On my new 2002 XE I now have a scratch about 8" long in the grey plastic-like material behind the rear wheel. What, if anything, can I use to remove it or hide it? The scratch is not too deep......just obvious! Thanks..

What I have used in the past on interior parts of my vehicles that get scratched is a hair dryer or heat gun to heat up the surface and try to smooth it out.... It may not work on the rear bumper plastic though....

Just a thought

Good luck. The textured plastic will show signs of repair attempts, my suggestion would be to replace it. They aren't terribly expensive and are easy to install yourself; the most time consuming portion of the install is drilling the holes for the mudguards.
Of course, I assume you are talking about this part?

You could try applying Mother's "Back to Black" and find that the scratch almost disappears if it's not too deep. The product should last at least a month, over several washings.

It could be worse. You could have had an X-eating tree sneak up behind you in your girlfriend's driveway, and smoosh the panel completly when you only owned your X less than 2 months!

Not that I would know anybody this happened to! :rolleyes:
Hmm...I wonder if that box from Xterraparts.com has arrived yet!