My front bumper is in pretty sad shape; the previous owner didn't take great car of it at all. Does anyone know about what it would cost to repaint just the front bumper? What about adding an amuse lip to that? Thanks!

 

$200-300 for a good body shop.
1.5 hours just for dismounting and remounting the bumper.

 

Ouch. I think I'll live with it until it gets worse. Thanks.

 

Since the bumper is so easy to remove, you could just drop it off somewhere. You could also save some bucks by sanding it yourself.

 

my neighbor (who has a body shop which is very respected here) offered to paint my entire front bumper and the rear lip by the exhause(the gray part) to body color....both for $300 plus tax....not to bad, i dont think

 

Whether you do the job yourself, or pay to have it done, be sure that the paint has had the special 'flex' additive put into it. Unlike the rigid body panels, the bumper will flex and bend, and unless the special additive [which I believe contains polyurethane] is present, the surface of the bumper will develop cracks after some period of time.

 

Is paint ever covered under warranty? My car is an '01 with 22k on it. I'm not so worried about the chips and stuff, but there are a couple of sections, primarily on the front bumper, but also extending slightly onto the hood where the paint is really losing its shine. I'm not sure if its from lack of care or what. I'll try to post some pics tomorrow of what I'm talking about.

 

I have pics, but I think I figured out what the deal is. I have two questions first:

Are the black side grills on a berlina usually paint matched to the bumper, or are they usually flat black?

Where is the VIN sticker on the front bumper?

I'm starting to think that the front bumper has been replaced and whoever painted it did an incredibly poor job. The only thing that might negate this idea is the fact that the hood (which still has the VIN sticker from my car on it) is also fading very slightly.

 

Open your hood and look along the top edge of the bumper to the right hand side. There should be a small tab with the VIN sticker on it.

 

Yeah, thats what I thought. The bumper has been replaced/repainted and obviously the paint shop did a crap job with it.

Here is the fading that is occurring on the front bumper.


Here is the speckling on the hood. This is the part that I don't understand. The hood should not have been repainted; the original VIN sticker is still on it.