. Trust me, get it in writing that he will fix your damage NOW, while it's all still friendly, or you will wind up having to go to court over it. Also, make sure you write down his license tag number and any signs, decals, or markings on the trailer, in case you need them later for the judge.

 

There is a place in Southern California called Star Shield Armor that is just starting to offer a 3 part 3M program that will give you paint protection, front and rear bumper protection and interior protetion and if anything happens to your car in regards to those three things they cover it for 3 years. What happened to you this weekend would have been covered under it. Maybe you guys in California should look into it. I don't have the number but teh place is again called Star Shield Armor.

 

Well,

Everything came to about $2K. That includes repaired and re-painted bumper at Koss for $1250, new clear bra at Premier for $600, and wheel fix for $150.

As for the paint durability, I wonder if that is such a big deal when you have a clear bra. If the person who did this simply sends me a check, I might try the touch up paint and wet sand approach. No one can do the nano-ceramic clear coat that MB uses.

As for keeping track of the individual, well this was an SCCA event, so I can get more information about he guy if I need to. He was running a car.

As for those asking for the bumper, it is being repaired for this, not replaced.

 

$2k huh. Did I call it or what? Lol.

As to keeping track of the guy, you may as well start getting your info on him now. I have been where you're at. There is probably a 90% chance that he will either try to weasel out of it entirely, or will start giving you crap about how much it costs to try and talk you down.

You might want to ask him to sign simple 1-page statement saying "I accidently damaged Jon's car on XX/XX/XXXX, and agree to cover his repair costs." If he agrees to do it, you will be saved a huge hassle later, because as soon as he hears $2k, the fun will begin.

 

Well, I still have not fixed this scratch.

Anyone in NorCal ever deal with these guys?

http://www.dingsplus.com/index.html

What they show on their web site seems to be what I need.

 

I just had my front bumper redone. Don't like the front plate so I removed it and filled the holes then had it completely repainted. That's the only way to go.

Remove, repair and repaint.