I screwed up and backed up too close to the curb and scratched my rear bumper. Am I able to fix this on my own or should I take it to a body shop? Any idea what a fix like this might cost?
You can fix it yourself if you are handy with spray paint and can get the correct color. Sand it smooth, mask the area, spay primer, spray color, spray clear. Sand overspray with 2000 grit wet or dry, and polish with rubbing compound.
Check YouTube for info.
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Agree with @bing. The quality of the repair depends on your skills and effort. It also depends on your tolerance of that quality because the right way to paint it is usually to spray the entire bumper.
If this is a lease car, I doubt the lease company would find it acceptable when you return it.
Body shops give repair estimates for free and prices vary a lot depending in where you live.
If you follow Bing’s advice you may find the results acceptable. If not pleased with the results, you will only be out around $50 in supplies and your time.
As Mustangman noted, body shop estimates are usually free.
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If you make a local repair it likely won’t blend well enough to appear the same as the rest of the bumper. A body shop would paint the entire bumper to make it all looks the same. That’s one reason why body work costs so much.
A little variation might be OK for you. In the late 1970s I did a paint repair on the rear quarter panel of my VW Rabbit. I masked off the area, sanded it, and painted it. The color was very close, but not exact. The guy that bought my Rabbit spotted the repair and said that it didn’t bother him because he had to look closely to see it. That and the exceptionally clean interior got me full asking price.
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If I had that problem myself I’d follow Bing’s suggested method. I wouldn’t expect absolute new-car-like perfection of course. Anytime you apply new paint to an existing paint job, pretty good chance that later on the new paint will color-fade more than existing paint. But if you keep the area waxed (after the paint cures) and out of direct sunlight as much as possible, should work out pretty well.
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If you do as recommended above and it works, great. If it doesn’t look good enough you’re only out the cost of the paint, sandpaper, and your time.
If you’re patient and get the proper materials, you can repair it.
Tester