kneemah

i bought my 2004 545i back in july of 2007 (it was previously a lease). when i purchased the car, there were some things i noticed and brought to the attention of the dealership. 1st was an oil leak which they said once it was purchased, the factory warranty would fix. i didn't mind that. the 2nd issue was a bolt or two in the engine bay looked to have the paint stripped. the dealer informed me that when the cars come back from a lease they perform their inspection, and the mechanic most likely had to open the bolts to perform the inspections. we went back and forth on this and he insisted this was standard protocol.

he showed me a carfax that had no accidents. i know carfax only shows accidents that are reported to the dmv.

not too long ago i started to notice that on the edge of my front bumper, the paint is starting to peel off and crack slightly. when i paid attention to the details, i noticed that under the peeling paint was another layer of paint. they're the same color, but the paint underneath is a coated paint and doesn't look like the primer. i also noticed in one of the air channels near the adaptive cruise control radar, more paint is starting to peel off.

what sort of recourse could i take with the dealership? i love the car, but i certainly would have kept looking if i had known the car was in an accident or had the bumper repainted.

wolf

It is not unusual for bumpers to have been touched up on cars before resale. There are people who do this for a living - it is called "scuff and shoot", as they scuff up the bumper with a quick sanding and then shoot the paint. My first CPO car had a sloppy job done and they had to clean it up for me.

Unless you have a contract where the dealer explicitly stated there was no accident I don't think there really isn't much you can do. You can possibly have them repair the peeling paint or anything else you discover.

In your case, the question is was there a more serious accident. Lift the hood of the car, look and feel for signs of overspray and tape lines at the edges of the parts to see parts other than the bumper may have been painted. You can get more serious and get yourself a paint meter and check the panels.

Was the car a CPO? The second CPO I purchased was one that I knew had been in an accident but I wasn't concerned because the CPO will not allow a car to be sold with frame damage. I figure most cars end up with a body panel being replaced here and there. My greater concern would be damage beyond cosmetic that will impact the "function" of the car.


My two cents...

545ier

Time for a new bumper IMO!

The dealer may pay for it if you play your cards right.

luigi524td

Do you suppose it's possible that the previous owner had some damage repaired and didn't disclose that to the dealer.

Gilgorm

First off, if you have had the car for three years there is little hope of recourse. I also agree with 'wolf' that bumpers get resprayed all the time just from stone chips. Some cars are even damaged and repaired when in for service without the owners knowledge.
Also some paint repairs are excellent and others aren't. My car was heavily damaged and repaired in January but I defy anyone to find where the car was repaired without specialized equipment. There is no overspray, every bolt looks original (they aren't because the entire fender was replaced), the gaps are consistent and the gloss and shine of the paint is perfect.
BTW, when I was picking up my car, two lease-return E60s were in the body shop lot waiting for bumper repairs prior to being turned in to the dealership.

Diamond

Ya I wouldnt worry about the fact a bumper was repainted. Many reasons such as the bumpers get dinged, backed into, chipped all the time and maybe the old guy just got a repaint after years of chipping or dings-really not a big deal.

I actually got rear ended and pushed into a car in front of me and had 14000 worth of damage right when I bought my car--within that year, Even had the aluminum engine frame bent--Had to take it to the only shop in my city who could do bmw aluminum repairs and they rebuilt and replaced the aluminum engine frame with the glue and pieces its held together by and replaced the entire front bumper and plastic pieces and rear bumper, exhaust and other pieces.

Years later the car has always looked perfect, drove perfect and looks untouched under the hood or on the paint. I mean accidents are so common that they arent really a big deal if they were repaired properly and if bmw inspected a car then odds are there was no frame damage or signifigant damage-your probably just being a bit of a pus when it comes to a chipping bumper that is 6 years old..