Frozen Repair!

[Sladester100]

Howdy.

Im after some advice please. Whilst parked away from home someone has reversed into my drivers door

The damage is minimal but there is a minor scuff, a small chip and the panel has a small crease in it too.
On the plus side; He left a note with another neighbour as he didn’t know it was my car so details have now been passed across… He has also been very apologetic.

But what to do now. I’ve read and watched videos about repairing the frozen pain (particularly the orange) and effectively from what I’ve seen it’s nigh on impossible to get a good repair. Anyone had any experience? Or should I be pushing for a replacement panel? In which case insurance seems the way to go as I imagine the cost for that would be high…

I’ll post pics when it’s not super sunny and reflecting

[Chippie]

It wasn’t your fault, go for a new panel whether they pay or go through insurance

[Tom2207]

It wasn’t your fault, go for a new panel whether they pay or go through insurance

Thats what insurance is for

[Argyll Andy]

That’s a buggar!!! I hope you get it fixed whatever route you go down. At least the other party owned up

I think your problem with a replacement panel may be finding somewhere who can paint frozen paint (properly) I know for definite of one case where a large BMW paint shop who couldn’t paint frozen black and tried to outsource it. Indy paint shop could paint to acceptable standard either

[Nanu]

The least to expect is that your car in back to the same standard as it was before the accident. Their insurance should foot the bill.

[ori]

It depends on the damage to the panel. That may be the least of the problems as it’s hard to get a good frozen paint repair.

I would take it to BMW and get them to quote for it. If the job is sub par you have someone to bash, but I would assume that half the car will be be painted to get the right finish on that one panel.

Good luck!

[buzyg]

Good to read there are still honest folk in thee world. Sounds like insurance is the way to go, or your unlikely to come away 100% happy.

[Beedub]

speaking from experience ( professional PPF installer )

if your going to go for a frozen colour .... PPF the complete car in the stealth finish film... matching these frozen finishes is extremely difficult. PPF is expensive , this is one of the few paint finishes where its almost necessary to protect the investment.

[Obs-Com]

Would definitely go via BMW body shop and insurance. Frozen paint is tricky but don’t panic. I’ve been reliably informed the newer metallic frozen matte paint is easier to work with than older matte paints.

Big Jim is a newish member and a recent convert to the stunning finish of the Metallic Matte Frozen Orange. I understand that Lloyd BMW Blackpool painted the front bumper due to stone chip damage prior to purchase. He was so happy with the finish he bought the car!

Sorry for the hassle caused for you but it will be really interesting and helpful if you will keep all us Frozen Owners updated of your repair and outcome. You never know, it might surprise some of the matte paint scaremongers!

[Sladester100]

Thank for the replies.

It makes sense to go insurance as I would want the repair to be as good as possible aka back to pre incident as someone above mentioned.

I’ve tried to take pics in different lights (which I’ll share for your perusal) but the mark doesn’t come out in it. It’s also very minor but there is definitely a crease to the panel too. Also a pic of how far into the space I was! Haha

I don’t think there’s any damage to the sill area at least so isolated to just the door.

He’s already told his insurance company but nothing processed as yet. I guess I’ll go to one of the BMW body shops locally and get a quote for a door panel respray/replacement… when I don’t have covid

[captainchadl]

Just be sure to get it fixed by a bmw certified body shop and you will be alright. My car had the entire front bumper replaced and repainted because of damage from the dealership lot before I purchased it. I can't tell anything ever happened to it. Mine has the frozen grey metallic 2. There is absolutely no difference in color. It all blends in nicely. I like my frozen paint, super easy to take care of too.

[BigDave]

Obs-com,,, its actually Big Dave,,, me,,,,, that bought the frozen orange car recently, but ill let you off the slip..
Anyway, my car which i bought from Lloyds South Lakes dealership, did have some paintwork before i bought it.
Apparently the front bumper was painted, to get rid of stone chips from the first owner.
Now i hadnt seen the car proir to paint, but all i can say is , if the sales man hadnt told me , i would never have know it had been done...
It does look like original paint, the car is a 2019 plate car, so aprox 3 years old...

I was told that they got the car done locally, it was at a paint shop "recognised" by BMW, and as far as im aware not done at the dealership...
They were obviously well aware of the paint matching issues...

Hope you manage to get your car sorted out ...

Dave W.

[captainchadl]

I was told that they got the car done locally, it was at a paint shop "recognised" by BMW, and as far as im aware not done at the dealership...
They were obviously well aware of the paint matching issues...

Yes I agree with @BigDave as long as it is recognized by BMW you will be good. Really all you would need to do is take it to the dealer and they will send it to the correct body shop that can handle the work. It is very easy to read what all the nay-sayers are saying on the forums about how difficult frozen paint is to take care of, color match, ect.... but in my opinion it is not so. They probably have a recipe/color code that is input in a computer and mixes the correct ratio of colors to the original.

[curvature]

Not frozen paint but I recently bought my E86 weekend car and after less than a week of ownership was hit my a Mini.

The car needed a new xenon headlamp and the bumper painting. I insisted that it went to my local BMW dealership having had a good experience a few years back.

The car had a replacement bumper and I also got them to paint the drivers side front wing as it had a couple of deep stone chips. I'm really pleased with the result and you would never be able to tell.

[Obs-Com]

Obs-com,,, its actually Big Dave,,, me,,,,, that bought the frozen orange car recently, but ill let you off the slip..
Anyway, my car which i bought from Lloyds South Lakes dealership, did have some paintwork before i bought it.
Apparently the front bumper was painted, to get rid of stone chips from the first owner.
Now i hadnt seen the car proir to paint, but all i can say is , if the sales man hadnt told me , i would never have know it had been done...
It does look like original paint, the car is a 2019 plate car, so aprox 3 years old...

I was told that they got the car done locally, it was at a paint shop "recognised" by BMW, and as far as im aware not done at the dealership...
They were obviously well aware of the paint matching issues...

Hope you manage to get your car sorted out ...

Dave W.

Apologies, I meant Dave not Jim and Lloyd South Lakes not Blackpool

I was 60 on Thursday and everything my wife is saying about me is obviously true!