[stormlv]

It happened this morning while going to work...

As I was overtaking a truck, he decided that it would be a good time to go left.
He hit me on my rear right side (with his front bumper). He only used the blinkers as he already started pulling on his steering wheel.

Had to involve the police as he didn't want to admit that it was his fault.




I took it today to my dealer. They told me that the damage to the rear panel was pretty big and they don't know if the'll manage to repair it or get a new one.

They said the geometry/alignment needs to be checked as well since they also hit the rear right tire (although the rim itself wasn't touched)...

The also told me that they'll have to repaint the whole right side of the car. (door included - even though that wasn't touched). Is this the usual procedure in situations like this?

[Fronzdan]

Oh man, sorry to see/read this! I always get nervous passing trucks, especially when they are pretty much taking up more than a lane already.

Painting the whole side may not be necessary, and I understand your concern there. Why repaint what the factory did perfectly and what looks to be untouched? It's likely they are worried about color matching. But maybe they'll let you do just the damaged panels first, then see if it looks fine.

Definitely get the alignment checked. He clearly nailed your tire.

[stormlv]

Originally Posted by Fronzdan

Oh man, sorry to see/read this! I always get nervous passing trucks, especially when they are pretty much taking up more than a lane already.

Painting the whole side may not be necessary, and I understand your concern there. Why repaint what the factory did perfectly and what looks to be untouched? It's likely they are worried about color matching. But maybe they'll let you do just the damaged panels first, then see if it looks fine.

Definitely get the alignment checked. He clearly nailed your tire.

Yeah, sucks a bit.
I'm also thinking there's a potentially diminished re-sale value after this :|

On the bright side, I'm driving a manual 335xi loaner for a few days

[Halsifer]

Originally Posted by stormlv

I took it today to my dealer. They told me that the damage to the rear panel was pretty big and they don't know if the'll manage to repair it or get a new one.

They said the geometry/alignment needs to be checked as well since they also hit the rear right tire (although the rim itself wasn't touched)...

The also told me that they'll have to repaint the whole right side of the car. (door included - even though that wasn't touched). Is this the usual procedure in situations like this?

Yes, this is typical procedure. They will first see if the part can be molded out back to it's original form. If the damage is too much and the metal will be too weak, they will replace with an OEM part. The alignment should be checked anyways because another car still did come in contact with your car.

And yes, it is usual proceedure to paint the whole side. They did this with my Audi before and I had similar damage, shown below. It cost around $4000-$5000 dollars for a full repair, the result being beyond satisfactory. They have to paint the side because there is a good chance you will have mismatched paint colors then, and your car would probably look bad in the right light/angle.

Plus, you got yourself the Estoril Blue. If I recall correctly, this is one of their hardest colors to match. I would not veto painting the whole right side of the car because if you do, and it turns out looking bad and you don't like it, theres a chance you will end up having to pay out of pocket.

Originally Posted by stormlv

Yeah, sucks a bit.
I'm also thinking there's a potentially diminished re-sale value after this :|

Yes, there will be diminished re-sale value, especially if you trade it in at a dealer. They have a device that can tell specifically what parts have been repainted, lowering the value of the vehicle.

I would not try claiming diminished re-sale value loss. It's a waste of time and you will most likely not get anything out of it. The only times it truly works if you bring the person to small claims court, and you need to prove that your car was and is currently up for sale and you would like to be reimbursed for the diminished value (a value concluded by an approved vehicle appraiser) by the person who hit you. My guess is you are not currently selling the vehicle, so I wouldn't try it. Yes, it sucks, but accidents happen every day to thousands of people out there.

Sorry for the accident, by the way. It's a pain in the ass and I know that churning gut feeling when your look at your vehicle and feel disappointed...

[stormlv]

@Halsifer

Thank you for all the comments - sorry to see you also had something similar :|

[falar]

Originally Posted by stormlv

It happened this morning while going to work...

As I was overtaking a truck, he decided that it would be a good time to go left.
He hit me on my rear right side (with his front bumper). He only used the blinkers as he already started pulling on his steering wheel.

Had to involve the police as he didn't want to admit that it was his fault.




I took it today to my dealer. They told me that the damage to the rear panel was pretty big and they don't know if the'll manage to repair it or get a new one.

They said the geometry/alignment needs to be checked as well since they also hit the rear right tire (although the rim itself wasn't touched)...

The also told me that they'll have to repaint the whole right side of the car. (door included - even though that wasn't touched). Is this the usual procedure in situations like this?

It is pretty common for them to want to repaint entire panels or sides of a vehicle in situations like this. The alignment definitely needs to be checked as well.

[DJ Rocc]

Man sorry to hear about this, hope it gets fixed soon!

[GOLFFRR]

[mike@x-ph.com]

Sucks

[bily]

Sorry to hear. Rear QP damage sucks because the panels are large and more susceptible to waves if repaired and there is lots of cutting and welding with new metal. Either way I feel your pain.

As for the paint as others have stated it's necessary to match the color.

[Fat Panda]

Painting the whole side of the car is normal. They need to blend the paint with the old, in order to do that the paint the whole side. Otherwise you'll have a freshly painted panel that will have a different shade compared to the rest of the car.

[KellerKiller]

+1.

The metallic paint is a bitch to blend apparently. I had some chips close to the side edge of my hood fixed. They repainted part of the fender to make sure it all blended properly.

[stormlv]

Thanks for the comments.

Let's hope that the car will look "as new" when it comes out of the shop.
I'll post pictures

[stormlv]

I got it back



Everything seems ok

[Danman5666]

Good stuff!

[alien]

Wow, that looks perfect

[Dr.HiTcH]

Originally Posted by alien

Wow, that looks perfect

congratulations man the car looks perfect

[Pauleebe]

That was pretty fast for body work too.

Congrats!

[Fronzdan]

Looks good from here. How's it look up close? Glad you have it back!

[rjpeaks]

sorry to hear man.
but the repair looks great.

[delia]

That was fast! Last time I had something like this, the dealership took 2-3 weeks to fix. Great to hear yours got fixed nice and quickly. Whats the situation with the truck driver since it's obviously his fault.

[Need4Speed_Motorsports]