Hey all,I've been messing around in the forums for a while, reading a lot of great info from everyone. But now I've got a question to ask all of you myself. I guess its more to get your opinions and/or suggestions.During the weekend, a friend of mine backed their car up along the side of my Vibes rear wheel area scraping some paint off (as you can see in the picture). Anyways, I ran over to the dealer today to see what they would charge to repair it. They said it would cost $150-$200 and they would either touch-up the cladding or replace it with a new painted part. My question for all of you is:If I do have the dealer's body shop repair this, would it be better to have them touch-up the paint or replace the part? I'm afraid if I have them just touch it up, that you will be able to see the touch ups, but I'm also worried that if they replace that part of the cladding that something won't get put back together like it was originally from the factory and later on down the road I'm going to have problems with it. I hope that makes sense.Any suggestions or ideas?Thanks a bunch, I appreciate it!
The car snaps together amazingly tightly, and easily.I'd say replace the part. As we all know, touchups never look right. If it's gonna cost the same to touch it up or replace it, replace it.It should look fine afterwards. If the dealer takes the time to do it right, you'll never know the difference.
YES!I still visit GenVibe periodically. I have not forgotten about my "original" family over here!
The only two options you have is to either:1. Touch it up or2. Replace the part. Here are the pros and cons:Touch Up:Pros: Cheap and easyCons: color might not match up right. If you have a reputable detail shop, they should have the right color touch up match. Another option would be to have it airbrushed. Again, your mileage may vary but depending on the skills it should look good, except for the slight gouges.Replace:Pros: Color match ok.Cons: Might be expensive....when was the last time you had a cheap plastic part? thought so.Desi Segundobtw. I worked for 4 years at an automobile detail shop in Michigan. We know what we're doing.
Desi SegundoFlint, Michigan'04 All Silver Vibe GT (Valerie) w/ the Sport packageSony CDX-M850MP H/U, Infinity CS6000 components, Rockford Fosgate FFC65, driven by Alpine MRP-F240 and Alpine MRV-T707 rocking 2 10" Alumapro'shttp://www.classicappreciation.com