Rear-ended: Take it to dealership bodyshop or 3rd party shop?

smellygas · 04-13-2007, 06:49 PM

Hey, just wanted your guys' opinion. I was rear-ended by some punk-ass Chevy Astro, which left moderate dents to my trunk, rear side panels, and jacked up my bumper.

So the question is - should I have the bodyshop associated with my BMW dealership do the repair (given their experience with BMW's) or to a 3rd party shop recommended by my insurance company. The benefit of going through the 3rd party shop is I don't have to go through the hassle of getting an estimate, getting insurance approval, and risk not having complete compensation for the repair...plus the 3rd party shop's quality and completion date would be guaranteed.

SG

TiAg335i · 04-13-2007, 07:08 PM

Um, the dealership work will be shoddy at best. That's all I can tell you.

If the 3rd party shop has a great reputation I would go for them.

magmd · 04-13-2007, 08:08 PM

3rd party body shop would be fine as long as you can trust the quality of the work.

You may even be able to get the shop to order the Mtech kit and blacklines as the replacement parts since its all OEM

smellygas · 04-14-2007, 01:26 PM

Awesome, thanks for the advice. Now how am I supposed to find out which 3rd party body shops have a good reputation? Does it matter that they work on a lot of BMW's, or not really?

SG

prolix21 · 04-15-2007, 10:50 AM

i'd go third party as well, when i was in college i had a camry and had some bodywork done @ a dealer and the paint job was terrible. orange peel would be putting it politely, it looked more like sandpaper

i had my tsx broken into and i opted to go with the shop progressive recommended and it actually turned out great. it was just a small bodyshop, family owned, and they did really great work. seemed to mostly do work on euro imports, had a brand new spraybooth and really clean and nice shop.

unfortunately i have no idea how to seek out these places, other than by asking people in your area. if nobody here (from SF) can help, perhaps try craigslist forums? i've done that a few times here in town seeking out shops for various work and you get some decent feedback. then you may want to go visit the shops and check out their place and work.

magmd · 04-15-2007, 01:45 PM

Ask some of the Norcal group. I am sure many must have gotten bumpers, kits, lips, etc painted up there by some local shop. Someone must know of a decent shop. The main thing...make sure they have worked on plenty of E90s and you should be good to go.

FotiosF90M5 · 04-15-2007, 01:51 PM

the dealership is most likely going to send it out to their bodyshop which probably is a third party.

scubajag · 04-15-2007, 04:54 PM

Disaagree with the above. It depends entirely on your dealer. In my area there is fierce competition between dealers. It so happens that the dealership I do business with has an excellent bodyshop and uses only factory BMW parts. If you are not paying for it, go with the dealership. If you are not happy with the result, let the dealership do it over. YOU are the customer.

darkcloud · 04-15-2007, 05:58 PM

Well I was rear ended in december. My dealership did not have a body shop and I had to go 3rd party. I took my car that is the certified repair shop for the other BMW dealership in my area. I was unfortunately the first person with a E90 they repaired. Be extremely picky! Unless the shop has repaired a rear ended E90 they'll miss a lot of things. My trunk was misaligned, interior trunk panels as well, the passanger rear door was not aligned, the gas door was not aligned, I had a rattle due to one of the missalignments, and now that I put in 19' rims I found out they didn't roll the fender lip like the rest of the fender wells. It took me 3 trips to get everything perfect but it is now as perfect as I can get it.

klinkerklu · 04-18-2007, 01:29 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by magmd

Ask some of the Norcal group. I am sure many must have gotten bumpers, kits, lips, etc painted up there by some local shop. Someone must know of a decent shop. The main thing...make sure they have worked on plenty of E90s and you should be good to go.

Just saw your thread
...check out http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46360

I don't know if Auto Europa is on your insurance list of "approved" places but they worked miracles for us.
Great paint shop too.
Anyway, if you are limited to insurance recommended, call their shops and talk to the guys to get a better feel for their work.

