[NightWriter]

Well, I've owned the car less than two weeks — I haven't even had time to process my PCD photos and or get PPF installed yet — but I managed to break my car already.

I somehow didn't pull in far enough into my garage before closing the door on it, scraping the front bumper in the process. To say I'm embarrassed and mad at myself is an understatement.

I don't think I'll be buying a new bumper, but I'm wondering if a decent body shop can at least smooth this out? I'm curious if anyone else has dealt with this kind of damage.

(I would appreciate any warranty/kids-on-bike memes to help me through this grieving process.)

[vj123]

Sorry to hear that. We moved into a new house early this year and a similar thing happened to one of my family haulers. I think a reputed body shop will be able to fix this issue.

I am looking forward to the kid and his cycle comments / memes.

[MassComp]

That sucks....

Have a good lawyer?

[Forzanerazzurri]

Very easy for a shop to fix. They'll sand and fill that and repaint. Shouldn't be too bad.

[kjx]

Originally Posted by NightWriter

I somehow didn't pull in far enough into my garage before closing the door on it, scraping the front bumper in the process. To say I'm embarrassed and mad at myself is an understatement.

100%, word for word, this happened to me. And I felt exactly how you feel.

It scraped through my PFF, my individual paint and through to the black plastic underneath.

Here's the good news. I'm glad to report that I repaired it myself to the point I go to car shows/events and enthusiasts looking closely have not spotted the damage or the fix. People when told to look for the fix have no idea where on the bumper something was fixed. Of course, once it's pointed out, you can sort of see it. I'm very particular about these things and I cannot "see" it so it no longer bothers me.

Here's the multi-step process that I shared in some other thread a while back (attached).

Edit: if you've not applied PPF yet, DO NOT do this type of fix and apply PPF on top. The PPF will 70-80% look bubbly and it will be obvious. If you do a great job with a smooth finish on the paint and you PPF installer is top notch, maybe you'd get away with it. I'd actually recommend professionally getting it repainted before PPF - don't waste money on PPF alone and then end up being unhappy.

[MassComp]

From the neighbors doorbell camera....

[m.dreamin]

Originally Posted by kjx

100%, word for word, this happened to me. And I felt exactly how you feel.

It scraped through my PFF, my individual paint and through to the black plastic underneath.

Here's the good news. I'm glad to report that I repaired it myself to the point I go to car shows/events and enthusiasts looking closely have not spotted the damage or the fix. People when told to look for the fix have no idea where on the bumper something was fixed. Of course, once it's pointed out, you can sort of see it. I'm very particular about these things and I cannot "see" it so it no longer bothers me.

Here's the multi-step process that I shared in some other thread a while back (attached).

Edit: if you've not applied PPF yet, DO NOT do this type of fix and apply PPF on top. The PPF will 70-80% look bubbly and it will be obvious. If you do a great job with a smooth finish on the paint and you PPF installer is top notch, maybe you'd get away with it. I'd actually recommend professionally getting it repainted before PPF - don't waste money on PPF alone and then end up being unhappy.

Excellent work and writeup!

OP - it can definitely be fixed by a shop, or you may even give the above a try.

Like you, I was massively mad and embarrassed at a mishap I did in the first couple weeks of having the car. I was driving through a drive through and as I rounded the bend toward the pick up window I heard what I knew immediately was me bumping the curb with my rim. I was kind of mortified, as I had never bumped a curb in previous cars. I thought the "curb rash" was permanent, but I took it to a wheel repair shop and 30 mins later you could not spot the previous damage. To this day I still can't find it. Your scenario isn't a damaged rim, but just sharing as I'm sure we've all done/felt the way you do now.

[MCM4]

ARGH, that sucks. Sorry for your trouble.

I know how much you love the car - I don't remember if you were one of the guys who added all of the temporary painters tape to protect it at pickup - but if you are that particular, I would have the shop pull the PPF and fix it the right way. Anything less will probably be a letdown if you are super particular. Otherwise, do the cheap fix and move on. Probably won't be the last imperfection that comes to the front end.

[Hawkdog]

Originally Posted by MassComp

That sucks....

Have a good lawyer?

Attachment 2956930

My wife and I both took out our old garage door. Fortunately it was with our minivan. When we moved into our current house one of the openers was some Soviet-era brand and was ungodly slow. When I backed into the door, I had opened it right when I got into the garage, walked to the car, got in, started it, and started backing up while the door was still on its way up. My wife did the exact same thing about 3 weeks later so I had to re-do my duct tape and chewing gum repair to the door.

OP, sorry to hear about this - I’m sure someone will have you looking like new soon enough.

Oh, and this:

[Besharaf]

The sucks! Are you sure you don't have a tricycle gang in your area? Rampaging the neighborhood.

