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So I looked at an 05 that for the most part was in great shape, but this image shows a large flaw. So the owner claims that he didn’t notice anything more than a scuff mark, however after I compared it to the passenger side which showed me that this was much more than just a scuff. At first glance it’s easy to confuse it as a body line, but it’s not. It looks like something hit it pretty hard causing the scuff and the deformation. My question, because this is not metal, is, how do you fix it? Replace the quarter and bumper cover, or is there another option?
So I looked at an 05 that for the most part was in great shape, but this image shows a large flaw. So the owner claims that he didn’t notice anything more than a scuff mark, however after I compared it to the passenger side which showed me that this was much more than just a scuff. At first glance it’s easy to confuse it as a body line, but it’s not. It looks like something hit it pretty hard causing the scuff and the deformation. My question, because this is not metal, is, how do you fix it? Replace the quarter and bumper cover, or is there another option?
Are you referring to the concave distortion in the polyurethane bumper cover? I don't see any damage to the rear quarter.
Body shops have some success fixing distortion of this kind using a heat gun, believe it or not. This is likely the first thing they would try. In my experience, it doesn't work very well on creases, but it might work with more gradual bend like yours. I do not know if the paint will survive this process.
If you keep the existing cover and need to do paint work, the shop will have to sand the clear coat from the entire left rear quarter and the entire bumper cover, blend color across the panels around the scuff, and reapply clear to both pieces.
If you get a replacement cover, they will have to sand the clear coat from *both* rear quarters *and* the trunk lid (which involves roping the weather stripping around the rear window), paint the new cover and blend into the three adjacent panels, and apply clear to all four pieces.
So I looked at an 05 that for the most part was in great shape, but this image shows a large flaw. So the owner claims that he didn’t notice anything more than a scuff mark, however after I compared it to the passenger side which showed me that this was much more than just a scuff. At first glance it’s easy to confuse it as a body line, but it’s not. It looks like something hit it pretty hard causing the scuff and the deformation. My question, because this is not metal, is, how do you fix it? Replace the quarter and bumper cover, or is there another option?
Maybe its an 05 thing? I noticed the same thing on my 05 several years ago. Not a scuff in the paint but a long dent like your picture. IIRC, I removed the black plastic panel underneath the car and bent out a metal support that is in the area of the dent.
Looks like road rash from the rear tire. I would install a set of the GM lower flairs to stop any future road rash issues. From the pic it looks like it is scuffed also. As Dutch 88 recommended pull the diffuser and inner fender on that side and take a look. sometimes you can fix it with a little heat from a heat gun and sometimes it will pop back into shape. You could always take it to a good body shop and see what they think.
Bodywork question
