s0ggyfish

Hail damage from storm a couple weeks ago means the car is at a reputable body shop getting fixed up (insurance is covering). Thought I would take the opportunity to get an estimate to get the car up to near mint condition as it currently has a ton of blemishes.

Damage is:

• chips on the hood and front bumper
• scrapes on the bottom of the front bumper near the corners
• scrapes along the underside of the side skirts along the front
• scrape on the rear driver side side skirt (about 25 square inches worth)
• scuffs on rear bumper
• trunk has two dime size chips

The body shop estimate came to 1,900 to correct all of these imperfections. They would respray all the affected panels (I think they mentioned 12 panels were affected).
Does this seem reasonable? About in line? They claimed touch up paint would end up looking like nail polish on the affected spots. Not sure if I should go through with it or not, another place estimated 1000 but they were way less reputable and didn't really look the car over well before delivering the estimate. Car is an 05 545i that is in great shape otherwise.

Thanks in advance.

tonymac

Thats almost a new paint job all together.

Persian_535i

I would love to give you advice as far as if that price is a fair price to get work done on your vehicle for the damage you have, however every state/area has different rates for paint work and comparing a paint job in LA to one in NY for example, I'm sure you would get two totally different estimates. Hence the suggestions to get multiple estimates from competing shops in your area. If you feel $1900 was a bit much, and the place that quoted $1000 seemed shady check out a few more places to get a good grasp of pricing.
For example one shop gave me an estimate to repaint my rear bumper for almost $700, I found another reputable place 15mins away from there that charged me $250.

BL 5

$1900 to repair and refinish 12 panels is a pretty good price.

Let your insurance work it out with your shop.

If your looking for a complete repaint (refinish) for a good job, your looking at $4,000 - $6,000. It's a ton of work prepping those panels for paint.

One more thing, make sure the shop of YOUR choice uses paint that is BMW certified. I don't believe PPG has this certification.

saltdog

I think that's a good price. The labor for all those little sections spikes the price. They'll probably have to blend into adjacent panels too, which increases the cost because they have to use more paint. It would be different if you had 1 dent. A few months ago I got a bad door ding (almost looked intentional) and got a quote for $500 which I thought was a bit high. I didn't want to risk the paint not matching, so I had dent pro look at it. They ended up fixing for $200; best thing I ever did!

525iEnjoy

Please make sure they fill in the chips..I have seen lots of places just sand and spray over and it looks like you have dings in the paint. Ask questions for the 1900 if they're going to such lenghts

pukka

That price seems pretty fair if they are actually taking off the panels and fixing the imperfections instead of just spraying over it.

When checking out a body shop, pay attention to what questions they ask and ask a few questions of your own to see how knowledgeable they are. I ALWAYS ask to see pics of their work done on other cars or get a tour of what projects they are currently working on. A good body shop won't hesitate to show you.

I recently got referred to a local body shop that only works on high end cars and classic restorations. After speaking with the owner and getting a tour I was hooked.

tonyb635

I'm not quite clear on your post, but if you haven't started the hail damage work perhaps they can include all of this. So if a panel has to be repainted because of hail damage you shouldn't be charged for it again because of dings and scrapes on the same panel. Make sure you understand which brand of paint they will be using. This also has a huge impact on the material cost. E.G. Just painted a ground effects kit for a friend and Limco paint was 98.00 a qt and 360.00 for a gal. Diamont was 180.00 a qt and ~800.00 for a gal.! If you are someone who is very maticulous about your car then Diamont is what you want, if you're not then Limco would do just fine and be cheaper... Most likely you would not be able to tell the difference if either was applied correctly. However, the Diamont would last longer and overall a much better paint. The two brands I meantioned should be available US wide, but this was only an example. Also, see if you can have a look at some work they completed if the car is still on the lot to look at. Just because you are paying less doesn't always meean you will get the worse job and the same goes for more.

Gilgorm

When I was in my major accident in 2010, I already knew the name of the body shop that my BMW dealer used for their cars so I drove directly to it from the accident scene. Aside from this endorsement, a thorough tour of the premises and the large number of high end MBs, BMWs and even a 2010 Maserati impressed me. There were even three E60s in for various repairs. I also saw their state of the art paint booth. They had been in business for thirty years and had umpteen endorsements on a bulletin board in the customer area. The place was very busy but looked organized and clean. I was sold.
My repairs and paint were flawless. Bottom line: you have to feel very comfortable with the shop and you do get what you pay for. You can't put a price tag on your happiness after the fact.
BTW, total damage cost was $14,000.

w84me

Call your local BMW dealership you trust, see who they use and go get a quote. The Austin dealership uses about three, and one of them, from what I've priced makes your quote sound cheap! Maybe a super expensive quote will make you feel better about $1900. I would think quality paint and primer would cost 200-500 alone. If they put in 20 hours of labor into the car at 50/hr that would be another $1000. Your already over $1000 w/o even giving it any thought. There are all kinds of ways to cut corners on body work, so this is a case of you may get what you pay for.