While my wife and I absolutely love our Clarity, it has unfortunately been a magnet for other cars. In less than a year, the front and rear bumpers have both been hit by other cars while parked (scrapes, dents, bumps were the main extent). Thankfully, no other panels were impacted, but we are finally getting around to repairing the bumpers. That said, the body shop we took the car to (which is the best in the area by a mile) wants to do a straight repair / repaint of the existing bumpers versus ordering new ones, painting, etc. Should we be concerned about this? Admittedly, the damage isn't so extensive to the point of there being missing pieces, cracks etc, but it kind of sours me a bit on the car if they just do a repair. Anyone in a similar boat? Also, feel free to call me crazy is I'm overreacting
If your bumpers are not cracked or otherwise compromised to expose a hole, then a good sanding and repainting should be fine. I am not a painter but sure there is a flex agent that needs to be in the paint for bumpers to allow some flexibility. Just my opinion, other professionals that do this type of work will be able to chime in. Good luck either way.
If they're as good a shop as you say, I'd trust their opinion. If you get the car back and the work is not up-to-snuff then make them redo it! "Sorry, that's not good enough." works really well for a shop that wants to maintain its reputation...
Every legit body shop offers a lifetime warranty on workmanship of body work and paint work. The only way to lose out on that is for the shop to go out of business. If the panels are perfectly repairable, why would anyone choose to spend more money than necessary just to toss more large pieces of plastic onto a landfill somewhere? Verify that the shop has a good reputation and a good warranty. If yes to both, absolutely let them repair the parts.
Thanks for the follow up everyone! I dropped the car off the other day, so I’ll keep you all posted on the results.
