Minor scrape on my M3 2011. FML...

[dbear]

Bloody Hell....was backing up in my apartment underground garage and stupidly tapped a concrete pillar from the back bottom side near the wheel of my M3. What a rookie mistake!! I did managed to get a wet paper towel to wipe it down, but here is the result below. Looks a little worse in the photo because of the glares and reflection but not so bad I guess... The part of the scratch is visibly white though.

I don't know squat about paint touch ups so any advice would be appreciated. If I can't come up with anything, I may just take it to my mazda dealer or a body shop to see what they can do. Would this be pricey to fix?


http://www.darrentruong.com/junk/m3scratch.jpg
http://www.darrentruong.com/junk/m3scratch2.jpg

[Soyabean]

I'd get that fixed or else you will get rust forming there real quick

[stevenma188]

Unfortunately, touchup pens never work that well in my experience. You will clearly see that it has been touched up, especially for scratches. It might be ok for chips if u just dab it. Being that your car is brand new, I would get it fixed professional.

[cwp_sedan]

If the fender is scraped get it fixed soon like Soyabean said or it will rust. If you don't care that much and it's just the bumper (though it looks like the fender too), wait until the spring/summer.

[stevenma188]

It looks like the majority of the scratches are on the bumper, which is plastic and will not rust. You could just touch up that one chip on the quarter panel with touchup paint.

[dbear]

How much would something like this cost to fix at a Mazda Dealer or some mechanic shop? I'll probably take it in this weekend to have it looked at... *sigh*

[dbear]

but yeah, the dent isn't deep at all...just a small chip.

[Freakzaz]

How much would something like this cost to fix at a Mazda Dealer or some mechanic shop? I'll probably take it in this weekend to have it looked at... *sigh*

Different car, but I had a similar hit on the same spot with my SUV before in a tight underground parking and it ended up costing around $400-500 or so to get it hammered out and re-painted. But ya, sorry this happened to you eek...

[dbear]

Different car, but I had a similar hit on the same spot with my SUV before in a tight underground parking and it ended up costing around $400-500 or so to get it hammered out and re-painted. But ya, sorry this happened to you eek...

It will cost around that much for something this small?

[cwp_sedan]

It will cost around that much for something this small?

Yep. They have to respray the whole bumper as well as feather out the chip/scratch. If done properly it will be close to $500.

[Freakzaz]

It will cost around that much for something this small?

Not entirely sure, but the damage was similar to yours in size so its the same process of just taking off bumper, hammering out, and repainting. I have a feeling it'll cost maybe more if you bring it back to Mazda as I brought mine to a local garage.

[dbear]

Well i just went down to take a look at it again. Photos made it look much worse. There really isn't much of a dent (not even deep) i don't think but just left overs of the white concrete on the smears which actually looks dented in... Can't wipe it down though... I pray this won't cost me a fortune to repair. Gonna drop by mazda tomorrow to have them scope it out.

I still don't understand why it has to be hammered out.

Anyone recommended any other good shops for a backup plan? Or maybe I"ll just settle for touchup paint.

[stevenma188]

Go to StreetPerformance and ask for Richard. He is good at what he does. You can find his contact info by searching on this site.

[slam525i]

If it's on plastic (and it looks like it is), I'd just drive it. Wait till someone else hits it and get your whole bumper replaced. :P

Seriously though, cars are meant to be driven. Crap will happen. Try to take it in stride (and save the money!)

[XTOTHEL]

put some vaseline on the panel while driving around before getting it fixed

[SonicBoy]

That doesn't look that bad as most of the damage seems to be on the plastic bumper. You can get the area buffed to conceal some of the damage.

As others' have mentioned, you are looking at least $500+ as body shops will remove the bumper for repair and paint. Labour ain't cheap and nor are the materials to do the repair.

[Booter22]

In all honestly I know how you feel I had someone damage my rocker when my car was parked.

Give David Raposo a call at Assured Automotive "Oaktown collision centers" 905-842-9696 or email him the pictures - draposo@assuredauto.ca - let him know what happened and that I referred you and he would be able to provide you with an approx repair cost without seeing the vehicle just to give you an idea.


Well i just went down to take a look at it again. Photos made it look much worse. There really isn't much of a dent (not even deep) i don't think but just left overs of the white concrete on the smears which actually looks dented in... Can't wipe it down though... I pray this won't cost me a fortune to repair. Gonna drop by mazda tomorrow to have them scope it out.

I still don't understand why it has to be hammered out.

Anyone recommended any other good shops for a backup plan? Or maybe I"ll just settle for touchup paint.

