Went to two local auto body shops who said quarter panel was damaged and both recommended replacement. Got estimates for $4.5K and $6-7K (lots of labor involved in replacing that panel apparently…)
Haven’t contacted insurance yet but planning to go through them given how expensive the repair is.
Should I let BMWFS know that I’m planning to repair it? Or just let insurance handle it and hope nothing comes up during lease end inspection?
My friend also suggested taking it to a BMW dealer and seeing if they’d just take the damaged vehicle as is w/o penalty since my car is very low mileage (about 10/11K miles under on 3yr/30,000 mile lease). He said the dealer could fix it in-house for cheap and not have the repair show up on the carfax, made it easier for them to resell.
The trick is to find one who is also in-network for your insurance. So cross reference the BMW certified list with your insurance companies list. Any good shop is gonna be busy, could take 2 months to complete.
You should report it to BMWFS as stated in your contract.
Good news is it’s a lease, use your insurance and get it repaired at a respectable body shop, and when the lease is up it’s not your problem.
If you were hoping for positive equity at lease end, it’s gone, if it even ever existed to begin with. Your friend is wrong, 10,000 miles under your limit is not going to offset $5k in damage.
Here is another possiblitly. File the claim with your carrier- see what the damage actually is. Get an inspection from BMW for turn in and see what the charges are for the damage. If it is less than a cash settlement from your carrier-- you could turn in with damage and not go with the hastle of getting it fixed.
From prior experience the lease turn in is charged per pannel. Damage from lease end charges are usually significantly less than actual body shop charges. You may be able to break even or possibly come out ahead without the 3-4 week repair and missing your car.
If it is a single car accident at fault, it also may be a good idea to see what the damage charge is without filing a claim and pay out of pocket. This will keep the at fault accident off of your record and the surcharge that will come with it.
Thanks for sharing - Looks like very few BMW repair centers in my area (majority of them are just dealers with just 1 or 2 that are actual indepdently garages).
I get the feeling that there may not be any places that are BMW certified and in-network. I would hope that BMW would be fine with any reputable body shop using OEM parts…
I agree with that suggestion above and would schedule your lease end inspection ASAP. Do not take it to the dealer, do the inspection through AutoVIN.
The inspector will take pics and note the damage and provide the charges if you were to just turn it in as-is.
At that point you can make the call whether it’s better to get it fixed on your own (and deal with insurance, body shops, etc.) or to just turn it in and pay whatever damages BMWFS charges and not have to deal with it.
My experience and what I’ve seen on here over the years is exactly the opposite.
It’s usually the folks that don’t get the AutoVIN inspection and just drop it at the dealer who are the ones getting nickel and dimed for everything.
The dealer is not in the business of doing lease end inspections. If you take a car with that amount of damage to the dealer I bet they will get their “body shop guy” to look at it who is of course going say there’s $5k of damage because that is what it would cost them to fix it.
The only stories you hear of dealers being more lenient with damage charges is typically when the person is also getting a new car through that dealer.
If it were me I would 100% go through AutoVIN. They have standard charges set by BMWFS for all types of damages large and small. They will ding you $X amount for damage on this panel and that panel and $Y amount for this scratch and that scratch, and move on to the next car. Not only that but it is way more convenient, they will come to your driveway and do it there.
I’d be inclined to just give it back as is and let BMW worry about fixing it and paying whatever penalty they have.
Seems like a hassle to find a body shop to fix it and worry about deadlines just to drive it from the body shop straight to the dealer. Not to mention what happens if the body shop does a crappy job.
Even if you use insurance your rates may go up or if you have a second claim it will?
A common misconception is that being under mileage in a mass market car has significant value… there is value, and it’s usually a few hundred bucks (if even that) from a wholesale perspective.
Yes unfortunately have both scheduled maintenance left and curb rash that I need to fix (I do have tire and rim insurance)
Debating whether to get those done before or after the AutoVIN inspection……Will the dealer give me any grief / issues over the damage if I bring in car just for maintenance & tires and tell them to ignore the damage?
You need to read the documentation for your lease regarding what damage is acceptable or not. Also read your tire/wheel insurance as some don’t cover cosmetic damage.
If your tire/rim insurance will cover your curb rash then I’d try to get that fixed before your inspection.
I’d also get your scheduled maintenance done before the inspection as well. If your service light is on then that’s just something else that will be noted and chargeable.
As long as the body damage doesn’t affect anything the dealer needs to do for the maintenance (it shouldn’t) then they won’t care one bit that it’s banged up. The service department doesn’t know and doesn’t care whether the car is leased or financed or whether you’re ever going to get the damage fixed or not. Not their problem.
