Crash Repair - New BMW

Anan1

My mother's new car (2 weeks old) got rear-ended by a taxi today. Although the damage appears slight, the rear bumper will need to be painted. She's understandably keen that the job will be done to the highest possible standard. The car was bought in Maxwell Motors, has anyone any experience of their body shop? Or would anyone recommend a good independent body shop? I'll be bringing the car in, and i'm extremely fussy when it comes to paint finish, colour matching, alignment etc.

Owen

Don't worry Anan1, BMW require all Dealerships to only use BMW Bodyshops, trained to the highest standards, using proper paints, and only BMW parts.

Mr Magnolia

Yup, back to BMW with you, I'd say you're looking at a new bumper. I wouldn't be pushed on painting a new (2007) car

Owen

Sparks400 wrote:

Yup, back to BMW with you, I'd say you're looking at a new bumper. I wouldn't be pushed on painting a new (2007) car

A new bumper may be neccessary, as may the bump bar behind it, but painting is not optional. Bumpers arrive primed.

TomMc

McKeon's BMW (Body Shop) in Kells is very good. I'm one of the most pernickety persons you will ever meet, when it comes to things like this. Once a bodyshop manager knows the exact standards or attention to detail you demand, and has been told that you will tolerate nothing less, then they get the message.

Anan1

So the consensus is that I should book the car in with Maxwell (Kells is too far, unfortunately) and explain in the nicest possible terms that I expect the car to be perfect?

Lex Luthor

I would be surprised that BMW dealers, if not all dealers have proper facilities to do a proper paint repair. All the big dealerships near me (VW, Audi, Merc, BMW) all use the same guy in Sallins. I've used him once myself when I caught my rear bumper off a pillar.

Even my mate when someone rear ended his A4 a few months ago and he brought ot out to Audi, Naas to get it repaired, they sent it to this guy to get the new bumper resprayed.

If you need his name, PM me if its not too far for you.

ballooba

TomMc wrote:

McKeon's BMW (Body Shop) in Kells is very good. I'm one of the most pernickety persons you will ever meet, when it comes to things like this. Once a bodyshop manager knows the exact standards or attention to detail you demand, and has been told that you will tolerate nothing less, then they get the message.

I have seen one dodgy crash repair from them (10 years ago mind) and also they sold my sister a modified BMW 3 Series (Quite recently).

TomMc

Anan1 - Some of the biggest and most expensive "Prestige" dealers / bodyshops in Dublin can turn out very ordinary work. One "Blue-Chip" one I know of (i.e. the only Audi approved one in the country, to work on aluminium panels etc) did a small job for a friend of mine on a brand new car at big money and they far from delivered.

You really need to make it crystal clear what you expect and tell them they will not get paid if its not to a Rolls-Royce standard. Tell them you want the whole area masked properly, no overspray, no fisheyes, no paint runs, no orange peel, panels fully clear coated throughout and not as if it was in very scarce supply and no osmosis effect later on either (poor prep work, where some water / dampness in a spray gun or still present on a panel after been rubbed down with wet & dry, and not allowed to dry fully, interferes with the painting process - bonding etc, leading to water bubbles on paintwork, at a much later date).

Garages in this country only tend to do work to the standard that the average punter is happy enough with. You want a proper factory finish and nothing less will do, otherwise you will have their nuts in a pickle jar !

Lex Luthor

forgot to mention me mates A4 who was slightly rear ended a few weeks ago and had minimal damage from the outside, it turned out also his bar inside the bumper was bent and needed a new bumper. it cost about €1500 for the job including car hire for the day

Eoin

Exclusive Autobody in Bray are highly recommended.

Mr Magnolia

Don't even consider going to a body shop. Happened my brothers brand new E93.

New car was hit, new bumper required, no re-spraying required, simple as....

Taxi driver's insurance pays

Ned78 will confirm

johncm

TomMc wrote:

Anan1 - Some of the biggest and most expensive "Prestige" dealers / bodyshops in Dublin can turn out very ordinary work. One "Blue-Chip" one I know of (i.e. the only Audi approved one in the country, to work on aluminium panels etc) did a small job for a friend of mine on a brand new car at big money and they far from delivered.

