So I just got my 2009 LS460 a little over a month ago. It was in excellent condition inside and out and only had 24k miles. I am very cautious when I park any of my cars and usually find an end spot. So today I parked my car at an end spot at the back of the parking lot but pulled all the way through so I could just pull out when I got off work. Well I am walking to my car and I noticed the car behind me was parked awfully close to my rear bumper so I take a look to see if he hit me. Sure enough, it looks like he did because now there is a slight crease in my rear bumper that wasn't there before. How the F#$* does someone pull into a parking spot head on and hit the car in front of him? I could at least understand backing into someone. Luckily I have a clear bra on the back bumper so there are no indents or scratches but now this faint crease is driving me crazy and I can't stop looking at it hoping it will go away somehow even though I know it won't.

To add insult to injury, I get home and my wife tells me someone put a ding on her GX's driver's side door.

Do little things like this bother you? I try to take care of my cars and the way I am with my cars drives my wife crazy. These two incidents actually ruined my weekend and it just started. I think I stared at my rear bumper for 30 minutes trying to tell myself it doesn't look that bad even though my eyes will forever focus on this everytime I get in my car. How do you guys let it go? I think I'm nuts.

 

as a person that has taken years to "let it go" I can feel your pain brother.. but in the end what really matters is your health and welfare and that of your family, its just a car that will come and go, the first ding or dent is always the hardest!

 

If it will matter in 5 years, then you may spend some time thinking about it. Otherwise, invest your time and emotions elsewhere.

 

believe me, i wouldn't consider some moron slamming into my 70,000 car a little thing.

If it really is noticeable, here is what I would have done:

take some pics of the "crime scene" with my phone, including showing how close the other car is parked

get their plate number

leave a note on their car with your name and phone # and ask them to call you, and let them know that you know they hit your car and you have their plate number and you will be contacting your insurance company to file a claim

if you really want to get crazy you could file a police report

then call your insurance co and have them track the other car and try to recover the damages. that's what they get paid for. i'm not saying they necessarily would be able to but it's at least worth a try. who knows, the other person might do the right thing and admit fault.

 

Pat, I am with you. For example, I have considered rigging my car with some type of missile that would be triggered when another vehicle bumped into my car while in a parking lot. A cooler head prevailed however, after considering that I would probably get 20 years to life for such an infraction lol.

You might want to check with a body shop and see if they can massage the crease out if it is only in the bumper cover. If there are marks near the crease, sometimes these can be removed with a clearcoat friendly polishing compound. They might also be able to improve the appearance of your wife's car ding with paintless dent repair.

 

Just had two small door dings eliminated by an experienced paintless dent removal specialist. They were noticeable to me and that is what counts. Now they are not noticeble even to me as "picky" as I am as the specialist referred to me.

 

I would get both cars fixed. It's better for me to look at a 'dingless' car and lament on the cost to repair, briefly, rather than look at dents. The pain of paying out money goes rather quickly compared to a dent you see every day. We have Dent Pro out here that does a great job of fixing dings where the paint is not chipped.

 

I will check with the body shop on massaging the crease out. There are no marks because I have the clear bra on the back bumper. On the wife's car, I have had paintless dent repair done before so I will do it again. It was just annoying since it happened the same day.

 

I have pretty much gotten over the crease in my rear bumper but I still go out of my way to look at it every time I get in my car so I am going to get it fixed since it is not as expensive to fix as I thought. Here are my options, give me your opinions:

Option 1. My friend who is my service advisor suggested I get it fixed at their body shop. He is more particular than I am with his personal car and when someone hit his rear bumper, he had it fixed and he said you can't even tell. His father used to own a body shop for years so he knows what he is talking about and I trust him. Plus it will probably not cost a whole lot. As suggested above, maybe they can even massage it out and I wouldn't have to do anything else but I doubt it.

Option 2. I called Sewell Lexus (a sponsor here) to get pricing on a new bumper and they gave me a quote with and without paint. I talked to Darrell and he said they are one of two Lexus dealers in the U.S. that has a body shop that is authorized by Lexus. He said they know how particular owners are about their paint and although starfire pearl is tough to match, they have never had any complaints or returns. I could get a new bumper to me painted for around $650. I would just have to install myself. Part of me is hesitant because when I did a search, I heard how hard it was to match starfire pearl and if there were any issues, it would be a pain to deal with given the distance even though I am sure Sewell would stand behind their product to make it right. The positive is that I would have a brand new bumper.

What would are your opinions on what you would do?

 

Option 1 would be my choice. Your friend will stand behind any complaints you may have on the repair. If you did Option 2 and put a scratch on the bumper trying to install it yourself, it would be most painful.

 

My choice would be option 1 as well. If they give you a reasonable cost estimate, ask them for some assurance that their procedure will correct the issue to your satisfaction. Let them know what your expectations are.