wow. i was having sucha great day, then i decided to stop at Quiznos for a sub.
there was traffic in the shpping center. so i went behind the stores, and took a deserted pking lot for a shortcut.

empty lot. i was going 35mph. it was dark. (forgot to put my headlights on. had parkingligts).
SUDDENLY. bam. the car felt like it was dropping into hell. and before i knew it i was airborne for a split second. (the revs rose. i have MTX). it was one of those square drainage ditches in the parking lots that are set lower than the road.

literally i was shook. i got out. and basically. EVERYTHING under the foglights was B L A C K. scraped, no paint. and the mazda6 has a 1 piece lip/bumper.
so my question is . do i have to replace the entire bumper? is there a way to touch up the paint?

my beautiful car. [X(][X(][X(][X(]. i had just spend $20 for a full wash and spend 3 hours putting 2 layers of wax in 25F weather. HELPPP

 

That sucks.

If the plastic isn't damaged they can repaint it just like new. You could save money by removing the bumper yourself and having them paint it not on the vehicle (they don't have to mask the vehicle this way.)

 

sin6racer,

Sorry to hear about your damage. I'd run the car by a reputable local body shop, and let them tell you whether the bumper is repairable, or if it must be replaced. If it's repairable, you can save money by following sstlaure's advice and removing the bumper cover yourself, and carrying it to the body shop for repairs and paint. Also check the front alignment, front suspension, and steeringrack as well, since this was a fairly ferocious impact. This happened to me a long time ago, and it sheared one of the bolts holding the steering rack in place!Good luck mate,

David

 

and for God's sake.....next time drive with your lights ON!!!!

[IMG]local://upfiles/2802/BA1C43D9582745FFAE0941241A3018D7.jpg[/IMG]

 

i stopped by 2 mazda dealers. replacement front bumper was both right around the $500 mark

being only 17 and a kid in high school. quite honestly IM BROKE (my job pays minimum wage)
so i bought 3 touch-up-paint jars for $5/per. and went to home depot n got a fine sandpaper.

smoothed off the rough plastic areas, n carefully painted the areas where the black plastic was showing
its almost unnoticeable now. but if you go up close. its still obvious there was damage.

hey. $20 fix. im happy (ill put some pics up of how it looks nxt week)