You really need to make it crystal clear what you expect and tell them they will not get paid if its not to a Rolls-Royce standard. Tell them you want the whole area masked properly, no overspray, no fisheyes, no paint runs, no orange peel, panels fully clear coated throughout and not as if it was in very scarce supply and no osmosis effect later on either (poor prep work, where some water / dampness in a spray gun or still present on a panel after been rubbed down with wet & dry, and not allowed to dry fully, interferes with the painting process - bonding etc, leading to water bubbles on paintwork, at a much later date).

Garages in this country only tend to do work to the standard that the average punter is happy enough with. You want a proper factory finish and nothing less will do, otherwise you will have their nuts in a pickle jar !

a lot of garages if you go into them with that attitude will tell you where to go!!! If its a bmw garage they will do a very very high standard of work

ninty9er

I'd get the taxi to stump up for a full body respray in a BMW workshop to restore the car to the glory of Day 1 & a new bumper obviously....it may only be slight ly damaged now, but if it were to get a tip at some point in the future it may not be as effective as a 100% bumper

old boy

damage cannot be accertained until the car is stripped and inspected, the car will not be repainted, just blown in to match up with the origional paintwork, it may need to be jigged and measured, all this is speculation, mostly by guys who do not know base from whatever

skibum

Crimmins garage in Enniskerry, excellent work, very busy, I have seen some of their work and was impressed.

Yakuza

Damn Anan1, I'm sorry to hear that. Two weeks old and damaged already - that must be some (sick) record

TomMc

johncm wrote:

a lot of garages if you go into them with that attitude will tell you where to go!!! If its a bmw garage they will do a very very high standard of work

You can express the points I've mentioned in a tactful and polite way (in person) without offending same. Otherwise if you do not point out to people what you expect, the job may very well be given less priority, where the results are compromised. Anyway, only a back street or cowboy operator would take offense from same. Any professional craftsman would respect you more for knowing your stuff and been so demanding. "The squeaky wheel gets the oil". Passive or stoical people get taken advantage of in life, and in the motor trade most of all.

Its normal for the standard of work in garages in Ireland to be dictated by the value they themselves place on a vehicle. They don't think of the value their clients place on their pride and joy, regardless of what it cost, and so need to be told. And for the record, the standard of re-finishing in this country is only average, especially if a concours-look is your thing. With daily drivers it's OK, but on a rare classic forget it. And in general the best independent specialists, would put most of the franchised dealerships to shame (both on body repairs and servicing).

Owen

Thanks Sparks400. Quite simply, if a BMW Dealership has a customer approach them to have repair work carried out to a BMW car, the repair must :

Be completely itemised, every clip, panel, and loom must be replaced.
Be appraised by a trained individual.
Only have BMW spare parts used.
Only have water based paints, approved by BMW used.
Only have the work carried out in a BMW approved body-shop. There are many shops in the country, who have spend upwards of 100k on equipment, staff, and training to get accredited. They're more than capable of doing the work.

There's lots of FUD on this thread Anan1, sift through it and gleam what you need. Bear in mind, a new bumper will come in primed, or if the damage is superficial (Remember, BMW bumpers can reform with impacts less than 5mph), it may just need a re-spray itself. I'm on PM if you need anything further.

Anan1

Thanks to all for the feedback so far. I've no experience of BMW approved body shops, but i've seen the work done by a couple of franchised outfits including our only approved Porsche body shop and wasn't very impressed. The price of the repair work isn't an issue, i'm just a bit sceptical of the standard of work done by main dealerships. I'd prefer to bring the car to Maxwell, I just can't seem to shake that nagging doubt that, as with mechanics, a good independent body shop would do a better job. This whole thing is giving me a headache, it's much easier when it's your own car. Thanks again to all, better go off now and digest your contributions!

Mr Magnolia

Think about when the car's being changed...

1. Your perspective buyer asks you "was the car ever hit?" you will be able to say "yeah, rear-ended, minor damage, BMW replaced the bumper" your buyer can go and check and be confident that what the garage says is true
2. The garage where you're trading it in (possibly Maxwells) asks you "was the car hit?" again you can be confident in telling them that they or another BMW dealer repaired it as opposed to an independant body-shop where they won't know the extent of the damage

Gatster

When someone ran into the back of my old 3 series Coupe off it went to Windsor in Bray as the nearest Hibernian approved bodyshop to the scene of the accident. They only used genuine BMW parts and the bill ran to about €3800 as in the end it need a new boot-lid and all sorts. The work was also guaranteed for 3 years and fully documented.