04-13-2007, 06:49 PM	#1
smellygas Private First Class 13 Rep 142 Posts Drives: '06 325i (very soon) Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA iTrader: (0)	Rear-ended: Take it to dealership bodyshop or 3rd party shop? Hey, just wanted your guys' opinion. I was rear-ended by some punk-ass Chevy Astro, which left moderate dents to my trunk, rear side panels, and jacked up my bumper. So the question is - should I have the bodyshop associated with my BMW dealership do the repair (given their experience with BMW's) or to a 3rd party shop recommended by my insurance company. The benefit of going through the 3rd party shop is I don't have to go through the hassle of getting an estimate, getting insurance approval, and risk not having complete compensation for the repair...plus the 3rd party shop's quality and completion date would be guaranteed. SG
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04-13-2007, 07:08 PM	#2
TiAg335i Trance Life 315 Rep 4,706 Posts Drives: 2007 E92 335i Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Long Island, NY iTrader: (4)	Um, the dealership work will be shoddy at best. That's all I can tell you. If the 3rd party shop has a great reputation I would go for them.
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04-13-2007, 08:08 PM	#3
magmd Major General 160 Rep 5,271 Posts Drives: '06 330i Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Torrance, CA iTrader: (13) Garage List 2006 330i [0.00]	3rd party body shop would be fine as long as you can trust the quality of the work. You may even be able to get the shop to order the Mtech kit and blacklines as the replacement parts since its all OEM __________________ 2006 330i \| Black Sapphire Metallic \| Step Auto \| Navi with iDr \| Sports Pkg \|OEM Rear Spoiler \| 3M CS35 Tint \| H&R Sport Springs \| Koni Yellows \| Advan RS Racing Hypersilver: 19x9 et22 19x10 et20
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04-14-2007, 01:26 PM	#4
smellygas Private First Class 13 Rep 142 Posts Drives: '06 325i (very soon) Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA iTrader: (0)	Awesome, thanks for the advice. Now how am I supposed to find out which 3rd party body shops have a good reputation? Does it matter that they work on a lot of BMW's, or not really? SG
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04-15-2007, 10:50 AM	#5
prolix21 Second Lieutenant 30 Rep 233 Posts Drives: 2020 BMW X3 xDrive30i Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Fort Collins iTrader: (1) Garage List 2006 330i zsp (sold) [0.00] 2020 X3 xDrive30i [0.00]	i'd go third party as well, when i was in college i had a camry and had some bodywork done @ a dealer and the paint job was terrible. orange peel would be putting it politely, it looked more like sandpaper i had my tsx broken into and i opted to go with the shop progressive recommended and it actually turned out great. it was just a small bodyshop, family owned, and they did really great work. seemed to mostly do work on euro imports, had a brand new spraybooth and really clean and nice shop. unfortunately i have no idea how to seek out these places, other than by asking people in your area. if nobody here (from SF) can help, perhaps try craigslist forums? i've done that a few times here in town seeking out shops for various work and you get some decent feedback. then you may want to go visit the shops and check out their place and work.
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04-15-2007, 01:45 PM	#6
magmd Major General 160 Rep 5,271 Posts Drives: '06 330i Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Torrance, CA iTrader: (13) Garage List 2006 330i [0.00]	Ask some of the Norcal group. I am sure many must have gotten bumpers, kits, lips, etc painted up there by some local shop. Someone must know of a decent shop. The main thing...make sure they have worked on plenty of E90s and you should be good to go. __________________ 2006 330i \| Black Sapphire Metallic \| Step Auto \| Navi with iDr \| Sports Pkg \|OEM Rear Spoiler \| 3M CS35 Tint \| H&R Sport Springs \| Koni Yellows \| Advan RS Racing Hypersilver: 19x9 et22 19x10 et20
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04-15-2007, 01:51 PM	#7
FotiosF90M5 ///M Specialist South Shore BMW 770 Rep 7,108 Posts Drives: 2021 M5 Comp BHG/Silverstone Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: South Shore, MA iTrader: (62)	the dealership is most likely going to send it out to their bodyshop which probably is a third party. __________________ 2021 M5 COMPETITION LCI Brands Hatch Gray on SIlverstone, carbon roof, comp wheels, Mperf splitter, carbon pro spoiler, carbon diffuser , carbon paddles, executive pkg. Dinan HAS, RaceChip, dinan spacers, FC stud kit, etc
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04-15-2007, 04:54 PM	#8
scubajag Scuba-JAG 24 Rep 528 Posts Drives: Jet Black 2006&07 B.R. E-92 Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: St. Petersburg, Fl iTrader: (0)	Disaagree with the above. It depends entirely on your dealer. In my area there is fierce competition between dealers. It so happens that the dealership I do business with has an excellent bodyshop and uses only factory BMW parts. If you are not paying for it, go with the dealership. If you are not happy with the result, let the dealership do it over. YOU are the customer.
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04-15-2007, 05:58 PM	#9
darkcloud Colonel 335 Rep 2,385 Posts Drives: 09 VW JSW Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: cleveland, oh iTrader: (2) Garage List 2006 325i [0.00]	Well I was rear ended in december. My dealership did not have a body shop and I had to go 3rd party. I took my car that is the certified repair shop for the other BMW dealership in my area. I was unfortunately the first person with a E90 they repaired. Be extremely picky! Unless the shop has repaired a rear ended E90 they'll miss a lot of things. My trunk was misaligned, interior trunk panels as well, the passanger rear door was not aligned, the gas door was not aligned, I had a rattle due to one of the missalignments, and now that I put in 19' rims I found out they didn't roll the fender lip like the rest of the fender wells. It took me 3 trips to get everything perfect but it is now as perfect as I can get it. __________________ retired 06 E90 325i New: 09 VW Platinum Grey Jetta Sportwagen 2.0T SEL w/DSG, panoramic sunroof and Ipod adapter
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