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Thanks for hearing me out. I got rear-ended in a hit and run accident and the dude smashed my rear bumper. The passenger quarter panel was not affected - just the bumper.
I went to a totally reputable body shop at a Lexus dealer here in So Cal and they put a replacement OEM bumper on as well as replaced a parking sensor that got scuffed. They've had the car since the 9th and they called me to tell me the car was ready. I went down there and there was a noticeable gap between the bumper and the quarter panel. The lady tells me that it's normal and within the tolerances. I told her I'm not taking the car looking like that so we go back and forth and she offers to replace a retainer clip, but she has already prepared me by telling me that it's not going to fix anything.
I'm not crazy in wanting a better fit than what's below, right? It kinda looks like crap, doesn't it?
There are some rear bumper support pieces behind the rear bumper in that spot in your picture. Likely that was damaged from the accident and might have to be replaced.
You will know for sure by removing that portion of the rear bumper, likely some plastic is bent causing the misalignment. Ask for a manager, ask for the owner, do not accept the car like this, they are giving you BS excuses because they don't want to fix the problem.
If you look at diagram H at the bottom of the picture below you will see there are many clips on the side of the bumper that lock into place, one of these are not seated properly likely because it's damaged or bent. But the damage could be in the rear bumper side support in the above picture(different car pictured, but I circled in Green).
The lady kept telling me to take it and drive it as it might get better and even turn out to be something I can live with - yeah right to that. I told her to stop trying to get me to accept something that's obviously not right. Is there a chance that the whole bumper is just not quite cut right? I suppose anything is possible 🙂
She promised it was an OE bumper but I'm doubting everything at this point!
Looks like it's a lot off to me. Not according to tolerance. You should have "the lady" take you around and look at some other cars in the shop. My guess they will not look like yours.
Looks like it's a lot off to me. Not according to tolerance. You should have "the lady" take you around and look at some other cars in the shop. My guess they will not look like yours.
I agree with this 100%. OP: ask them to show you a GS on the lot that has been CPO'd for instance, that has a bumper that looks like yours that they would try to sell to another customer "within" those same "tolerances."
Bet she can't find one...and if she does, tell her you would never expect that a dealership of their caliber would sell a certified car to a customer with such a clear fault.
That's an unacceptable repair - especially if you had to pay out of pocket! Seems like a manager needs to get involved...
After my 2015 CT200h was in the shop for 45 days after getting hit on the side quarter panel, I went through hell with the body shop (also Lexus approved/referred by a major high end Lexus dealer here in Socal) to get the car OEM looking. They did a wack job on the seam sealer, getting the quarter panel to look seamless at the cut lines, getting the bumper to fit right, and various pieces and trim crooked or missing. They even forgot to blend the front doors (yet charged me for it) and the entire car had overspray on it. They asked me how I knew so much. but in the end they fixed 98% of the problems... They put the interior back together 100% perfectly which was surprising. but damn the outside.. was sloppy. I had them redo the paint job so they repainted the entire side of the car a second time and repolished everything.
i could've nit picked some more... i told them look i just want the car back to the way it was (which was factory new) before getting hit.
my recommendation is to keep getting them to fix it correctly. they need to pull the bumper and make sure the clips are factory (often times they'll order aftermarket ones) and that they're installed correctly. My guess is either the clips or the bumper could be aftermarket and aren't meshing right. They click into place so maybe push on the bumper with your hand to see if it clicks in.
another note... i think next time I'm going with the insurance company approved shop instead.. because if something goes wrong, the insurance company will breathe down the neck of the body shop to make them fix something. vs. if i directly contract a shop, i'm on my own with them. (source, i'm in the industry) so i should've known better. "lexus approved" means jack, i've learned. hit or miss.
I went to a totally reputable body shop at a Lexus dealer here in So Cal and they put a replacement OEM bumper on as well as replaced a parking sensor that got scuffed.
The body shop is physically at (and also owned by) the Lexus dealership?
Also I do know that some aftermarket bumpers need "cleaning up" of manufactured edges... so i really wonder if that bumper is OE... looks like that edge can be sanded down some and you wouldn't notice that little edge that's reflecting light.
After my 2015 CT200h was in the shop for 45 days after getting hit on the side quarter panel, I went through hell with the body shop (also Lexus approved/referred by a major high end Lexus dealer here in Socal) to get the car OEM looking. They did a wack job on the seam sealer, getting the quarter panel to look seamless at the cut lines, getting the bumper to fit right, and various pieces and trim crooked or missing. They even forgot to blend the front doors (yet charged me for it) and the entire car had overspray on it. They asked me how I knew so much. but in the end they fixed 98% of the problems... They put the interior back together 100% perfectly which was surprising. but damn the outside.. was sloppy. I had them redo the paint job so they repainted the entire side of the car a second time and repolished everything.
i could've nit picked some more... i told them look i just want the car back to the way it was (which was factory new) before getting hit.
my recommendation is to keep getting them to fix it correctly. they need to pull the bumper and make sure the clips are factory (often times they'll order aftermarket ones) and that they're installed correctly. My guess is either the clips or the bumper could be aftermarket and aren't meshing right. They click into place so maybe push on the bumper with your hand to see if it clicks in.
I too had bad experience with a bodyshop. At the end they addressed all the issues and I would say 95% perfect.
My hood was damaged so they had to bodywork/fix the hood and paint it, but also blended into the fenders. They messed up the blend into the fenders(i noticed spots in direct sunlight) and ended up repainting both fenders, not only that I had to go back a couple times for bumps in the paint. They ended up wet sanding and buffing the entire hood.
Most people probably would not notice the issues, but I don't understand why they get lazy with the work only costing them more money to redo/fix it.
it has toyota etched into it. if they refuse to do anything, and you're savvy, you could pull the bumper to do a little detective work. would take half hour tops.
I too had bad experience with a bodyshop. At the end they addressed all the issues and I would say 95% perfect.
My hood was damaged so they had to bodywork/fix the hood and paint it, but also blended into the fenders. They messed up the blend into the fenders(i noticed spots in direct sunlight) and ended up repainting both fenders, not only that I had to go back a couple times for bumps in the paint. They ended up wet sanding and buffing the entire hood.
Most people probably would not notice the issues, but I don't understand why they get lazy with the work only costing them more money to redo/fix it.
i hear you. also i forgot to mention they dragged some object on my hood. found a long deep scratch and i sure as hell know it wasn't there before i took it in (i detail my car weekly by hand) and they tried to deny they did it. but they ended up wet sanding the spot and buffing it. something i totally could've did myself but why bother. (later on i actually ended up buffing a lot of spots they missed elsewhere) anyway the scratch is 98% gone but i can still see it in some light. decided every time they touch my car to fix a problem they create a new problem. at some point quit while you're ahead.
03-30-20, 11:36 PM
Poor-fitting Rear Bumper
