Keyed X5 - london based body shops?

Manj22 · #1 08-26-2006, 05:28 AM

Hi all,

I have recently bought my x5 and am very pleased with the car - but, some fool has already went and keyed most of the driver and rear passenger side doors - my local BMW garage quoted me £1000 to have the panels repainted etc - this sounds rather expensive - does anyone know of any other body repair shops within the London area (hopefully that they have either used or have seen the wuality of their work) that would be able to do the exact same job, at the same quality, but at a cheaper rate - the pics of the damage are below. THanks

Sponsored Links

PeteM · #2 08-26-2006, 05:57 AM

Fcuk me mate. Sorry to see that!

Anyway I dont know if you know but it might be worth, if you havent already, going on the BMW UK forums.

ie,
www.x5drivers.co.uk

or

Other BMW UK forums there are plenty, just google for them.

or try

www.bmwboard.com

Any of these can give you a steer for London bodyshops with any good feedback or even bad for that matter for BMW specific jobs

WOOD56 · #3 08-26-2006, 05:58 AM

Now that's #$%^ up.. man did caught that A whole???

asawadude · #4 08-26-2006, 06:08 AM

OMG - that is just friggin' painful to look at. Sooner or later that perp is going to get what's coming. Good luck with the repairs.

dave_p · #5 08-26-2006, 06:42 AM

This makes me so mad - mindless yobs. They probably don't even have jobs, so us tax payers are also funding their living aswell!!

I had my M3 conv keyed the day before it was traded in against my X5 - the damage wasn't as bad as yours, but cost £1800 to put right.

You tend to get what you pay for - anything less than £1000 and you'd probably have to pay again to have it done properly.

Get it done through a BMW dealer - you'll pay more, but the car will have to come back as new.

Manj22 · #6 08-26-2006, 07:19 AM

Thanks for the info all - will try the UK specific boards suggested above and see if I can find any other body repair places, but am not having my hopes up on getting the price down by a huge amount - like people say here, going to a non-bmw approved garage always puts a thought in ur mind that the car won't come back as new!

The idiot who keyed the car is still out there somewhere - this was done 2 days after buying the car, was sooo angry!!

PeteM · #7 08-26-2006, 08:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manj22

Thanks for the info all - will try the UK specific boards suggested above and see if I can find any other body repair places, but am not having my hopes up on getting the price down by a huge amount - like people say here, going to a non-bmw approved garage always puts a thought in ur mind that the car won't come back as new!

The idiot who keyed the car is still out there somewhere - this was done 2 days after buying the car, was sooo angry!!

Just remember, that some BMW dealers sub out bodyshop work. I agree I would use Authorised BMW dealer as well but ring around you will find a difference in price not much but some. Check out the bodyshop you intend to use though regardless of it being BMW or not.

Also make sure you get a price breakdown ie paint, materials and then labour. You may well be able to negotiate on labour.

The other problem is colour difference. You may well find the paint on your X has faded slightly in relation to the original and the new paint to be put on. Not trying to teach you to suck eggs but make sure they tell you how they will get over this if it happens which very probably will. Make sure that is in the quote that may well be why the quote you have got so far seems so high but you need to ask to make sure.

They may well 'blow in' the whole side especially along that centre area. They will need to spray in to the angles at the very least ie where you get the light and shade differenceson the angle lines of the car. I hope that makes sense. I would be looking to 'blow in' the whole side to avoid colour variation.

Once again Good luck, and I hope those fckers suffer in some way maybe not today but soon and painfully!

Oh yeah another thing, before they start the job tell them you want to see it before they mop and polish, that way you can tell its been blown in properly before you pay them otherwise if they have not you wont notice for couple of months after the mopping worn off.

Manj22 · #8 08-26-2006, 08:45 AM

^ Yep - the qoute I got from BMW was via their sub out body shop. The qoute was handy in that it broke down all components i.e. labour, paint, materials etc etc. The guy I spoke to said they would garuntee a 100% match to the factory paint/ finish, so to be honest I would rather trust a BMW approved body shop than go elsewhere - but its just the costs - having bought the car recently and paying it off - I spent almost another 300 quid on installing a camera to hopefully try and catch the fools should they try and do it again. Then another 250 for getting an AUX input fit in so that I could hook my sony mp3 player - so am a bit strapped for cash.

Do you know if I were to leave it a few months whether the scratches may rust the paint work?

PeteM · #9 08-26-2006, 09:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manj22

^ Yep - the qoute I got from BMW was via their sub out body shop. The qoute was handy in that it broke down all components i.e. labour, paint, materials etc etc. The guy I spoke to said they would garuntee a 100% match to the factory paint/ finish, so to be honest I would rather trust a BMW approved body shop than go elsewhere - but its just the costs - having bought the car recently and paying it off - I spent almost another 300 quid on installing a camera to hopefully try and catch the fools should they try and do it again. Then another 250 for getting an AUX input fit in so that I could hook my sony mp3 player - so am a bit strapped for cash.

Do you know if I were to leave it a few months whether the scratches may rust the paint work?

Wouldnt help mate If your prepared to leave then get a touch up stick gently work it in will protect and take your eye off it. I wouldnt recommend it though. But thats the best of a bad thing. Again look at the details threads on here you'll find lots of ways to disguise and protect your X while you get some more dosh together.

With the paint I meant differences due to fading in sunlight age etc. I am sure they can match the paint what you need to do is make sure it matches the shade you have now as it will of varied somewhat with age. Thats why I mention about the mopping check By mopping they can bring back your paint to match the new paint problem is it soon wears off. All I am saying is be careful that way you wont be disappointed or finding that for all that money your still not completely happy.

With regard to the AUX output and the Camera next time you want to do anything like that do a search on this forum. I dont want to rub it in or anything but in respect of the AUX socket you could of got some much better options for half the money which you could of installed yourself (just plug and play) and would allow iPod, or all other audio media. Same probably applies to the camera as well.

Sponsored Links