# Should I let dealer fix under-bumper scratches?



## WBear (Aug 30, 2003)

So I got my brand new car two weeks ago. When I took delivery I noticed a dozen scratches on the spoiler under the bumper, on each side. They were obviously caused by the transporter ramp. The scratches were symmetrical and directly in front of the wheels. The dealer offered to fix them. At first we thought some minor sanding and polishing could take the scratches off. So the dealer did that, but the scratches are still there, though less visible. You have to be eye level with the bumper to see them. Looked like some scratches cut into the primer. The dealer wanted to do more agressive sanding and repaint the area. Now I have never heard a good story about repainting. What do you guys think? Should I let the dealer do it, or just live with the scratches?


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## Artslinger (Sep 2, 2002)

If it was my new car I'd have the bumper repainted.


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## 2006_750Li_ED (Jul 3, 2005)

If the dealer is willing to take responsability get a new bumper cover, it should cost around $800-$1000, however I do not see how you can prove that you did not do that yourself. The dealer is trying to accomodate you as long as it does not cost much, I would rather not mess with the bumper as they will end up painting your whole bumper and it will be "UGLYYYY", perhaps if you want them to replace the bumper, let them paint it and then if it is a bad paint job make them replace the whole bumper cover.


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## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

The under side of my bumper was damaged during transport from Europe. BMWNA paid to have my bumper to get repainted at a cost of $450. The body shop did a wonderful job and I could not even tell it was a repaint. Unfortunately 2 months later I had similar damage because I hit a parking stall wheel stop.  From posts I have seen the E90 seems to have a similar problem with low hanging front bumper.

My solution to the problem was to install BMW C/S splitters. Not do I only like the more agressive look but it hid the new damage and further encounters with wheel stops. :thumbup:


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## Artslinger (Sep 2, 2002)

My last car was repainted two different times because of accidents, and both times you could not see any difference between the repainting and the factory paint. Actually the body shop paint looked better than the factory paint, there was less orange peeling.


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## RaceTripper (Apr 12, 2002)

2006_750Li_ED said:


> ...I would rather not mess with the bumper as they will end up painting your whole bumper and it will be "UGLYYYY", perhaps if you want them to replace the bumper, let them paint it and then if it is a bad paint job make them replace the whole bumper cover.


 If the shop is competant it should look fine. If the shop is not competant, getting a replacement bumper won't make a difference since they have to paint that as well.


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## WBear (Aug 30, 2003)

dwette said:


> If the shop is competant it should look fine. If the shop is not competant, getting a replacement bumper won't make a difference since they have to paint that as well.


Doesn't OEM bumper come pre-painted to the color of the car?


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## RaceTripper (Apr 12, 2002)

WBear said:


> Doesn't OEM bumper come pre-painted to the color of the car?


 Nope. I think it's primed, but the bumper has to be painted and clearcoated. Already been thru a new rear bumper on a 99 323i and a front bumper on a 02 530i.

I don't think any body part comes prepainted. The autobody shop always has to paint and clearcoat (even with the M3 lip spoiler).

Dean


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## 1Dreamer (Oct 23, 2004)

LDV330i said:


> Unfortunately 2 months later I had similar damage because I hit a parking stall wheel stop.


I did the same thing about 2 days after I got this car which has the lower M-tech suspension and I didn't realize it was low enough to scrape parking stops.  Fortunately I was able to buff it out enough that it's barely visible and you almost have to be laying on the ground to see it at all.

If the dealer is willing to fix it at no cost, I'd definitely go for it.


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## WBear (Aug 30, 2003)

dwette said:


> Nope. I think it's primed, but the bumper has to be painted and clearcoated. Already been thru a new rear bumper on a 99 323i and a front bumper on a 02 530i.
> 
> I don't think any body part comes prepainted. The autobody shop always has to paint and clearcoat (even with the M3 lip spoiler).
> 
> Dean


That's not a good thing. I'd hate to have a bumper that fades differently than the rest of the car. Maybe I should just let them paint the bottom only, where most of the scratches are.


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## RaceTripper (Apr 12, 2002)

WBear said:


> That's not a good thing. I'd hate to have a bumper that fades differently than the rest of the car. Maybe I should just let them paint the bottom only, where most of the scratches are.


 I don't know that I would worry about it. BMW paints are high quality. After 4 years I see no evidence on my Orient Blue 323i that the rear bumper was replaced with a new painted one. Last week someone bumped my M3 rear bumper. The shop is going to do a repair rather than replace, so I'll be getting a repaint (Carbon Black). It's a drag it happened, but I'm not too concerned about it.


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## LDV330i (May 24, 2003)

There is abolutely no reason why the repainted bumper should fade any differently that the rest of the car. The picture below are of my previous car, a 318ti. One entire side of the car was repainted because it was keyed from to back. No only did the paint not fade on that side of the car any differently, I could not even tell where the new paint blended into the original paint. The bumper on my 330i has now been repainted for over 18 months and neither I nor anybody else can tell that it is not factory paint. Just make sure you take take the car to a reputable body shop.


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## WBear (Aug 30, 2003)

Sounds good. I'll ask the dealer to sand the scratches and repaint the area. I don't want to get a new bumper since factory paint is more chip-resistant. Thanks guys.


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