A few good body shops in VA

[Mark Kez]

I got nothing for you man, at Dulles on my way home. After I get home and check my car for tricycle skid marks I’ll get back to you!!

[NightWriter]

Originally Posted by kjx

Edit: if you've not applied PPF yet, DO NOT do this type of fix and apply PPF on top. The PPF will 70-80% look bubbly and it will be obvious. If you do a great job with a smooth finish on the paint and you PPF installer is top notch, maybe you'd get away with it. I'd actually recommend professionally getting it repainted before PPF - don't waste money on PPF alone and then end up being unhappy.

Very helpful, thank you. So you did not reapply any PPF after this repair?

[chicagofan00]

Geez, that kid gets around the country pretty easily.

[MMnut]

Originally Posted by chicagofan00

Geez, that kid gets around the country pretty easily.

Forget that. He flew here in Sydney already.

[kjx]

Originally Posted by NightWriter

Very helpful, thank you. So you did not reapply any PPF after this repair?

Nope. I'm doubly glad I didn't as a rubber marble on a race track "tour" recently chipped through a different portion of PPF on my bumper. I'd have been mad if that happened after I dropped $X,000 re-painting and reapplying PPF.

And to be realistic what's the worst that will happen at the small area where there is no PPF. Rock strategically hits there? I have everything needed to bring it back to new-ish.

[NightWriter]

Thanks for the feedback (and comic relief), all.

I stopped by three separate body shops this morning to get an estimate. All three had good online reviews.

Shop #1: The guy was salivating as we walked over to the car, so I should have sensed it was going to be steep. Sure enough, he wanted to remove the bumper and replace several hundred dollars worth of materials (weatherstripping, reflectors, and even some anti-theft decal?), on top of all the painting labor. Total $2200. (Hard pass)

Shop #2: Also said they'd need to remove the bumper, but they had an M4 in the shop for a similar repair and said the total there was around $1300. Moving in the right direction.

Shop #3: Said bumper removal is the ideal way to fix (~$1000), but he was confident he could leave it in place, and sand it, prime, and blend the paint over a small area and it would be very difficult to detect. "If it were my car, that's what I would do." $320. Sold!

I probably won't get in there for a couple of weeks, but I'll post photos when done. (And I'll defer PPF for the bumper for at least a month thereafter.)

[MassComp]

I'd still want to have the bumper removed so the inside edges get hit with adequate paint & clearcoat, and can be wet-sanded properly. That and less overspray potential on the rest of the car.

[YamaLink]

I took my tennis ball down when EVERYONE made fun of me. Now it's just the string. My M4 is longer than my last few cars. Having said that, two of my friends mocking my ball (gentle) have since drove their roofrack bikes into the garage AND shut the door on their brand new RAM 1500.

[YamaLink]

Originally Posted by MassComp

From the neighbors doorbell camera....

Attachment 2956938

I have intentionally NOT read that first thread about the cracked grill nor gone down any meme rabbit hole, but this made me LOL and spit my drink at work. Thank you!!

[NightWriter]

Originally Posted by MassComp

I'd still want to have the bumper removed so the inside edges get hit with adequate paint & clearcoat, and can be wet-sanded properly. That and less overspray potential on the rest of the car.

Yeah, fair point. I'll be sure to ask them to mask around sufficiently to avoid overspray. But with this price discrepancy, I can't justify the additional premium for the ideal fix. I figure if @kjx can get such good results on his own, I should expect at least that for a professional fix.

Originally Posted by YamaLink

I took my tennis ball down when EVERYONE made fun of me. Now it's just the string. My M4 is longer than my last few cars. Having said that, two of my friends mocking my ball (gentle) have since drove their roofrack bikes into the garage AND shut the door on their brand new RAM 1500.

I got rid of our tennis balls when my son used to see it (in an empty garage) as an opportunity to practice his fastball and it eventually got dislodged. Now I use a thick rubber parking block (that, obviously, needed to be readjusted).

[MassComp]

Originally Posted by NightWriter

Yeah, fair point. I'll be sure to ask them to mask around sufficiently to avoid overspray. But with this price discrepancy, I can't justify the additional premium for the ideal fix. I figure if @kjx can get such good results on his own, I should expect at least that for a professional fix.

As long as you keep things in perspective...this repair is being performed on a new $90K+ vehicle, and that you usually get what you pay for.

In my area, fixing/repainting a nose on a vehicle like this is at least a $1,000 job all day long and would involve removing the bumper.

[Buddym850icoupe]

I should probably not post my own mishap from yesterday... im so pissed at myself... my damage is way worse than yours... why couldn't I have smashed that God forsaken amg instead lol my rear bumper is done for... Los Angeles body shop recs?