Damage to Brand New CX5

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2018 Mazda CX5 Machine Gray
So I picked up my new 2018 CX5 this past sunday. 2 days later I was on my way home on the freeway on Monday when the car in front kicked up this giant piece of sheet metal which came flying and hit my bumper/grill/top trim. Thankfully nobody was hurt but my car has a giant hole in the grill, bumper and top trim. Luckily my insurance is going to take care of the damage but is there anything I should keep in mind when finding a good body shop that can match the Machine Gray paint? My understanding is that it isn't one of Mazda's paint colors with a 3 stage/layer process.
 
if any of the parts needs to be replaced, some insurance coverage covers OEM parts which is what you would want to get including the paint. Ask if they are able to replace any parts with OEM, if they are fixing the damage via filler then you just got to roll with what they offer.
 
Yeah, machine gray is one of their premium colors, I'd go to Mazda for sure
 
So I picked up my new 2018 CX5 this past sunday. 2 days later I was on my way home on the freeway on Monday when the car in front kicked up this giant piece of sheet metal which came flying and hit my bumper/grill/top trim. Thankfully nobody was hurt but my car has a giant hole in the grill, bumper and top trim. Luckily my insurance is going to take care of the damage but is there anything I should keep in mind when finding a good body shop that can match the Machine Gray paint? My understanding is that it isn't one of Mazda's paint colors with a 3 stage/layer process.

That happened to me shortly after I bought mine too.

Wasn't really sure what to do about it. Front bumper cover needs replaced is what. Never got it fixed. Never occured to me insurance might cover. Figured I'd be out the money.
 
Well, our 2017 Machine Gray got rear-ended last week. Minor damage, so debating about whether to replace the rear bumper or not. Other party has accepted fault and deductible would be waived so cost is not an issue. But a new rear bumper would be painted by a body shop.

What is this talk of "Mazda body shops?" As I understand it, Mazda service centers do not do body work. How do I find a "Mazda body shop" or find out if the body shops recommended by the insurance company can appropriately paint Machine Gray?
 
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Well, our 2017 Machine Gray got rear-ended last week. Minor damage, so debating about whether or not to replace the rear bumper or not. Other party has accepted fault and deductible would be waived so cost is not an issue. But a new rear bumper would be painted by a body shop.

What is this talk of "Mazda body shops?" As I understand it, Mazda service centers do not do body work. How do I find a "Mazda body shop" or find out if the body shops recommended by the insurance company can appropriately paint Machine Gray?

Replace Bumper if they will cover it. You never know it it will start to have paint cracks or bubbling as a result of the collision. I got excellent work done by Service King. There should be some up there in the Bay Area. Lifetime warranty plus they're everywhere so if you move there's a chance another one is near you.
 
Replace Bumper if they will cover it. You never know it it will start to have paint cracks or bubbling as a result of the collision. I got excellent work done by Service King. There should be some up there in the Bay Area. Lifetime warranty plus they're everywhere so if you move there's a chance another one is near you.

+1 for Service King. They didn't do my rear end job, but they did do some other work for me last year around this time that I was extremely pleased with.
 
Problem with Mazda is this
If you get a good bodywork done - chances are the shop may not know how to put it all together - trim / inside door wirings / connectors etc.
Mazda dealer do not always do body work.

There you go - its a tricky one. I have done good body work but the internals of one of my doors was jacked and one of my window makes a funny noise when you open / close it :D
 
So I picked up my new 2018 CX5 this past sunday. 2 days later I was on my way home on the freeway on Monday when the car in front kicked up this giant piece of sheet metal which came flying and hit my bumper/grill/top trim. Thankfully nobody was hurt but my car has a giant hole in the grill, bumper and top trim. Luckily my insurance is going to take care of the damage but is there anything I should keep in mind when finding a good body shop that can match the Machine Gray paint? My understanding is that it isn't one of Mazda's paint colors with a 3 stage/layer process.

I'd find a body shop that Mazda uses. That's what I did with my 370Z (found a body shop that was Nissan certified to do GT-R work. That's what I do, find someone cert' to work on the Halo car, and go there) when it was hit by someone. I had Gun Metallic, which is a raging b**** to match, and they nailed it flawlessly. Paint matching has come a long ways.
 
I'd find a body shop that Mazda uses. That's what I did with my 370Z (found a body shop that was Nissan certified to do GT-R work. That's what I do, find someone cert' to work on the Halo car, and go there) when it was hit by someone. I had Gun Metallic, which is a raging b**** to match, and they nailed it flawlessly. Paint matching has come a long ways.

