# I clipped a curb this morning.



## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

I clipped the right rear wheel on a curb this morning. It was certainly stupidity on my part. Getting a bit too familiar with my commute route I suppose.

I thought I might have flattend the tire and rim, but tire is fine, rim was scratched up, but when driving off I noticed my alignment was off as i had to steer left to keep going straight. Not sure if the front was also impacted but right rear for sure. Then my brake warning light went off.

I was able to drive on to work and call my insurance. Told them I thought car was safe enough to drive back home and then drop off at a shop. The nearest shop they work with is a Chevy dealer, even though BMW is closer to me.

My deductible is high at $1,000, and I would not expect this would reach that high, but I'm debating if i should take it to the BMW or the shop recommended by my insurance? I suppose I could stop by both and get an estimate of repair.


Any suggestions from the crowd?:dunno:


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## floydarogers (Oct 11, 2010)

Why would you take a BMW to a Chevy body shop. They might be able to replace the rear control arms, but they'll have to order everything from BMW anyway...

Take it to the BMW shop (or their recommendation). You almost certainly have the RIGHT to get your car repaired where you want it repaired.


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## AutoUnion (Apr 11, 2005)

Take it to a place the local BMW dealer recommends. Not some POS Chevy shop


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## axg1040 (Mar 22, 2008)

As a claims manager for a very large insurance company...you have the right to get your vehicle repaired at a shop of your choice. Just to put it in black and white....you pick their preferred shop you likely get some sort of lifetime guarantee with the repairs. You pick a shop not in their "network" then you are on your own if there are delays,higher labor rates, repair issues, etc. That is why they push a network shop. 
I can tell you that many of the shops in our preferred network sublet BMW suspension work to the BMW dealer. So even if the preferred shop is XYZ it may still need to go to the dealer. Here is what I would do.... Ask the adjuster "do you send out a survey after the claim is settled?". If the answer is "yes" let them know you really like to fill them out in detail. Adjusters are graded on their customer service scores. You want them to know up front you will be giving feedback. Trust me...it gets results and gets a possible lazy adjuster on your side.
If it were me..I would let them write up an estimate and then take it to the BMW dealer.
If it were body work I would take it to the best body shop in town...even if it was not a BMW dealer. Suspension or engine work is best served by the dealer.


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## Alpine300ZHP (Jan 31, 2007)

Flyingman said:


> I clipped the right rear wheel on a curb this morning. It was certainly stupidity on my part. Getting a bit too familiar with my commute route I suppose.
> 
> I thought I might have flattend the tire and rim, but tire is fine, rim was scratched up, but when driving off I noticed my alignment was off as i had to steer left to keep going straight. Not sure if the front was also impacted but right rear for sure. Then my brake warning light went off.
> 
> ...


If I were you I would only let a BMW dealer touch my car. Why not take it to Pines BMW...they supposedly have a decent repair facility and they might give you a BMW loaner while it is being fixed.


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## Pierre Louis (Oct 23, 2011)

Flyingman said:


> I clipped the right rear wheel on a curb this morning. It was certainly stupidity on my part. Getting a bit too familiar with my commute route I suppose.
> 
> I thought I might have flattend the tire and rim, but tire is fine, rim was scratched up, but when driving off I noticed my alignment was off as i had to steer left to keep going straight. Not sure if the front was also impacted but right rear for sure. Then my brake warning light went off.
> 
> ...


I did the same exact thing early on in my ownership experience. 

The car is so powerful and I wasn't judging it right. The wheel was fine except for the scratch as well as the tire. It needed a new hub and control arm(s) - cost was high for parts. The BMW dealer needed to deal with the collision insurance company. Having the wheel refinished still hasn't gotten it right after several tries. The sport wheel is VERY robust - seems like it doesn't need any special wheel hazard insurance....

Good luck.

PL


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## DC-IT (Sep 27, 2009)

If the repair is under $1K (your deductible) you might as well get BMW dealer to fix on your own dime.
If it were me I would avoid any claims on your policy even if the costs is a few hundred more than the deductible as it may affect your future premium?


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Thanks guys. Looks like things sorted themselve out for the best. I stopped by the local Chevy Collision shop this afternoon, they are the nearest repair facility that works with my insurance (USAA). I saw a few BMWs there plus these guys are also the MB repair facility, so appear to be OK.

