[dradernh]

TLDR; I need minor bodywork done and am not sure how to proceed.

So, I managed to scrape two body panels recently. Please see photos below.

This despite being fairly OCD about keeping the car and its wheels clean and unsullied by contact with anything other than air and water, with the latter occurring only during washing. Helping with that are the Suntek PPF and GTechniq Crystal Serum Ultra Ceramic I had applied to the car.

My concern is that having these panels fixed might result in colors mismatched to the rest of the car (I'm more concerned about this possibility with the plastic bumper cover than with the metal quarter panel) and that the work may show up in Carfax and result in my taking a financial hit when I eventually sell the car. Mind you, I intend to keep the car indefinitely, so I suspect the potential issue re: Carfax may not matter by then.

If I chose to sell next year, however, would bodywork showing up on Carfax be an issue for a potential buyer of my particular car? I know it would for me, but of course that would depend upon what the nature of the work was.

How can I document bodywork to assuage the concerns of a future buyer of the car?

Are repainted plastic bumper covers more easily matched to the rest of the car than they (sometimes) were in past years?

Cost is not a major concern; I do expect it to be relatively expensive for the small amount of body that's been damaged.

The local dealer I use shows up as a Certified Collision Repair Center on bmwusa.com. Given my use case, how much does this matter; that is, should I make it a point to use them to fix the car?

FWIW, friends and relatives in the Cincinnati region swear by a regular body shop when they have their more-costly German vehicles fixed; however, I haven't done a before-and-after look at their vehicles to know how discriminating they are.

[Mike F.]

For what it's worth, my 2006 330i had a grass fire burn through right in front of it a few years ago. It melted the front bumper, both headlights, and burned a bit of the paint on the hood. (No other damage.) The body shop I took it to did a great job of matching the paint on all of the affected surfaces. You couldn't tell anything had happened to it when I got it back.

[MarcoZandrini]

You need to have quality body shop rpair those dings. It looks like the ding at thr body-bumper boundry will require paintless dent repair.

[Oltimer]

considering your OCD I would be considering letting BMW do the job, expensive
I know but worth a consideration.
as far as a future buyer is concerned keep photos and repair bills just as a record.

[Sportstick]

Short answer: BMW Certified Collision Center. I’ve had 100% excellent results over the years and they stand behind their work. Take a full profile photo in good daylight, with front and rear fascia included. Do the same after the work to also compare. Fascias can match perfectly when properly painted.

[msendit]

Our levels of OCD are certainly on the opposite sides of the spectrum. I'd just put a sticker on it and let it be It's just a car, not a museum piece...

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by msendit

Our levels of OCD are certainly on the opposite sides of the spectrum. I'd just put a sticker on it and let it be It's just a car, not a museum piece...

Yeah, yeah...I know all that!

And yeah, a sticker or a small piece of vinyl is definitely an option. If I went with the latter I could be creative in the design while also (possibly) matching the color to my calipers. That's under consideration, and it would allow my OCD to refocus on something more important. Maybe.

[leftoverture]

These days most quality body shops are capable of repairing that such that you will never know. But given how important it is to you, going with a shop that somebody you trust has used and been happy with is your best bet.

[Rollo`]

TLDR: the paint match is likely to be perfect and I don't think carfax will have a record of a repair transaction at a body shop

They have computerized paint mixing that makes it possible to get pretty much an exact match of your paint now. I had my first accident in 40 years this spring and had to get my front bumper cover and drivers side fender replaced.

My car is black sapphire and the paint match is literally perfect. There is a slight variation in the panel gap with the hood as it approaches the front window or there would be no way to tell the repair was completed.

I live in a small town that has a very large Bosnian population. They manage and work in one of the local body shops and they LOVE european cars so they are very meticulous. I could probably get them to fix the tiny variation but it's not worth the trouble for me.

Regarding carfax, I don't think there will be any record for carfax since there was no police report for an accident.

[Gregoryb01]

Originally Posted by Rollo`

TLDR: the paint match is likely to be perfect and I don't think carfax will have a record of a repair transaction at a body shop


Regarding carfax, I don't think there will be any record for carfax since there was no police report for an accident.

If you submit the claim thru your insurance carfax will be notified. If you pay cash and tell the body shop you do not want it reported in my experience it won’t be.

