jimaleg

Plates have been changed


I have an Egyptian Sand Pearl 2003 SC430. The rear bumper is quite scratched up from my years of tight parking on DC Streets. As you can see from the pictures some of the scratches are deep. I'm just trying to get advice on whether it's better to buy a used same color bumper and have it installed or to repaint-fix the existing bumper cover. I am not a body shop guy. The car is garaged in Portland Oregon. I just don't know how much labor it is to remove and reinstall a bumper if I buy the bumper or whether the bumper can be fixed on the car. I got 1 quote for $800 to paint but that seemed high. I'm just looking for advice (and possible body shop recommendations for Lexus repair anywhere within 100 radius of Portland). The car could use a complete paint job as some A/H keyed my doors 8 years ago and there is a fair amount of rock chips on the front bumper and a minor dent above the rear wheel as shown in the picture. One quote for complete paint job was $8K which is well above my budget. The bumper is the thing people notice the most. But to just paint the bumper is like putting a silk patch on a sow's ear?
The car has 118K and is on its 2nd timing belt last summer. The interior is ok although the driver's seat has a 2 inch hole where butt meets the seat. I love the car and would like to keep it but I only drive it 4 months a year.

joemg

Have you tried having the dents pulled (Pointless Dent Removal)? If you can get them reasonably back to shape, I would recommend getting some quotes on a wrap. Then you can pick any color and it will hide any imperfections, and you don't have to worry about mismatched body panels.

For the seat, check out:
https://www.lseat.com/products/2002-...ers-front.html

I don't have first hand experience, but I have seen positive reviews.

If the wrap proves to be cost prohibitive, then I'd just find a same-color rear bumper to swap and have the dents pulled.

jimaleg

Thanks....what is the wrap?

joemg

Vinyl wrapping. A lot of people do this instead of paint. There are probably shops in your area that do it.

EDIT:
Here's a thread so you can get some idea:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sc4...pped-sc-s.html

jimaleg

thanks...and the wrap is for the metal portions of the car not the bumper or the whole car?

OBP

you can wrap the whole car if you want - it is up to you and your installer.

jimaleg

Given the paint condition of my bumper (and the rest of the car-rock chips and 21 years of element exposure), my budget won't permit me to repaint the whole car ($8K). If I have the bumper professionally painted, while it's a lot less ($600-800 estimates) I'm worried about matching a 21 year old original paint job. Here's what I was thinking, pull the bumper cover and spray paint it with this ttps://www.paintscratch.com/touch_up_paint/Lexus/2001-Lexus-SC-Series-Egyptian-Sand-Pearl-Clearcoat-4Q8.html OR whatever spray paint is recommended on this forum. It certainly won't turn out as good as a pro job but given how it looks currently, anything is an improvement. In that regard, how hard is it to remove the bumper. I realize I could spray the bumper on the car but some of the scratches are quite deep and I don't know if they can be sanded out or whether I should try to find a bumper cover with the same color? How hard is it to remove and reinstall a rear bumper cover. What problems might I encounter?
When the bumper comes off, is it hard to get it back on if it has deep scratches? It doesn't look dented, so I think structurally it's ok.
Any expert advice is so appreciated. TY in Advance!

SGB4570

How about this? I know nothing about it but just saw it.
02-10 Lexus SC430 Rear OEM Bumper W/ Corner&Reverse Lights (Egyptian Sand Pearl) | eBay

jimaleg

Thanks...I've looked at it several times and actually spoke to the yard that has it.
My only problem is shipping. It's more expensive to ship than the part costs.
I was trying to find a friend in the Akron area that might be able to pick it up for me but I know no one. But thanks for the listing even though I've seen it!

SGB4570

Cool, just trying to help, good luck

jimaleg

I do appreciate it much!
Any idea the size of a bumper cover. They only ship as freight on a pallet but it would be a lot less if I could use UPS but they have an overall length + girth of 165 inches.
I'm going to try to measure the existing bumper cover on the car but I'm not sure if that will give me an accurate measurement. Again thanks to all responders.

jimaleg

Per A.I.:The rear bumper cover for the Lexus SC430 has specific dimensions. Here are the details:

• Part Number: 52159-24908
• Position: Rear
• Width: Approximately 72 inches (measured from left to right)
• Height: Approximately 16 inches (measured from top to bottom)
• Depth: Approximately 8 inches (measured from front to back)

Lexus parts says it weights 22.4 pounds
AI says 12.5 lbs.

Bgw70

Great idea, looks like it would be $650 shipped. I would certainly consider this option.

The bumper is easy to remove and reinstall. I ran some basic numbers on the UPS site and came up with $325 as the least expensive.
you said repainting the bumper would cost $600-$800 so the used bumper might be a serious contender. Ask the eBay company to send additional pics and ask them to closely inspect and send closeup pics of any marks they see. You could even do a FaceTime call with them so you could inspect it yourself.

your current bumper looks tough and might be worth replacing.
here is a direct link to their website

https://jandjautowrecking.com/produc...?keyword=sc430

jimaleg

thank you!
I wish I could find someone driving from Ohio to Oregon, I'd happily pay them for transport!