My experience buying a Pre-Painted Bumper from Sewell Lexus!
03-12-14, 10:42 AM
#1
My experience buying a Pre-Painted Bumper from Sewell Lexus!
Alright this might sound trivial to some of you guys but I just can’t stand the fact the dealer drilled into the stock front bumper to put the license plate frame on. I mean I could just buy some caps, cover up the holes and be done with it but my OCD would prevent me from doing something like that.
I received a couple quotes at the Lexus dealer and some high end body shops (they deal with show cars) to fill the holes and spray the bumper. I got estimates anywhere from 700-1100. My only concern was the paint will not match 100 percent since 3 Stage Starfire Pearl is a notoriously hard color to match. I made an appointment to drop off the car at one of the high end shops per my friend’s recommendations. The shop owner even put my mind at ease by saying his painter will get it 90 percent or closer.
Well that night I was browsing around and noticed that Sewell sells the complete front bumper pre-painted for $550 with CL discount, shipping is kinda killer @ $180 for a grand total of $730 to my door. I impulsively went ahead and ordered the bumper figuring hey, if it’s factory painted it must match perfectly right? Silly rabbit… turns out Lexus doesn’t offer pre-painted bumpers They are all painted at Sewell’s body shop. Found that out the next day when my inquiry email was replied to by Sewell. I went into panic mode and requested a cancellation, This was less than 24 hours after placing the order but Sewell responded by saying sorry the bumper cannot be cancelled once it’s ordered. It’s already boxed up and ready to be picked up by FedEx. Yikes!
The next week of waiting was agonizing, at this point I already convinced myself that the bumper was never going to match the car. The day it was to be delivered I took the day off from work to stay home and sign for it. FedEx pulled up in the AM, proceeded to pull out the biggest box I have ever seen in my life. It looked like you could fit a full size coffin inside, lol. To my delight, there was no exterior damage on the box, FedEx took care of this one. Proceeded to open it up and I was impressed with the way it was packed, Good job so far Sewell. Took me about 10 minutes to unwrap the bumper from all the packing material. At last, there it sat on my dining room table in all it’s glory ready for my inspection. I inspected every inch of it, in every angle to find any paint imperfections, uneven orange peel, fisheyes, overspray ect. To my great surprise, there was none, the paint was literally flawless. The clear coat texture seems to match the factory orange peel very well.
I had removed the original bumper earlier in the morning in anticipation of a quick swap when the new bumper arrived. Transferring the old grill, fog lights, headlight washers over was a snap. Moment of truth came, I mounted up the new Sewell bumper, put two clips to hold it in place temporarily and stood back. Wow! Perfect match! I would go as far as saying it probably matches the rest of the car better than the OEM original! On a cloudy day or under florescent light, I could see a slight variance with the OEM bumper being just a tad bit lighter, on this Sewell bumper it matches nearly identical to the fender and hood which is astonishing considering those are metal panels. Of course fit and finish is identical since it’s a factory part but what blows my mind in the color match. Thumbs up Sewell, thumbs way up. Not only did I save about $300 over getting my bumper “filled” and resprayed, I now have an extra spare bumper to boot. Win/Win situation.
So in conclusion, if anybody has any doubts about Sewell’s pre-painted bumper paint quality, don’t. It’s really excellent quality and matches perfectly, I’m probably the most picky person you’ll meet when it comes to paint quality and I highly approve of Sewell’s pre-painted front bumpers. Looking at it till this day, I can’t tell it’s not OEM paint which is the best praise I can give.
I received a couple quotes at the Lexus dealer and some high end body shops (they deal with show cars) to fill the holes and spray the bumper. I got estimates anywhere from 700-1100. My only concern was the paint will not match 100 percent since 3 Stage Starfire Pearl is a notoriously hard color to match. I made an appointment to drop off the car at one of the high end shops per my friend’s recommendations. The shop owner even put my mind at ease by saying his painter will get it 90 percent or closer.
