# BMW bodyshop/repairs NW



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Car got hit by somebody a week last Sunday whilst we were travelling down South for a few days away. Now we are home and I'm a little bit more on top of work it is time to get her repaired.

As it's a non fault collision, I'm not claiming on my Insurance and will claim directly from the 3rd party Insurer.

Mixed reviews about the local BMW dealer so hoping anybody who has had repairs done can give me a steer. I'm PR9 postcode so north of Liverpool, south of Preston.

I appreciate a lot of the time the dealership won't necessarily have a full on bodyshop and often have local or regional centres especially when it's a multi Manufacturer franchise. That said I think I want it to go into a BMW shop as the LED headlight has been moved so I've got a nasty feeling that's going to be the biggest issue in case it's knocked anything out of alignment, damaged any clips/mounts, coding issues etc.




























Any recommendations please?


----------



## SadlyDistracted (Jan 18, 2013)

Not Local but I can recommend BMW Cotswolds body shop, however it is in Tewksbury. Used them twice once when reversed into requiring front wing and door replacement, and in a later incident front bumper replaced. I got a second hand bumper, did all the prepwork, they then took that final finished and replaced. Both jobs were excellent, although the door and wing took a bit of 'discussion' to get things perfect, and the bumper was perfect first time as they knew I was fussy.


----------



## Blackroc (Dec 10, 2012)

Lloyds - Blackpool

I’ve a customer with a frozen matte bronze finish on his 435d that got clipped in a car park (bumper damage / cracked headlight) and they were the only dealership in the NW that would take on the work. He lived in Wigan

If non BMW try Road and Race in Bolton


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

Be careful, if there are any broken clips of the headlight unit you'll find you may want to claim on your insurance given the likely cost [£££££s] of a new one.

Even with a no-fault situation you're obliged to inform your own insurance company, it's in the terms of your policy document.

Good luck with getting it sorted. I can confirm that Cotswold BMW are good to deal with since I deal with them myself for parts. :thumb:


----------



## GleemSpray (Jan 26, 2014)

slim_boy_fat said:


> Be careful, if there are any broken clips of the headlight unit you'll find you may want to claim on your insurance given the likely cost [£££££s] of a new one.
> 
> Even with a no-fault situation you're obliged to inform your own insurance company, it's in the terms of your policy document.
> 
> Good luck with getting it sorted. I can confirm that Cotswold BMW are good to deal with since I deal with them myself for parts. :thumb:


This is correct - you are obliged to notify your own insurance and they should (if they are doing their job right) arrange all the work to be carried out + recover ALL costs from the other sides insurance + issue written confirmation to you that it was settled fully as non-adult and, therefore, your NCD isn't affected.

You can also reasonably insist that it is repaired with genuine parts at a bodyshop of your approval.


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

GleemSpray said:


> This is correct - you are obliged to notify your own insurance and they should (if they are doing their job right) arrange all the work to be carried out + recover ALL costs from the other sides insurance + issue written confirmation to you that it was settled fully as non-adult and, therefore, your NCD isn't affected.
> 
> You can also reasonably insist that it is repaired with genuine parts at a bodyshop of your approval.





slim_boy_fat said:


> Be careful, if there are any broken clips of the headlight unit you'll find you may want to claim on your insurance given the likely cost [£££££s] of a new one.
> 
> Even with a no-fault situation you're obliged to inform your own insurance company, it's in the terms of your policy document.
> 
> Good luck with getting it sorted. I can confirm that Cotswold BMW are good to deal with since I deal with them myself for parts. :thumb:


I was straight onto my Insurance Company for notification purposes only. Out of hours so it goes to Solicitors who white label on behalf of the Insurer. Quite annoying really they are only trying to get a PI claim out if it, asking for my NI number etc (refused) and then have to go through it all again with the Insurer later 

I'm not going to claim on my policy as it's a non fault collision. Couple of reasons but main one at this point is my renewal is due shortly. Even with not claiming on my policy but declaring the incident it's loaded renewal prices by around 25% which I'm fuming about. Clear as day as I run the quotes with and without the incident on and it's putting around £150 onto premium. So unfair.

LED headlight can I believe cost around £1500 for a replacement so yeah not keen on paying for that if needed so…going route of BMW Accident Mgt, sounds fancy it's not. Typically it's Accident Exchange or Auxillis so into credit repair and hire. Not mad keen on this route but it's a means to an end.

Typically Accident Mgt Company will want to crack on with repairs as soon as possible, I'm looking to get the admission of liability sorted first for peace of mind. Have sent the Letter of Claim myself, will do a better job of it…over 20 years of claim experience, so know my way around that side of things.


----------



## slim_boy_fat (Jun 23, 2006)

Insurance companies _say_ your NCB won't be affected in the event of a 'no-fault' accident [even if your car is parked at the roadside], which may be true, but watch them increase your renewal quote next year. 

Be prepared for shopping around next year/renewal date. 
I hope your claim and the attendant repairs go smoothly.

Insurance sucks, but it's a necessary evil......


