Hey Everyone.

I have a leased 2008 G35 IP sedan. Yesterday a stupid girls backed a F150 into the rear bumper of my car while it was parked in an empty parking lot. Words cannot describe how pissed off I am. Anyways, coming back to the issue.... They will need to replace the bumper with a new one. The car is 5 months old and is rarely in the sun. The body shop is saying even tho there is no damage on quarter panels, to get 100% paint match they need to blend the quarter panels. IF not, then the best they can match the bumper is 85%.

Now I am not sure if I want them to do anything to the quarter panel. What do you guys think?

1. Should I let them blend the quarter panel

2. Do not let them paint any other panel other than new bumper because the match should be ok and not noticeable.

I need advise from all you experts.

Thanks in Advance!

if they are simply replacing the bumper, isn't the bumper already factory painted?

i'd get it blended.. you don't want a rear bumper that's a different shade than the rest of your car.. or take it to another shop and see if they can color match any better

The bumper should come from the factory painted. I would tell them that you want to see the colors together before you decide whether or not to color match it. IP is supposed to be one of the hardest to color match but that car is so new that it should be fine.

I just got off the phone with a dealership... all bumpers come unfinished and need to be painted. No one sells factory painted bumpers.

Hmm...that must be a recent change. When I wrecked my '04 back in March of '06 they told the body shop that we could get it either painted or unpainted. We had mine sent painted but we blended it since the car was well over a year old already. Sorry that they don't still have that option. IP is pretty hard to match but seriously the car isn't very old at all so I would think you would be OK but no one can say for certain.

factory painted bumpers would get destroyed during shipment..

make sure its a reputable shop and let them blend

Keep in mind that even though you've only had it 5 months, the car has existed (and probably sat in the sun) a good bit longer than that. Assuming the girl is paying for it, I'd get it blended, based on some of the crap IP color-matching jobs I've seen in the past.

If they are good at painting then they shouldnt need to do any blending. Look for another bodyshop that can guarantee 95% match. Its not impossible to do.

the problem is I do not know of any other reputable bodyshop in my area that I can trust. Unless any of you guys know a shop in the South Bay ( san jose, sunnyvale, mountain view, santa clara area) that is very highly recommended and can do that kind of paint matching without blending.

Dude take it to the dealer, let them fix it?

I did that, dealer uses this body shop that I have mentioned and asked me to take it there directly.

This is correct, I've bought one and they come unpainted.

And yes, you should get the quarter panel blended.

Definitely blend it. You want it to look perfect right?

Is her insurance picking up the bill?

Also, make sure to get a police report (whether or not you go through insurance). The police report cannot hurt you either way.

dunno about second gen, but first gen bumpers come unpainted.