Well that night I was browsing around and noticed that Sewell sells the complete front bumper pre-painted for $550 with CL discount, shipping is kinda killer @ $180 for a grand total of $730 to my door. I impulsively went ahead and ordered the bumper figuring hey, if it’s factory painted it must match perfectly right? Silly rabbit… turns out Lexus doesn’t offer pre-painted bumpers They are all painted at Sewell’s body shop. Found that out the next day when my inquiry email was replied to by Sewell. I went into panic mode and requested a cancellation, This was less than 24 hours after placing the order but Sewell responded by saying sorry the bumper cannot be cancelled once it’s ordered. It’s already boxed up and ready to be picked up by FedEx. Yikes!
The next week of waiting was agonizing, at this point I already convinced myself that the bumper was never going to match the car. The day it was to be delivered I took the day off from work to stay home and sign for it. FedEx pulled up in the AM, proceeded to pull out the biggest box I have ever seen in my life. It looked like you could fit a full size coffin inside, lol. To my delight, there was no exterior damage on the box, FedEx took care of this one. Proceeded to open it up and I was impressed with the way it was packed, Good job so far Sewell. Took me about 10 minutes to unwrap the bumper from all the packing material. At last, there it sat on my dining room table in all it’s glory ready for my inspection. I inspected every inch of it, in every angle to find any paint imperfections, uneven orange peel, fisheyes, overspray ect. To my great surprise, there was none, the paint was literally flawless. The clear coat texture seems to match the factory orange peel very well.
I had removed the original bumper earlier in the morning in anticipation of a quick swap when the new bumper arrived. Transferring the old grill, fog lights, headlight washers over was a snap. Moment of truth came, I mounted up the new Sewell bumper, put two clips to hold it in place temporarily and stood back. Wow! Perfect match! I would go as far as saying it probably matches the rest of the car better than the OEM original! On a cloudy day or under florescent light, I could see a slight variance with the OEM bumper being just a tad bit lighter, on this Sewell bumper it matches nearly identical to the fender and hood which is astonishing considering those are metal panels. Of course fit and finish is identical since it’s a factory part but what blows my mind in the color match. Thumbs up Sewell, thumbs way up. Not only did I save about $300 over getting my bumper “filled” and resprayed, I now have an extra spare bumper to boot. Win/Win situation.
So in conclusion, if anybody has any doubts about Sewell’s pre-painted bumper paint quality, don’t. It’s really excellent quality and matches perfectly, I’m probably the most picky person you’ll meet when it comes to paint quality and I highly approve of Sewell’s pre-painted front bumpers. Looking at it till this day, I can’t tell it’s not OEM paint which is the best praise I can give.
Last edited by RSXiMUS; 03-12-14 at 10:46 AM.
03-12-14, 10:51 AM
#4
Nice, thanks for sharing your experience!
Sewell prices are good and could be better but you also pay for their customer service which is top notch in my opinion. They had warrantied a couple of F sport parts i ordered out of good will, no questions asked. Shipping and communication is A+ too.
Sewell prices are good and could be better but you also pay for their customer service which is top notch in my opinion. They had warrantied a couple of F sport parts i ordered out of good will, no questions asked. Shipping and communication is A+ too.
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03-12-14, 11:12 AM
#8
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Similar thing happened to be but it was for headlamp washer holes to be filled plastic weld did it cost me like 100$ plus they painted my grill gloass black, even the shop who painted my bumper was impressed these guys plastic weld looked like there was no headlamp washer holes at all, but yeah new bumper didn't come with license plate holes even though I'm suppose to have a front license plate in california I don't wanna stil holes in my new fresh painted bumper.
03-12-14, 11:41 AM
#12
You know what, I'm also super meticulous about paint quality and paint protection. I would highly and highly recommend you put 3M clear bra in front to protecting it from rock chips and small holes caused by rocks ahahah. Next, put Opticoat on the whole car including windows and wheels. I spent roughly 1000 on this and my car looks brand new even after 2 years, even shinier than the brand new car from dealer 
03-12-14, 11:55 AM
#14
You know what, I'm also super meticulous about paint quality and paint protection. I would highly and highly recommend you put 3M clear bra in front to protecting it from rock chips and small holes caused by rocks ahahah. Next, put Opticoat on the whole car including windows and wheels. I spent roughly 1000 on this and my car looks brand new even after 2 years, even shinier than the brand new car from dealer
