Hey Guys,

I drove into work today and reluctantly took my 997. I parked at the parkade my office uses and had a funny feeling about doing so. After work, I picked up the car to drive back home. As I got out of my car at home, I noticed the front bumper had 2 vertical scratches that are slightly indented. FU$#%!!! I went back to the garage and they told me that it was already there. These guys are lying through their teeth and the manager will hear it from me tomorrow as I always do a circle around before leaving my baby.

In the meantime, I called a body shop that my Porsche dealer recommeded and they said it would cost $1100 !! OMG!! Do you guys have any recommendations on what to do for a cheaper cost?

Is there a quick dent removal service for bumpers in the San Francisco Bay Area? If so, any recommendations would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks guys.

 

Woah .. I don't trust giving my cars to valet/parking places. I figure if they were smart enough to take care of the car .. they probably wouldn't be working there(At least in this part of the world).

Scratches depend on the degree of damage .. If it sunk into your body, you would either need to repaint or redo that section.

Do you have any pictures?

 

No not yet but I will take some digital photos tomorrow.

 

Can you tell the difference if you only get the scratched portion painted as opposed to the entire bumper?

 

The bumper is plastic .. so if its deep enoug; you will begin to see dary grey. Rule of thumb with scratches; if you can feel it with your fingernail .. its in deeper than the clearcoat and can't be polished out.

 

Thanks. I can definately feel it with my fingernail. Probably will need a new bumper paintjob. Uggh!! It's too bad b/c these scratches are about an inch in length but I have two of them. Oh well, $1K down the drain..!!

 

I suggest getting a clear bra the next time .. they protect the bumper; even in accident situations.

 

actually, clear bra will add cost to the repair. here is my situation:

got a small indentation from someone bumping into my front bumper. paint is still intact since i have clear bra. however, if i were to fix the bumper, i'd have to get new clear bra which adds another $400 in addition to the bumper repair.

my advice is to buy a beater and drive that instead to those places that you can't keep the car away from dings and careless drivers doing bumper cars when they park.

 

You said it. I have an E500 and an 07 C4S. The lease on the E is up and I decided to share with my girlfriend and new H3 on account that I could use her "paid off" 2003 Toyota RAV4....yes sir. I hate driving the dam thing, but in Florida there is so much construction that between nails and rocks you will mess up any nice car. My friends make fun that I don't drive the car as much, but they don't dogde large pieces of rocks falling of the back sides of construction dump trucks like I do on the highway....its scary. Yes I think that is great advise...I will misss the confort for the E class but I will be sporting the RAV4 on some days

 

Definately Good Advice. I've learned the hard way..i'm going to start looking for a beater car to commute in and park at these rathole garages. Thanks guys.