[Hausmeister Florian]

Hey all,

Had an unfortunate incident when a valet driver while backing up the car scratched the rear quarter panel. All in all, its not too bad, but the paint is gone. It has been a little over 2 months though and no rust, so im guessing that the galvanised coat/ rust protection is still in place. To repair, BMW is charging over 1,000 Euros to replace the quarter panel. I think that since it still hasn't rusted It should be fine with touch up.

Have attached some pics here, please let me know what you guys think and how you would go about it. Shitty valet company didn't take liability as they per contract, they are not liable to damages while in possession of the car. Have still contacted a lawyer, and we'll see what happens. But in the mean time, cost is on me and I want you guys' opinions on what you would do.

Thanks a lot!

[chiefneil]

Ouch that sucks.

The type of repair depends on the car and what you ultimately plan on doing with it. If it was a 10 year old car, sure I’d go with paintless dent repair and touch up paint and call it a day. If it’s a lease, I’d have my insurance cover whatever the bodyshop wanted to do, which would likely be replacing the panel as you noted and fresh paint plus blending.

If you own the car and are gonna keep it another 10 years and really need to save a penny, then give it the 10 year old car treatment I mention above. If you own the car and are planning on selling it privately in the next few years (vs a trade in to a dealer), then pick either solution depending on the quality of your ethics and your disclosure plans.

There’s also a middle ground where you might be able to find a body shop to pull the dent and fix/blend that spot for you. Not ideal, but better than a DIY with touch up paint.

[BrettKA7]

They shouldn't have to remove & replace a quarter panel that can clearly be reshaped unless there is significant stretching or cut metal that isn't visible in the pic.

However, this is a $2,000+ repair, easily. Frankly, if you're not willing to fix it right either paying full cost or through insurance, why do you have a newer car and not a beater? Or maybe we have different definitions of what touch up means, as it sounds like you want to just dab some paint on it from a bottle.

My recommendation for factory-like paint is to find a local Aston Martin authorized body repair facility who will fix your BMW. Aston Martin has extremely high standards and works directly with body shops in developing new paint systems. They make sure every body shop hey certify can match color and texture, which go hand in hand in ensuring it looks like nothing happened.

[Billfitz]

Replacing the quarter panel is insane. A good body shop will be able to pull the dent, fill it and paint it in a day. The bumper can be filled as well, there is a product made for just that purpose.

[Kailec]

I'd be interested to see how well it's fixed if they pull the dent and fill. This also reminds me why I don't like valet parking..lol

[Hausmeister Florian]

Thanks a lot for the quick replies guys! Its my own car, and since its rather new, I would actually like to fix it better than just using a can of touch up paint and a paintbrush. Rather would prefer what Billfitz suggested in having the dent pulled, filled and painted.

It might just be me, but I think paying 2000 bucks for such a small repair is quite steep. Any ideas how much such a repair job should actually cost, if its just pulled, filled and painted?

[Billfitz]

Figure six to eight hours labor. That's how long it would take me. It would take only an hour to hour and a half to have it paint ready. They might want to keep it overnight to allow the clear coat curing time under lamps before rubbing it out. That's what I'd do. Material cost will be minimal. A shop that regularly works on BMWs will have enough paint on hand to do that small area. Blending the paint into the existing finish is the most difficult part, but that's much easier when the paint isn't metallic.

[Hausmeister Florian]

Originally Posted by Billfitz

Figure six to eight hours labor. That's how long it would take me. It would take only an hour to hour and a half to have it paint ready. They might want to keep it overnight to allow the clear coat curing time under lamps before rubbing it out. That's what I'd do. Material cost will be minimal. A shop that regularly works on BMWs will have enough paint on hand to do that small area. Blending the paint into the existing finish is the most difficult part, but that's much easier when the paint isn't metallic.

Yeah that's the kind of time I had in mind as well. Do you have any pointers to the kind of price I should be looking for when approaching bodyshops?

[FastF30]

Call a mobile dent repair.... they'll do it paintless and then blend it... dealerships use them all the time...

[Billfitz]

Originally Posted by Hausmeister Florian

Do you have any pointers to the kind of price I should be looking for when approaching bodyshops?

Half what a BMW dealer quotes you.

[vooonoo]

Replace it all, the valet better be paying for it