The standard of the job was amazing, the rest of the car was mint when it went in so I was anxious that the repair be of sufficient quality, but they went over and above what I expected...just a thought, maybe I was lucky.

Seth Brundle

I was rear ended a few weeks ago and sent into the van in front (who was content enough to leave it at that).
My car suffered paint and bodywork damage to the rear and my front bumper needs some paintwork and re-sitting.
The shock aborbers behind the rear bumper need to be replaced also.
The damage to the rear turned out to be more significant that I initially realised with visible damage inside the boot spotted by the boss at Murphy & Gunn's bodyshop in Rathgar. I'm content using M&G as they painted and fitted my bodykit and the quality is A1.
Thankfully the other party's insurance is coughing up without (so far!) any protests.
It will cost at least €2.5k with a full costing to be sent to me later today.
I will also get a free hire car for when its away from me.

URL="http://www.bavarian-board.co.uk/gallery/thumbnails.php?album=24"]pics of my poor baby[/URL

Owen

Sparks400 wrote:

The garage where you're trading it in (possibly Maxwells) asks you "was the car hit?" again you can be confident in telling them that they or another BMW dealer repaired it as opposed to an independant body-shop where they won't know the extent of the damage

If the work is carried out by a BMW Approved Body Shop, and there's no structural damage, part exchange value won't be an issue.

Anan1

Well I dropped the car in to Maxwell in Blackrock this morning. Called them at 8.40 to double-check that the replacement car would be ready for 9 sharp, which they assured me it would be. I arrived at 8.55, wasn't given the replacement car until 9.15. I was asked not to drive the replacement car too much, as it "only had 23kms on it". Turns out that the mileage was 3,500, the 23kms was the remaining range on the dribble of fuel left in the tank. Let's hope their standard of workmanship is a lot better than this.

Anan1

Anan1 wrote:

Let's hope their standard of workmanship is a lot better than this.

Well, it isn't. Called down to collect the car this evening, it was still dirty. Asked them to wash it, which they did (in a kind of a half-arsed way). At this point, it became clear that the colour of the bumper did not exactly match the colour of the rest of the car. When this was pointed out they admitted it, apologised, and offered to book the car in again. To my absolute amazement, they then tried to get out of offering a replacement car! Moral of the story - if you're fussy about bodywork, or indeed customer care, avoid BMW approved body shops.

JoeA3

Hi Anan,
Doesn't surprise me... the standard of service/workmanship in dealers/garages in my experience is largely appalling. I had a very poor repair done on a previous car of mine, and even his attempt to rectify it wasn't great.
I eventually did get a very very good guy last year (when I needed another repair!), based in Galway, unlikely to be much good to you though...

maidhc

Sparks400 wrote:

Your perspective buyer asks you "was the car ever hit?"

With the level of damage we are talking about here I would say "NO" and have no qualms of conscience!

Unlucky about the car not being up to standard though. Not surprised they chanced their arm though, most people probably wouldn't notice. In fairness though, plastics seem to be difficult to paint. Audi failed miserably to colour match the Audi A4 bumpers in 2002-2004, likewise a fair few early Mk2 Foci have mismatching bumpers.

PauloMN

maidhc wrote:

Audi failed miserably to colour match the Audi A4 bumpers in 2002-2004, likewise a fair few early Mk2 Foci have mismatching bumpers.

I was wondering about that recently, I bought an '03 A4 (black, so matching colour body and bumpers) but loads of them I looked at - in particular colours - especially that denim blue - had bumpers that looked mismatched. Put me right off them as it looked like they'd all had repair damage. The problem is even noticeable on pics on Carzone etc..

Anan - that just unreal that a customer who's just bought a brand new car gets that sort of treatment. I bought a used car (non BMW) from them many years ago and they were awful then as well. If someone told me how far I could go in their courtesy car, I'd not be responsible for my actions.

unkel

That's not great news, Anan1, but I suspect they won't be rid of you until the job's done to perfection

Can someone clarify this: on an insurance repair job, does the insurance company typically pay for a replacement car?

Gary ITR

unkel wrote:

Can someone clarify this: on an insurance repair job, does the insurance company typically pay for a replacement car?

Depends on your policy and who your insurer is

unkel

Onkle wrote:

Depends on your policy and who your insurer is

OK, back to the OP on this one so - Anan1, does your mothers' policy cover this or do you rely on the courtesy of the after sales support of the BMW dealer that you bought the car from only a few weeks ago?

