Dinged the parking lot

[jcbada]

Ugh, 1 week in and I got dinged on my CPO P85D's Bumper in the parking lot. No note left, nothing... my insurance and I are going back and forth if they're going to cover it. In the mean time, I got two quotes for repainting of bumper at $2400 and $2700 respectively at two shops in the bay area.

a friend of mine with a S as well seems to think we can buff it.

options are realistically looking like (in the event insurance doesn't cover):
- pay for the new paint bumper job out of pocket
- try to buff, live with results + above option
- let it be and see how the dings come along, and do a few future correction in 1 swoop
- let it be and live with it

 

[P85_DA]

Sux sorry to hear that ...u can try some paint correction compound and buff out as much as possible ..I wouldn’t recommend painting just for that ...

 

[Peteski]

Looks like a very easy smart repair job to me and I doubt you would know it was there afterward. I wouldn't get the whole bumper repainted for that. Should cost around $100 to fix or you could DIY if you know what to do.

 

[cmaster]

Plastic fender. Paint job for that is about 600-800 dollars at the body shop.

What they'll do is take out the bumper, do the paint correction, in less than 24 hours it will be cured. Plus, they need to vent out the fumes as well so on your app, you'll see your model S parks in the service bay with the doors open overnight. Perfectly normal. Not expensive as you think to repair it. Either live it for now or apply some touch up paint....when you get more dings bring it to the body shop.

 

[jcbada]

Plastic fender. Paint job for that is about 600-800 dollars at the body shop.

What they'll do is take out the bumper, do the paint correction, in less than 24 hours it will be cured. Plus, they need to vent out the fumes as well so on your app, you'll see your model S parks in the service bay with the doors open overnight. Perfectly normal. Not expensive as you think to repair it. Either live it for now or apply some touch up paint....when you get more dings bring it to the body shop.

Would you know of any specific shops in the bay area?

 

[jcbada]

Looks like a very easy smart repair job to me and I doubt you would know it was there afterward. I wouldn't get the whole bumper repainted for that. Should cost around $100 to fix or you could DIY if you know what to do.

Any links you can supply me with?

 

[sdugan99]

What is your insurance reason for not covering it? I have never had a problem with insurance covering damage from being hit in parking lot.

 

[trm2]

What is your insurance reason for not covering it? I have never had a problem with insurance covering damage from being hit in parking lot.

The only reasons for the insurance company to not cover it that I can think of are not having the right coverage (possible that there isn't collision coverage) or the insurance company is questioning the loss date vs the coverage date.

But I would bet the OP is questioning whether to file a claim or not based on deductible.

 

[cmaster]

I don't have a recommendation, but, it's approximately what you would expect from any repair shop.

 

[Peteski]

Any links you can supply me with?

Sorry, I'm in the UK so none of our local smart repairers would be of any use. But look up "smart repair" over there and I'm sure there will be plenty. Just make sure you get someone others have given positive reviews. Your insurance co. may even recommend someone.

A good guy would make that disappear without resorting to re-spraying the whole bumper presuming there is no structural damage to the bumper. From the photos it looks like most of that scrape would simply buff out with little effort. How much of it is just paint from the other car? Given the location of the scratch, even a relatively crude bodge job would be hardly noticeable. I certainly wouldn't throw thousands of dollars at it!

 

[patrick40363]

Any links you can supply me with?

Bay area is large and not sure where you are. I had a similar scratch on my left front fender. I took it to Carl's auto body in Cotati. They buffed out what they could and painted the area. Cost was around $100. I wouldn't bother going through your insurance.

 

[kev1n]

those shops are trying to scam you.

a simple bumper repaint is like $500 + labor to take the bumper off the car

i cant tell clearly from those pictures but if that is just paint transfer from the other car and none of your paint came off than your friend is right, most of it will buff right out.

 

[jcbada]

loss vs coverage date is correct at this point.

shop graciously did some buffing (for free) to check it and a good portion came out, all the white is gone except for the removal of the actual black paint.

Options have come down to:
**a. living with it for the time being, then doing a bigger job in early 2019 when (I anticipate) more dings occur
b. trying out that tesla paint touch up (don't think it'll work for this big?)

 

[P85_DA]

@jcbada ...looking better ...try this kit I found it easier to use Dr. ColorChip Automotive Paint Chip Repair Kit - Dr. ColorChip: Automotive Paint Chip Repair Systems

 

[Astraviel]

Nearly $3k for that?

 

[Peteski]

loss vs coverage date is correct at this point.

shop graciously did some buffing (for free) to check it and a good portion came out, all the white is gone except for the removal of the actual black paint.

Options have come down to:
**a. living with it for the time being, then doing a bigger job in early 2019 when (I anticipate) more dings occur
b. trying out that tesla paint touch up (don't think it'll work for this big?)

What about:-
c. a $100 smart repair? You must have those guys over the pond? They will just blend it in with touch up paint and you'll never know its there. Getting the whole thing resprayed will be much more noticeable if they don't get the colour match perfect, not to mention far more costly.

 

[cryptyk]

Dashcam.

 

[Dborn]

That would cost me a max of $300 Australian dollars. Use a touch up guy you find online who has good reviews. He will come to you and it will be all gone in about 2 hours! No need to remove the bumper, no need for insurance.
Incidentally, to remove paint transfer from another car, you just need automotive thinners and a rag. Not much rubbing required to remove it either. My touch up guy here in Sydney has fixed much worse than that on my car. I reversed into a concrete column in a car park on day 1 in my signature car. The bumper was dented and scuffed badly. He sanded it all back removed the dent in the bumper and filled some missing plastic with a soldering iron and spare plastic from a junkyard. I nearly freaked out during the course of the procedure, but 3.5 years on and you can’t see any evidence of damage.
The panel shops are royally ripping you off!!

 

[timvracer]

I had the EXACT SAME thing happen shortly after getting my MS, drivers side rear bumper hit the same way in a parking lot (no doubt somebody pulling out and turning while backing).

It looked similar, except unfortunately in one of the scrapes it went through the clear coat to the primer. I also was quoted in the $1000 range for a pull the bumper paint solution, so I did my own home paint correction and Dr. Color Chip, and it came out very good. (Note, I have all the tools, orbital sander, proper pads and polishes from Optimum, etc.).