I'm beginning to think that our S-Type is as snakebit as Jeff's is....

My wife was backing out of a plant sale parking lot this afternoon. Nothing behind her, no back-up sensors sounding, so she kept slowly backing up. All of a sudden there was an SUV behind her. The sensors went off about the same time she backed into the SUV's trailer hitch. The two women get out, survey the damage (none to the SUV, but a hole about the size of a couple of golf ***** punched into the plastic rear bumper of our S-Type just below one of the middle back-up sensors), decide not to exchange information, and both get back in their vehicles and leave. My wife thinks she's at fault because she did not see the SUV and continued to back up. I'm not so sure. Everything works normally including the back-up sensors. Just a 3-inch hole punched into the rear plastic bumper....

There was a place here in Raleigh several years ago that specialized in repairing and repainting these plastic panels and bumpers. They did great work - we used them before when my wife ran her first Lexus SUV's front plastic bumper into the back of another SUV's trailer hitch which left a similar-size hole in the Lexus front plastic bumper. By the time the shop mended the plastic and repainted it, you couldn't tell that there had been an accident. I remember that it cost $400 at the time, probably late 2004/early 2005. The place was called Colors On Parade which I thought was an unusual name for a specialty auto repair center. I think it was a franchise business....

Sure hope they survived the recession. Fixing these plastic injuries this way was about a third the cost of a regular body shop repair at the time we used their services. I can't remember how I learned about them - maybe it was a mailer brochure sent here to the house. I'll try to track them down on Monday. In the meantime I'm duct taping over the hole to keep any potential water out of the rear end of the car. The hole doesn't permeate into the trunk of course, but no sense having water run into the hole and spread to who knows where....

 

Dang, condolences...I don't trust my sensors 100%, s I always give a good head turn and use the mirrors as well, like that pole behind ya...smack dab in between two sensors. I've come close, but luckily reacted in time.

hope you find the old' shop and get her patched up well!

 

what a drag Jon, as I had mentioned a few months back, "we" don't rely solely on the sensors, Joyce backed into our wheelbarrow on the passenger side, no sensors went off but there was a nice scrape that had to be repaired! With all the talk about matching paint on doors and such, as you had mentioned, a good body shop will match orignal purrrfectly. Incidently our S bumper was $400 without any hole and a bottle of Jack black label. Took my Escalade same place to have the front bumper scrape (our garage door handle caught the very tip of it, shame on me, this truck is loonnnggggg) $325.00 hmmmm, I took Leo a bottle of Crown for that fix!

 

Something about my wife's driving and those renegade trailer hitches - a dangerous combination....

I tracked down the owner of the local Colors On Parade franchise yesterday afternoon and spoke with him by phone. Same guy who did our previous front bumper repair on the first Lexus SUV we had. My wife will take the S-Type to him tomorrow during lunchtime for an estimate. Based on my description over the phone, he thinks it will be in that same $400 range. The rear bumper is removed, the torn edges around the hole in the plastic bumper are pushed back into place, they "re-weld" it using a special torch system, finish it off with an epoxy coating, then the bumper gets painted and blended, dries overnight, gets reinstalled the next morning, and then some final buffing and clearcoating. He'll need the car for about a day and a half....

If he does as good a job with the S-Type as he did under the same circumstances with my wife's previous Lexus SUV, the area will look good as new and you'll never know there was a repair....

Now I just need a very sensitive trailer hitch warning system installed on both of her vehicles. This is just one of many reasons why I no longer buy new vehicles, and haven't for about 15 years now. I don't get nearly as upset when she goes out and does something stupid in them (like backing into a trailer hitch)....

 

A really sensitive sensor would be called "husband". Only thing that can help the wife avoid obstacles.

 

I'm rarely in the car with her. And if I am, you can bet your *** that I'm driving, not her....

 

Now that is funny!!!!!

I actually love having a DD, its been about 7 years of being chauffered around with no worries (due to pregnancies and feedings). I still have about a year of that left, thanks to breast feeding!

 

Sounds like the perfect set-up for you, Rick....

Have you scheduled your vasectomy yet? Just celebrated the 30th anniversary of having mine done in April 1980 at age 26. Best financial decision I ever made....

 

by the OP!!!!! TUBULAR baby!!!!!!! dodged that bullet!!!!

 

I don't care one iota if my threads get "hijacked" - all subjects and points of view are welcome. Besides, it's a great way to learn new information sometimes....

Just be prepared for rebuttal. I figure if it's my thread, I have every right to debate!

 

Sorry to hear about the damage, at least it was just the hitch and not bumper to bumper contact. Hopefully the repair goes well.

I'd be interested to see photos of the repair.

George

 

^+1. Pics are always fun.

 

Not always the case. I would be inclined to hand my wife a white cane since she insists on parking by Braille. There are three mirrors available, if she doesn't want to look over her shoulder. However, Jon as big as he is would likely suffer the consequences if he did something similar with his wife.

Mike

 

You're correct, Mike. I know better than to hand her a weapon to use against me. A white cane sticking halfway out of my rear end could be hard to explain to the emergency room proctologist....

 

Jon,

If you were lucky, the doctor would be a Jaguar owner and would understand perfectly.. The Colors on Parade franchise seems to be quite reasonably priced. They have a website that you can find a location by state. Other owners have wanted to re-finish their front or rear bumpers and these guys sound like they would be worth a call.

Mike

http://www.colorsonparade.com/

 

Best of luck man, I hate bumper damage !

 

Thanks for the good wishes, George and Strateloss....


Yep Mike, I highly recommend them based on our experience with the local franchise several years ago. Very meticulous and a fantastic paint match on the plastic bumper. These plastic bumper repairs are extremely cost-effective compared to buying an entire new bumper as a typical body shop would have you do. They also do paintless dent removal (better known as door ding repairs to most folks)....

Bull27 here on the forums has mentioned several times that he plans to have his pitted and cracking front bumper refinished at some point. If I remember correctly, he's obtained several quotes from typical body shops. If there's a Colors On Parade franchise in the Boston area, he should check it out. Are you listening, Bull?

 

Damn, not in Canada.

 

True that!

Sorry to hear about that Jon, I tell ya, our forum members are certainly cursed.

 

Nope nothing in the area, or the entire state of Masachusetts and Rhode Island for that matter. Maybe there is a similar franchise I can check out. Ill look into it. If not going to George's Auto Body for $350, and cross my fingers.