C4S in Rome

Recently the garage I keep my car in scratched the frount bumper by backing another car into it , not big or deep (like 1 cm) but enough to be annoying. Note if I put on the frount licence plate it would cover the scratch.

They have agreed to pay for most of the cost to have it fixed (there is another scratch that was done by the original owner which is more substatial so I agreed to some of the cost).

Question is am I better off to leave the car as it is with the orginal paint (note artic silver) ?

Second, there are a few small scratchs on the back bumper - all very minor but enought that the are is not "new". So if I do the frount I am inclined to step up and do that back.

I will be selling the car soon.

Thanks for your thoughts.

Rick Lee

Don't worry about it. Making a bumper look better should not affect the value. And why do you care about the future value? Are you saving the car for someone else? Drive it like you stole it.

David in LA

Take pics to document the current damage before you respray the bumper...when the buyer asks about the repaint the pics should negate any concerns.

mike cap

C4S in Roma,

With the 993 series approaching ten years of age, a buyer would expect that a P-car, with anything over 20,000 miles or so, would have a bumper repaint done. Especially if the buyer understands the fact that the 993 low bumper is a road-rash magnet.

On Rick's subject of "drive it like you stole it", I will be in Rome in about four weeks and will be glad to provide a few days of Italian tune-up work for you if you would like. No charge....

C4S in Rome

The car - a 97 C4S - has 34,000 miles (it is USA registered). I did the 30k service and drive it as much as I can (4k so far this year) but I will likley have to sell it in the next 6 months.

I was wondering what people thought in terms of better to sell it with original paint so the new owner can make the changes the way they like it vs. fixing it so the car is " perfect ".

Another question. Of the 2 places I have checked with to do the work they both say they want to do it without taking the bumper off the car because it is so hard to put it back on correctly (getting it back on the hooks).

Any thoughts on this ?

pjc

Take it somewhere else - front and rear bumpers come off and go back fine - it just takes patience - something your quoting bodyshop clearly does not have.

PJC

mike cap

C4S,

I disagree with PJC, on the bumper cover removal for painting. The 993 is one of the easiest cars to mask off the bumper, sand, fill and repaint. If the body shop masks properly along the fender beading and prevents overspray from going underneath the car and into the (removed) signal and foglamp areas, there is no reason to remove the bumper cover. Removing and reinstalling is just another thing for them to screw-up and will not result in a better job.

jonathank2000

I got my new TT front bumper cover painted and decided to paint the entire front end to get rid of years of chipping. I still have the old parts to show the prospective buyer when I decide to sell my car. I know many people on this board have said that you should keep it as-is as it will reduce the resell value if you paint it, but c'mon, I have to look at it everyday and ultimately, you bought the car for YOU, not for someone else who will buy it in the future.

StatmanDesigns

As much as I like my 993, you have to step back and be a bit realistic. These are NOT collector cars (unless you have a zero mile 1998 C2S). If you have a concours winning example then you should not have any paint work done, but then you won't have a big scratch on your bumber from leaving the car with a garage attendant, since you won't be driving the thing.

Paint it and forget about it. Generally, the Porsche-weenies that require "absolutley no paint work of any kind" are not going to be buying your car because of 100 other nit-picking details. Just sell it to somebody a bit more realistic. There are PLENTY of buyers for cars that can be DRIVEN. Painting a bumper will not decrease the value of your car, assuming it is painted correctly and the color matches.

rainmn

My bumper is going to get painted, and I won't have a second thought about it.
If you drive the car, you're going to get stone chips.
If you let it sit, then it's a garage queen with potential problems from lack of use.
I say use it, and fix what gets messed up in the process.

pjc

Mike C

It depends on the type of damage - if caused by impact it is too easy for the paint to crack along the top of the bumper close to the adjacent bodywork where the bumper flexes beyond the capability of the paint (hairline but still visible) and the only solution under such circumstances is I believe to remove the bumper. Had this last year when a kind soul hit my rear bumper (cleared out without note etc) - looked not too bad until a careful inspection revealed the hailine crack.

PJC

mborkow

why don't you get the autovisual paint pen and just dab a bit of paint on the scratch...seems a lot easier, and cheaper, since the scratch is pretty small

garychios

too many people worry about resale value. Drive it and enjoy it.

mborkow

"too many people worry about resale value. Drive it and enjoy it."
amen

cabrio993

So does driving the car off the showroom floor.

"Value" is relative to who you are planing to sell the car to. If you sell it to me..I rather that it would have been painted so I don't have to do it. If you sell it to a collector, then unless your car was in concourse condition...paint or no paint wouldn't matter.

So..paint it...drive it...enjoy it...and then paint it some more when you get more scratches.