2002 Ltd Bumber Doesn't Match!

[Oh Adjr]

2002 Ltd Bumper Doesn't Match!

Plain as day. The bumpers of my new Limited are a lighter shade than the rest of the vehicle. Even the salesperson agrees. At over $36K am I asking for too much? I don't think so.

What recourse do I have?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Stephen S]

I've noticed that on alot of cars and vehicles with plastic bumpers, not just Explorers. I believe that the plastic bumpers take the paint a little differently than the sheetmetal does. Antoher reason may be that the paint on the sheetmetal and the paint on the bumpers is not the same paint, chemically. They have to add a substance to the paint that goes on the bumpers to make it more flexible, so it doesn't chip or crack when mommy bumps into a shopping cart. When the bumper flexes (cause it's plastic) the paint will flex with it and not crack. The substance they add may discolor the paint slightly. Look around at other vehicles with painted plastic bumpers and you'll notice it. I don't think there is anything you can do about it.

 

['96explorereddiebauer]

Stephen is right. The perfect example is to look at the '97 to '01 Toyota Camry. None of their rear bumpers matches with the body of the car. For example, one of my friends' mom has a '98 white Camry. At first when I saw it, I asked if she had her bumper repainted, she said no. I asked b/c the color was a yellowish white, not white like the rest of her car. Toyota did a very bad job at it and it costs more than Accords. What gives?!?

 

[Oh Adjr]

I appreciate your thoughts guys, but I don't buy it. Every vehicle today has plastic bumpers. Well, at least I can't think of any off hand that don't... Point is it's sloppy work. I have a Taurus as well. Talk about plastic bumpers. That rear cover is about as big as a Miata. Perfect match.

No, these aren't just off a little. They are off a lot. They look White and they're supposted to be Pearl. And to think you pay an extra $200 for this color. It's a crime.

Does anyone have any experience with Ford regarding such matters?

Paul

 

[RFR2212]

Uh, you can get paint to match on plastic... I've done it before...

Pete

 

[expo5.0]

yeah, our escape (it was finally painted last week) has perfectly matched bumpers and body. my mom just had all the grey junk painted by a local shop and he did a great job. its a shame ford can't do that as well

 

[jssong]

expo.. how much did it cost for your mom to have her escape painted? im curious because it shouldnt be too different for the x to get painted, but probably a bit more for a little more surface area.

 

[expo5.0]

she paid 1,200 for that and the install of a borla exhaust, a chip, and a k and n, and piaa 520 lights. i think the estimate was 800 just for the grey stuff, but he gave a deal for everything. i wish i weren't so far away 'cause i could have done stuff for her, but she couldn't wait another 5 weeks for me to come home from college. so for an x it would probably be around 1,000