I test drove a CPO 02 today that I really liked. Overall the car is in great shape. The one problem area is the front lip is pretty scratched up as can be seen below. I figured this would be the best place to seek advice. Is this something that can be fixed / covered up? Would it concern / bother you?

 

looks like it's just the bumper. putting on an oem front lip should cover that no prob. lip or no lip, either way, you're bound to scratch it up at some point.

 

they do get scratched... especially if you lower the car.
had to take mine to the dealer last week to check a rear knuckle- and man they scratched the heck outta it test driving it- i shoulda known better than to have a dealer check this...
but the point is that some scratching is normal there and the only way to fix it is to attach something to protect it (which would hang down even further!), replace it, or repaint it (or live with it).
(i just got under mine and used various grits to sand down the damage- but mine is black so sanding can help. on silver, sanding would just take off the paint i think)

i have to respect that you are asking the question, and it really qualifies you to be one of us!!

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btw, i drove an aston martin vanquish s earlier this year- that car was even lower than ours. i took driveways slowly and at an angle, and still scratched it... figured that a scratch on that car's lip was probably more expensive to fix than most cars cost!!

 

How good do you look "in the deal" ? The reason I ask is you MIGHT be able to get the dealership to fix it , depending on how bad they wanna get rid of the car . I've seen it happen a few times . Just point out the blemishes before you sign and see what happens . Ask 'em to work with you . The least you may get is saving a little $$ . BTW , my '03 was bought CPO and my bumper looks the same as yours , if not worse . I'm currently saving for some paint work .

 

I'd be more worried about the suspension because the car may have been lowered at one point. Check to see that the shocks are ok.

 

I'm waiting to hear back from the dealer on what he can do. I'm guessing at the very least I can get him to knock a bit off the price. So I assume the general consensus is that its not a big deal (and pretty much inevitable) and you wouldn't skip an otherwise great car b/c the bumper is scraped up?

 

that is what i think...

 

It took me a couple of weeks to learn to stay further back than I have in all my other cars. The long hood and it's sightlines, coupled with very little ground clearance takes some getting used to. For a while I either heard the brrump as I hit the curb or got out of the car to find I was 2 feet away. *(good thing it's a small car) I even had one teenager ofer to pull my car forward so I wouldn't look so lame. (I'm sure that's why he wanted to driv it lol)
You will finally get it down, but better to err on the far side 'til it all comes together,

 

I bought mine in May with a cracked oem lip.....Lip's still cracked.

 

[QUOTE=dozen5,Dec 22 2005, 08:31 PM] looks like it's just the bumper. putting on an oem front lip should cover that no prob. lip or no lip, either way, you're bound to scratch it up at some point.