Paint Chipping/flaking On Front Bumper

[Jetson]

The reason I'm posting this is because I'm not sure if my car was hit by something or not. It's a 2006 IS250, and it's the part just below and to the left of the front grill. I don't see any sign of anything scratching or hitting it, so I'm wondering if this is something that can happen to these bumpers?

I tried to take a picture of it, but it's tough to see. The flash also seems to exaggerate the other dirt and tiny spots on the bumper. But the larger spot where the paint has flaked off, and the other smaller spot to the right of it should be obvious. And it does look like it's "flaking" off, it looks like it has the potential to keep flaking.

Has anyone seen this before, and is there any way I can repair or paint over this myself?

Thanks in advance.

[LEX-SV]

Was the car purchased used? If so, could be related to a poor respray earlier.

[Jetson]

It was purchased used, in May of 2009. So you're saying it was repainted (poorly) before I bought it? Could a poor respray take that long to show up?

I know it checked out as not being in an accident, but a parking lot sort of bumper ding obviously wouldn't register.

[LEX-SV]

It was purchased used, in May of 2009. So you're saying it was repainted (poorly) before I bought it? Could a poor respray take that long to show up?

I know it checked out as not being in an accident, but a parking lot sort of bumper ding obviously wouldn't register.

Yes it could take that long to show.

Most likely no major accident happened, but it probably had some "bumper rash" that needed to be addressed to make the car look better for sale. And the less than durable respray was probably done on dealer site as part of detailing job to prep car for sale. I've seen these guys work at used car dealers facilities out of a van.

Probably best to have it resprayed. Cars driven significant mileage annual on highways/freeways will incur this peppering effect over time.

[Jetson]

So do I need to get it resprayed at my Lexus dealership, or are there other places to do it that will do a good job?

Thanks for all the info.

[cduluk]

I wouldn't take the car to a lexus dealer to have it repainted. Dealers don't have their own body shops, and there's no such thing as "lexus paint" as one would think. Lexus' are painted with paint they select from a paint manufacturer. If u take the car to a dealer they'll just charge you a lot more and send the car to an average body shop.

And you're gonna need a lot more than a simple repaint. All of the paint is going to need to be removed completely before they repaint it. Whoever repainted that bumper did a bad job with the prep work. Someone is gonna need to remove all the bad paint and sand, prime and repaint. Its gonna be in the $500 range just to repaint it properly.

[LEX-SV]

Agreed, a good body shop will be able to handle correctly. My experience with my local Lexus partnered bodyshop has been very good, with perfect color matching.

[Jetson]

Thanks to both of you for your help. I guess I'll have to find some body shops and get estimates.

[smooth1]

Is that big white splotch on the bumper where the paint chipped off? What color is the car?

[Jetson]

Car is black. The color under where the paint is flaking off is gray. There's the big almost circle shaped on, and a smaller, rectangular spot to the right of that.