2002 BMW M3: Dirty Even When It's Clean

Given the age, color and blunt low/upright position of the M3s front end and the fact the car hasnt consistenly been driven in a mild way this should be expected.

Although not 100% effective, having Clear Bra installed on a new car works wonders for paint longevity. I strongly recommend it.

unforutunately that's what the front end on my 3 year-old subaru looks like... any car looks like that after one winter up around tahoe :(

I have to say that I would attribute this to poor care on Edmunds part. (and previous owner)

First, it looks like alot of that could be removed with claying and buffing.

But you need a serious protective layer. Lots of good options.

I bet a good detail would get rid of that. Have you guys ever shown what a professional detailer can do with $150-200? :)

By the way: My best for a GOOD paint job on just the front bumper clip would be $700-1000. A great paint job would be $1200-1500. Just for the front clip.

I have never had any of my vehicles look like that and I live in NY where we get plenty of snow and salt.

Even my lowly '99 white Escort still had pretty good paint.

That looks ridiculous, and assuming the car isn't even halfway through it's life it will need a respray at some point. But 1200-1500? Does that include a new bumper cover? Because for that price it had better. Wow. I assume the hood probably needs new paint as well?

" bet a good detail would get rid of that"

Joe, Im not sure as the bumper looks to be seriouly pitted. If so nothing short of a respray will work.

You could just repaint the bumper...but it's always a little dangerous repainting things, because it can make it look like it's been in an accident. I mom had her hood on her Honda repainted because of some rock chips and when she went to trade it in the dealer refused to believe the car hadn't been damaged. Plus you never know the quality of the job you get until you get it...it can be quite difficult for most body shops to match OEM quality, even if that's severely-pitted OEM quality.

I say clean it up the best you can, call it character, and live with it.

Umm...guys, fix the fog light before you go blowing money on repainting, eh?

So, was the cone errant, or the M3?

If you are going to re-paint, alot of times (depending on cost) it makes more sense to get a new bumper. It saves prep time on sanding the old one smooth.

I can't tell if it's pitted or not. If the paint feels smooth but has those imperfections, then you can probably buff them out/clay them out.

I'm just saying....this car needs a detailing, and a good detailer would be able to get alot of that out...based upon looking at the picture.

Joe

I wonder if the black paint really emphasizes this damage. My metallic white paint lasted 9 years on the front bumper, and seemed to hide the damage better.

Another issue I find is that bumper rashes frequently expose a contrasting color beneath. My white bumper shows black plastic when I rubbed a really tall curb on a funky parking lot, yet I see dark colored bumpers showing white plastic. You cannot win!

My 02 WRX doesn't even look that bad after 70k+ miles. And Subarus aren't known for their great paint jobs.

My bright red 1995 Club Sport came fitted with the M Technic(AKA M3) front bumper. After 115,000 miles it still looks presentable. You guys must tailgate sand and gravel trucks.

Do you drive 120mph every and then wash your front front with a media blaster?

Just kidding!! The only other time I've seen paint strip like that is the front bumpers of Ferraris on Gumball rallies.

I guess the front of my '02 Z06 looks like that now too, after this morning's commute. This stupid construction truck on the highway doing 70 MPH was dumping dirt and sand all over the road on every bump. So my car got a good sandblasting from it. Grrrrr. The only good thing is it's a 7 year old car, so I don't care as much as I used to. I would be super-pissed if it was a new car and this happened. Still, there should be laws against trucks dropping debris like that all over the highways.

Stingray,
That's a pet peeve of mine too and another reason that both of my motorcycles have windshields.

My black 1995 volvo 850 turbo, which had terrible care all of it's life, looked alot better than that after 150k miles. And that was in PA winters included.

Heck, my 2006 Civic SI with 61k miles on it and supposedly far cheaper paint looks 100 times better than that....of course, it's got a nice covering of acrylic sealant that helps deflect all but the most dedicated of rocks.

Joe

'95 740iL black/black. The rock chips are on it are unnoticeable when compared to that front bumper.

+1 for the clear bra. 46k on my Imola Red w/3m bra, looks so much better. For future reference, spend the extra $2-300 on a clear bra; especially on a car with a front end like an M3 ;)

clear bras are very good to have but it's not applicable for this M3. You've got to apply it on a brand new car in the first week of driving it, preferrably the first day! Seriously, when I got my brand new G35 years ago, I got a clear bra after 2 weeks and it already had a couple chips in it. The paint on all cars sucks.