For the second time, I've shredded the front edge of the "right fender liner" aka "right wheel well liner" on my 2010 Mazda 3. The front edge is scraped up to the point where the fastener doesn't hold it up, and there is a small gap where it hangs down, causing a distinct "flapping" noise when I drive at highway speeds. As with last time, the dealer wants $170 to replace it. It would have made life a lot easier if there was a separable piece in the front, since that area inevitable get scraped to s*#$, but oh well...

I was able to do a decent "repair" using some Gorilla Tape (which is basically ultra duct tape) - taping it up all around the edge (no more flapping!) as well as taping over a hole (approximately the size of a fist) so that it should be sealed moderately well. Is it a bad idea to keep on rolling with this patch-job?

Any thoughts are appreciated...

 

"as with last time" how long ago was last time? This wouldn't be an issue cover able by the dealers repair warranty?

 

I leased the car in 2010. It happened in 2011, but was not covered by warrantee, because it was damaged, presumably through my own actions. These liners sit right underneath the front edge of the car and are easy to damage in common scenarios (e.g., pull a bit too far forward and scrape along a chunk of wood at the front of the parking space, misjudge a curb slightly, etc.)

The car is 7 years-old, but only has 34,000 miles... so I've burned through two in that many miles. Maybe I'm just bad at driving. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