This is my first post in this forum. I bought a new 2015 Prius several days ago. It is my first car, and I really love it! But my parking skills is really a disaster. The paint got rubbed off because of my terrible parking skills. It really broke my heart. I have an temporary insurance when bought the car and now I'm choosing the car insurance. I'm afraid If I use the temporary insurance will make my future insurance become expansive, so it seems I have to fix my paint without insurance. Or I could use the temporary insurance? I have no idea with these stuffs. Front bumper and side door's paint has been rubbed. The picture is here, and I want to know how much would it take. Really need your help!!!!! thank you!!!
With the bumper you could get away with getting the touch up paint from dealership, do it yourself. If it's the pen with colour at one end and clearcoat at the other, JUST use the colour paint: the clearcoat tends to LIFT the previous paint. Our front bumper has its share of similar scrapes, I just touch those up myself. It's low, and it's just plastic. Don't get me started about today's "bumpers". Learn to stop a little sooner when right angle parking with curbs at front, it'll reduce these incidents, at least. For the door I'd get it done professionally. TALK TO your insurer, ask for explanation as to what would happen to your premiums with a claim. You've been paying them; they work for you. If that's a modern parking lot, I'll bet all the dimensions are the bare minimum, barely enough room to maneuver: couple that with a new driver and brick column right on the corner of your parking space, it's a perfect storm. Can you get another space? Move? That spot looks very frustrating! Just to cheer you up: the next thing to get chewed will likely be the plastic wheel covers. Be careful when parallel parking; when you back in a sharp angle is better, so you contact the curb with tire rubber first, then you can adjust the angle, end up a few inches from the curb.
Such a good advice, thank you sooooo much!!! So relieved to know there is paint pen could help, and I just ordered it on amazon. Insurance may not cover my fee (deductible); tomorrow I'll go to the repair store to ask for the price. You are right about the parking place. That place is too hard for me to park, so I talked to my manager and got a easier parking place. Next time I must be very careful, don't want my Prius hurt again. This is my first post in here; I'm so grateful to you for your help. You basically solved every problem I got, and these so many tips I appreciate~
If you can live with it, you can polish out 85% of that with Meguiars ScratchX 2.0 and a microfiber towel. You'll take out any paint that transferred from the object you hit that transferred onto your paint. Touch up any remaining deep scratches conservatively with touchup paint that matches your color. Meguiars ScratchX V2.0 - This product works absolute wonders. Many people go out and have their scratches repainted for thousands when they could've fixed it with $8.00. This will erase most scratches, but not deeper ones where paint is actually missing. Most collisions with other cars or walls result in paint *transfer*. When paint transfers, it just means its stuck on your paint. You can simply polish it out. In many cases, you can polish out MOST of the damage to where it looks like 85% better and you only have a tiny scratch to deal with instead of a big huge eyesore. It can really help things look better until you have the money to fix it all. Just take pictures before in case you decide to make a claim.
This! Though I'd recommend another Meguiar's product: Ultimate Compound (followed by Ultimate Polish if you want, though unnecessary). Also about $9. But Ultimate Compound (UC) has more uses and is a more recently updated product from Meguiar's. Here's a good discussion on the differences and applications of these two Meguiar's products on the Meguiar's forums; Removing Paint Scuffs: Ultimate Compound or ScratchX 2.0 or anything better? Mostly, Ultimate Compound is a bit more aggressive which will be necessary for your scratches - they're extensive. I agree with @E46Prius - you'll get about 85% of those scratches out. But you'll also need a bit of paint to fill the rest. Painting is hard, it never looks right unless you have a pro shop actually repaint the whole panel and blend the adjacent panels. That said, you can get passable results for your type of paint damage (where it's more than just the clearcoat being scratched, which is most of your problem). I suggest using Langka with a paint pen from the dealership or order paint from automotivetouchup.com; order from Langka directly or on Amazon - ($20). Langka will be used to remove the raised blob of paint that will be left above the current surface level after you use the touchup pen. I suggest using a toothpick or the smallest brush/tool to get the least amount of paint into hte damaged areas. Then rub it down to level with the Langka kit. It won't be perfect, but it will be unnoticeable to even some close inspection by those who don't know where to look. I'm doing this type of touchup to my other car this weekend, I'll send you a before and after of some small paint chips being repaired if that would help.
Use the base of your left mirror for head in parking. You pulled in far enough when the horizontal line or curb appears under the mirror. This won't work in lots with offset spaces. The scuffs hurt. If your deductible is high you are probably paying for almost all the work yourself. Get an estimate or two before calling the insurance company. I'd clean it up myself following the advice already given. Some of that damage is low enough that even if the touch up paint doesn't match it won't be glaringly obvious to the casual eye. On the bright side, at worst you are down to the white primer. On the damage scale that's at the very low end. You drive in the city & park in parking garages. It's going to happen again and you won't know who to blame next time. Spend time time getting comfortable with the car then enroll in AAA's Advanced Driver Training Program. It may also qualify you for an insurance discount.
If you admit your parking skills aren't that great, do you think you will be getting more scratches in the future?
