My 545i 6sp arrived at the my Jacksonville, Florida dealer on Monday, 4/12. The dealer rep called me this morning to give me the good and bad news. The good was the "car is here", the bad was that my car had transit damage between the VPC and Jacksonville. The damage is deep scratches on the hood just below the BMW roundel. I was told that the scratches were through the paint to metal.

Of course, I ran straight over to inspect. "My" car was in the paint shop, the roundel removed, and a triangular area was primered. No scratches were visable. However, "my" car looked beautiful-silver gray, gray int. (build date 3/18/04, VPC Date 4/7/04).

The dealer rep tells me that their paint shop meets all the requirements defined by BMW. Their paint spray booths (I saw them) are state of the art and their people trained. Their paint work will be completely covered under the BMW warranty but BMW will not offer me any type of compensation since the damage was done by a contactor, Waggoneer (the transporter).

I am asking for you opinions. I have two options: 1. Take delivery or 2. Refuse delivery and have the dealer order a new car. New car build date would be about the 1st week in May. Has anyone had the experience and ,if so, what was the outcome.

i would refuse delivery n hve them get me a new car. or u could settle for a change of the entire hood

I couldn't handle the extra wait, personally. I think their paint standards would make it good as new. I would however negotiate a small drop in price. You could claim that body work does diminish the car's value. Although, I'm almost sure that this would never show on CarFax. Just my two cents.

I agree with 555, I would have asked for a reduction in price. I hope that doesn't happen to mine when it is delivered.

I too would refuse the car or get a brand new hood. If you don't wish to wait any longer, than definately get a reduced price.

State of the art as it may be, repainted parts are still more likely to chip.

Agree with 555. I would definitely ask for a reduction in price. If they refuse to negotiate then I would refuse taking delivery and have them order another vehicle.

Sorry to hear about your problem. This is a tricky situation. Cars are often damaged in transit and repaired without the buyer being advised. Your dealer has been honest and explained the situation which is good. As to repainted panels being more prone to stonechips I would disagree. Factory applied paint is applied by robots to an an exact micron depth. It is impossible for a human to replicate this and you actually end up with a thicker layer of paint and top laquer which should be better for chipping resistance.

ISUK has a very good point.
Also - the paint and clear coat applied by the BMW factory is probably more environmentally friendly than the paint applied by your local paint shop - and presumably, this less environmentally friendly paint and clear coat may be harder and more robust than the original paint and clear coating.

-paasan

I worked as a technician for fifteen years, in California Porsche and BMW dealerships (first career). I have seen numerous cases of transport damage, mild and severe. before and after repair, and a couple of years after delivery. There is no way I would accept delivery of this damaged $65K car. A replacement hood is not that much better; either way, the paint will be inferior to the factory work. In this case, the dealer is not even painting the whole hood. It is almost certain that this will be a real problem sooner or later. Tell the dealer you want another car.



regards, billb....

Thanks to everyone that replied to plight. The car will be finished tomorrow and I will have a chance to see it and about 24 hrs to make a decision. I will post what I do and what I see.

Thanks again

Mark