Repairing Door Dings/Nicks on back bumper

PeterNYC · #1 10-12-2006, 08:39 AM

I live in NYC, which means i have the pleasure of paying an exorbidant fee to a garage so I can park our X3. What else do I get for this pleasure of over paying? Garage guys who bang the car around, though they claim to have "no idea" where all the dings come from.

At any rate, I know I can get an exact match on the paint from a the dealer, using the VIN....But has anybody done any touching up (or had the dealer do it)? The nicks along the door well seem easy enough to fix.

What i'm most concerned with is a couple of scrapes along the left rear bumper, which is plastic. There are two or three horizontal scratches (and, of course, some subtle yellow marks, the same color of the metal bars guarding the pillars in the underground garage).

I'm going to try to get the garage to pay for this, but I'm not sure how well that will work. Just curious as to the best way to go about such repairs, esp to the plastic bumpers.

I know it's all cosmetic, but it really bugs the hell out of me and every time I pick the car up from the garage my blood is boiling.

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vern · #2 10-12-2006, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PeterNYC

I live in NYC, which means i have the pleasure of paying an exorbidant fee to a garage so I can park our X3. What else do I get for this pleasure of over paying? Garage guys who bang the car around, though they claim to have "no idea" where all the dings come from.

At any rate, I know I can get an exact match on the paint from a the dealer, using the VIN....But has anybody done any touching up (or had the dealer do it)? The nicks along the door well seem easy enough to fix.

What i'm most concerned with is a couple of scrapes along the left rear bumper, which is plastic. There are two or three horizontal scratches (and, of course, some subtle yellow marks, the same color of the metal bars guarding the pillars in the underground garage).

I'm going to try to get the garage to pay for this, but I'm not sure how well that will work. Just curious as to the best way to go about such repairs, esp to the plastic bumpers.

I know it's all cosmetic, but it really bugs the hell out of me and every time I pick the car up from the garage my blood is boiling.

My friend lives in N.Y. also. When he first moved to the city he had a new BMW and had it in a garage like you do and wound up with the same exact problem.The way he got around it so he wouldn't get sick every time he looked at his car was to sell it before it got so beat up he would lose to much money. He likes high end cars, every so often he buys a used one and when it gets to look bad he trades it in for another one. This is what he has been doing for quite a few years and that way he has piece of mind. To do what you want to do with the touch up or what ever is a lost cause. Thats the price you have to pay to live in the big city. Good luck
cheers
vern

PeterNYC · #3 10-12-2006, 10:00 AM

well this car is only three months old, so...We're not going to trade it in, just yet....So there is no way to touch up the back bumper?

Replacing it is an option, but an expensive one I'm sure

peoe2 · #4 10-12-2006, 10:40 AM

Yes there are ways to do it.

Instructions for the body
Instructions for the bumper

TaylorFrancis · #5 10-15-2006, 10:01 AM

Those two threads on the touch-ups are great. Thanks very much for posting them.

05Boxster · #6 10-15-2006, 07:46 PM

links just bring me back to home page?

donald_duck · #7 10-18-2006, 05:33 PM

Same city, same problems... The best way to protect your car in a garage is to tip the attendant(s) regularly

So it's almost $50 per month plus... And some garage attendants wash the cars also... ($20 each wash) Ask them, if available, use this "private" service once in a while too.

Talk to them... You should know their names, hobbies, and the football teams if possible... If you keep that up, in two months your car will be as shiny as their boss' car. No-mo touch-up would be needed...

Hey, cursing up and down on your walk home is still free....

Long live black plastic bumpers...

PeterNYC · #8 10-21-2006, 09:51 AM

thanks donald...good tips
we don't have black bumpers...on the 06 X3 they are the same color as the car (in this case, gray) and it sure does show nicks and dings

I am thinking about taking it in to have a professional sand out and touch up the marks (back bumper, but also on the drivers side door) and seeing if i can charge the garage....

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