rear-ended during traffic :/
 

While slowing down for traffic during rush hour in San Antonio, someone behind me decided not to pay attention and hit me. UUGH!! Sad my X got hit but luckily my family was not hurt. I was worried about my oldest son who was sitting in the third row when it happened. Minor damage to the rear bumper . . one of the park distance controls was dislodged and the bottom of the bumper was scratched up. But now I'm starting to smell exhaust while the car is running . . . more than normal. Going to the dealer's recommended body shop tomorrow to get their opinion. Will going to another body shop for repairs void out the warranty?? And how worried should I be with the exhaust?? I'm hoping some type of seal was dislodged or something minor happened.

My X5 had a similar collision just a few months ago. First off using a non dealer recommended body shop will not void the warranty. I would recommend using a body shop who mainly deals with exotics though if possible. The one I used is basically does only German cars and exotics (Ferrari, Lamborghini, etc) Though I did not smell exhaust any more than before they replace basically everything in the rear end that was even dented slightly. Just to name the big parts: bumper, all of the mounting and structural hardware for the rear bumper, muffler, PDC sensors, and the heat shield. They also had to remove the rear quater panels for some reason so they also had to remove the headliner. The entire repair took over two weeks, and cost over $8000. Though all of it was paid by the other driver's insurance, as he rear ended the X5 in stop and go traffic.

Thanks for responding!! Wow . . . $8000. I was thinking maybe $2000 or so but with everything involved I knew the price would be kinda high. I told the driver that she might want to get her insurance involved!! I think she would rather pay her deductible than pay for everything out-of-pocket!!

Oh that sucks. Glad all are ok. I was hit in our Lexus GX470 just last Thursday. Not mch damage but still a pain in the...

The main 'muffler' on an E70 is immediately behind the plastic rear bumper. It is hung from rubber 'doughnuts' and not well protected from a rear impact. The incoming exhaust pipe is nearly dead center. So in a rear end collision, the muffler could be temporarily shoved forward and damage nearly any part of the exhaust system.

Funf Dreisig

You're looking at $8k to $10k without a doubt. $2k wouldn't get you very far. The parts are incredibly expensive. I agree with the poster who said you should go to a shop that deals with exotics, if you don't feel comfortable with your dealer's collision center (I wouldn't).

Those that are familiar with repairing Porsches, Ferraris, and the like, are the best in the business. I've had a similar rear end issue, with a sports car once and found such a center. The work they did was magnitudes above what I'd ever seen performed from a "dealer collision center." Those that work on $250k machines are selected for their talent, and there is rarely any sloppiness.

Body work/collision repair is a very much an art, and you want to find the best artist you can find. Those who delve into the guts of exotics, are the ones you want working on your BMW, to be 100% sure.

As for the exhaust leak, I would drive with your windows open (all of them), and get it to a repair facility ASAP. Carbon Monoxide is nothing to play around with, especially if you have young ones. Their lungs are far smaller, and the lethality of the gas is far smaller. Caution is def. warranted in this situation, and the exhaust is rather fragile. A blunt force to it, as mentioned above can damage anything from the cats to the exhaust headers. Just think about the force of the impact of a 1.5 ton vehicle hitting your X5 at 15 to 30 mph. It's an insane amount of force per square inch. If it were any car, the damage could have been much worse.

One fact to note: the E70 rated the highest in every category ever tested by the National Institute of Insurance Safety. In other words, the E70 is the best vehicle they've ever tested, period, in their history. You can find videos on youtube.com, about this. Given your son was in the back, I'd say your very lucky that you were in a BMW.

Within 10-years, I'd wager to bed we'll have collision avoidance warnings mandated on all vehicles, a la Audis, Volvos, etc. Sorry this happened to you, but at the end of the day it's just a car. As long as your family is safe, have no fear. The X5 will be good as new.

Lets hope someone with a brain gets involved with that 'mandate'....

YouTube - Volvo Automatic Brake Test FAIL

:thumbup:

Well the repair shop gave me a preliminary estimate of $700 but thinks the price will go up once the bumper comes off, which wouldn't surprise me. At least the body shop does deal with exotics so I'm confident they will take care of my car. And you're right, MyMonkey, it is a pain in the you-know-what. The impact wasn't that bad but still gotta get it fixed.

FunfDreisig and ABMW, at least the exhaust smell is starting to go away and it's not coming inside the vehicle, which if that was happening then it would be parked and towed to a body shop. But most importantly my kids are safe and that is all that matters at the end of the day. Just glad the X5's have such a high safety rating!!

GG,
Just good to read you and your Fam are ok...
cars are cars.
GL, mD

I completely agree, motordavid. Family is all that matters and cars are just cars.