Gatster

Hibernian sorted me out a Focus through Windsor in Bray who have a deal with some local crowd. I had to pay up front, and then Quinn re-imbursed me as part of the overall settlement. Don't know what it's like for other companies.

Seth Brundle

unkel wrote:

Can someone clarify this: on an insurance repair job, does the insurance company typically pay for a replacement car?

I believe that if you need a car and yours will be in the bodyshop then you are entitled to the use of a car somehow - isn't the idea of insurance to leave you without any inconvienence so to speak?

Incidentally my cheque for €2100 arrived yesterday from Hibs. This includes 3 days car hire (one of which has already been used when the dealer was estimating the work involved).

Anan1

unkel wrote:

OK, back to the OP on this one so - Anan1, does your mothers' policy cover this or do you rely on the courtesy of the after sales support of the BMW dealer that you bought the car from only a few weeks ago?

The entire job, including replacement car was paid for by the insurance of the taxi who hit her. This time around, though, Maxwell will be providing the replacement car at their own expense. On an amusing side-note, my mother was quite unimpressed with her replacement 3 series, bemoaning the lack of bluetooth & folding mirrors in particular. Up to the 15th of January last she didn't even know such things existed! Update, I just got a call from the service manager there, who is very apologetic and is making all the right noises. Hopefully we'll have a satisfactory resolution soon.

unkel

Anan1 wrote:

my mother was quite unimpressed with her replacement 3 series, bemoaning the lack of bluetooth & folding mirrors in particular. Up to the 15th of January last she didn't even know such things existed!

LOL - addictive things, those bells and whistles...

Let us know the progress on this, Anan1

Tipsy Mac

Anan1 wrote:

Update, I just got a call from the service manager there, who is very apologetic and is making all the right noises. Hopefully we'll have a satisfactory resolution soon.

Perhaps he or the owner likes reading this forum

testicle

Yakuza wrote:

Damn Anan1, I'm sorry to hear that. Two weeks old and damaged already - that must be some (sick) record

That Veyron in the UK was written off after a week

Owen

Tipsy Mac wrote:

Perhaps he or the owner likes reading this forum

You never know who'd be reading this forum!

ballooba

ned78 wrote:

You never know who'd be reading this forum!

Given the number of trade people who have posted here in defense of their businesses I would say a lot.

Owen

ballooba wrote:

Given the number of trade people who have posted here in defense of their businesses I would say a lot.

Because someone praising a business automatically means their wages are paid BY that business? Oh cmon! People are allowed to heap praise on a company from time to time.

maidhc

ned78 wrote:

Because someone praising a business automatically means their wages are paid BY that business? Oh cmon! People are allowed to heap praise on a company from time to time.

It should always be guarded praise.

Anan1

On the subject of praise, the salesman in Maxwell was really very good. Even though it's not his area, he's still very concerned and keen to help. They could do a lot worse than to send him on a spray-painting course.

Calibos

eoin_s wrote:

Exclusive Autobody in Bray are highly recommended.

I know the OP is semi sorted at this stage but for the benefit of anyone else that digs up this thread in the future during a search, I can personally vouch for Exclusive Autobody. My brand new A3 a few years ago came delivered with a deep gouge down to the metal on the passenger door. Dealer compensated me for 'My Special Day' being tarnished and booked her in for the following day. I asked who they used and he said Exclusive Autobody in Bray. Suited me down to the ground as I live in Bray anyway so I didn't bother taking the replacement car and just dropped the car down and picked it up myself. Was a lot less hassle that way.

Anyway, got down to Exclusive on the Lower Dargle and got a bit worried that it seemed to be a small poky workshop and yard down a small residential street. Bit messy inside too. The 'MD' Hugh Brickenden turned out to be a very friendly likable genuine guy who assured me that this was not a touchup. The gouge would be sorted and the whole door would be repainted and no one could ever tell the door was repaired. True to his word the job was spot on. Perfect workmanship and a perfect colour match.

Had the car down again last year when I was rear-ended. Again a perfect job done. Got them to paint and fit a rear boot spoiler at the same time.

Thumbs Up from me.

Anan1

Calibos - I've used Exclusive Autobody, albeit years ago, when Robin Sutton was there. Robin's work is really excellent, so much so that my family kept using him when he moved to Ace Autobody. I know, I should have listened...;)