Bumper paint doesn't match

Hi All,

I'm a first time BMW owner (yippee) as of last month. I bought a blue water 2011 335i sedan with premium and convenience packages at what I thought was a good deal. But my thoughts recently changed. I noticed the rear bumper paint is ever so slightly ligher in color than the paint color on the body. I purchased this car in the evening, so I didn't notice this color variation. The lighter color has me abit concerned, although I might be worrying for nothing. Does anyone know how I might be able to verify to see if the bumper I have is a replacement to the original bumper? Thanks for any input.

Pretty much any body shop will have a paint thickness gauge. Try to borrow one and compare the thickness of the paint on the bumper in question with the rest of the car, specifically the other bumper, as the paint on plastic or rubber parts may be different from metal surfaces. If the paint thickness is approximately the same, then it's original, but if it is drastically thicker, then you know it's not from the factory. Body shops usually lay it on pretty thick.

Thanks for your advice CarlsonTheFlyer. I should have figured out why I was getting a deal on the car. Shame on me! Advice to rookie used car shoppers out there - pay attention to color variation between the bumper and car body! It might be a sign of a hidden accident!

... Or it could be the sign of an owner who had a bad scratch they wanted removed.

May be worth looking into, but if everything feels alright, maybe a certain amount of ignorance is bliss.

Originally Posted by bocabimmer

... Or it could be the sign of an owner who had a bad scratch they wanted removed.

May be worth looking into, but if everything feels alright, maybe a certain amount of ignorance is bliss.

A very good point. A repainted bumper does not automatically mean the car was in a collision. It may have been just a scratch, who knows...

Thanks Boca and Carlson for telling me the "other side" of the story! It definitely helped me from going nuts! I think I read in another thread that east coast peeps will paint their bumpers more often than in other parts of the country. My car was from the east coast, sold in an auction and and sent to the west coast. I'm hoping that the repaint has to do with a superficial blemish.

Lets put it this way, my previous car had maybe less than 50% of its original paint because if it got a few too many paint chips, I'd get the whole panel repainted... It's entirely possible.

I get a bumper repainted with the slightest of damage - just can't stand looking at it, if it won't buff out I get it repainted!

I got some nasty curb rash on my bumper when I first bought the car, had the bumper removed and repainted, then a couple months later I was in an accident where the front bumper sustained minor damage. Because it's all one assembly, there was no getting around replacing the entire bumper. Just make sure you research the vehicle's accident history/body shop repairs as much as possible or practical - some dealerships may give you previous owner contact information if you pester them.

it will be ok, my opinon is dont look to closely at it or you might notice things you dont want to see

I have had my front bumper, back bumper and drivers side door all repainted on the 3. None because of wrecks. Just minor rash and dings. Only because I am OCD. It is a disease.

Edit: And passenger side mirror on the 3. And the rocker panels and front bumper on the Z, as well as the drivers side door handle.

Originally Posted by CarlsonTheFlyer

Pretty much any body shop will have a paint thickness gauge. Try to borrow one and compare the thickness of the paint on the bumper in question with the rest of the car, specifically the other bumper, as the paint on plastic or rubber parts may be different from metal surfaces.

I think you were probably saying have them measure a bunch of spots as a favor, as I wouldn't let anyone that I didn't know quite well "borrow" one that could also measure on plastic. Mine can only measure on metal, and was a value buy at $250 (and it just goes up from there), but an ultrasonic PTG is well over a thousand bucks.

If the paint thickness is approximately the same, then it's original, but if it is drastically thicker, then you know it's not from the factory. Body shops usually lay it on pretty thick.

I knew this was true for metal panels. I didn't know that this was also true for plastic panels, but I did always wonder in the back of my mind. I have an idea of general paint thicknesses on metal, but I have no idea what is standard on the other panels.

*A note for others is that just because the paint is super thick on a repaint doesn't mean that it isn't delicate; the clearcoat portion of the repaint could be almost nothing, and this is a reason why even pro detailers are sometimes loath to deal with repainted areas that measure extremely thickly.

I have had my front bumper repainted 2 times and my rear once