[dbear]

Are you guys sure that area is plastic? Its at the lower backside... Felt my car up (lol) and the whole damn body feels thicker than that. I live around Steeles and Weston area so a closer shop would be great. I google mapped a few places and I'll probably check them out later today or this weekend.

Thanks guys, any other suggestions appreciated!

[Dave_The_BMXER]

The bumper is indeed plastic with styrofoam behind it.

[slam525i]

Give it a nudge with your hand at the bottom edge of the panel. If it bends, it's plastic. If it breaks off and makes a big clank when it hits the ground, it's metal. (Just kidding, the metal part won't move at all, even if you push it hard.)

[cwp_sedan]

Yep it's plastic like mentioned above.

http://i210.photobucket.com/albums/bb106/cwp_sedan/m3scratch_2.jpg

[dbear]

Thanks CWP for the clarification! had no idea that part was plastic... so I guess if the scrape was on the metal it would be much worse. A friend of mine said it can be buffed up or something with no problem. But i'll get it checked out to be sure.

[dbear]

Just popped in to my local mazda Dealer and they said it wasn't serious. Just on the plastic and a tiny scrape on the metal. They won't hammer it out, but just bolt out part of it to respray it and then wax it up again costing a total of $150. Mazda up in Jane/Rutherford don't have a serviceshop so they forwarded me to Toyota next door which does. Went back to mazda and told them the price and they said its a great deal as some places could charge a few hundred instead. I don't know if I should believe them as I know these places are always trying to sell. Anyway, that'll be my last resort plan until I can find a better idea. $150 ok? or maybe i should just bloody leave it lol

[coriolis]

Alot of RFD'ers had a good experience with Chipmasters, they're in Markham, so not too far away from you. Site is here: http://www.chipmastermarkham.com/

RFD link, comments and pictures here: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/group-buy-dents-scratch-removal-gta-847326/

Froont bumper damage(i think front bumper is plastic too): http://forums.redflagdeals.com/group-buy-dents-scratch-removal-gta-847326/5/#post10308925

[Pyro]

if the quote to repair ends up over $450, get the entire bumper replaced instead
it'll end up the same cost

[dbear]

Alot of RFD'ers had a good experience with Chipmasters, they're in Markham, so not too far away from you. Site is here: http://www.chipmastermarkham.com/

RFD link, comments and pictures here: http://forums.redflagdeals.com/group-buy-dents-scratch-removal-gta-847326/

Froont bumper damage(i think front bumper is plastic too): http://forums.redflagdeals.com/group-buy-dents-scratch-removal-gta-847326/5/#post10308925

Chipmasters contacted me back and gave me a quote of $325 only from looking at photo. Here is their labour charge.
1) Repair scratches/chip to right rear 1/4 panel
2) Repair scratches/scrapes to right rear bumper cover
3) Refinish blend base coat
4) Clear coat repairs
5) Buff/polish repairs
6) Color is no problem as they can match it easily.

Colorsworks close to dufferin/keele quoted me $415. They saw it in person said its nothing serious, but they would have to hammer out bumper, repaint and polish it again. They said that the Black Mica color is hard to match thats why they have to paint the whole bumper again. They also gave me a quote for $200 for a repaint or something but said it may not last long...

Toyota (jane rutherford) quoted $150. They saw it in person and said they would only have to remove the bumper halfway (where the scrape is) and sandout the concrete bits, paint and polish/wax it up again like new. My mazda dealers said its a generous price. I told colorworks about them giving me a better deal, but they said it will just be a slap on job where as they will guarantee it will look brandnew. Although I'm pretty sure the guy at toyota will do just as a good job..

Haven't had a chance to visit other body shops, but I'll obviously stick with Toyota if I can't find a better deal. Or maybe just leave it for now until the summer or something as I know other scratches and dents may just appear randomly in the future. That way, I can do a full body inspection and get everything re-polished at once for a decent price.

Anybody have any other opinions? Thanks guys for the help!

[Elusivellama]

Ouch, seeing a brand new MZ3 hurt like that, hurts me too... but seeing a black mica one hurt, that's even worse.

[mazdathree3]

I would say price wise, the deal Toyota is offering you is pretty darn good.

[Timotee]

Unfortunately, touchup pens never work that well in my experience. You will clearly see that it has been touched up, especially for scratches. It might be ok for chips if u just dab it. Being that your car is brand new, I would get it fixed professional.

+1 - Totally agree, protect the investemnt from the get-go. Nice car man, I hope you would be able to find a good shop for it.