I was in a multi-car rear end accident last November and I need to get the car into the shop. I haven't really figured out what I want to pay extra to have done though. I need to at least replace the f/r bumpers (which have the factory ground effects), grille, the rear bumper support, rear impact bar, the rear t-top retainers and whatever that rear panel is called which has 'Camaro' on it. I found a good deal on a rear bumper but haven't been able to make my schedule match the sellers yet. If I could save some money using aftermarket body panels without any future negatives, more money would go to the paint job.

Although I bought the car new in September '98, I've never particularly cared for the purple in the NBM factory paint. The new Imperial Blue Metallic (recently discontinued it seems on the new Camaro) seems to be what I want. I'm wondering if they are close enough to re-spray the exterior with IBM and leave the remainder as factory? The underhood and engine bay were always a flat NBM. Or maybe there's a way to remove some of the purple when the paint is mixed... but then I might be stuck with a shade I don't like. I'd rather just go with the IBM.

The car has it's share of minor blemishes, dings in the panels, dents in the quarter panels, scratches on the ground effects, etc. that'd I'd want repaired. Ideally I want to look down the side of the panels in the sun and have the reflection show no imperfections. The b-pillar was replaced twice under factory warranty for spider webbing. The paint is still good there, but at an angle you can see random patterns in the paint as if it was subject to stress. Other than the purple hue, I was happy with the factory paint job, so as long as other professionals can't tell the difference then I think I'd be OK without a "super-duper garage-queen drive only in good weather, car show quality" paint job.

There are a couple more significant areas of damage. The hood had a section of paint flake off from previous collision repair and the LR 1/4 panel had a section of paint flake off from using a spray hose. The shop I plan to use for the re-paint originally said they might not be able to warranty their work (maybe he meant only in that area of the car) if the paint was separating on the 1/4 panel. Not sure if there's a process to properly repair the flaking paint. The LF fender where it meets the bumper has damage from an unknown source, broke through the edge of the bumper and has a hole slightly smaller than a dime. I've heard those panels can be expensive to repair, but the bumpers should be replaced anyway due to the significant spider webbing from the November accident.

I'm considering losing the Y3F ground effects which came with it from the factory. The front fascia is always getting scratched up and apparently it's hard to line up the fascia's to bumpers which have never had them properly installed without using the (discontinued) factory templates. Finding factory bumpers with the fascia's already properly installed and all being in good condition is also a challenge. Then there's the debate on whether removing them would actually be detrimental to a future sale. I've always thought the front 2-piece fascia was a very tacky design, the side skirts and the rear sections I was OK with. I prefer a minimalist, proven performance oriented design. For instance, I'm not buying a rear bumper with diffusers unless they are both functional and look nice. So far the ones I've found which are functional look tacky on a street car.

I'm also considering painting the mirrors and b-pillar body color instead of OEM black. I had that suggestion but I think I like having the 'top' black and the 'bottom' body color. I thought about trying to blend the two colors near the rear view mirror so it wasn't such a harsh transition though.

Any thoughts are appreciated.