[leftoverture]

Originally Posted by Gregoryb01

If you submit the claim thru your insurance carfax will be notified. If you pay cash and tell the body shop you do not want it reported in my experience it won’t be.

This is probably correct except I think any dealership or large franchise body shop probably reports to Carfax regardless.

[Sportstick]

Originally Posted by leftoverture

This is probably correct except I think any dealership or large franchise body shop probably reports to Carfax regardless.

It appears to be discretionary if insurance is not involved. A dealer did some minor damage to my 3 Series while in for service. They sent it to their affiliated BMW Certified Collision Center for repair before returning it to me and assured me it would not be reported to CarFax. BTW, it came back perfect.

[60_Driver]

Originally Posted by Sportstick

It appears to be discretionary if insurance is not involved. A dealer did some minor damage to my 3 Series while in for service. They sent it to their affiliated BMW Certified Collision Center for repair before returning it to me and assured me it would not be reported to CarFax. BTW, it came back perfect.

I was just about to say the same, especially with independents. If insurance is involved the choice of the report making it Carfax is most likely not yours. If you are paying out of pocket, you can always inquire about the report with the shop before agreeing to let them do the work. A buddy’s wife backed her RAV4 into his Silverado in their driveway. Both vehicles were leased. He had excellent work done at a local shop that said the repair would not follow the car on Carfax. Hope it helps!

[morphomeman]

My indy guy does wonderful work and even better work if you pay him cash. No one will ever know. You need to find that kind of shop.

[Rollo`]

Even if carfax shows the repair you can keep pictures to show what was repaired to the prospective buyer to alleviate their concern.

[Gregoryb01]

Originally Posted by leftoverture

This is probably correct except I think any dealership or large franchise body shop probably reports to Carfax regardless.

When I had my car repaired at BMW they did not report it because I paid out of pocket and not thru insurance. I asked them about it at the time of the quote.

[nazali]

apologies for not reading everyone's replies

OCD, I get it... here's some points

1> if you take it to BMW, they will report it, is carfax is important to you
2> any bodyshop cash, wont
3> Had a rear bumper cover replaced on a met.red BMW, and it was aftermarket you could not tell, it was perfect, cash job
4> IF I was buying a 2nd hand car with reported body damage, as long as I had some documentation on before and after, I would not worry, even if you PX it, it will probably not matter "that" much

MY advice to you, get the car done, CASH by a reputable bodyshop and document everything

Originally Posted by dradernh

TLDR; I need minor bodywork done and am not sure how to proceed.

[LuvMyE92]

Carfax can be a double-edged sword, as we all know.

That aside, take pictures (as you have done) and keep the receipts so that if it does show up on the report, you can show that the damage was extremely minor.

[dradernh]

I went to my local BMW Certified Collision Repair Center body shop today and got a quote for $2,607 to repair and repaint the rear bumper cover and the right quarter panel. Thirty days after the work is completed, I'll be good to go so that the ceramic coating on the rest of the car can be re-applied for, I'm guessing, another $450 or so.

Staggering, just staggering, for such almost-infinitesimal damage. I can easily afford it, but it represents 8% of the purchase price of the car!

FWIW, the body shop said the fix isn't reported to Carfax unless my insurance company is involved, and only then because the insurance company reports it to Carfax because it gets paid to.

My independent reports my oil changes to Carfax, presumably because it gets paid to (I haven't asked - yet). That being the case, why wouldn't a BMW dealership report everything that Carfax wishes to make available (like this repair to body damage)?

Whatever. The damage is so small and minor that, much as I like my cars looking very, very pristine, I might just shine it on. Maybe I'll slap a vinyl image of one of my cats over it and be done. Just thinking out loud, mind you. Anyone know of a shop that does a good job of transferring an image to a piece of vinyl the size of silver dollar?

[Shovelman]

That price is ridiculous, except that the shop knows you are OCD and flush with cash, and it is a BMW. Get a couple of estimates at ordinary shops and suggest that they not need to replace the fascia and fender, just improve them. A little paint and polish will make it hard to spot.

[John in VA]

Hope it's fixed to your satisfaction. A more descriptive thread title would make this easier for others with similar issues to find via Search.

[dradernh]

Originally Posted by John in VA

Hope it's fixed to your satisfaction. A more descriptive thread title would make this easier for others with similar issues to find via Search.

Now that you mention it, the original title did need work, didn't it. Thanks for the suggestion!