Scrape on the underside of the front bumper. Repair?

[xfruan]

I recently purchased a used model 3 LR RWD from the official Tesla website. On the delivery day, I was so excited that I only performed a casual check of the car before driving off.

Last week, for some reason, I decided to check more closely on the underside of the car and saw, to my horror, a fairly long scrape on the underside of the front bumper.

I have been extremely careful with the car and always leaves a large gap to the curb when parking, so I'm pretty sure it was not caused by me. I called Tesla up, and no surprise, they refuse to fix it for free, since I didn't catch it during the delivery.

I'm now torn between paying on my own to have it fixed and just leaving it as it is. Since the scrape is fairly out of sight (I didn't even notice it for a whole week) and the plastic bumper will not rust without the protective paint, I feel it should be safe to leave it.

What do you think?

 

[run-the-joules]

It’s your car. If it bothers you and you’re willing to spend the money, you can fix it. If it doesn’t, don’t. ‍

 

[xfruan]

It’s your car. If it bothers you and you’re willing to spend the money, you can fix it. If it doesn’t, don’t. ‍

I understand that it's my decision at the end of the day. Just want to hear some opinions on this. Such as can a scrape this long cause any problem in the future if left untreated?

 

[ngogas]

You will be fine. Wait and see if it still bothers you after 2 months. No one will see it. Enjoy the car.

 

[SR-75]

So after you fix it, you will scrape it again. Not sure if it is worth it to fix something that is hard to see. Just maybe, that bottom area should be designed with a durable skid of some sorts incase we hit a curb.

 

[xfruan]

You will be fine. Wait and see if it still bothers you after 2 months. No one will see it. Enjoy the car.

I think that's the route I'll take. Give it a couple of months for the initial shock/surprise to die down a bit and make decision.

 

[xfruan]

So after you fix it, you will scrape it again. Not sure if it is worth it to fix something that is hard to see. Just maybe, that bottom area should be designed with a durable skid of some sorts incase we hit a curb.

That's one of the reasons I'm leaning towards leaving it. With a car this low, I'll probably scrape it again sometime in the future...

 

[C141medic]

If you’re considering fixing it, this may be another way to go:

Scrape Armor Bumper Protection - Tesla Model 3 2017+ (Formed 4 piece kit)

 

[WarpedOne]

On my delivery day I made an U turn on a slow city street, hit a pothole or smth and heard a loud scratch underneath the car. I do not want to even look at my 0-day-damage.

Your scratch goes under normal wear and tear. If you decide to fix it, you have a good chance of scratching it again in short time. Murphy &Co.

Golden rule of car ownership: do not look for damage, do not take close look at quality etc.
If you do, you will find damage, you will find imperfections, you will be miserable.

As long as there are not loud complaints from the car (i.e. strange noises) and it still drives, it is performing its function.
Enjoy while it lasts!

 

[Garlan Garner]

If you’re considering fixing it, this may be another way to go:

Scrape Armor Bumper Protection - Tesla Model 3 2017+ (Formed 4 piece kit)

Im not sure I want to pay $450 every time I scrape my car bottom either.

 

[Brnn]

If you’re considering fixing it, this may be another way to go:

Scrape Armor Bumper Protection - Tesla Model 3 2017+ (Formed 4 piece kit)

That looks like a nice product, but they're out of their minds with the $500 price. Must be tailored for the Porsche, Ferrari, etc groups.

 

[tvad]

That doesn’t look like a curb (or shopping center parking stop) scrape to me because it’s so narrow. It looks like someone ran over some road debris.

I only mention this because having dealt with shopping center parking stop rash, and speed bump rash many times on cars than are lower than a standard, non-Performance Model 3, I don’t think curb rash will be a frequent occurrence on your Tesla.

The question is whether to fix the damage.

I’d start with obtaining a firm estimate from the Tesla Service Center. If the cost in your opinion is worth the expense, then you might consider repairing it this one time since the car is new-to-you, but I do agree with others that it may happen again, and your damage is fairly minimal and not easily seen from normal viewing angles.

 

[Lloyd]

Three words: Dr. Color Chip

 

[KenC]

You'll never see it, and it's not a problem.

 

[Dan_LA]

I have a scrap on the right side, plastic is almost falling over.. hopefully doesnt go to battery but i can see some metal rusting.. thought was more aluminum made haha. Will fix next whoknows service time.

 

[brkaus]

Leave it. Its a used car. You don’t ever see it. It will happen again sometime in the cars lifetime - probably more than once.

They would not have repaired this on a used car even if noticed at delivery

 

[Mr X]

If I saw that on my car I wouldn't care

 

[HMRSKima]

Have you considered a front lip for the car over repairs? (May help with new owner OCD!)

 

[xfruan]

Golden rule of car ownership: do not look for damage, do not take close look at quality etc.
If you do, you will find damage, you will find imperfections, you will be miserable.

That's well said! Guess I'm just being OCD here, since the car is "brand new" to me.

 

[xfruan]

Three words: Dr. Color Chip

Does touch-up paint work on a scrape this long? I'm getting a bottle of Dr. Color Chip for a few paint chips on the bumper and the fenders. Will probably give it a try.