It was in a busy crowded hospital car park...There was a 10" long scratch on right side of his back bumper, right behind the back tyre. It is a very narrow scratch. But you can see my car's paint left on the 56 reg silver BMW. There was absolutely no dent or anything like that.
The owner said he could give me a quote from a garage before claiming from my insurance. I couldn't decide whether to pay the bill or to let him claim from my insurance.
Has anyone experienced this before? Any suggestions? Roughly how much this would cost?
Any help will be appreciated!
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From the description of the scratch it sounds like it could be easily repaired by someone like Halfords or one of the many mobile scratch repair companies. I'd say about £100 to repair.
If he goes to a BMW garage then the cost is likely to be much more than that. In the mean time, pop to your local Halfords and ask them for a ball park figure.
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>It is a very narrow scratch. But you can see my car's paint left on the 56 reg silver BMW.
Sounds like it might even polish out so it should be tens rather than hundreds.
Kevin...
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I had a silver BMW which sufferef a scratch on the back bumper in a car park. Obviously the culprit didn't leave their details so I got it repaired at the local paint shop at my expense. It wasn't possible to locally repaint the scratch as metallic silver is a difficult colour to match and I wanted a perfect job, so the whole bumper was repainted. Total cost was 250 Euros and it was impossible to tell that it had been repaired. I don't know what it would have cost at a BMW dealer but I don't believe they would have been able to do a better job.
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My experience is that bodyshops who specialise in paint and bodywork repairs are invariably better value and quality than dealers. Certainly several dealers in this area, farm most of their work out to bodyshops, rather than taking the work on themselves (no doubt applying an override fee on top).
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It's a bumper! That's what they're for (or used to be)...
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It's a bumper!
No it isn't. It's the equivalent of leg warmers or a pair of ornate net tights, and about as functionally useful.
Why don't people complain more about this design practice, whose transparent intention is to provide a flow of car owners' money to the aftermarket? Because they are idiots and fancy themselves in net tights, that's why.
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So far most of your replies seem to hope that -you- will be able to choose the company who repairs this damage. We had a recent post ref a (Scenic?) with keyed damage, which sounds similar, and the OP was more than satisfied with the repair effected by a "chipsaway" (tks fullchat) company. However, i think you will find that the BMW owner will reserve the right to choose their own repair company, which most, if not all of the BR's would also claim to be their right if they owned said BMW.
I would contact a company like chipsaway to get a best estimate and then use the info in any negotiations with the BMW owner should they insist on an excessively expensive repair.
( Especially for plastic bumpers, even main dealers use these "light damage" companies, and if the BMW owner is a reasonable person, [who may not be aware of these companies], hopefully you will be able to reach a satisfactory agreement)
and don't forget to let us know if you are happy with the outcome - we need our faith restoring sometimes !
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My dad took his Z4 to the BMW approved bodyshop to get the rear quarter resprayed following it getting keyed and I think it was only about £350.
I know it's hardly small change, but I know that for me it would be cheaper than losing my NCB!
Let us know what happens.
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A kind and generous soul scraped the bumper of my 08 325D in a retail/leisure car park. There was no metal displacement. Alas, the modesty of my good Samaritan did not permit him or her the luxury of self identification.
BMW relieved me of £320 to repair it. I think they painted the whole bumper though my untrained eye could not tell. It was off the road for three days during which time I got around on the bus, and walked.
Thank you, my Christian fellow.
Well done you for doing the decent thing.
Edited by Ubi on 11/03/2009 at 06:28
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The claim has to be reasonable and if his BMW repair is OTT . . . . . . . .
How old was the BMW?
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Getting out on the passenger side in an old Merc, opened the door hard and bumped the door against a Ka in the next space. Inspected the damage, left a note saying that I would pay personally for repair. Came to £150 in the end. Would suggest you get an independent valuation for the repair and then decide whether you want to kill your NCB.
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Good song lyric...................
"I scratched a BMW and I liked it"
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It?s a sentiment I've noticed before. If a BMW is damaged then it is no more than its owner deserves.
Fascinating world.
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Are we really discussing £300 or so to touch up part of the car that is intended to take the odd scrape? My bumpers have a few, mostly self-inflicted, marks, although the largest was recently acquired from a third party in a car-park. I shall polish the worst of it out, and make with the touch-up paint or lipstick, as appropriate. It will not be noticeable from more than a couple of yards.
This is wear and tear, like road chippings and brambles in hedges. Just because it's a BMW does not make it a hanging offence, or anything that requires more than the apology that I'm sure the OP has already expressed.
Edited by J Bonington Jagworth on 11/03/2009 at 12:32
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If I had a 56 reg BMW, I wouldn't be using Chipsaway. I've had two repairs from two different Chipsaway operators and neither job was perfect by a long way. Acceptable maybe on a three year old non-prestige make.
The second Chipsaway chap actually told me he had turned away a nearly new silver Mercedes as he would be unable to do it to the required standard.
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Firstly what type of insurance do you have i.e. is your NCB protected? If not you may find that you do not loose all your NCB but just 1 or 2 years.
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I don't really have anything against BMW as a whole, although the Z4 always reminds me of a Z3 that's run into the back of a van at 15 mph and also been rolled!
Edited by Sofa Spud on 11/03/2009 at 16:25
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