BRZ vs. Deer
 

So I hit a deer the night before leaving on vacation. I was cruising down a Louisiana back road on my way home from work and a deer decided to run out right in front of me. I got on the brakes hard and tried to get as far right as possible in my lane, but I still clipped it with the front corner. Damage isn't too bad but still disappointing. I'll be spending me vacation looking for parts to see if it's better for me to fix myself or go through insurance. I have two questions for the community: 1: can a body shop buy parts from Subaru already painted? 2: Does anybody have a driver side fender in crystal white pearl?

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'Tis the time of year where deer are more hazardous than other cars.
You may be better off getting a fender from the auto wreckers than a new pre painted one (if they exist). If you can find something the same age locally then it may have the same level of fading and weathering and there be no noticeable difference. A brand new, pre painted one will stand out like mad. A body shop would have to match the current colour of your car and I understand that the white is very difficult to do.

That's about 1400 dollars in damage through a good body shop. Is it worth it to you to turn it in to the insurance? Maybe.


Any good bodyshop will get the right parts and color match to the exact vehicle. I don't think Subaru themselves sell pre-painted body panels like that.

Tis just a flesh wound

I hear that white pearl is extremely hard to match. My car is less than a year old, so I was thinking a Subaru painted piece would match the best. I could be wrong though. Just my thinking.

Less then a year old or not you are not sure what point in time the replacement bumper they send you was sprayed. Best match would be to have a shop do it. It is a hard color to match so make sure it gets done right. Even a good shop it might take a couple trys.

Good point. There's a shop near me who did a buddy's white pearl Acura pretty well. I'll start there and get a few other quotes.

I had my car a week and some ass hat in the cub foods parking lot hit it in the rear bumper cover backing out. Not hard enough to scratch but hard enough to peel the paint down to the plastic. The under plastic is black so stuck out like a sore thumb on the white. I have a friend who does auto body for a living and she took it work with her. Took her 3 tires to get it to match decent and this was just a small spot on the bumper so even harder to do then a whole bumper cover.

I just had the right fender replaced on a 2016 white pearl. I went to the local Subaru dealer. The fender had to be painted and the lower chip guard duplicated. I was told the pearl was a 3 step paint and not the easiest to match. The hood and door were blended and clear coat. Many clips on you tube how to blend paint. Cost was $1000.

Good plan. Go to the body shop which has the best reputation in town -- if you're making an insurance claim, they will agree with the shop on the price, and you'll just have your $250 deductible (or whatever) to pay.

My Subaru dealer doesn't even have a body shop, so rather than let them farm it out to God knows who, I took it to our Cadillac/Buick dealer and they did a magnificent job. It's a new car. I was so happy with it I put a glasscoat on it as soon as I brought it home. There's even a warranty on their work. The best doesn't cost extra, just your same old deductible. To hell with running around getting quotes.

Don't rush around trying to save a buck for the ins co! Let the insurance company sweat it, unless you have a rotten record with them and are afraid of the premium consequences. And even then, there's always another insurance company. After my accident they kept me but stuck it to me on the premiums. My agent took the initiative and surprised me with a call saying, "You don't have to pay that. Here's a good company, and they'll take you at $1600 less, annually."

Good Luck!

By the way, body panels are never pre-painted, as far as I know. Why would they add a finish to a part and then risk inevitable damage in shipping for a panel that won't match anyway? Let the experts fit the parts and then use their magic to match the color perfectly. That's their job.

:cheers:

Should have painted the whole bumper cover anyway -- better job visually. Maybe she couldn't do that big a favor?

Not sure why she didn't go that route in the end prob would of been easier to do that. My guess is maybe she thought it wouldnt be that bad to blend idk? Turned out fine just took a longgggg as time to do lol

Is this where the phrase "like a deer in headlights" comes from?

Buboom tish - I'm here all week.

Everyone please tip your waitress. She's not responsible for booking the act.