Hey guys ive been debating on fixing a small fender bender myself.. Accident was front right corner mainly fender and a scratched bumper.. i can order a new OEM fender and get it painted and put it in or have the auto shop do it with a partial bumper repainted?

 

I think it all depends on how good at body work you are. I could never get seems to match up "perfectly" so I just let the body shops handle that kind of stuff. Taking apart the fender would probably be a huge PITA, just thinking about all the crap that needs to be removed to get to it from the engine compartment and wheel well.

 

@warped yeah id be a pain in the butt!! im just worried if i find more damage underneath maybe ill just have them fix the fender and ill just replace the bumper myself with an ipl or 11+ sport bumper.

 

you need to realize that doing a repair means blending new paint into the old, and depending on the size of the repair, the shop may blend into the bumper, door and even the hood. painting an entire fender doesn't account for the variances in factory paint. even the same color code may be slightly different depending on the blend, the pressure at the paint gun, the flop of the metallics and temperature/humidity the day the car was painted at the factory.

if you ask the paint shop to show you the color book, they will show you an array of factory variances for the same color. you may be able to get close to the right variance, but a perfect job usually requires a blend into an adjacent panel, especially if you're going to paint an entire panel.

 

@speed yeah they called for a blend in the right door and part of the bumper. but my color is Blue Slate. and the car has been in a previous accident and i couldnt tell the color difference. but if i do get the shop to fix it id pay the extra to repaint the whole bumper. i also figured id find a used fender the same color. so it would match better but still debating.