I purchased my car in September of 2010. About 1 month after purchasing it and being SUPER careful about where I park (I rarely parked it on the street) my front bumper was scratched by a tow hitch even though I was parked in a corner spot. While taking the car in for service, I got a quote from the body shop at the dealer for about $900 to completely replace, paint, and install a new front bumper. That is some serious money. I knew eventually I'd have to bite the bullet and do it but I thought to myself, now my front bumper is "city-proof", I will have no qualms about having someone scratch my front bumper again. This didn't give me a license to just freely park anywhere but because I still live in NYC and the majority of people just bump & park, I convinced myself to hold off. In the meantime, I had to find a way to get rid of the eyesore; each time I walked to my car, I had to look and see the big gash on in the front, there was no escaping it. I decided to do something about it and gave BMW touch up paint a shot. After reading several discouraging posts about other people's experience with touch up paint, I tried anyway; it couldn't get any worse. Here are the results:
Here is a before shot (also notice the small chip on the bottom, below the license plate):
Here is a shot after applying the BMW Alpine White touch up paint:
Here is a final shot after applying the BMW clear coat:
I am very pleased with the results because I had very low expectations going into this project given the negative experience people have shared on this forum with touch up paint. This is not the perfect solution but for now it will do. Total cost: $25
Thanks Phil at Reeves BMW for the good deal on the touch up paint.
Here is a shot taken from a distance before the touch up paint (notice how the gash REALLY sticks out):
Here is a distance shot after the DIY:
