Took my daughter for a ride and drove her back to her house in the city. The driveway was very narrow and it was an unfamiliar area, and as I was backing out, she forgot to point out a rock that sat out near the edge of the driveway...sure enough, I hit the damn rock and it scraped several large and unsightly scratches on the lower portion of the bumper near the rear driver side wheel. I about threw up...some of the scratches went to the "black" plastic, though when my husband saw it, he thought it wasn't so 'bad'. Easy for him to say...

However, that's not the half of it. We went out for a walk to take my mind off my damaged bumper, and when I returned to her house, I parked on a slight hill to avoid the driveway. She forgot her phone in my car, so I open the driver's door, stick my leg out not realizing the gravity pull on the heavy door, and the door closes right on my lower leg almost cutting it off! I was in agony...I have a huge dent and swelling in my shin and I then started bawling like a baby.

I had to drop my car off at the dealership anyway for a scheduled service appointment and to have my door sills installed. I left my car in their drop off zone, and hobbled to my husband's car. I am sick about the scratch, my leg is throbbing, and I'm watching CNN and see that Israel is being bombed and the world is falling apart! I need a stiff drink!

 

i feel ya on the door heaviness... i can bench my body weight but that door is dam heavy on a incline (i live on a large hill) .

is the front bumper damaged or back ? i assume back cause you where backing out... if it was the front it would be a great excuse to buy a SRT-6 bumper...

 

It's the lower section of the back rear. it's not all that noticeable, but I know it's there. I have been searching for a product that might help rub some of the scratches out or smooth them a bit.

Is there any sort of product that would work to help smooth the surface? I do not have the funds to replace the bumper and body work involved. I think I could live with a buffed out section and wait a bit to have it properly repaired...just sick about it...overall!

 

analyze the damage, is it deep gouges or just surface scratches ? if it is a surface scratch with no gouging into the actual bumper then you can use meguires scratch x... it is the least harsh of the rubbing compounds on the market and very safe to use... if you need more muscle than that, turtle wax rubbing compound in the red/white tin...

 

Crap Stacy, that sucks!! And you're right, if not for bad luck you would have no luck... Ugh...

Hopefully the damage is nominal - surprised you did not get any pictures like everyone else that has damage to their car. But she'll be fine...

So, did you have that stiff drink? And did it help? And what kind of loaner car did you get? Will any of that take your mind off the bad run of luck? And what sucks even more, everything happens in three's... did you forget to tell us what that was? Please tell me you just forgot to tell us the third thing...

 

Re-read the post, it was mentioned some of the scratches were deep and went into the "black" plastic.

 

Yes, there was damage to the black... I had to drop the car off at the dealership last night to avoid the morning rush hour. It's being serviced as I speak. I wrote on my "night" drop slip that I had gotten the scratch and if they would please try and rub some of it out while the car was in their hands. I don't know if they'll do that or not, but I did mention the damage and maybe the detail shop will help me out. At the very least, I can ask them for advice.

It's probably not going to require a new bumper...just repainting the one I have. My insurance has a $500.00 deductible, so I'm going to be out at least that much. I can live with a decent temporary "fix" until I figure out what I want to have done.

No pics because I didn't have my camera and I dropped the car off to be serviced. I'll take pics when I pick the car up today. Any opinions are greatly appreciated.

As for things happening in "3s"..well, I guess I should be worried about the "bill" when I get my sills installed. I hope I don't get ripped off. At least my door sills will look awesome. Ugh! I hate that freaking rock!

 

Golfergal, sorry to hear about your rocky night. You really took it on the chin. Look at the bright side, It's all behind you....now you've got a leg up on it. ...

Now make sure your daughter gets rid of the rocks. They're hazardous! I hate them too.

Enjoy those new illuminated sills!

 

yea...that's true...Got my door sills installed. They look great. Made me smile. I used some touch up paint very sparingly to cover a few of the gouges in my bumper. It's not "fixed" by any means, but it doesn't look quite so noticeable. And my leg is bruising quite nicely. Tomorrow, it should be a pretty shade of purple! Makes wearing shorts not much of an option in hot weather!

 

Hey Stacy, sorry to hear about your little mishap backing out... Rear visibility is not the Xfire's strongpoint. At any case, consider getting $250 deductible insurance... A paint fleck missing from an Xfire cost about that much... Parts are expensive for these puppies due to their rarity and only certain technicians are trained on the Xfire. And, if your husband would let me (and I guess you too) I would rub your leg and make it better...make sure to shave it first though... How's that NAV system CD working out for you?

Luckily, my wife hasn't yet racked up her SRT-6... It' only a matter of time. That's why I have $250 deductible and 7/70 maximum car protection on that thing... I'm not a lover of insurance, but an SRT-6 with her lead foot will no doubt cause me to get my money's worth out of both policies... Already had 3 separate weeks of free rental car coverage while they fixed some things that was bugging her and the E-19 recall...

 

My husband doesn't think it's worth it to claim insurance on the repair, and with two kids in college and a teenage son, to boot, he's trying to keep any dings off our record. However, I will get this fixed as soon as I get settled with some company coming in town and a weeks worth of activities planned. The scratch is not too noticeable, but one would have had to have a freaking camera at the back of the car to see this rock that jetted out of nowhere. My daughter has hit the same rock 3 times! I also noticed that it took a nice chunk out of my rim and a ding to the side of the tire. It's not damaged, but it's definitely not cute.

As for the Nav...it's working great though I've only used it once! It took me right to the door of my destination. I've pretty much stuck with going places where I know my way.

I wish the system would have alarmed me to the rock! I wonder if that's in the brain of that girl who talks to me.

My leg is purple and yea, I did shave it despite the injury. However, I wouldn't want anyone touching it...it's really sore!

 

There is touch up "bondo" kit with sand paper and everything to fix bad dings. I repaired a huge gash in my lower front sill from running over a ladder in the freeway then touch up paint.

 

Can you give me the name of where I might find this? I'm interested. Stopped by a body shop...$450.00 for a bumper scrape...I about threw up!

 

scrach fix 2 in 1. part number ng200.
www.duplicolor.com/training/SF_training.html

 

Update...did a Craigslist search and found a "mobile" body repair guy who does the work out of his van. He's worked for a variety of dealerships and autobody shops repairing scratches and dings and decided to go out on his own.

He came out and said my bumper was no problem to repair and proceeded to sand it, fill in the gouges, prime it and paint it...put the clear coat and it's all done sitting in my garage right now. I can't drive it for a bit while the paint dries. He guarantees his work, it looks perfect, the color match is spot-on, and it looks as good as it did new.

The best..he only charged me $175...includes labor, supplies, and tax. I had an estimate yesterday for nearly $500.00 and it was going to be over a week before he could do the work.

I have before and after pics, and if there is any problem with the work, he lives a few miles from me. This is no fly-by-night snake oil salesman. He has years of experience and worked for dealerships doing the same work that he's doing now but they jacked up the prices multi-fold for the work he does. At this point, I'm extremely happy.