[jammy78]

Last week someone hit my front end whilst it was parked in a car park! Thankfully he left his details - very rare nowadays!

Paint scuffs to the bumper & bonnet - nothing major!

I took it for a quote/inspection & because the damage to the paint on the bonnet..... the body shop say they will paint 50% of the bonnet & blend it in!

Is it best to paint the complete bonnet, if so can I insist on this? It's going through the insurance!

The colour is Titan Silver, if that makes any difference?

[Kerr]

1 in a million to leave their details.

Tough decision.

I'd imagine if they paint the entire bonnet they would have to then try and blend into the wings as well.

I guess you need to find a good bodyshop and trust them.

[richk84]

Try your local BMW bodyshop too. They price matched with a body shop near me and could fit me in the next day. Didnt even ask to see the other quote did it all over the phone.

After using both an independent bodyshop and BMW you can see the difference in the quality of the work. 5 year paint guarantee with the BMW work too.

['V']

Get the full bonnet sprayed, silver can be a pain in the a*** to get matched from what I understand

Same thing happened to me just before Xmas, the guy left his details and let me use a body shop I know,
Got a quote and he sent me a cheque

Nice to know there are some honest people around!

[MEGA]

Must it go through insurance? You could have that repaired for £400 tops. See if he wouldn't like to pay? He might prefer insurance in which case fine.

I would strongly suggest a full respray of the bonnet and front bumper. The bonnet is a large expanse of paintwork and I expect that the paint may have faded somewhat on the bonnet over time. A machine polish might help bring it up but might not. Fact is it will be noticable to an expert if only blended: No matter how good the job.

[jammy78]

I got quoted from the body shop £825 + vat & the guy said he can't pay that, so wants to go through the insurance!

The place I got the quote from is the nearest approved repairer! So seeing its going through the insurance & they will claim the money back from the 3rd party, can I demand the hole bumper & bonnet be painted?

[djgandy]

Get a quote for the whole bumper resprayed and just the work they want to do. Then see if you can pay the difference. I don't think a panel blend will work well on Titan Silver.

[Josh1a1h]

Get the wings done too whilst your at it to really make sure the front all blends well

Edit
Actually don't take the piss... He is a nice guy for leaving his details in the first place!

[MEGA]

You can have your car repaired anywhere you like. The approved repairer is taking the piss because he knows it is insurance work.

I just had 5 panels resprayed and it only cost £900! 2 panels for £800 is actually criminal.

I can put you in touch with a much more reasonable body shop should you be interested.

Even if you go insurance route I'd suggest going with a recommended company, not just the insurance outfit. But it's up to you - and you are unlikely to get a hire car unless you go approved insurer of course

[gman3msport]

As above you CAN take the car where ever you want so if you know of any good body shops take it to one of those. You don't have to go to one of their approved body shops.

[Drrncour]

Needs to be blended. Everyone saying get the whole bonnet painted don't know much about spraying a silver car. If you paint the whole bonnet and bumper, it will stand out from the wings. So blending is the best way to get it spot on, it's common practise on silver cars.

[jammy78]

Originally Posted by Drrncour

Needs to be blended. Everyone saying get the whole bonnet painted don't know much about spraying a silver car. If you paint the whole bonnet and bumper, it will stand out from the wings. So blending is the best way to get it spot on, it's common practise on silver cars.

I've just decided to let them do what they recommend.... as long as I don't notice the repair, I'll be happy! Someone who knows / is an expert a out body work is always going to spot a repair!

The only thing I'm going to assist on is - that I get a new performance grill, as there is a small suff!

Car is going in 12th June!