I parked too close to the curb and scraped the paint off the lower portion of my front bumper. It scraped the plastic so that it is not smooth anymore. Can the plastic be sanded and repainted effectively or do I need to replace the whole bumper itself? It's a scrape about 12" long. The scrape it probably 1/8 inch deep. No picture as I am out of town. It's a 2008 Carerra S Cab. Thoughts?

 

Without pictures I say you're going to need a whole new front end on this one.

 

Talk to a local body shop for a free estimate. They can tell you whether they can repair the bumper or if it needs to be replaced. Be sure they know you are considering avoiding insurance and paying out of pocket. It helps sometimes with getting a better price. Either way the entire bumper will need to be repainted. So you are really only talking about the difference in price to repair and prep your current bumper for paint versus getting a new bumper - the painting step is the same in each case.

I've found good luck asking the local Porsche dealership who they use for their auto body work. Or call the local Mercedes, BMW or Audi dealerships and ask the same question. Chances are the best body shops service all the luxury dealerships. If you post your location others might be able to recommend a shop local to you as well with lots of Porsche experience.

And take lots of pictures of this cosmetic damage. It will help ease the next owner's mind knowing there was no accident damage, just a nasty scrape on the bumper.

 

Pics please.

 

unless its cut in half or smashed out of shape they are repairable. no insurance co would pay for replacement unless it was beyond repair

 

Repaint, it's not you last oops.
Don't sweat it.

 

Thanks All. I will take it to the dealer and get a recommendation. To the point made, it's a scrape only I see as it is very low on the bumper, and pictures before repair are a smart idea to give peace of mind to the next owner. Appreciate the quick feedback on this forum. And the location is Baltimore.
Cheers

 

If it's not in a noticeable spot you could try http://www.automotivetouchup.com/ I've used them on my wife Honda and was pleased with the results. It's not perfect, but it will make the scratch much less apparent. As mentioned above, I practiced on my wife's car before trying it on mine. I recommend a practice car if you can.

 

Cracked plastic bumper covers can be welded back together. It doesn't sound like yours is damaged to this point but there are many ways to repair a plastic bumper cover without the expense of replacement. Whether or not you want that for your car is another issue.

 

Most dealers have a local guy that blends in a repair and paint.
My guy has a crappy old aerostar full of paint samples. He mixes up a blend, a little sanding and leveler, blow it in, blow some clear coat. Done. $1oo-3oo

 

You really have to watch asking a dealer where to go.

Many times they have a lot of self interest (read $$$$$$) to send you to a certain shop that may not be the best place to take it (sometimes they even have an ownership interest in the body shop). Asking a dealer and taking their advice is a lazy way to look for people to fix your car.

You need to do the investigation yourself and pick the best place based on what you see on line, your conversation with the owner, a visit to their shop and your gut feeling.

Tom

 

+1 !!!

Years ago, I took my Boxster to a dealer recommended body shop... they kept a stack of their business cards on each service reps desk.... and they sucked.... really bad... made a mess of my paint. I found the two owners were personal friends.

Porsche dealers, mechanics, and other related businesses are not a cult of super-powered German engineer monks who have a secret book of solutions.... they are normal people. They are not special.... not bad, but just not special. Stop seeing your car as some Holy Faberge egg.

Peace
Bruce in Philly

 

To answer the OP's question, the bumper can probably be repaired and re-sprayed.

The paint on my front bumper cover was damaged recently when I removed some VentureShield protective film. I'm about to get it re-sprayed at the shop that does all of the paintwork for the local Porsche dealer. As a reference, the cost will be about $1300, which includes stripping and re-spraying the bumper and spraying my headlight washer nozzles in the body color. Much of the labor is assembly related.

It seems high, but the quality of their work is great. I've used them before and was happy with the results.

Here's a car they completed work on recently, repairing $80K of damage done by journalists on a test drive :-O




They also had a Lava Orange RS they were working on for the same dealer, that was damaged in transit. Not sure I'd want to buy a $275k new car that has paintwork, it will be interesting to see if they disclose the work.

 

$1300 for a front pumper re-spray? That seems high.

 

seems high, 1000 more like it. EVEN IF they do it right. It has to come off, do body work to repair, do complete refinish work to fix every rock chip, then repaint and reassemble