2015 458 Rear Bumper/Brace Cracks

Mine did this. I had a slight bottoming out on the rear diffuser and the cracks resulted. About a $1500 repair. Dealership says this is common.

 

Exactly this happened to me. Reversed in to drive. Grounded the vertical slats. Cracked just as in the photos.
Told by dealer very common. £1000 per side quoted to smart fix ( whatever that is ).

 

When my car was delivered it had this same problem. As everybody else said, very common as there is a bolt there for the diffuser that gets pushed when the fins hit the ground. My repair was aprox $2600 for one side. I could have gone with aftermarket carbon fiber parts but fitment might not have been right and then I would have another disappointment to deal with. I ordered a new fog light surround ($1000+) and had both sides painted to make sure they matched. All this was done after the bumper was removed. The repair shop also cleaned up the diffuser fins to make them look better. I had another shop who does all my other bodywork repaint the assembly (after they first told me that they didn't want to work on the 458).
Bottom line, not a major issue, just a minor inconvenience (and expense out of pocket) ......

Regards,
Gene Greer

 

It is also very common for this to happen if the car is transported in a trailer. When the vehicle is not running, the magnets in the suspension are not "energized" hence the suspension is much softer (compliant) meaning it will move more vertically when bounced around in a trailer. Every time the dealer picks up my car for service, they but additional blocking under the rear tires to ensure that the diffuser does not hit the deck during transportation. Obviously as others have stated, the same damage can occur if the diffuser hits the ground while driving.

 

Ha - just bought my car and has this same exact crack (left side only). Glad to know it's somewhat common - had noticed it before purchase and already budgeted for a potential replacement with CF

 

From what I can see in your pictures are cracks in the fog light surrounds. From what I know, these are not rear bumper brace mounts.

I believe that these factory standard fog light surrounds are easy to crack from a variety of insults. Many owners will upgrade them to carbon fiber surrounds which are better looking, stronger and lighter.

The 458 is now a 6-10 year old car. These sorts of issues are going to be common with cars that have been driven.
I would pay to have an expert mechanic and body specialist evaluate a car under final consideration.
But as I am sure you already know, the 458 is epic and may become a modern Ferrari which you will want to keep for many years.