So, naturally I know zero when it comes to cars. If I had anymore electives left in college, I would take that auto class everyone has been telling me about to learn the basics.
Anyway, I own a 1997 Toyota Camry LE. I purchased it with about ~94-97,000mi. on it. I've owned it for a little more than two years now, and in all honesty, it has treated me fairly well. So far the only thing to go has been the radiator, but that was quick fix.

My beef with my vehicle is the hideousness of it. I mean, who mixed this paint color and thought it would look GREAT on a 4-door family vehicle??? It's not blue, it's not quite lilac..but some flamboyant color in between the two! The paint on the bumper has faded and chipped so badly that it's now that blueish/purple color with yellow spots everywhere The same goes for the door handles and exterior mirrors. What did Toyota do to their 1997 Camry's to make this happen? It seems I see alot of the same year models as my car with the same problem. The interior and exterior handles have also broken off..another problem Toyota seemed to have had with some of their late 90s camry & corolla models.

What should I do about my bumper? I found one on eBay motors for $20 or so, but the listing states it is only primed. How do I know what to look for? And if I purchase a primed bumper, how much could I expect to pay to have it painted?

Also, as you may be able to see in one of these photos, the driver's side has a dent on the side, near the rear & bumper. My mom backed into my car! Ugh! Any recommendations as to what to do about that problem?? It's actually gotten a bit worse since I have not taken time or money to fix it, a little more rust shows than in the photo.

 

The color is not that bad. Do you know someone in a body shop? The primed bumper for 20 buckssounds likea good deal.The photos look like the car is still in decent shape. I would try to do as much as my budget would allow to fix it up to a point where you are happy with it. Good luck.

 

One issue is matching the paint. If a metallic color it will be impossible and even then the shop will end up spraying half the car to blend it into the other paint.

The bumper being plastic and flexable may require an additive to the paint.

The door might have a removable outer panel but don't know for sure.

If you are not going to fix is soon might control the rust from getting worse with LPS3 or something else. Don't get it all over the paint as it will stain it.

 

Just drive it till it dies

 

If you like the car, and your plan on driving it for a while, I say take the car to your local Macco body shop. You can get that bumper sanded down and painted for a relatively decent price. If you by the $20.00 bumper, it will still need to be sanded, prep, and painted as well as removal and installation of the bumper. Check the cost differences. If you hate the color that much you could have them repaint the entire car (no door jams,trunk, or under hood) for around $250.00 (locally). It may not be a "brand new" car paint job but they warranty it for a year and It makes a great "20ft paint" job and no more weird blue color. Just a suggestion.

 

hit up the junk yards! i have never gone to a junk yard and NOT see a vast array of camrys. pick up a new rear bumper that isn't scuffed such as yours. and unfortunately the only way to fix bad and uneven paint is to get her repainted. and honestly stock paint jobs are usually the best quality paintjobs. the color might be questionable, but quality wise. stock is always the best.

 

I actually think it would be fairly easy to match the new paint. You just need to figure out the color code for it. You could be able to find one in the junkyard. Since these cars are 12 years old now i wouldn't be surprised to see a few wrecked ones.
As for maaco; I wouldn't recommend it. You could probably get your new bumper nicely resprayed elsewhere for about $150-200.

And I know you don't like the color but if you wash it and wax it, it's gonna be very shiny and you won't feel nearly as bad about it.

 

It's actually gotten a bit worse since I have not taken time or money to fix it, a little more rust shows than in the photo.


Lisa11