Paisley

Hey Everyone, thanks for the all the tips! The day it happenend i took it to a body shop and had their master mechanic look at it. He recommended we keep the fender, just repair and repaint (to answer your questions, it IS dented as well as scraped) and replace the bumper - GAHH! The plan right now is to replace/repaint the bumper entirely and hammer out/sand and paint the fender. He's going to keep the paint low and away form the hood/side and cover it in a clear coat in order to minimize any color differences. Though I could handle the assembly etc, i still need him to paint to so i've opted to bring him a replacement bumper and let him handle the fix. Both the part shop near by and my Lexus dealership quoted me around $330.00 for a new bumper (are you kidding me!?) but i tracked down an OEM part for $190.00. Unfortunately with a two tone bumper i had to shell out a lil more, but oh well at least i didnt need to replace sheet metal... What's worse is that night i went out with a flashlight and tape measure to see if i could find the car that hit it somewhere in the neighborhood - i gave up after 3 cars: I've never seen so many cars with bumper scrapes in my life, like looking for a needle in a needle factory. AHHH!!!!

Hey everyone, long time lurker, first time poster. So this morning i leave my house to go to work and find this on my car: http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q244/Xp...rSideDamage.jpg http://i138.photobucket.com/albums/q244/Xp...eDamagezoom.jpg She's a 98 ES300 and this is the FIRST and ONLY damage on her of any kind, it went 9 years without so much as a ding and last night someone backed into it while parked. AHHHH!! So because i'm not yet tired of the "Wow, thats a good looking car for being 9 years old and in Boston" remarks i want to have it repaired. What i'd like to hear from you experts is your best advice - My Lexus dealership quoted me $340 for the fender and $280 for the bumper, plus paint (which they outsource) and labor. Am i correct in thinking there's a VIN # stamped inside the fender? Should i care if the fender is removed? I've been thinking of buying the replacement bumper and fender myself (for 1/3rd of the above quote, i checked) and taking them to a painter then installing them myself. Has anyone else tried something like this on their car? The only thing that concerns me really is the paint - matching 9 year old green won't be easy i'm sure. The broad concensus from people up here is it's a fact of life, but it's not their car...