Repainting Front Hood and Fender Advice
 

I have a 1998 base Boxster in good condition, which recently had it's front bumper dented by someone with a trailer hitch. Although the damage is minor, the estimate to repair (from a Washington, DC area body shop well known for Porsche body work) is $1,700.

While in the shop, I was considering having the front hood repainted and fenders feathered to repair the chip damage over the past 15 years. The estimate for the additional work was an additional $1,700.

My questions are:

1. Is it worth the money to have the extra work done?
2. If yes, should I add a 3M clear bra to protect the new paint?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

I'd be shopping that job around. This isn't a Rolls-Royce, and I'm sure there are plenty of autobody shops around that would do the work for a fraction of that price.

You can pick up a used bumper for $200-300, and painting for the whole job should be about $1000 tops (going by local prices here). I could get a complete re-spray from a number of competent shops around here for what your shop wants to charge.

Don't know about the bra, bro, but the paint was well worth it. Do your lights now if they are yellow.

I was very glad I did this. I paid about the same for hood and both fenders.

Oops. I paid 1200 total extra for bumper, hood, both fenders, detail / buff / wax.

^^^^^^^^ +1

That is WAY high. This isn't a Rolls or a Ferrari, and you don't need a PORSCHE body shop to do the work. Find a good paint shop who isn't charging Porsche tax.

I would then find a good used bumper (lots of options here- MK1 GT3 if you want to be really cool, or some of the later Boxster or MK1 996 bumpers), get it bead blasted down to the plastic, prime it, and shoot it. Avoid anything that has been "reconditioned."

The car will look brand new if you blend into the fenders and hood and clear everything. While your lights are out, give them a good wet sand and polishing (and if you don't have Litronics, now would be a great time to get them).

If you're looking to keep your new investment looking new, let the paint cure for a month or so (and drive it carefully- avoiding highways) and then clear bra the hood and fenders. Clear bra-ing a bumper is so labor intensive that most guys will charge what it costs to re-spray a bumper, so I've never bothered there, plus due to the fact that a bumper is plastic, it has much more "give" to it, and so chips far less easily than the metal panels of the hood/ fenders.

I've had my front bumper repainted like 3 or 4 times. It's not worth paying a lot to do because eventually someone will scratch it or bump it. This is especially true for the rear bumper.

Now as far as the hood and fenders. I think I paid about $500 for hood and another $500 for the fenders. The clear bra is a good idea as are the Das Schield hood protectors if you carry a lot of stuff in there like me. I had the clear bra on from the original owner and you could hardly see it unless I pointed it out. It kept the car looking spotless for a long time. It can be pricey but without it you will end up with a chip in the hood or fenders right away and you'll end up looking at that eyesore every day until the next repaint.