Advice Needed: Pre-painted front Bumper Replacement vs. Repair (Y model)

[nahash]

Hello,

I bought my Tesla just last month and I have experienced some paint damage (scratches and paint damage) on my left front bumper. As a relatively new owner, I wanna know my options and would greatly appreciate some guidance from seasoned owners. From my search I found the below options:

1. Pre-painted Bumper: Has anyone here gone with a pre-painted bumper replacement directly from Tesla? What was your experience, and approximately how much did it cost? Is the color matching the original one ? (Mine is pearl white )
2. Alternative Options: Considering the recency of my purchase and wanting to maintain the pristine condition, are there other repair routes you’d recommend? Perhaps professional repaint or any effective DIY solutions? I’m in LA and if you have a place you recommend.

Also if I go with changing the bumper will that be reported on carfax and lowering the car’s value ?

Thank you for any advice or shared experiences!

 

[N1L CO2]

Always hate to see these minor scuffing happen to new cars. I have replaced my front bumper with Tesla factory painted one. You can only order them through the parts desk and have them install it. I think the total was ~ $1100 which includes remove and replace labor. As long as you don't make an insurance claim, you should be fine with having it appear on CarFax. Alternatively, you may want to search in Yelp for those guys who do mobile spot repairs. Some of them seem really good but personally have no experience in that regard.

 

[adkua]

Don’t have the invoice anymore but like the comment above it was right below $1200 out the door to replace the front bumper painted and fitted.

They require that you go to a service center and they replace it there vs buying and DIY. Took about 1 hour and the replacement was simple.

You can probably have it touched up by a professional for around ~$400.

I tend to PPF all the parts I could to avoid potential damage from daily driving but that is $~700 installed by a professional. (Not required) but if pristine is what you are after this will keep it well longer as long as a boulder doesn’t fly into the bumper.

And yes… I know from experience as a big rock was kicked up from 2 lanes away and knocked the bumper pretty well. The paint looked perfect though under the damage! But the bumper was dented.

 

[Ginag1127]

Don’t have the invoice anymore but like the comment above it was right below $1200 out the door to replace the front bumper painted and fitted.

They require that you go to a service center and they replace it there vs buying and DIY. Took about 1 hour and the replacement was simple.

You can probably have it touched up by a professional for around ~$400.

I tend to PPF all the parts I could to avoid potential damage from daily driving but that is $~700 installed by a professional. (Not required) but if pristine is what you are after this will keep it well longer as long as a boulder doesn’t fly into the bumper.

And yes… I know from experience as a big rock was kicked up from 2 lanes away and knocked the bumper pretty well. The paint looked perfect though under the damage! But the bumper was dented.

I tried to buy a replacement bumper (Car hit a hitch and it cracked the bumper and left a square) but Tesla is saying i have to take it to their collision center because I can't order the bumper. There is no other damage - car drives fine, no error messages. Just want to remove it and replace it with a pre-painted one. Were you able to get the service center to order it and install it?

 

[adkua]

I tried to buy a replacement bumper (Car hit a hitch and it cracked the bumper and left a square) but Tesla is saying i have to take it to their collision center because I can't order the bumper. There is no other damage - car drives fine, no error messages. Just want to remove it and replace it with a pre-painted one. Were you able to get the service center to order it and install it?

Yes I was able to get it installed.

Make sure to let them know that there was no collision or damage. Maybe they changed since then but I just asked them that I wanted a new bumper without collision damage.

 

[Jack99]

I tried to buy a replacement bumper (Car hit a hitch and it cracked the bumper and left a square) but Tesla is saying i have to take it to their collision center because I can't order the bumper. There is no other damage - car drives fine, no error messages. Just want to remove it and replace it with a pre-painted one. Were you able to get the service center to order it and install it?

This is what confuses me about Tesla SCs. In the forums, as confirmed by @adkua as well, I see frequent mention of owners getting their Service Centers to replace the bumper -- no problem. Then I occasionally run into a situation like yours where the SC redirects you to a body shop for the bumper replacement. Were you able to get a positive response from the SC ultimately? Thanks!!