[rjm8282]

At work last week, one of my colleagues decided to back into me, I was not pleased to say the least! On inspection, as I rub my finger across I can feel a dint, its like a crease. Its hard to see on the photos.....

Any ideas where to go to get this fixed, trying not to go through insurance for his sake. I'm going to Coopers Reading just to get a quote from them.

[steve-p]

I wouldn't try to get it done on the cheap - any sign of a car being repainted raises questions for a buyer about how much damage was actually repaired, so can affect resale. I would make sure the repairer is BMW approved. Coopers may have their own bodyshop, if not Dick Lovett have an approved bodyshop in Swindon. They replaced and repaired my bumper when someone reversed into it and the cost was several hundred including loan car for three days. Using the correct paint and procedure I don't think it can be done in a day.

[rjm8282]

Hi,

Thanks matey, I agree with you. BMW Woods in Hook, Hampshire have said its probably going to be around £80 to £100 for repair, as its a local repair. So i'm going to get done with them. Anymore then I'll go through his insurance.

[E90Yaz]

Originally Posted by rjm8282

Hi,

Thanks matey, I agree with you. BMW Woods in Hook, Hampshire have said its probably going to be around £80 to £100 for repair, as its a local repair. So i'm going to get done with them. Anymore then I'll go through his insurance.

Surely ur colleague should hav the decency to pay??

[rjm8282]

Yeah he is, although he asked if he could pay me after christmas. Reason being he needs to buy xmas presents, I'm like, well so do I!

[SiKkBaSs]

Thats fine. Just use a

[doughboy]

A proper 'approved' repair will be a plastic weld or fill / prep and full bumper respray for about £400 to £500 at least.

If they are quoting £80 to £100 that will be bodge SMART repair like 'chips away' or similar. which will never look right.

It looks so minor i wouldn't even bother, you'll probably get another parking dint in a few months.

Get a quote, get the money off your mate then keep it to get it repaired before you sell and fix the other marks you'll have by then.....

[rjm8282]

I hear what doughboy is saying, but this is from a genuine BMW dealer, I can't see how this has anything to do with chipsaway or bodge repair, surly this is BMW competitive pricing. Also doughboy, a new bumper is not far from the price you quoted?

[trixman]

Yea I had my bumper resprayed for £200 and from a very highly recommended guy. Mind u, throw in any fix that needs doing too and who knows (they wanted £150 to repair a small problem so won't be too far off)

[edowen]

as said - 80-100 is a "smart" or "chipsaway" company used by the dealer (they pay about 40-60 as they will give them a lot of business.

If it was only the paint, this can be done effectively, but as you have a crease, it will require filler, and could easily end up looking very shit.

[rjm8282]

Hi all,

Thanks for this info, Doughboy I take it back. I never realised how expensive this stuff is. I'll wait for BMW to get back to me with the estimate, and then I'll ask how/who they intend to carry out the repair. If this is the case, I'm contacting my insurance company and getting it done through them, making sure it is a proper repair. I was just trying to help out a colleague!

[rjm8282]

Hi all,

I took my vehicle to Coopers in Reading for a 2nd opinion and the bodyshop engineer came out with me. He said there is a lot more damage than just the crease. The crease is not the point of impact but a affect of the crash. The impact is on the bottom of the bumper and ran his hands across it to feel all the bumps. So I am going through insurance to get this done.

My mate thinks i'm taking him for a ride, but I just bought the vehicle, I want it to be right!

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by rjm8282

Hi all,

I took my vehicle to Coopers in Reading for a 2nd opinion and the bodyshop engineer came out with me. He said there is a lot more damage than just the crease. The crease is not the point of impact but a affect of the crash. The impact is on the bottom of the bumper and ran his hands across it to feel all the bumps. So I am going through insurance to get this done.

My mate thinks i'm taking him for a ride, but I just bought the vehicle, I want it to be right!

