Scratched Car Up Pretty Bad, Need some Help/Advice
 

Hey Revscene,

I'm new to this forum so please excuse me if I make any mistakes. I've been here a few times as a lurker but that's about it.

Anyways, I recently scratched up my car pretty bad at Aberdeen. I was parked in a super tight spot and when I was turning to get out of my spot, I misjudged my distance and scraped the handle of my car extremely badly. I'm totally lost when it comes to fixing cars so I'm desperately asking for your help.

Right now, I feel like I have two options, I could bring it in to an auto shop and get it done that way but money is tight and I'm not sure how much it will cost me.

Second option would be DIY, I've watched a ton of youtube videos but none of those scratches are similar to mine so I'm not sure if using puddy and putting touch up paint over it will solve this.

Please help me revscene

Sincerely,
A concerned owner

EDIT: Some more information that might help you guys

The car is a 2014 Lexus IS 250 in Ultra White
There are additional scratched on the side panel but they are super small and I'm sure they can be buffed out

EDIT2: Just to re-iterate what I'm looking for. I'm trying to figure out what are the best options for me, I know taking it to the shop is definitely the best one if I want the car to look almost new again but if I can get close to that without spending too much money, I'm also open to that option.

Please ask if you have any more questions, I'll be happy answer and thank you so much

I'm assuming, due to the username, that's an IS250/350?

Damage that severe cannot be repaired properly unless it is taken to a body shop. If this was a $1000 car, sure, gran a touch up paint pen and go to town, but not on a car with any value. Get it done correctly.

needs to be painted. scratches too far deep in the handle and the original paint is gone. You can use touch up paint, but that's going to look like shit

That has gone through the paint down to the plastic. Honestly, if money is tight right now, just get some touch up paint, and leave it be until funds permit fixing it.

It looks mainly cosmetic (handle works right?) so it is really up to you until that really bothers you and you want that done properly.

Can you remove the black stuff? If you can, buff it afterwards with a porter cable w/ cutting pad

Not to troll, but you drive a brand new Lexus and can't afford to fix a scratch.....I would assume if you can afford a Lexus, money shouldn't be an issue...

Sounds like the typical Richmond Asian kid that has mommy and daddy giving them a brand new spanking car. Just ask mom and dad to fix it or buy you a new car. Just saying.

Handle is fully functional, the damage is only cosmetic, I can suck it up and ask my parents to help me on this damage if needed. How much do you think this will cost me? Any recommendations on what shops are the best?

And also, I understand that it will never look the same again if I do it myself but how bad would it look if I just use touch up paint? If its not TOO bad, I don't mind leaving it like that until I can save up.

I can check for you when I get back into work Tuesday. Or I might be swinging by the shop tomorrow. I'll PM you. It might be cheaper to just replace the handle, as it might come pre-painted.

I'm not offended, I'm looking for real help and I will admit that I am getting help from my parents to pay for this car. However, I am paying a large chunk of it myself. I work part time as well as going to school, my paychecks help me pay off the portion that I'm paying plus a little spending money but that is it which is why I don't have the funds to fix the car right now. I already rely on my parents to pay off a bit of the car so I don't want to ask them to fix this. I hope I don't come off as someone stubborn or what not but I want to fix this on my own.

If you can provide me with any guidance, I would greatly appreciate it

I'm not offended, I'm looking for real help and I will admit that I am getting help from my parents to pay for this car. However, I am paying a large chunk of it myself. I work part time as well as going to school, my paychecks help me pay off the portion that I'm paying plus a little spending money but that is it which is why I don't have the funds to fix the car right now. I already rely on my parents to pay off a bit of the car so I don't want to ask them to fix this. I hope I don't come off as someone arrogant or what not but I want to fix this on my own.

If you can provide me with any guidance, I would greatly appreciate it

I also thought about doing this but its one of those fancy handles that lock and unlock by touch so I would assume those are very expensive. Since its only the paint that is damaged, I just thought that would be cheaper.

And thank you for your help, do you work at a shop in richmond? I can bring it in if that works better for you

Somebody woke up on the wrong side of bed..

Quit being a douchebag.

Meh, just wrap it in carbon wrap :troll: semi srs

Thanks for the tip and yes, its an IS250. After reading everyone's posts, I think the better option is definitely to bring it to a shop but all the shops are closed on Sundays so do you have any idea how much this would cost me? and which shops are trusted?

And I know you said that I should not do it on my own especially since I've never done anything like this before but would there be a temporary way to hide the damage or something like that?

I'm not planning on selling this car anytime soon so resale value doesn't matter to me, I just want to get it to as close to pre-scratch condition as possible. Of course it will never look the same but I just want to see what options there are for me

You could mask off the door handle and surrounding area, scuff it with 400, then spray with OEM colour match, followed by a good clearcoat. Would probably take a couple of hours and $50. Then after a couple of days of curing, wetsand with 1000, polish and wax.

Another option is to get a quote from a mobile paint repair service.

Bodyshop, I'd say around $300ish?

That definitely sounds like a plausible idea, would that way be beginner friendly? And is there any videos out there that shows how to do that?

What mobile paint repair service would you recommend?

Good idea. But based on what OP is saying, I don't think this a good option. No experience - OP will probably make it worse. Just get it done at the body shop properly or replace the handle. Its a 2014 Lexus - $300 is the least of your worries.

So do you think $300 would be a fair quote for a scratch like this?

I know I have no experience but I have friends who do so I can ask them for help. I'm just looking to see what kind of options I have before I make a decision.

And also, I know that $300 probably doesn't seem a lot to a lexus owner but right now, it is to me so if possible, we can avoid saying money is not a problem. If taking it to a shop is the best option though, I do not have a problem putting up the money but $300 is something to me and I don't want to use it if there are alternate ways that are just/nearly as good

If money is tight why not.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Custom-Color-and-Chrome-Door-Handle-Overlays-2014-Lexus-IS250-PICK-YOUR-COLOR-/400737372146?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&fits=Make%3ALexus%7CModel%3AIS250&hash=item5d4dcf07f2&vxp=mtr

Oh shit, those actually look really good. Thanks for the idea. Is it $70 for the whole set?

hehe, I was actually gonna suggest something similar, not CF though hahaha. Maybe black plastidip or something on all 4 door handles etc?

Clean/buff out that area and apply plastidip~!

Yes, ship it to point roberts and get the seller to paint it with your factory colour.

These ideas are all good, thanks a lot guys, maybe this is gods way of telling me to do some car mods haha. Any suggestions on where I should take it for some plastidip or can I do it myself? I've done it on my cousin's acura rims but is it the same for door handles?

I actually like the look of the chrome so I don't mind how it looks right now. and just for clarification, this just goes over the original handle right? So the smart key functionality is still intact?

honestly the scratch isn't that bad...

if money is tight, leave it as is, save some money up then get it properly fixed at an autoshop imo