ICallItHorror

I have had a hole in my front bumper for about a year and four, or so, months now from rear ending a Yukon XL who was backing up in the middle of the road; and i just recently acquired a new 'blemish' on my box complimenting the gaping hole in my front bumper. The new 'blemish' is that a great amount of paint was stripped off the fender flare on the rear-passenger side from being side swiped in my schools parking lot(Never found the culprit). I am now looking at finally replacing my front bumper and purchasing a kenstyle lip kit. Although i am skeptical about this knowing that it is very possible that my entire car may have to be resprayed, and as a 17 year old with a meager income i don't like the sound of paying 1,200+ for new paint.

So my question to everyone is, are there any alternatives, can i get the new paint blended into the old paint, or a color match for the new pieces, or would the old paint really have even faded that much in a year?(keep in mind i live in Phoenix, Arizona, where sunlight and heat take a massive toll on paint)

TerribleTed

A good color match man ( a good body shop will have or know one) should be able to tint the formula to be very very close. Then only paint what is needed. The front bumper doesn't match already (they never do from the factory) they are always slightly off. Neither do the side skirts I bet but again very close. A good colorman should be able to mix you paint that close...expect to pay an extra fee for the match service however....My guy charges $20 usually (plus the paint of course). He can somewhat compensate for sun fade as well (somewhat...badly faded red no ...but in one year you shouldn't be faded that bad regardless of the Phoenix climate.

You say you are getting a kenstyle lip kit...interesting. Fiberglass or plastic(urethane)?? How much work does it need to mount and fit properly?? How much work will it be to make it truely look good before painting it??? Any waves or imperfections in the surface as supplied?? Things to think about unless you are a bodyman. The kit I installed (Extreme Dimensions F-1 type) took many hours (like 20+) of tinkering and bodywork to really be nice enough to paint. Every "kit" I have seen for any car has needed at least a little work before painting, including factory Saleen ground effects for Mustangs (actually this kit was pretty good but still took over 10 man hours to properly fit and prime) (that is like $5-600 with materials in a shop). Had one kit for an Acura a friend of my son bought and 50% of the pieces were so bad that they simply couldn't be used...what a waste of $3000 that kit was.

I am not saying that the Kenstyle kit is bad. Just trying to forwarn you that just because it is a kit made "for the Scion" in no way means you can simply paint it and bolt it on. I have seen it shown in fiberglass and urethane..urethane is the better choice for durability. Either may need work before install. Most of the Kenstyle stuff I found is designed for Japanese production xB's and if it is that it will certainly require modding to work. Can anyone give this man further insight on what it takes to install Kenstyle lip kits??