caddyowner

I dropped my new (to me) 05 CL at the body shop a week ago Monday. I told them I wasn't in a rush and the co-owner (wife) said they would start on it right away.

I had a few minutes this afternoon and I swung past the body shop. I saw the car in an open bay and pulled in to take a look. I walked up and said hi to the other owner (husband), the son, and an outside paint tech. The wife came running out of the office waving and calling my name because she thought I would come unhinged at how ugly the car was. It was no surprise to me - both bumper covers were off, a lot of trim was off, and the trunk lid, and three side panels were primed. No big deal. They said they painted one bumper, but thought it had too much large flake - making it look like a bass boat. The paint tech said BASF has three documented versions of flint mica that Lexus used. I'm confident they're get it right, but it will probably next week sometime before it's ready.

miniz

What exactly are they doing to it and why?

caddyowner

I bought the car from out of state for a good price with the following damage:

- Front bumper scrapes & front license plate holes (we don't have a front plate in Michigan)

- Small paint problem on front passenger door

- Scrapes on rear passenger door onto rear quarter panel

- Crazed paint from impacts on rear bumper, right and left corners. 1 damaged parking sensor.

- Dent in back edge of trunk lid

- Dented scuff plate on driver door.

It will still be a good deal, even with the cost of the repairs. The car has the right trim level (CL), exterior color, interior color, and mileage. I could have ignored some of the items, but I have some OCPD in regards to my cars. I have had excellent work from this body shop in the past.

Vpanin

So are they going to repaint the bumper that they just painted because of the flakes??

caddyowner

^^^
Definitely. Also, since they are painting 3 of 4 panels on the right side of the car, they are going to spray the whole side. They don't want any hint of difference to be apparent.

Jabberwock

Sounds like a high quality body shop. How come you didn't take it to Maaco? They would have repainted the whole car for $300.

DDLexus

I hope you're kidding! If you want a good paint job, you gotta pay for it. $300 will usually get your front bumper painted at high quality paint shops. Maaco is only good for beater paint jobs, like what you'd put on your 1985 Jeep Cherokee .

Vpanin

wow thats a great body shop caddyowner...................So BASF has all the Lexus colors?? They wont charge you even 300$ in quality body shops, more like 500-700 for the LS bumper repaint

Jabberwock

Seems bumper repaints on used cars are becoming pretty common SOP. We have been shopping for a used RX350 and several Lexus dealers have RX350s on the used car line with repainted bumpers front and rear. Seems like the view by the dealer is that repainting plastic bumpers is no big deal and almost to be expected and does not affect the value of the car.

caddyowner

Alas, that was my plan. But, I couldn't master the powerslide back into the parking spot after the repaint like on the commercial. No wonder I need so much body work done after the practice sessions.

Ventura

Maaco, NO WAY even on a beater. I had a Toyota painted at a Maaco shop years ago and the job lasted about 4-6 months before the paint started to dull. I took it back and they repainted a second time with the same results 4-6 months before it started looking bad again.
Good materials for a complete repaint will cost well over $300.00 let along including any labor. Brings to mind the old saying “you get what you pay for” and that is especially true with auto painting.

caddyowner

The other problem with Maaco is that they don't have Flint Mica. They have something called Flint Michigan which looks like old, brown Buicks.

GS3Tek

iTrader: (8)

just like our family's old 82 skylark probably

miniz

I hope you did get it for a good price, because all that paint is going to depreciate the vehicle sharply. Painting a bumper or two is one thing, but you are talking about half the car here.

caddyowner

^^
I bought what I bought. It turned out having a few more issues than I expected. No big deal. I'm having the car fixed to near perfect condition and plan on running it past 200K in the next 6-7 years. Depreciation does not concern me.