Scratched Cars?

[AcemanPB]

When I went to get in my car today (that was parked in a parking lot) I noticed a large scuff/scratch on the back bumper. It looked as if someone hit my car either pulling in or backing out of the space next to mine. The bumper is plastic, and it's scratched pretty bad.

I figured someone on AO would know how to fix up my car to where it wouldn't look as bad because I really don't know what to do. I was thinking about getting it touched up at a body shop, my car is black so it should be easy to match up the paint. I'll get some pics later

Any suggestions?


The thing that makes mad is that no one left a phone number or anything, they must have just left....

[LittlePaintballBoy]

you could try nail polish? i think somone in my court said that after this one kid ran into someone elses car RIDING HER BIKE WITH HER EYES CLOSED! it was a red bike to a black car so it was pretty bad.

[AcemanPB]

Well there is no other color on my car, it just scratched up my bumper pretty good. I think I'm going to get it touched up at a body shop, that just some money I'm going to have to shell out that I wasn't planning on spending...

[devildog]

your insurance company will pay for the damage in most cases, call them and ask. although depending on he company, you may have to pay a deducltible, but it should still be cheaper than paying for the body shop to do it out of your pocket.

[rhetor22]

man, you're lucky!

On two occasions, my truck was hit and run, but it was a lot more than plastic. both body panels on the bed need to be replaced due to dents/scratches. There's a bunch of other scratches from those two incidents also. Rear bumper needs to be replaced.


It sucks a lot though that people will do that and just drive away. Sometimes you wish you were there to witness so you could justify beating the living crap out of the guy who tries to drive away.

[OfficerGoat]

Actualy... black is the hardest color to match. Having owned a black Corvette, Mustang and TransAm... I have learned to both love and hate black cars

So far as fixing it is concerned so long as its just scuffed its pretty easy to do.. someone just needs to polish it out. If its through to primer then it gets tougher... especialy if you want it to look good.

Hate to hear about stuff like that.. I hate people who have no respect for other peoples things. Good luck getting it worked out.

[AcemanPB]

I really don't know what to do. The scratched up part is rather low and un-noticeable, I just want something to make it look half decent for now. I don't think I have the cash on hand to get it fixed at a body shop....

hmmm I always thought black was the easiest color to match, oh well I've never had to do it before so I guess you're right.

[rhetor22]

Black is a mic of a bunch of colors and paint chips/flakes so its real hard to match. Sometimes they make blacks with green flakes, or blue flakes, i've even seen a mix of those with red flakes.

If you attach a pic it'll be easier for us to reccomend what to do.

[AcemanPB]

Here is a picture... it's not that bad but still noticable.

[krafty]

That's pretty messy. Call your insurance company and find out what your Comprehensive deductable is (since the car was parked, it should count under comprehensive instead of collision).

If all else fails, insurance won't cover it, and you can't afford a body shop: Go to a dealer (it looks like a fairly new car) and get a bottle of touch-up paint. They should have the paint codes for that color and they're usually a good match. I wouldn't worry too much about primer since the bumper is plastic. Just touch it up as best you can.

If you still don't like the look of it, take a bit of rubbing compound and gently try to blend the edges of the new paint with the old paint. Then make sure to wax.

[Vendetta]

Looks fine to me. Here in NYC you can't find a car that doesn't have its bumper banged up.

[HOMOCIDAL2]

DON'T CALL YOUR INSURANCE COMPANY!!!! EVEN IF YOU NOT AT FAULT IT WILL STILL MESS WITH YOUR INSURANCE RATES. GO TO A BODY SHOP AND HAVE THEM FIX IT. YOUR DEDUCTIBLE IS PROBABLY $250 OR 500. IT SHOULDN'T COST THAT MUCH TO FIX, AND YOUR INSURANCE WON'T GO UP BECAUSE YOUR A RISK, BECAUSE YOU PARK IN A PARKING LOT WHERE OTHER CARS GO. SOMEBODY DID THIS TO MY DURANGO WHEN IT WAS 2 MONTHS OLD. JUST REMEMBER HOW IT FEELS AND WHEN YOU SEE SOMEONE DO IT TO ANOTHER, TAKE DOWN THE TAG NUMBER. THEN LEAVE A NOTE FOR THE VICTIM. BE A GOOD WITNESS.

[graycie]

caps lock was not necessary

[AcemanPB]

Alright guys I tried some touch up paint doesn't look THAT bad. Right now the spot I touched up is kind of dull, I'm going to try to polish it up but the direction said to wait a week before messing with it.

Here is a pic of what it looks like now

[AcemanPB]

And I've been working all morning waxing the rest of the car fun!!

What do ya think?