[johnc_22]

Twice now I've been the victim of parallel parking idjits. The first time (about 2 months after I got my car) someone bumped my rear bumper leaving their vanity plate screwheads imprinted in the rear bumper skin and they also removed a bit of paint. Now someone else has done it leaving a sizeable scrape on the other side of the bumper.

So, is there any way to fix this other than to get the holes filled and the entire bumper prepped and resprayed? Looking at the paint on this bumper it does not appear to be very durable though I wasn't around to see just how hard these folks hit my car.

Please tell me I don't have to buy a new bumper otherwise I'll just wait for someone to rear end me while I'm in the car.

Thanks for any advice.

 

[PatrickLee]

Twice now I've been the victim of parallel parking idjits. The first time (about 2 months after I got my car) someone bumped my rear bumper leaving their vanity plate screwheads imprinted in the rear bumper skin and they also removed a bit of paint. Now someone else has done it leaving a sizeable scrape on the other side of the bumper.

So, is there any way to fix this other than to get the holes filled and the entire bumper prepped and resprayed? Looking at the paint on this bumper it does not appear to be very durable though I wasn't around to see just how hard these folks hit my car.

Please tell me I don't have to buy a new bumper otherwise I'll just wait for someone to rear end me while I'm in the car.

Thanks for any advice.

Endemic problem in parallel parking cities with mandatory front plates.

If you're only worried about the back where the plates hit, try getting a bumper badger. I've seen a few of these around town. Not the fullest coverage, but very convenient. Stows in the trunk and flips out for parking.

http://www.chariotauto.com/

If you want full front and back protection, try http://www.bumperpad.com These are more like diapers for your car. Full clip on coverage front and back. They're stupid looking and bulky. I bought them since I sometimes travel up to NYC and have to parallel or valet park there, and it's cheap insurance. They do take up a bit of trunk space to stow though, and I'm not sure if they're waterproof.

Nothing can protect you against true idiots though. I came back to my car to find some kid sitting half on my hood talking on his cell. he was like "oh.. this is your car?" and moved over to the one next to it. It'll buff out. At least he didn't have his keys in his back pocket.

 

[-andrew-]

Twice now I've been the victim of parallel parking idjits. The first time (about 2 months after I got my car) someone bumped my rear bumper leaving their vanity plate screwheads imprinted in the rear bumper skin and they also removed a bit of paint. Now someone else has done it leaving a sizeable scrape on the other side of the bumper.

So, is there any way to fix this other than to get the holes filled and the entire bumper prepped and resprayed? Looking at the paint on this bumper it does not appear to be very durable though I wasn't around to see just how hard these folks hit my car.

Please tell me I don't have to buy a new bumper otherwise I'll just wait for someone to rear end me while I'm in the car.

Thanks for any advice.

Prepped and resprayed I'm afraid... I've got the same problem, first it was my fault: I pulled my wife's car into the driveway, misjudged the distance, and put a small scrape in the bumper cover. No big deal, I touched the scratch up and it almost dissapeared. Then we went into Manhattan overnight, came back to the car and there are two nice dimples in the cover where some *****hole's front plate was imprinted into the back of my 9-3.

I'm 1/2 considering pulling the cover, warming the spot up with a hairdryer or heatgun, and trying to gently push the indents out. Doubt it will work, and I'm sure to make it worse. I just can't bring myself to having it fixed; it's a lease and I'm not sure if I'm keeping it. If I fix it now, I'm sure someone else will hit it, and I'll be stuck doing the repair again when I return the car.

 

[johnc_22]

I'm probably going to do nothing for now. I would be sickened if I paid to have it fixed and someone else anonymously added more dings.