Finally got my car back...2 MONTHS after my little run in with a rockslide. 10K in damage, but I don't think thats reflective of the actual damage. The shop I used pretty much replaced anything under the car that had a mark on it.

Anyhow, that's what insurance is for.

Also, while they had it up in the air, I had them put an SRT 6 front bumper on it (its cheaper than the Limited). My exhaust is all new from the headers back, and I have all new rocker panels!! No more rock dings! My car actually looks better now than it did before. (It better for 10K). I also got 2 new front tires out of the deal.

A couple things I wish the shop would have done for me...

1) They put the front license plate mount on the brand new bumper (I wish they would have consulted me first).

2) They didn't tell me that the stock exhaust is over $800...I could have done a Borla for that much!!!

PICS...

 

very nice ... glad to see you got it back and with an srt bumper to boot.

 

Man that looks nice... good choice on the SRT bumper!

And what tires are those... Bridgestone?
I’ve seen a few Crossfire’s with those now… how are they?

 

Now that looks sharp. It's funny how over four years ownership I still get that "WOW" feeling when I see a clean polished crossfire.

Enjoy and stay wary of stones gathering no moss!

 

Have you noticed a difference in how it drives?? I know a lot of people refuse to keep their car if that much damage has been done, because they swear it never drives the same.

 

Wow, the car looks great. I'll be doing the SRT bumper soon I think.

 

Thanks guys...I appreciate the feedback.

As far as the question about how the car drives, it does drive the same but I am always wondering if that little squeak or creak was there before the accident.

The tires are BF Goodrich KDW's. They are great!! I have been at the track with them and they performed beautifully...much better than the AS Contis for sure.

The only thing I am having an issue with, maybe Andrew is too, that the new panels look BRAND NEW, and the panels not touched look slightly more used. Well, maybe Andrew doesn't have that problem because his ALL look new, but with the black it shows.

 

The car looks great!

 

What's that big gap between the tires and the top of the wheel arches? dig dig. You need to do a drive by.

BTW the last time we drove up Arnold we passed a neighbor of mine who had an earful for me when I got home. LOL.

It will be like seeing a different crossfire in my rear view mirror.

 

the entire driver side was painted ... so the car looks flaw free...

i swear if i looked over this car (as **** as i am) i would never ever know the prior damage was there ... absolute perfection ... and that's not something i say every day...

most people want to sell/unload a car as soon as they get it back with any type of work ... but this is one car i wouldn't mine keeping if my lease wasn't up... the work performed is that good.

as for your black finish ... i understand the areas you may see with wear and tear over time. this is why i like white ... i doesn't show all the slight marks, scratches, imperfections, etc ... plus i know the time that is required to keep a black car looking spotless ... it another full time job.

end of rant ... now go out there and enjoy it...

 

Yeah after my $1,000 deductible and $400 in depreciable parts charges, the chances of me getting springs are slim to none...and slim just ran away.

If I recall, it was YOU that was in MY rear veiw mirror.

 

Wasn't paint also sprayed on the undamaged panels so as to match them with the new ones? My hood was repainted when I first got my car and the top of the fenders were touch up sprayed because if the hood color was slightly off the color would blend in with the fenders and not be noticeable.

 

With black paint I'm not sure that there is a paint matching issue. Plus, where do you stop, short of painting the whole thing?

 

Just don't wax or care for those painted panels at all for a while. They will look "used" in no time.

 

Yeah, they say 6 weeks, good to know they weren't kidding.

 

The idea is not to paint the entire side, but to blend in the color from the newly painted panels into the current ones. So say you have a newly painted bumper and front fender, black paint is also feathered onto your door to blend in the demarcation between the new and old paint coats. Looking at both ends of the car you will be able to see a difference, but not be able to pinpoint where along the side the differences occur.

My understanding is that doing this on a car side is difficult since there is no changes in the planes of the panels (unlike my horizontal hood and top of the fenders to the vertical sides of the fenders), and black paint is just compounds the issue. But a good shop should be able to pull it off. At any rate your car looks good.

 

I guess its not so much a color blending issue, it seems to be a luster issue.

For example, my drivers side rear quarter panel, the swoopy one above the tail light, was re painted, but the passenger side was not. So the newly painted one looks nice with no swirls. The passenger side panel, although detailed very well, still doesn't look as brand new as the drivers side.