Very, very, annoyingly I recklessly pulled into a parking space the other day with a low sandstone wall in front of it and bumped the very lowest section of the front bumper.

 

Even more annoyingly, there is the tiniest dent there, not just paint damage. As it's a lease car, I'd like to get this repaired myself rather than gamble on whatever figure the lease company put on the repair when the contract ends. The dent is so tiny that if it wasn't a lease car I'd probably just have the paint damage dealt with, but I'm going to have to do it properly. I don't want to pay more than I have to, so I was thinking about using a local bodyshop rather than a Skoda dealership who would only ship it out to their favourite independent anyway.

 

But it looks like a tricky place to repair the dent itself - it's the very narrow section at the very bottom, and the dent involves both crease lines. From what I can see, the whole front section is one piece so the whole bumper would have to come off. My concern is that this may affect the front radar, and if this is done by my local paintshop who won't be as familiar with it as Skoda, it may flag up as needing to be recalibrated - and then I'll have to pay Skoda through the nose for that anyway. My thinking is that if I take it to Skoda in the first place and they b*gger it up and the radar needs recalibrating, at least it's on them to sort it out.

 

Not sure if that makes any sense, but would appreciate your views - local bodyshop or Skoda dealership?

 

 

Edited 19 February, 20197 yr by CheshireBumpkin

My local man charges £80, that's his base price. No bumper removal required, it would be filled, and small area painted you won't see it.

 

Honestly you're over reacting, I doubt the lease checker would even notice, if he did its would be something silly like £20.

 

Forget about it.

 

Ps your Skoda dealer will rape and torture you, you know that already......

 

Pps  you know there is a high probability you'll damage the bumper again.....the clue is in the name.....so why do it now?

 

Ppps I think most companies have a 40mm template thingy, that damage is too small to charge

 

Pppps > 50% probability if Skoda involved that something will get stuffed and they'll end up charging for diagnostics, ACC recalibration, etc, etc, etc, and quoting wear and tear clause.....

Edited 19 February, 20197 yr by xman

Chipsaway

4 hours ago, xman said:

My local man charges £80, that's his base price. No bumper removal required, it would be filled, and small area painted you won't see it.

 

Honestly you're over reacting, I doubt the lease checker would even notice, if he did its would be something silly like £20.

 

Forget about it.

 

Ps your Skoda dealer will rape and torture you, you know that already......

 

Pps  you know there is a high probability you'll damage the bumper again.....the clue is in the name.....so why do it now?

 

Ppps I think most companies have a 40mm template thingy, that damage is too small to charge

 

Pppps > 50% probability if Skoda involved that something will get stuffed and they'll end up charging for diagnostics, ACC recalibration, etc, etc, etc, and quoting wear and tear clause.....

 

Don't disagree with much you've said, apart from the template thing - that applies to scratches and dents that don't involve a crease-thingy. I can't think of the official term.

 

I don't intend to deal with it just yet, but my contract's up at the end of the year so I will get it done before then. The lease company will notice, and they will try to charge a lot more than £20 based on previous leases.

 

Probably by the local bodyshop....

A light sanding, rub it down, a bit of touch up paint. Bob's your uncle.

5 hours ago, freelunch said:

A light sanding, rub it down, a bit of touch up paint. Bob's your uncle.

 

You should see the @rse-up I made of 'a bit of touch up paint' near the rear light cluster a few months ago.... 

This weekend, it should warm up enough to try to touch up the 4" scar a neighbour was kind enough to leave on my rear bumper. I'll post before and afters.

Now- Do nothing

 

3 months before the end of the lease send a photo (with a ruler in shot)  to the lease company and ask for a quote.  Then make your decision on what you do.

 

Having been through some end of lease inspections they may or may not spot it, if the paint is botched they will spot it and having posted here you can't argue that the collection driver did it..

15 hours ago, freelunch said:

A light sanding, rub it down, a bit of touch up paint. Bob's your uncle.

 

Id do the same although I may be tempted to fill it first if it's that noticeable.  A bit of filler, some wet and dry, sand to shape and then touch up.

5 hours ago, IJWS15 said:

Now- Do nothing

 

3 months before the end of the lease send a photo (with a ruler in shot)  to the lease company and ask for a quote.  Then make your decision on what you do.

 

Having been through some end of lease inspections they may or may not spot it, if the paint is botched they will spot it and having posted here you can't argue that the collection driver did it..

 

They'll certainly spot it if you send them a photo...

20 hours ago, freelunch said:

A light sanding, rub it down, a bit of touch up paint. Bob's your uncle.

Have youbeen stalking his relatives? Poor choice of user name BTW. Guarantees to bring badluck. Cheshire Pumpkin would have been much luckier option.

2 hours ago, shyVRS245 said:

Poor choice of user name BTW. Guarantees to bring badluck.

It's meant to be ironic.

7 hours ago, ScoutCJB said:

A bit of filler, some wet and dry, sand to shape and then touch up.

I'm sure your job would be much better than my job, but I'd be reaching the limits of my skill set.