wrecked my es
02-10-17, 01:24 PM
#16
I'm very sorry I didn't mean to throw this discussion so far off topic.
However, I might recommend people search out the various threads on this forum that include the discussions of cross bar color. They occurred right about the time the front end changed in 2016 and reflected owners of 2013-15 cars who wanted to make their cars appear similar to what was the NEW version at the time (i.e., they wanted to update their car to be as similar to the new one as they could). I remember there being many before/after pictures of cars that were changed.
I actually thought about doing that, but since my car is nebula grey the difference wouldn't have been worth it.
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Angle parked in a parallel universe
However, I might recommend people search out the various threads on this forum that include the discussions of cross bar color. They occurred right about the time the front end changed in 2016 and reflected owners of 2013-15 cars who wanted to make their cars appear similar to what was the NEW version at the time (i.e., they wanted to update their car to be as similar to the new one as they could). I remember there being many before/after pictures of cars that were changed.
I actually thought about doing that, but since my car is nebula grey the difference wouldn't have been worth it.
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Angle parked in a parallel universe
02-11-17, 06:30 AM
#19
Lexus Fanatic
Man, the outpouring of support for your fellow ES owner here is heartwarming 
Anyways, sorry for the wreck. Good news is it's limited to the front clip. That's one nice thing about having the whole nose of these new cars part of the bumper. If it were say my old ES300 or LS400 or LS430 the hood and grille were all the same part, so you'd need a hood too.
The bumper cover front clip is easy. 3-4 days at the shop and it will be good as new.
As for painting the crossbar, I do think that looks good on that version of the ES, but hardly "a requirement" as some here have tried to say.
Anyways, sorry for the wreck. Good news is it's limited to the front clip. That's one nice thing about having the whole nose of these new cars part of the bumper. If it were say my old ES300 or LS400 or LS430 the hood and grille were all the same part, so you'd need a hood too.
The bumper cover front clip is easy. 3-4 days at the shop and it will be good as new.
As for painting the crossbar, I do think that looks good on that version of the ES, but hardly "a requirement" as some here have tried to say.
02-11-17, 06:47 AM
#20
Lead Lap
Anyways, sorry for the wreck. Good news is it's limited to the front clip. That's one nice thing about having the whole nose of these new cars part of the bumper. If it were say my old ES300 or LS400 or LS430 the hood and grille were all the same part, so you'd need a hood too.
.
About a year ago, someone, for unexplainable reasons, decided to stop in the middle of the road and put his car into reverse. After traversing about 50-75 feet of space between him and me, he smashed into the 2013 ES that I had at time. The damage was very similar to that on Poppa's car. Because the clips that attach the bumper to the fenders are designed to break easily, they snapped off. Thus, the damage was limited to the bumper, grille, and assorted clips, sensors, etc., and there was no damage to the fenders, hood, or anything beyond the front clip.
The body shop did a great job of putting things back together, and it would have been, I think, very difficult even for someone with a trained eye, to easily detect that the car had ever had body work done on it.
The only downside of the bumper design is replacing it doesn't come cheap. In my case, the repair bill was over $2500, and I suspect that, in many areas where labor rates are higher than what they are here, the tab could have been significantly higher.
02-12-17, 12:24 AM
#21
Instructor
Thread Starter
Well I hate to admit that i've needed my friends body shop more times than I'd like to admit.. Been married going on 36 years and in that time I guess we have owned 9 new cars or trucks... . Of those 9, six have had to go to the body shop, but of those six, only 2 were deemed " my fault" ( and I'm including my accident in the ES in those two...) the rest were other peoples fault and actually had 2 vehicles that were damaged by hit and run drivers while our vehicles were sitting in a store parking lot.... so yeah it sounds bad, but only 2 were my fault in 36 years... As for the crossbar, thank you Jollick for posting the pick... that's what I thought you were talking about. I'm going to have my body shop paint it back just the way it was pre wreck... I like that look... now here's a strange thing... I had a very similar accident 5 years ago.. same situation, sitting still, waiting to pull into traffic and ended up rear ending the vehicle in front of me... It's hard for me to say the speeds at the point of impact were the same because I really don't know.. but I feel relatively sure that both times I couldn't have been going over 10 mph when the accidents happened, yet the damage was considerably less on the es than it was on my 2007 Avalon....I've posted a few pics of both cars to show the difference.. also put a couple in of the avalon after it was repaired at my friends body's shop... Paint on the avy was 5 years old when I had the accident... I tried looking at it every which way in the sun, in the shade.. couldn't tell the difference... I believe they actually blended the paint into the front panels... anyway part of the reason I like to use this particular body shop is their lead painter has been with them for close to 30 years.... that's a lot of experience.. plus he knows his boss is my friend. Lexi goes to the body shop monday... rental will be there waiting on me...
Last edited by Poppa; 02-12-17 at 12:28 AM. Reason: grammer corrections
02-12-17, 06:20 AM
#22
Lead Lap
Before a skilled painter puts any paint onto the car, he/she will paint a test panel. That means applying the paint to a small square of either sheet metal or the plastic bumper material, depending on whether the new paint is going to be going on sheet metal or the bumper material on the car. Then, he/she will examine the test panel in good light next the adjacent panels on the car to see if the formula used will result in a good match. One thing that can make getting the match more difficult is that there can be some variation in color from one paint lot to the next. So, depending on how the test panel looks, the painter may have to make minor adjustments in the paint formula that he/she uses. If, even after making adjustments in the formula, the match still isn't good, the painter may make a decision that the best way to get a satisfactory match is to blend into the adjacent panels. Blending into the adjacent panels doesn't make the actual color match any better, but it gradually spreads out any color differences to the point where they should not be easily noticeable.
A skilled technician should be able to figure out whether adjustments to the paint formula are needed and what those adjustments should be, and he/she should be able to make a better decision with regard to whether blending into adjacent panels is the best way to go. Also, he/she is also likely to have sufficient experience to know which colors are the most problematic and which colors are more likely to require blending to get a satisfactory color match.
Again, good luck with the repairs.
02-12-17, 11:58 AM
#23
Lead Lap
02-12-17, 02:42 PM
#25
Lead Lap
02-12-17, 03:21 PM
#26
02-12-17, 04:34 PM
#27
Lexus Fanatic
Originally Posted by imrankh24
As I differ and like 16 grill better.
You have zero tolerance for people's views that you don't agree with, or negative opinions about your chosen car, so why not at least treat others as you want to be treated?
02-12-17, 09:15 PM
#28
Instructor
Thread Starter
So how much do you think the body shop will charge to repair my es... as best as I could see, there is zero metal damage... fenders, hood, headlights all seem to be fine... but I think the entire front end clip is toast... Modad posted a pic of front end damage on his car after hitting a deer... he had damage to the front end as well as needed a new hood... he also had a lot electronics damaged, as I am pretty sure I will to since there are a couple of messages on the dash now saying something about "check sonar system" and all 4 doors open... at first I thought my damages would come to about 3 grand.... but those damn electronic sensors can run into some money... maybe 5 to 6 grand is more realistic....
Poppa
Poppa
02-13-17, 05:07 AM
#29
Lexus Fanatic
I would say if no electronics are damaged, $2,500 or so. If you have parking sensors damaged, do you have radar cruise?
Headlights okay?
Headlights okay?
02-13-17, 05:26 AM
#30
Looks like you missed out on a couple of expensive parts that really run the cost up: with the pre-collision system that "L" emblem costs over $500 and one LED headlight assembly was $1,200. I'd suspect that the $2,500-$3000 would be about right, if the electronics are not deeply involved.