Replacement bumper question

[yngver]

Our 2006 Forester was involved in a sort of freak accident--a guy was
hauling a sofa on the highway and it blew off and guess where it
landed--right in front of our car. In any case, the body shop replaced
and re-painted the bumper cover. However, a few weeks later when it was
inspected by the insurance rep he said he saw dye-back and had them
repaint it. Now the manager of the body shop says the bumper he got
from Subaru is defective. He says it was coated with some kind of waxy
substance and the paint wouldn't adhere as well as it should. He
ordered a new bumper cover from Subaru and he said this one doesn't
have the waxy coating, so it should be okay. Does this sound fishy? Why
would Subaru put some kind of coating on its unpainted bumper covers?
Has anyone heard about this? I am just wondering if there is a known
problem with Subaru replacement bumpers or if this is just some
nonsense on the part of the body shop.
-yngver

 

[Carl 1 Lucky Texan]

Our 2006 Forester was involved in a sort of freak accident--a guy was
hauling a sofa on the highway and it blew off and guess where it
landed--right in front of our car. In any case, the body shop replaced
and re-painted the bumper cover. However, a few weeks later when it was
inspected by the insurance rep he said he saw dye-back and had them
repaint it. Now the manager of the body shop says the bumper he got
from Subaru is defective. He says it was coated with some kind of waxy
substance and the paint wouldn't adhere as well as it should. He
ordered a new bumper cover from Subaru and he said this one doesn't
have the waxy coating, so it should be okay. Does this sound fishy? Why
would Subaru put some kind of coating on its unpainted bumper covers?
Has anyone heard about this? I am just wondering if there is a known
problem with Subaru replacement bumpers or if this is just some
nonsense on the part of the body shop.
-yngver

I dunno, someone MAY be trying to save face by shifting some blame onto
Subaru. You may never find the real answer to this. I'd forget it if it
didn't affect my pocket book.
The only other way to get more info might be from an insider like Jamie
(Subiegal) who happens to work at an online dealership - email her thru
www.subarugenuineparts.com and see if she knows how bumper covers are
shipped. Some parts DO have a protective grease on them - usually just
the metal parts though I think.

Carl

 

[yngver]

I dunno, someone MAY be trying to save face by shifting some blame onto
Subaru. You may never find the real answer to this. I'd forget it if it
didn't affect my pocket book.
The only other way to get more info might be from an insider like Jamie
(Subiegal) who happens to work at an online dealership - email her thru
www.subarugenuineparts.com and see if she knows how bumper covers are
shipped. Some parts DO have a protective grease on them - usually just
the metal parts though I think.

Carl

Thanks for the info. The body shop sent the bumper cover back to Subaru
and included the paint chips that had come off. Since Subaru has a
warranty on their parts, they gave the body shop another bumper cover.
You're right, I'll probably never know the real story and no, it
doesn't affect my pocketbook but it's just more time and inconvenience
due to the car being at the shop. The body shop took me outside to look
at some brand new Subaru Foresters (the Subaru dealer across the street
parks some of their excess stock there) and pointed out that even on
the brand new cars, the paint on the bumper covers looks duller than on
the body. They say maybe there is a problem with the 2006 bumpers, but
they said there is no bulletin from Subaru about them.

I looked at a blue, red and light grey new 06 Foresters sitting there,
and I did see that the bumper color is duller compared to the hood. I
just assumed that's the way they are supposed to be. With my own
Forester, at this point I can't even remember what the bumper looked
like before the body shop got hold of it.
-yngver

 

[S]

Hi yngver!

I am just wondering if there is a known
problem with Subaru replacement bumpers or if this is just some
nonsense on the part of the body shop.

At best, the plastic bumper cover is a b____ to paint. Even after
using the special primer (necessary to get paint to stick at all), the
paint will crack and peel if the plastic is flexed.
I've decided that the bumper cover looks just fine in natural black
;-)

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[yngver]

Hi yngver!




At best, the plastic bumper cover is a b____ to paint. Even after
using the special primer (necessary to get paint to stick at all), the
paint will crack and peel if the plastic is flexed.
I've decided that the bumper cover looks just fine in natural black
;-)

I might feel that way too after a while, but it shouldn't be too much
to ask to have a decent paint job when the car is only a few months
old. Since I can see so much variation even in brand new Foresters
sitting on the lot, obviously Subaru has trouble painting those plastic
bumper covers too. Personally, I would rather not have painted bumper
covers anyway, but Subaru didn't give me a choice.
-yngver