Crashed my zed! help!

[schpikster]

Hi again all,

Thanks to all the helpful advice on this forum I topped up the oil and was out driving this evening. Sadly I was enjoying it a bit too much and I took a roundabout too fast with the traction control off (in the wet) and I managed to spin it and ended up side reversing into the central crash barrier at probably around 10-15 mph.

Now it's still dark and im a bit shaken up but having driven the 5 mins home I havent been able to fully inspect the damage. it looks like the rear offside alloy is a bit chipped, and the rear bumper is a bit loose on the offside, obviously with some scuffs and possibly dents, though I couldn't see properly.

I know I need to inspect the damage properly but thought I'd jump on getting it sorted ASAP and so I have a few questions:

1) is it likely the bumper will be able to repaired rather than replaced? if so I assume it would need any dents bashing out and a respray along with re-attaching it. how much is this likely to cost?
2) if I needs replacement, how much should it cost to buy, fit and spray?
3) any idea how much it should cost to refurb/repair the alloy?
4) who should I take it to to get it looked at? a bmw dealer or approved garage? or a body shop?
5) is there anything else that is likely to be damaged? the boot seems ok as does the bodywork above the bumper (as of current nighttime inspection). the front offside alloy has a lot of mud and grass stuck in it from the central reservation but I think it should be ok, though ive no idea really
6) should it be ok to drive to wherever I need to drive it, or should I get someone round to look at it?

thanks in advance all, just fretting about it all as never crashed a car in my life plus worried about getting stung by a dodgy garage, all the while terrified of the cost.

Mike

PS I might stick to keeping the traction control on for a while...

 

[schpikster]

ps I have parking sensors. not tested them but visually they look undamaged.

 

[aquazi]

Ouch... The main thing is you are ok.

Hard to say without pics... But items to check...

The rear suspension prob took a beating, it ita all straight then at a minimum the alignment it out.

Before you drive it further make sure the rear lights are not broken, and still light up.

The bumper is plastic, so deforms pretty easy, if its cracked has bits missing you are better off getting it replaced. Held in place by a plastic bracket, which if loose may have broken... Or it just popped out.... Which is no big deal.



The alloy if just curbed chipped can be refurbed. Again if chunks are missing get it replaced - places to weld repair them but imo you are better off with a new one.




Sent from my iPhone 5s using Tapatalk

 

[schpikster]

Right, up early this morning and washed the rear of the car to get a good look.

There doesn't seem to be any dents or cracks in the bumper, only scrapes. It seems in good shape actually, so perhaps this could be resprayed fairly easily? would need sanding down i expect



the bumper is a bit loose - it pulls out about a centimeter above the wheel arches, and also creates a bit of a gap beneath the headlights



Here's the alloy



All in all i'm a bit relived. On the other hand i've no idea if there's any other damage underneath, e.g. suspension etc (thanks acquazi)

I've not tried the lights yet but will do soon. in the meantime i'm going to phone my local Cooper BMW to see if they'll take a look at it and give me a quote for repair. Any thoughts guys on what i should be looking at for the various items that might need doing? And would you suggest anywhere else to do the work, other than BMW (who i suppose are likely to charge a premium?)

thanks again

Mike

 

[cj10jeeper]

Sorry to hear of the crash, but traction control off in the wet and on an island - seems likely outcome.

irstly bumper needs to come off to assess damage underneath. They are designed to flex and so underneath takes the hit.

Wheel can be refurbed, but tyre shoudl be replaced as inner cords probably crushed/ damaged.

Will need suspension checking and at minimum a full geo setup.

Don't go to BMW they will just sell you a new bumper, wheel and various other bits and give you a minumum £1,000 bill, likely £1,500.

You need a local paint shop for the bodywork and a wheel refurb for the alloy and then garage to check and set everything up.
1 stop alternative is a specilaist accident repair centre.

Good luck

 

[Swiftly]

I am feeling your pain, I had my rear bumper resprayed by BMW a few months ago due to a minor rear end shunt. Minor bumper damage which was filled, reprayed and a new mounting plate was also required I think, cost £420. Alloy repurb could be around the £100 mark depending where you go. Geo setup I think will set you back around £130 from memory.

 

[Stark]

I know a great bodyshop in Ealing, based next to an Indy BMW workshop too, so if you can stand coming over to West London. For eg, he charges £150 to do bumpers, £200 to bonnets, etc, just for an idea to compare with on prices.

