naseeb

Urmil and I were looking over my new 03 spa yellow a few weeks ago and I mentioned to him that it looked like the bumper was repainted( doesn't match perfectly). I didn't notice it at the dealership since I looked at the car when it was dark( big mistake), and when it was brought inside the shop area, the lights were the yellow halogen type.........it only made the paint look flawless. I picked up the car the next day which was also rainy and gloomy( which didn't help either).

anyways, my question is since it looked like the bumper was repainted, it was either in a minor fender bender or had a lot of rock chips and it was easier to have the bumper repainted.

The VIN numbers are on all the body panels, doors and rear.

MY QUESTION:
Can these VIN number stickers be easily replicated, or removed. If the front fender was replaced, can the VIN number sticker be removed and reattached to make it look like it is the orginal panel?

I personally think the bumper was repainted from paint chips, and not an accident, but I can be wrong. The car fax was clean.........

GChambers

1. Those vin stickers are supposed to be impossible to fake. Of course, when ever you think something is fool proof, someone invents a better fool.

2. Never have blind faith in a Carfax.

naseeb

No kidding. ...

You can't really tell the bumper was repainted unless you are looking for it. It is annoying me and I feel it's worth a couple $$$ spent to avoid the frustration....my biggest fear was if it had other damage.
I took the car AFTER the purchase to a local shop and they said there wasn't any frame damage or panel damage. They didn't even notice the paint job.

It's when I first turned on the florescent lights in my garage the truth was revealed.

The fender VIN stickers look orginal....they even have that piece of tape on one end. I still can't figure out what that;s for, but I have the same thing on my 4-runner.

S2000GT

you cannot remove the vin stickers without destroying them....

....and havent you got that front end lipped and painted yet???

c'mon!!

naseeb

I'm the biggest freakin procrastinator in the world...........


you find me a nice lip and I'll get it done as soon as spring roles around.

I also want to do a nice detail job........the whole nine yards..........

clay the car, get the best polish and wax to make the baby shine



Any one of uz have good luck with clay...

what about the best wax....sounds like Zymol is on the prefered list...

I've been using Meguires Gold on my other cars for years...

joeking1978

lol... I got screwed the same way on my S4.

looked it over in the parking light on a cloudy day... while parked tightly next to other cars... so I couldn't get good angles of reflection...

parked also next to completely different cars (like tt's) so I couldn't form a quick comparrison.

I take it home... wash it for the first time... and what do I find...?

PAINT OVERSPRAY!

bad too...

I look even further, and find that my trunk line is off... I contacted the dealership and they told me that it had some damage to the trunk- nothing special and that the overspray was from their "Scratch and Chip" guy... fixin' up some minor body stuff...

I "bought" it... and went about my day.

3 weeks later- I drop it off for a routine recall on suspension... the dealership WRECKS my car and forces me to send it to a couple estimators/body shops. At both body-shops... they tell me that the entire rear side paneling and trunkline shows that the car had been almost completely repainted... and cheaply done at that! They showed me where the the trim was just painted over... instead of removed, sanded and seperately painted. They then pulled up a carfax for me and it showed that the car had been in: 3 'MAJOR' Rear End Collisions in 2 years! "Major" is just shy of completely ing "Totalled"!!


So long story short... my court date is the 25th of this month! No one buy from Bill Cook if you're ever in the Farmington hills Area (later found that they are ranked 479th out of 485 dealers in the US for customer service satisfaction!)

(which is also why I'm looking to get another s2k)

naseeb

I'm about 80% grey @ 30...... I'll probably be 80% bald before my daughter's 16th b-day.....

I'm not worried about the work done on the car really, it's just that I know that the color doesn't match and it's annoying to think about it. You really need to stare at it to notice in certain lighting conditions.

But since I want to get a lip, I might as well get the paint matched better

naseeb

your story sounds like a nightmare....

carfax is the first thing to do..........even then you can't guarrantee anything, but if the car was in a major accident and had a police report....carfax guarrantees that it will be reported to them or they will buy your car back. I would consider this jesture to mean confidence on their reportings.

Dezoris

Some paint clouding or discoloration is caused by bras car covers that have sat on too long with moisture. I have seen that on several cars.

As far as VINs go if it has all of them don't worry about it, thats a good sign.
I know a few guys who will do VIN stickers, I also made a few of my own as a test, and if someone did not know any better there is no way they could tell.

Also there are many people who have parts replaced, like hoods and bumpers for cracks chips etc. Nothing to worry about.

I had my passenger side door replaced because there was a creak inside the door, apart of the frame. No VIN on there on my car.

Another thing to note for these cars is there is no shitty aftermarket parts for it, when parts are replaced on the S2000 almost 99% of the parts come from Honda.

The only thing to worry about is paint jobs.

scott6058

Don't ever believe Carfax and vin stickers are easily remade.
Just be happy a Carafax report is clean....