I didn't even make it to 2000 miles. That's what pi$$e$ me off more than anything. Oh well. It was was an accident. A good samaritan on my right decided to stop to let someone out of a gas station. I slowed and eventually stopped to comply but the guy behind me had nowhere to go. He tried in vain to deflect but just barely clipped my driver's side bumper. Trashed his passenger side composite lamp, and it wasn't even his car. To any neanderthals that might be reading this board, the hit was at least 5mph, and the only damage was a torn up bumper cover. No damage to the frame or rear clip at all. If the Ridgeline had a chrome step-and-tow, it would have been trashed.

I'm going to take this to the dealer next week and decide on whether I want to risk fixing it or just leave it be.

An old indian trick a body shop gave me that works great.

Mix touthpaste and rubbing alcohol ( vodka may work). Try in on your bumper it takes all the paint tranfer from the other car off like majic. Wax afterward and you will probably never no anything happened.

Now you can start using it like a truck.

Steve

What a pisser. Pretty much getting hit from behind is that guy's fault and his insurance should pay for everything. I'd get it fixed as it should not cost you a cent but it will cost time. Once all done, you'll forget about the time spent and over time be happy with a perfectly painted bumper again.

That sucks, I know the feeling but must feel worse being as its your new baby.

See as new cars are like magnets for bumps and scatches I would wait a while and maybe do a one for all touch up.

Looks like an easy fix, I'm sure they can fix it as new for few hundred bucks.

Perfection is over-rated. Wear your wounds proudly!

I gotta go with vertrkr on this one. Get a quote and give it to the guy that bumped you. He may just want to pay out of pocket so it doesn't hit his insurance.

Otherwise everytime you wash your RL you will have the reminder of the accident and how you long for your truck to be perfect again.

Thanks for your input, guys. I'll take it to the dealer and see what they say. No doubt in MA that the other guy will pay to make it right. What you can't see from the picture is that the bumper cover is gouged down to the black plastic. Rubbing it out won't work. So it's either filler and paint or a new cover and paint. It comes down to whether I trust the repair facility to get the paint match right, or just let it stand as a war scar.

Anyway, my main point is that the Ridgeline is taking a lot of trash from the traditional pickup owners due to it's plastic covered bumpers, and that in a typical fender-bender, it did better than any other pickup I've owned. If this was my Ranger, the step-and-tow would have been creased, and the mounting brackets bent, requiring the replacement of both.

Looks like it need more than cleaning or painting. Looks like it broke through the bumper cover?

If not, you can use Mcguires paint cleaner to get the other paint off.

Ouch...I feel your pain! But why should you wear a blemish that isn't your fault? I vote for getting the guy that hit you to fix it.

The estimate is around $1000. They want to replace the rear bumper cover, paint it, and blend it into the rear quarter panels because of the large line between the two. 3 days.

I tell you what - if you're down about certain things about your Ridgeline - I have the cure. Park your Honda and drive another pickup truck for a few days.

I'm driving a rental Chevy Silverado C1500 with 19,000 miles, while my truck is in the shop. It's in nice shape, as expected for a rental. The V-8 power and torque are great. For positives, that's about it. The transmission shifts like a 16 year old learning to drive a standard. The brakes are fine up to 40mph, but over 40mph I wish I had an anchor. The suspension wallows like the Andrea Gail in The Perfect Storm. What good is all that power if the truck handles like this? It's downright dangerous. The driver's seat sucks my butt in like a 30 year old Barcolounger. Kinda matches the ride. I know there's probably $10K difference between these two vehicles, but how much better could this pig get?

I miss my Ridgeline already.

I miss my Ridgeline already.[/QUOTE]

Just think of it this way Chris!!! She's in for a beauty makeover!! :p :D

Just think of it this way Chris!!! She's in for a beauty makeover!!


Yea a Butt Job. :rolleyes:

Its not that bad, you wont even notice when they are done with it. :D

Is that bad Karma .. or Car-Ma? :confused:

I'm off to pick it up now. They say it turned out perfect.

I'll wait until I can see it in the sunlight before I declare it perfect, but it looks D*** GOOD in this dreary weather. The fit is exactly like stock. The color looks like a great match at least from what I've seen. The paint texture (lemon peel) is indistinguishable. It's guaranteed for as long as I own my Ridgeline so no worries at this point.

But the best part of it all is that I'm not stuck driving that POS gas guzzling Chevy anymore!!!! :)

I'll wait until I can see it in the sunlight before I declare it perfect, but it looks D*** GOOD in this dreary weather. The fit is exactly like stock. The color looks like a great match at least from what I've seen. The paint texture (lemon peel) is indistinguishable. It's guaranteed for as long as I own my Ridgeline so no worries at this point.

But the best part of it all is that I'm not stuck driving that POS gas guzzling Chevy anymore!!!! :)

Cool!! Glad you have your bad boy toy back!! Drive safe. :p

Did the painter tell you anything about prep, or the coatings used, etc.?

They had gone home for the day. From the invoice, I can tell you they used a color-code matched Sherwin-Williams paint. There was a flex additive used. They painted the cover on a stand and then attached it. They sanded the rear quarters and blended the finish in.

Was there anything specific you wanted to know?

Good deal Shov, check it in natural and non natural lighting to make sure its up to your specs. I had the front bumper painted on my MDX once and it turned out better than the factory paint looked !! Ditto on the Chevy !!! :D