[3GGG]

Well I can stop worrying about getting a ding in the MINI now, cos tonight I was parked by the kerb and was starting to reverse back a little to give me enough room to pull out from behind the car parked in front of me, there was nobody behind me, when suddenly bam! - an ejit in an old grey Peugot wreck came flying in from the other side of the road and hit my offside rear bumper.

I got out and somehow remained calm and objective, he asked if I was reversing as he couldn't understand how he misjudged it - could have been something to do with him having to cross the road and narrowly miss a central island to get into the space...

Anyway, he did say sorry, was not worried about about his car , and did not even look at his front bumper.I didn't think it was worth getting insurance involved as it was one of those situations where there would be no conclusion as to whose fault it was and we would all end up losing our no claims bonus, besides he was a kid and we all make mistakes, I know I did when I was young.

I was very lucky that he only grazed the rear offside black plastic wheel arch (actually the rear 'mudflap' which fits over the original arch) and has scuffed the bumper, right down to the under lying plastic. Has not dented anything thankfully.

Having told you all of this, I feel a bit better but need some advice on repair - I'm not feeling flush enough to replace the whole rear bumper for this as I'm sure it would be expensive by the time it gets sprayed (Indi Blue) - but is it possible to get the part of the bumper where the paint is rubbed away resprayed to match, can it be done without removing the bumper?

I shoud have added that I have PDC fitted, so there are the transducers fitted in the bumper, I guess they have to be removed to get the bumper off and would need masked to avoid destroying them when respraying.

Ironic that the parking radar didn't help since the bandit came in from the front thus avoiding my radar - a dirty trick if you ask me.

Any advice welcome, I live in Fife Scotland so am looking for somebody local to do the job.

[KJ_daGreenMini]

sorry to hear about your misfortune dude. my car has just come back from a bump and is looking brand new again. have you got a quote from anyone yet? i think you should get it done at a BMW garage to be on the safe side.

[moonshine]

You should try Iain Ross - bodywork specialist in Luncarty (4 miles north of perth) - he isn't a "BMW bodyshop", but Grassick BMW use him coz he is so good.

I hit a wheel barrow with my door, and thought i would need a complete new door skin (paint was badly gouged to metal and panel bent, but Iain fixed it and i couldn't tell the Difference. - he comes highly recommended by me.

price for the job was £200 all in.

contact details are
Iain Ross Refinishing Centre
Brownlands Park Luncarty
Perth Perthshire
PH1 3JB

Tel: 01738 828611

all the best

gerry

[3GGG]

Quote:

Originally posted by moonshine
You should try Iain Ross - bodywork specialist in Luncarty (4 miles north of perth) - he isn't a "BMW bodyshop", but Grassick BMW use him coz he is so good.


gerry

Thanks for that Gerry, I may well contact him.
I am still swithering whether to get a new bumper or not.

I have not got any quotes yet - wonder if anyone knows the price of a Cooper rear bumper (the version with PDC)?

Are replacement bumpers supplied ready sprayed or do they all have to be sprayed by the paint shop?

[3GGG]

Quote:

Originally posted by KJ_daGreenMini
sorry to hear about your misfortune dude. my car has just come back from a bump and is looking brand new again. have you got a quote from anyone yet? i think you should get it done at a BMW garage to be on the safe side.

No I haven't yet as it only happened last evening. If I was feeling rich or it was an insurance job I would just get a new bumper fitted by BMW, but at £520 I saw mentioned on another thread I don't think I'll be taking that road.

[3GGG]

Quote:

Originally posted by moonshine
You should try Iain Ross - bodywork specialist in Luncarty (4 miles north of perth) - he isn't a "BMW bodyshop", but Grassick BMW use him coz he is so good.

gerry

Gerry, I took your advice and got Iain to do the repairs, he was marginally less expensive than the quote from my dealer (who uses a third party repair shop). The dealer's estimate was also inclusive of the rear mudflap so it worked out about the same price by the time I took petrol into account. Anyway, I thought it sensible to go with a personal recommendation rather risk the unknown.

The repair job looks good, though the car is not cleaned up yet, but I think it will all polish up nicely. I have still to replace the mudflaps.

Spent this evening cleaning up the inside of the car, they did put some sort of dust covers over the driver's seat and carpet, but I suspect this was an after thought because they had grease on the driver seat cloth, white dust on various parts including the passenger seat and door panels. Mud all over the carpet and pedals. Looks like they attempted to wash the bonnet with a muddy cloth.

Maybe I'm just too fussy, but as the car was immaculate inside and out when I took it in, I would have expected it to be so when I got it back.

Oh and they don't accept credit cards, so I had to get to a cash machine at Asda to pay them.

Apart from all of that I'm very happy, thanks for the help Gerry and see you soon.

[moonshine]

Hmmmm.....

i'm glad you got your car fixed....i know i was ****ed off when i dinged mine, and i felt much better when it was repaired. i'm a bit dissapointed that he didn't look after your baby properly and left it mucky. mine was immaculate after his job. Give him a call, let him know that you were recommended by Peter at Grassicks Brother in law and let him know that (if the repair was good), then so, however, the car was manky and that wasn't good enough.

As per credit card....ooops....i didn't know, sorry, i just paid an invoice by cheque..

Hope to see you soon tho..

All the best,

Gerry.