calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

My car was parked at a family member's house and someone backed into me. Luckily they were going very slowly and the damage is minor, but I wanted to ask CL members' opinions on what's required to fix it.

There's only two areas of damage. The first is the inner tail light section, where the reverse light portion got cracked in:



It looks like for this, all I need to do is buy the inner tail light cover. Here at Sewell (http://is.sewellparts.com/oem-catalo...S350-2007.html) I think it's part number 81581C LENS AND BODY, REAR LAMP, (RIGHT / PASSENGER SIDE). Brociouz has a nice DIY guide on how to replace the inner tail light cover here: https://www.clublexus.com/forums/is-...tallation.html.

Anyone had experience replacing the inner tail light? I think it's just peeling back the inner trunk liner, unscrewing some screws and then popping it out. The tail light cover is only $150 on Sewell with the CL discount. Is all I need the part number I quoted above? Are there any caveats to keep in mind?

The other area of damage is a scuff to the bumper:





Right on the lip is a rough part where the paint was scuffed up, below that is just scratches in the paint. I think there's be no trouble buffing out and repainting the lower area where there are just scratches. My concern is the edge of that lip where it's scuffed up and rough.

Anyone with experience know if this could be buffed out and repainted, or does it need a whole new bumper? I want it fixed and to look right, but if there's any way I can do it without getting a whole new bumper it'd be great.

My plan is to take it to a body shop to see if they can fix it without replacing the bumper. If it comes to it, it looks like the bumper (painted, with sensors) is $500 on Sewell: http://is.sewellparts.com/accessorie...2007/4635.html. That's all I would need, I assume.

Lastly, if I go to a body shop or Lexus dealer with a body shop, should I be concerned that something might get reported on Carfax/Autocheck? Clearly if I go to a Lexus dealer it'll go on my service history, which I would probably want to avoid. But if I go to an independent body shop, am I risking anything getting reported? Or is that only the result of a police report from an accident?

Thanks for the help. If you can't tell, this is the first time something like this has happened to me. It's a bummer, but I'm glad it wasn't worse. I want to get it fixed correctly, but I also want to keep the costs down as much as possible since it was my aunt that hit me.

HeartmyIS

iTrader: (18)

You can actually just sand that area down and repaint. That's what I had done to my bumper on the edge and my scratches were much deeper than yours. Hopefully the shop will do a good job at blending the paint. Good luck.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Very helpful post, thanks for the response. Where did you go for the repair, just an independent body shop or one affiliated with Lexus? And I assume they'll be able to acquire and use factory paint colors?

HeartmyIS

iTrader: (18)

I actually had my bf do it since he's experienced with painting. Did it right in the garage, I'm kind of OCD about shops working on my car so yeah. It turned out perfect. You can check craiglists, they normally have mobile people who can come to you and do it in your garage or elsewhere

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Anyone else had experience with a scuff/scrape on the bumper? Were you able to buff it out and repaint or did it require a new bumper?

brociouz

iTrader: (65)

You can try buffing it out yourself, but it looks pretty deep. Just try and get it spot painted. If the body shop insists on repainting the whole thing, you'd probably be better off getting a whole new bumper from Sewell. You could upgrade to the '09+ one while your'e at it and make a mod out of your unfortunate situation.

As for the tail light, yes, all you need is that cover part. Pretty straightforward swap.

Sffd103

iTrader: (16)

save a bit and get IS F tails

HeartmyIS

iTrader: (18)

^ 09+ tails ftw.

brociouz

iTrader: (65)

^ 2011 tails ftw. If he goes with IS-F tails, he'd still have to get that inner piece since IS-F tails only replace the outers. Or he could go eBay.

calvin2376

iTrader: (2)

Just got a few body shop quotes. It was explained to me there there were essentially 3 options:

1) Spot repair, where they don't remove the bumper, sand down the area, repaint and clear coat the offending area only

2) Remove bumper, sand down the affected area, prime and repaint that area, then clear coat the entire bumper so it blends with that spot

3) Replace entire bumper. Sewell has the painted bumper for about $500

I was quoted $350 for option 2, and both body shops said this is the way they'd do the repair and it would come out looking brand new.

Anyone had experience with this type of repair?

Joeb427

iTrader: (1)

I've had #2 done on a front bumper cover on another vehicle I owned and it worked out well.
#3 is the best option,though.