----------



## SadlyDistracted (Jan 18, 2013)

Blackroc said:


> Lloyds - Blackpool
> 
> I've a customer with a frozen matte bronze finish on his 435d that got clipped in a car park (bumper damage / cracked headlight) and they were the only dealership in the NW that would take on the work. He lived in Wigan
> 
> ...


Lloyds... I hope Blackpool's better than the next Lloyds on up north who sub paintwork out / its not a 'BMW' bodyshop, maybe 'bmw' (dealer) 'approved' but _not_ BMW dealer owned.


----------



## Andyblue (Jun 20, 2017)

Lloyd Colne have their own bodyshop - next door to their showroom, they did a little work on my previous 4 series before I took delivery of it, very pleased with the end results. And, as it is connected with their showroom, the customer service I have had from them has been very good, so I would hope if there was any issues, it would be resolved easily :thumb:


----------



## RedUntilDead (Feb 10, 2009)

*Bmw body shop*

Have you decided,
Ours went into HB panel craft in Preston. They are the people the main dealer used ard are approved by most dealers and insurers. Absolutely amazing work both times.
Would you travel to Failsworth?
I was recommended a place by guys on here: Roqcustoms, a guy called Mat. He's an absolute magician. Repaired my pick up, bike and sprayed some house stuff too. Have a look at his work on Facebook. Don't be put off by the little industrial estate he's on


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

RedUntilDead said:


> Have you decided,
> Ours went into HB panel craft in Preston. They are the people the main dealer used ard are approved by most dealers and insurers. Absolutely amazing work both times.
> Would you travel to Failsworth?
> I was recommended a place by guys on here: Roqcustoms, a guy called Mat. He's an absolute magician. Repaired my pick up, bike and sprayed some house stuff too. Have a look at his work on Facebook. Don't be put off by the little industrial estate he's on


Not yet. As the car is driveable I've put my Letter of Claim into the 3rd party insurer. I want their full admission, ideally before repairs are started. They are not being particularly quick about replying so may just have to crack on.


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Late update, after I was going to proceed to go credit repair/hire via a well known company, I've had a late change of mind and gone a different route.

I know how credit hire works and I know whilst I'm liable for the charges it's claimed from the insurer and any shortfall is in theory insured under the Group Policy. I just can't be doing with any headaches around any shortfall of recovery etc.

The 3rd party insurer has now admitted liability. They were understandably keen to help, in no small part they will pay around 1/10 the daily rate for the replacement car. That is a very big saving to them and in my opinion a huge part of why insurance is so expensive, these things can very easily and quickly get out of hand and cost silly money. I don't have to pay the delivery charge, CDW, fuelling charge and additional driver charge which stacks up to a good few hundred quid and bar the delivery charge these fees are not generally recoverable.

With some trepidation the car has gone in this morning to Halliwell Jones in Warrington as they are the group bodyshop or one of in the area. The 3rd party insurer guarantee repairs for the lifetime of ownership so that gives some peace of mind. I will be going over it with a fine tooth comb and it will have to be bang on for me to accept the repairs

I've been provided with a GLC. Weirdly when my Merc was wiped out I was given a 3 series tourer and now the BMW is in for repairs I've been given a Merc. Go figure! Not really my cup of tea but 1st world problems I appreciate. Just miss the 3 litre lump and not a massive fan of SUVs, no offence to those who have and/or love them, we are a broad Church after all. Have lowered the seat as much as possible but it's still no tourer. At least it will give insane mpg but to be fair mine averages 40 with frequent use of the fun pedal.

Lost half a day work as I took mine to the bodyshop, no way I wanted mine driving in by anybody other than me. Handover of the hire car was a bit late and I spent time going over it to note any damage. Despite being marked no existing it's got a couple of scratches on the OSR door and a chip on the leading edge of the OSF where somebody has opened it onto something. Two of the alloys are showing stone chip damage with no obvious signs of curbing. It's done less than 4K on a 21 plate so quite disappointing really, I'd be fuming if it was my car. Spent a bit of time reporting it through to the hire company to cover myself. The staff at the dealership were probably crying with laughter watching me go over the car, no doubt 10 times more thorough than an average PDI.

Fingers crossed this time next week the car will be fixed and ready for collection


----------



## SadlyDistracted (Jan 18, 2013)

MDC, hope all goes well, my fingers crossed for you.
I'm a bit sad to say this, hoping there's no need for luck involved, but just in case, Good Luck :thumb: if it will help,
S


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

I'm hoping the car is indoors, it's been peeing down round here.


----------



## MDC250 (Jan 4, 2014)

Repairs have been delayed. Not really specified exactly what the delay is, but I'd rather things are done properly than be rushed.

The GLC is actually growing on me. Very comfortable and some nice touches. Still feels underpowered but it's pretty smooth and refined for a 2 litre. I thought the auto was clunky on changes when first driving the car, but don't notice at all now. Also felt that the audio sounded pretty cheap but some playing around with settings and that sounds OK as well.

Bigger tank than mine but will still give circa 700 miles which for a car that size I think is pretty impressive. Filled it up with 1/4 tank left.


----------

