E86 Anti-Perforation Warranty Claim

S

speed12

Member
Hi All,

Well after 6 years of ownership I noticed prior to Christmas that my coupe developed a paint bubble/blister near the rear driver's side arch/ Fuel Filler area. I took it to my local dealer who took a few photos and checked my service history. All okay, car booked in last week with courtesy car provided free of charge (Cannot fault the customer service).

The Dealer informed me that BMW UK would not authorise a full repair (i.e. a replacement panel) which I was a little dissapointed with but accepted that at 11 years old I'd probably settle for a good quality repair free of charge. Anyway, I went to collect the car on Saturday and upon checking the same bubble that was present prior to the repair was there post repair! (see attached image).

I flagged up this to the service rep (body shop was closed on Saturday), They extended my courtesy car until the end of the week (again good service). I just called the bodyshop who tell me that they did a repair but didnt realise that there was a whole through the panel (I would have thought this was obvious given the presence of a bubble), as such the bubble developed post repair. They have now said that they will use a metal filler behind the area to fill the hole and then repaint.

I'm a little concerned as I doubt this repair will last, I treid pushing for a full replacement panel this morning on the grounds that my panel had clearly been perforated from the inside out and that any localised repair is unlikley to last but the Bodyshop manager simply stated that BMW would not replace the panel.

Has anyone else had any claims recently? Perhaps I am being unreasonable for an 11 year old car. The wording on BMW's website does not really go into much detail about what the repair will consist of. sketch-1547982051527.png
 
The fuckers rejected doing my coupe despite the body shop being 99% certain the claim would get accepted. I’m actually glad as you can’t even see it unless you have a magnifying glass up close and like you they said it would only be a repair to the wing if they went ahead.
 
Speaking from experience of my own Coupe - the bumper gap in your picture looks like it is stretched towards the wheel arch, which could mean that the whole lower flange of the rear wing is rusty and is pushing the plastic bracket that holds the bumper away from the panel.

I would not be happy with a bodged repair as your garage is suggesting, but then I'm surprised that they have accepted any claim for repair in the first place (I guess you have water tight BMW service history?). Given that they have started repair I would push back and demand a proper 'metal' repair with a new panel. It is bolt on so in many ways easier for them to prep the new panel off the car and fit it than it is to spend the labour trying to bodge the panel on the car.

I just did this repair on my coupe, replacing the complete NS rear quarter with a better condition second hand panel (inc repaint).

Chris
 
rally-chris said:
Speaking from experience of my own Coupe - the bumper gap in your picture looks like it is stretched towards the wheel arch, which could mean that the whole lower flange of the rear wing is rusty and is pushing the plastic bracket that holds the bumper away from the panel.

I would not be happy with a bodged repair as your garage is suggesting, but then I'm surprised that they have accepted any claim for repair in the first place (I guess you have water tight BMW service history?). Given that they have started repair I would push back and demand a proper 'metal' repair with a new panel. It is bolt on so in many ways easier for them to prep the new panel off the car and fit it than it is to spend the labour trying to bodge the panel on the car.

I just did this repair on my coupe, replacing the complete NS rear quarter with a better condition second hand panel (inc repaint).

Chris
Click to expand...

Thanks Chris, I think I'll send them an email highlighting my concerns with a filler repair and ask whether they will be removing all corrosion from the area as part of the repair.

Yes, I have full BMW service history, which I guess they were happy with.

In regard to the panel gap, I'm concerned that they've tried to left the down this lower panel possibly to gain access to the panel above. Unfortunately I didn't take a close up photo when I dropped the car off but I did take a general photo of the area and to me it looks like the gap was straighter and I can't see any signs of the 'chip' that I highlighted in my previous photo (post repair).

In terms of the repair you did yourself, may I ask what this cost you roughly? I'm at a stage where at 11 years old and 117k miles I'm starting to get tempted with a bigger more comfortable car (640d) so may get rid of the coupe in the next 6 months, but equally I may be sensible and keep my coupe on which basis I'll need to consider proper repairs once the warranty expires.
IMG_20190115_084026.jpg
 
They wouldnt touch mine when it went for a claim for an inner door skin repair, it had has 1 non dealer service who had neglected to tick the bodywork inspection box so flat out refused.... I think its lottery to be honest...
 
speed12 said:
In terms of the repair you did yourself, may I ask what this cost you roughly? I'm at a stage where at 11 years old and 117k miles I'm starting to get tempted with a bigger more comfortable car (640d) so may get rid of the coupe in the next 6 months, but equally I may be sensible and keep my coupe on which basis I'll need to consider proper repairs once the warranty expires.
IMG_20190115_084026.jpg
Click to expand...

Too much...... The panel was about £125 off Ebay and then my body shop bill was about £500 but that also included some cleaning up of the inner wing, blast and powder coating of crash bar, welding and filling the aerial hole and full repaint of the new panel plus blend onto door.

Chris
 
Surely its far quicker and easier to replace the panel and paint than try to remove corrosion and patch the panel?
Would it not possibly be cheaper as well as there would be less labour costs?
 
I've got corrosion coming back through on the hatch...in the same place they repaired it last time.

Got my local dealership to look at it again, and was told I'd have to take it to the original BMW bodyshop that did it previously...which now doesn't exist :headbang:

So they asked me to leave it with them (the claim, not the car), and I'm still waiting an answer.

I'm also waiting for an answer on a warranty claim on a set of mats where the fixings became detached 2 months after buying them, and was told they'd have to submit a warranty claim to BMW and see what they say.

Haven't pushed either at the moment as the car's off the road/SORNed to have some winter/spring work done.
 
Angelus666 said:
I’d just ask them to document the repair with photos as they go through the process.
Click to expand...

This might be a good idea, although I suspect I know what response I'll get. It's strange, part of me feels I should be grateful that they've accepted the claim and part of me thinks f##k it, it's got a 12 year perforation warranty so they should fix it properly.
 
Nictrix said:
Surely its far quicker and easier to replace the panel and paint than try to remove corrosion and patch the panel?
Would it not possibly be cheaper as well as there would be less labour costs?
Click to expand...

Compared to a proper patch repair then I'd guess that yes the labour would be less, however I guess a new panel won't be cheap! I'm in no doubt that they are bodging it with some nasty filler, I don't like it but am conscious of BMW turning around and finding some reason to reject the claim. I guess the fact that they've started means I can stand my ground a little.
 
I personally wouldn't be too bothered. Your motor has covered 117k miles, after all.

We all strive for perfection, but that's rarely achievable. Get the repair done, then see what happens. The repair will come with a warranty of sorts, so if there's any issues, take it back and get them to fix it.
 
I’m surprised they didn’t say it’s due to stone chip. Have you felt up behind to feel for any damage.

Also the lower panel is only plastic so can’t see why they would do anything with that bit.
 
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