[adilakif]

Hi everyone,

I took my car to a authorized BMW Dealer in California. They accidentally opened a hole in each side of my car (lower rocker panels- pictures attached) when they lift the car for oil change.

They said this "My technician just informed me that when he was lifting the vehicle up, he had 2 wheel bolts on the lift arms and damaged the lower rocker panels."

They are ordering the parts and will replace the parts of my car this week. I want to know my rights in this situation. I want to make sure they use original parts from BMW. They said a local body shop will paint the parts. Can they match the factory color? I am really concerned about this.

Please advise me on what I should do if there is anything I can do.

[bavarianride]

Wow that sucks. Ask the dealer to send the car to a BMW certified collision repair center, or a reputable local shop of your choice, that's the least they should do for you.

The F30 rocker panels should be relatively simple to replace, you may consider to ask your body shop of choice to do paint match, then paint the parts without leaving your car, and then reschedule another day to return for installation of the painted parts.

[BMWalltheway]

That's awful. Hope you get it fixed up just like new.

[beto_L.A.]

Originally Posted by adilakif

Hi everyone,

I took my car to a authorized BMW Dealer in California. They accidentally opened a hole in each side of my car (lower rocker panels- pictures attached) when they lift the car for oil change.

They said this "My technician just informed me that when he was lifting the vehicle up, he had 2 wheel bolts on the lift arms and damaged the lower rocker panels."

They are ordering the parts and will replace the parts of my car this week. I want to know my rights in this situation. I want to make sure they use original parts from BMW. They said a local body shop will paint the parts. Can they match the factory color? I am really concerned about this.

Please advise me on what I should do if there is anything I can do.

I had a similar experience with my dealer where they needed to paint an area of my car after a tech scratched the paint. The body shop they use was able to fix the problem and they used the correct paint. I see you are in California, dealers usually use shops that can fix and match the paint. as far as parts they will always OEM unless they state it before you give permission to do the job.
good luck...
****
make sure you get a loaner car from the dealer during the time your car is at the shop!!!

[Blubaron79]

I think if they brought it to your attention they are going to do right by you.

[Busa1]

Just make sure after you get the car, check over all of it thoroughly (not just the panels they replaced, incase any other damage could have been caused while it was there). Also, I would ask for a little compensation (gift certificate, some type of free service) for the aggravation and inconvenience. I wouldn't let them do a wash or detail to your car though, just in case.

[insanecoder]

They usually can match the paint pretty well.. they did on my melbourne red which is a tough color to match
too bad tho as its very inconvenient whilst they work on it

[jparnes1]

Originally Posted by Blubaron79

I think if they brought it to your attention they are going to do right by you.

Ha! I doubt it would go unnoticed by OP.

[JollyRodger]

Originally Posted by insanecoder

They usually can match the paint pretty well.. they did on my melbourne red which is a tough color to match
too bad tho as its very inconvenient whilst they work on it

I had to repaint my rear bumper, not because of a dealer, but any good shop will do it. My insurance didn't want to pay for the color match so I just payed for it out of pocket, the shop was great about it. They say it happens more often than you think. They literally charged 30 minutes shop time to do it. With the car being mineral white it was 1000% worth it. Metallic whites, reds and blues are the hardest to match.

[435MSport6Speed]

You should be OK. The rocker covers are plastic I believe. Nothing structural. Let's us know how the repair goes.

[jmg]

The dealer paints and fixes even new cars more often than you think. They have a shop that they have a good relationship with for their own inventory. There is nothing to worry about. Make sure they give you a BMW loaner car and inspect the car when it gets back. If it's not satisfactory, have them redo it. Meanwhile, enjoy not having to put miles on your car for a few days and test driving another car!

[Marlonisonfire]

Can you tell me which dealership did this to your baby? I'm in the LA area also and would like to avoid this place.

Thx

[jmg]

Originally Posted by Marlonisonfire

Can you tell me which dealership did this to your baby? I'm in the LA area also and would like to avoid this place.

Thx

Everyone makes mistakes. To the dealer's credit they fessed up to it and offered to correct the situation. If all goes well, then I would applaud this dealership for dealing with the situation as best they could.

[435MSport6Speed]

Originally Posted by jmg

Everyone makes mistakes. To the dealer's credit they fessed up to it and offered to correct the situation. If all goes well, then I would applaud this dealership for dealing with the situation as best they could.

Agree. My issue is they never say anything and you have to point damage out to them.

[Golo2016]

Oh man, that sucks! Hopefully they do the right thing for you. And take steps to avoid this from happening again.

[claykin]

Originally Posted by JollyRodger

I had to repaint my rear bumper, not because of a dealer, but any good shop will do it. My insurance didn't want to pay for the color match so I just payed for it out of pocket, the shop was great about it. They say it happens more often than you think. They literally charged 30 minutes shop time to do it. With the car being mineral white it was 1000% worth it. Metallic whites, reds and blues are the hardest to match.

Mineral White is probably the most difficult color to match out of the standard F30 colors. it's the only metallic and pearl finish. The pearls tend to show match problems when you look at them under parking lot lighting at night.

[JollyRodger]

Originally Posted by claykin

Mineral White is probably the most difficult color to match out of the standard F30 colors. it's the only metallic and pearl finish. The pearls tend to show match problems when you look at them under parking lot lighting at night.

Yeah, they did an amazing job in the match, especially with the fact the bumper is plastic and the rest of the adjoining panels are metal. The odd panel out on the car now looks to be the front bumper actually since the factory match between the metal and plastic panels is pretty horrible. Since the bumper wraps around the car they matched the left and right rear quarter panels and the center of the tailgate and the blended all three. They showed me the three final match spray card things they did, they said the did a total of 8 or 9 if I remember correctly and I was amazed how different they were when compared to the other areas of the bumper, since you never see both ends at the same time you never realize the difference. Since the damage was only the bumper I didn't allow them to touch the quarters. I really should have taken pictures.

To the OP, I would not worry. A good shop will be able to match, and since the rocker panels are down low to begin with any slight mismatch will be less noticeable. Also OP, and I am now showing the geek in me, I used to be the color guy on my high school year book club. We were a well off school so even in the early early 2000s we were printing 300+ pages in full color so I have experience with it. My girlfriend has no experience with color and whenever I point out any kind of color mismatches, be it print or cars or anything she never sees them so when I say things like the factory match is bad most people can't tell unless you point it out to them to begin with.

[BEM-S4]

Be sure to save documentation of the damage and repair. When it comes time to sell the car overspray will be evident so you'll need proof that it was something minor and fixed correctly.

[Bamsterman68]

When you get the car back, just make sure its how YOU want it. If theres anything you're not happy with, don't be an ass about it. You won't get anywhere that way. They'll do right by you and make sure you're happy.

[CalCarNut]

Originally Posted by Marlonisonfire

Can you tell me which dealership did this to your baby? I'm in the LA area also and would like to avoid this place.

Thx

It's the opposite....they fessed up and are making the necessary repairs..that also should be broadcasted to us. There aren't that many shops; West Century, Pacific, Beverly Hills BMW, Century and Santa Monica BMW come to mind.....