Auto Detailing Guide

Bumpers & Paint Scratch Repair

Bumper scuffs, door dings, paint scratches. Everybody gets them on their cars. Most of the time you look at it and think "I'm going to need to get that painted and it's going to cost me a fortune". The cost to do a paint repair job at a body shop is very costly. Unfortunately, when you go to one of these types of shops they don't have a lot of other options available to offer you.

At your local detail shop, you can find many other lower cost alternatives. Many times a scuff or key scratch isn't through the clearcoat and can be removed by wet sanding and agressive compounding. After this we can move on to paint touch-up, chip repairs or bumper repairs and painting. These are considered standard reconditioning services. Body shops believe they have a lock on this business. Many times when you think you are getting a new bumper they are just fixing it and putting it back on your vehicle. So the differences between getting your damage repaired and painted versus a body shop claiming they are giving you a "new" bumper, might not be as different as you think they might be.

Compare a Micro Chip or Bumper Paint Repair Service to those of a local body shop and the advantages are obvious:

Cost: body shops replace damaged parts with new and paint them, dramatically increasing your costs. With costs of a new bumper at approx. $350 or more and the painting of that bumper an additional $350 or more, your body shop costs are $700 and up. With a Micro Paint Repair of that bumper at $180 to $250, the savings is clear!
Time: Micro Paint Repair Services take less than a day to complete. Try getting a body shop to do anything on your vehicle in less than a day. The time savings is obvious!

Where do these damages usually occur? Many times on bumpers where shopping carts, other cars, minor bumps against other bumpers. High traffic areas where any regular contact exists such as door handles, trunk lids and places like the gas compartment where the car is accidentally bumped or brushed with the gas pump nozzle or handle. Repair to these damaged areas can be handled quickly and efficiently at your local detail and reconditioning center.

If you are considering having these services done, please review our Proper Insurance page to get an idea of questions you should ask your potential reconditioning shop prior to them working on your vehicle.