+1 I have a good one example of not using a certified Mazda body repair shop. My wife was hit stopped at a light 2 months ago to the tune of $8000 in the rear. I got the car back, but had to take it in for new front struts and a new vacuum pump to an Indy I trust. Not related to the accident. Anyway I have the car back and all is good. Yesterday I go to put my grandsons new car seat in and there is no seat belt visible! I open the hatch and partially remove the interior trim to find out the a holes buried the seat belt behind the panel! Rather than taking it back I just fixed it myself, but I did put this on their survey. What ever happened to do a job right or dont do it at all.
 
So I picked up my new 2018 CX5 this past sunday. 2 days later I was on my way home on the freeway on Monday when the car in front kicked up this giant piece of sheet metal which came flying and hit my bumper/grill/top trim. Thankfully nobody was hurt but my car has a giant hole in the grill, bumper and top trim. Luckily my insurance is going to take care of the damage but is there anything I should keep in mind when finding a good body shop that can match the Machine Gray paint? My understanding is that it isn't one of Mazda's paint colors with a 3 stage/layer process.

I'm not helping just griping... this is why I stay off interstates and stay far behind trash haulers, etc.

I had to take the interstate the other day and this truck with a huge flatbed in front of me was covered with rocks. Everytime he hit a bump / bridge connection, gravel just went flying!! Not cool.

These dudes need to clean the debris off before traveling, just saying.

Sorry to hear about the damage, that sucks.
 
I'm not helping just griping... this is why I stay off interstates and stay far behind trash haulers, etc.

I had to take the interstate the other day and this truck with a huge flatbed in front of me was covered with rocks. Everytime he hit a bump / bridge connection, gravel just went flying!! Not cool.

These dudes need to clean the debris off before traveling, just saying.

Sorry to hear about the damage, that sucks.

I do the same thing, if I get behind a truck I keep a huge gap. If they throw up a stone most likely it will settle to the ground by the time I get to it.
 
Basically the same thing happened to our CX5. There was an accident in the next lane over that occurred directly in front of my wife. The shrapnel from the accident hit the front of our CX5. Damage wasn't too bad but the bumper cover did need to be replaced. I took it to a body shop that had done previous work for me with excellent results. They did have an issue with color matching the Machine Gray so they called PPG for assistance. PPG sent out representatives to the body shop to show them how to mix and apply the paint. There definitely is a different method to this for Mazda multistage paints. It came out better than the oem paint job. If you are in the Ventura/LA County part of So Cal, I can share the body shop that did my repairs. I also had them paint the chrome grille and lower bumper "skidplate" since they had the front end apart.

Advice to go to a Mazda dealer for repairs is a bit misleading as most dealers farm out bodywork/paint issues beyond anything that requires PDR. I would research and go talk to various body shops - you can have the repairs done by whoever you choose. My body shop is not a State Farm recommended shop but they still worked great together to get our CX5 fixed.

Pics below show the original damage, then the first repaint (showing the color difference compared to the fender), the last two show the final repaint.
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I've not had a good experience with ANY dealer body shops. I always go to a high end independent, reputation is more important than staying with the brand's service centers in this area.
 
Well, now my CX5 is going under the knife, because most people are pieces of s***, basically.

Some worthless **** probably saw something nice and jacked their door into it as hard as they could.

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For those keeping track, this will cost me $350 + 2 days in a rental car to have it done right. THIS is why I live as far from people as I can get.
 
Wow Uno, that blows. It doesn't look like a door ding to me (no scratches or paint transfer).

This might be the conspiracy theorist in me speaking, but it looks deliberate. Like someone took a wrench, wrapped it in a tshirt and then gently pressed right on the fender crease. All to cause enough damage to warrant a fix, but not so excessive that it would be worth going through insurance. Basically, just enough damage to ensure that you'd pay out of pocket. You'd have to be a special kind of snowflake to want to do that to someone.

Is the $350 for a PDR repair? Or does it need actual bodywork?
 
Wow Uno, that blows. It doesn't look like a door ding to me (no scratches or paint transfer).
I washed it, it scuffed the wheel-well black plastic if you look REALLY close. Definite door ding.
This might be the conspiracy theorist in me speaking, but it looks deliberate. Like someone took a wrench, wrapped it in a tshirt and then gently pressed right on the fender crease. All to cause enough damage to warrant a fix, but not so excessive that it would be worth going through insurance. Basically, just enough damage to ensure that you'd pay out of pocket. You'd have to be a special kind of snowflake to want to do that to someone.

Is the $350 for a PDR repair? Or does it need actual bodywork?

It needs actual body work. Of course it was deliberate. Some shitsack is lucky I didn't see them, and so am I and my lawyer. People are trash by and large, I'm not shocked.
 
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