 

[Wildfire]

From the pictures, it looks like the bumper can be repaired. Have any of the metal panels been damaged? If not they you're in luck.

The bumper brackets have probably broken. The front ones go quite easily.

The wheel should be an easy fix around £50/60 as long as it's not buckled.

Probably looking at about £150-200 to paint up the bumper and then say £50 in brackets.

 

[andysat]

What made you turn the traction control off in the wet?

 

[shortfuse 2]

hard luck mate .oh well you wont do it next time all the best with the repairs hope they don't costs a arm and a leg

 

[mmm-five]

Well, this was £1700 a a BMW bodyshop...

...and didn't include a new bumper or any wheel repair - just a new wing, repair to bumper and blending.

 

[thepits]

What made you turn the traction control off in the wet?

I feel for you, but ... What made you turn the traction control off ???

 

[Swiftly]

Well, this was £1700 a a BMW bodyshop...

...and didn't include a new bumper or any wheel repair - just a new wing, repair to bumper and blending.

It gets scary, I am shocked at how quick the costs soon mount up

 

[schpikster]

Gagh. Seems like prices can really vary then. Fingers crossed the damage to my car goes no deeper than the bumper.

Had some guys at work look at the car today; both seemed to think I'll hopefully be ok with just a respray and a couple of clips - perhaps with a new mounting for the bumper. I'll get my local coopers bmw to look at it at yhe weekend to check for mechanical damage and maybe even quote for the bodywork repair, but will probably look elsewhere for the bodywork as I get the impression it's likely to be cheaper.

Oh, and I turned the traction control off as there was nothing on the roads and I wanted to kick the back end about a bit (which I assumed both correctly and foolhardedly that it would be easier in the wet), which was going well until I overcooked it at that roundabout. Yes, I'm an idiot. On reflection I'm just glad it was relatively sedate when I finally hit the barrier - could have been a lot worse.

 

[Stark]

My rear shunt, as below cost £3800. Bumper, rear boot lid, bar behind bumper, badges, labour etc

 

[schpikster]

Thanks for all your help guys. Will let you know the result!

 

[schpikster]

Right, booked into Coopers BMW tomorrow for a bodywork estimate, free health check (which in tandem should flag up any issues with the car) and if all looks ok, an MOT, which is due within the next 2 weeks anyway so thought I may as well as I'm taking the car there anyway.

I won't get them to do any work (apart from the MOT maybe) before running through the estimate with some friends and probably posting some stuff on the forum. In the meantime is there anything I should be wary of them trying to fob me off with (particularly with regard to the health check which I'm afraid is just going to provide them with excuses to feed me loads of nonsense) that I can instantly dismiss?

 

[cj10jeeper]

Be aware that it could well fail the mot on loose bodywork given how the bumper pulls away. Depends on how the tester feels.

 

[schpikster]

thanks for the tip. I'll ask their advice before I get them to do the MOT - if they think it will fail I'll postpone it til it's fixed.

 

[schpikster]

Back from Coopers. MOT pass, winter health check no issues apart from low tread on rear tyres, which I knew already and was planning to replace them shortly anyway.

They have said they don't anticipate any damage beyond the bumper having inspected the car, so the only required work will be a bumper repair and respray. This will require taking the bumper off, obviously, and also replacing the bumper mounting. They have quoted me £950 inc VAT (!) though they immediately dropped it to £850 when said I didn't believe it!

Breakdown (approx figures) as follows:

Labour - panel / mechanical, 3.5hrs, £160+VAT half of this time is allocated to removing and re-attaching the bumper, with only 2 hrs devoted to repair
Labour - paintwork - 4.3hrs, £215 +VAT
Paint& sundries cost = £165+VAT
Parts - rear L & rear R bumper attachment, £35+Vat each = £70+VAT. Bumper Carrier £50+VAT
Extras - EPA charge (disposal of broken bits) - £10+VAT, Parking sensor reset - £100+VAT

They said they can't refurb my alloys as they are split rims (108s) and the only option is to get them replaced (ha!)

So apart from the alloy nonsense, does any of the above look excessive or unreasonable? Am I likely to get as good a job (or better) by going elsewhere?
What has been good about this exercise is that i've got a full breakdown of parts numbers required which would make other dealers' jobs easier I suppose.

Mike