If you want a place that does incredible work, but at cheaper rates than BMW and also will handle insurance claims etc, then you should go to Specialised Paintwork in Reading (J12 of M4, behind the Porsche dealer). They are Lotus' official repairer, do a huge amount of restoration work on very expensive classic cars, and have worked on two cars for me with truly amazing results. Contact Carl on 01189306206 and get your car down there for an estimate. He might tell you that there's a more cost effective way of repair than replacing the whole bumper. Tell him I (Tony) sent you

[rjm8282]

Thanks E92Fan,

This was the result of a colleague reversing into me. He has admitted liability so I am not to bothered about the cost as it will go through his insurance company. I was looking at a cheaper option but he can't pay me until after xmas and I would rather just get it sorted.

[fastloop]

Originally Posted by rjm8282

Thanks E92Fan,

This was the result of a colleague reversing into me. He has admitted liability so I am not to bothered about the cost as it will go through his insurance company. I was looking at a cheaper option but he can't pay me until after xmas and I would rather just get it sorted.

Sounds like going through the insurrance company is a good idea. You never know which xmas it may be.

Wanting to do it on the cheap and can't pay until after xmas definitely raises some alarm bells for me, and why should you be the one with all the grief. He might be a colleague and a nice chap, but if not done right you may be stuffed later.

[rjm8282]

Thanks 335rocks,

Your totally right, best to be on the safe side.

The dealer also mentioned that due to the cost of repair, they may just replace the bumper, insurance permitting.

[steve-p]

They might ask you to get three quotes, but you don't have to. Find a repairer that you like rather than the one with the cheapest quote. If they try to tell you that you need three quotes, just insist that you have the right to choose who will do the work on your own vehicle (which you do), and they will give in.

[doughboy]

Originally Posted by rjm8282

Thanks 335rocks,

Your totally right, best to be on the safe side.

The dealer also mentioned that due to the cost of repair, they may just replace the bumper, insurance permitting.

No disrespect to dealers, but they always say that.

They get the mark-up on the new bumper (£500+) then they don't have to do any labour intensive (and skilled) repair work. Just an easy spray on new plastic and a bit of fitting time.

I would give Tony's reccomendation a go, a really GOOD repair shop will do a much better job than any dealer shop.

My Father in law ran a small garage and specialist repair spray shop for 40 years, he's retired now, but still does private repairs on Ferraris and Porsches etc as his skill and finish is better than the dealers can offer. (and 1/2 the price too).

[E92Fan]

Originally Posted by doughboy

No disrespect to dealers, but they always say that.

They get the mark-up on the new bumper (£500+) then they don't have to do any labour intensive (and skilled) repair work. Just an easy spray on new plastic and a bit of fitting time.

I would give Tony's reccomendation a go, a really GOOD repair shop will do a much better job than any dealer shop.

My Father in law ran a small garage and specialist repair spray shop for 40 years, he's retired now, but still does private repairs on Ferraris and Porsches etc as his skill and finish is better than the dealers can offer. (and 1/2 the price too).

Exactly

BMW will always try to take the easy way out, as they make more money that way too! I've yet to see any dealership bodyshop match the quality that the guys in Reading produce.

[rjm8282]

Hey all,

I agree with what you are all saying, and if it was a repair then I would go down this route. But wouldn't a whole new bumper benefit me more than just a repair? And this way I also get a BMW approved certificate of repair for resale value.

Any thoughts???

[Neil McRae]

The last place I'd take a car for body work is a dealership. They are all dreadful in my view. Most insurance quotes won't include the price of parts (in my experience certainly) as the prices of parts changes too often.

I think you are making a mountain out of a molehill too. You can barely notice it, when you trade in no dealer will notice that and most buyers wouldn't notice it either. If it affects your resale value by more than 10p I'd be amazed, compared to the stonechips that people will notice.

If you make a claim through his insurance its going to end up costing you big time come insurance renewal time.

[steve-p]

Originally Posted by Neil McRae

The last place I'd take a car for body work is a dealership. They are all dreadful in my view.

In my personal experience of Dick Lovett who are also Porsche, Ferrari and Aston Martin approved, the repainted area was better than it came out of the factory.

Originally Posted by Neil McRae

If you make a claim through his insurance its going to end up costing you big time come insurance renewal time.

How's that? I did the same thing when someone reversed into my car in the office car park and it cost me nothing at renewal time - all costs were recovered from the third party including the hire car.