Repair was estimated at just over $500 and two days but this is based on no other known damages as they did not lift the car to see the condition of the rear wheel and suspension. This was to refurbish the rim (including remounting and balancing tire), a 4 wheel alignment, and repainting the scrathed running board.

After getting the quote I drove up the road to my BMW dealer where I had previously set up an appointment for a repair quote. I pulled in and was informed that in fact the collision/repair shop was located about 20 miles away in Fort Lauderdale. After a moment of silence (I wasn't sure whom to blame for this mix up), I looked up and saw my SA Frank. I went over to say hello and explained my situation. He literally bent over backwards to help me out, had his alignment guy come and look and they said they did not see any reason why they couldn't make the repairs right there. The running board has some scratches, the rim is scratched but not bent (they do rim repairs on site through a contractor), and he said the brake light warning I have is due to a difference in measured speed of the four wheels because of the misaligned right rear wheel. This would require a reprogram/resetting of the computer that controls this, plus a 4 wheel alignment.

The guy at the Chevy shop did not really discuss anything about this, so I doubt he really knew. The BMW Tech also asked if the Chevy shop did alignment under load or not? Another point not discussed. BMW puts sand bags to simulate people in the car so alignment is proper under normal operating conditions. This is something I've never seen done anyplace else.

Anyway, after my SA scolded me for not scoring him all 10's on my last service, he offered me a free loaner, a new BMW 328i, and that my car could be ready as soon as tomorrow (he always says this!). Estimate is around $600, so well within what the Chevy quote was, considering they did not appear to consider the reprogramming for the anti-skid system.

So, all in all my day ended on an up note considering how it started. :thumbup: Of course they could still find some additional damages underneath, but I poked around and could not see any obvious damage.


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## Pierre Louis (Oct 23, 2011)

That sounds OK. 

The damage to mine was a bit worse.... Lead footed as I was at first and meeting up with a rather harsh corner ledge.

PL


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## Alpine300ZHP (Jan 31, 2007)

Flyingman said:


> Thanks guys. Looks like things sorted themselve out for the best. I stopped by the local Chevy Collision shop this afternoon, they are the nearest repair facility that works with my insurance (USAA). I saw a few BMWs there plus these guys are also the MB repair facility, so appear to be OK.
> 
> Repair was estimated at just over $500 and two days but this is based on no other known damages as they did not lift the car to see the condition of the rear wheel and suspension. This was to refurbish the rim (including remounting and balancing tire), a 4 wheel alignment, and repainting the scrathed running board.
> 
> ...


Now you know who to thank for telling you to take it to a BMW dealer from the beginning. Glad you got it worked out. My personal experience over the years has taught me that the dealer is usually not much more than an indy and the indy will not give you free loaners, comfy lounge area and accomodate you when you are in a pinch. I use my favorite dealer for all of my service and they have been taking good care of me for 12 years now. I see no reason to try an indy to save a buck or two. Also, the Chevy place does not know crap about BMW's and they had no clue that a proper BMW alighnment requires loading the car as you found out. I even take my car to the dealer for tires...they let me bring in my Tire Rack tires and they mount them for me for the same price as a tire shop. Why would I go to an indy with that kind of pricing and service?


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Alpine300ZHP said:


> Now you know who to thank for telling you to take it to a BMW dealer from the beginning.


Alpine, what dealer are you using?


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## Alpine300ZHP (Jan 31, 2007)

Flyingman said:


> Alpine, what dealer are you using?


I use Coggin BMW of the Treasure Coast and have had a long relationship with the shop foreman, Rick Coppola. After a dozen BMW's over as many years Coggin has always done right by me. The problem, for you, is they are a good 2 hours away from Weston otherwise I would tell you to take your car to them. I live in WPB (15 minutes from either Braman location), but I drive an hour north to Coggin for everything service related....even oil changes.


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

The loaner is a dark blue/tan interior 328i, 2012.

When I first got in I was confused if it was a 3 or 5 series. It seemed a bit roomier than mine and had a different feel all together. It has i-drive which I don't have. Can't say that is a big loss on me. Seems even more complicated to find a radio station. The engine stopped at the first red light and I was trying to figure out what the heck was going on. It started back up when I took my foot off the brake. This is a rather annoying feature to me. You can turn that feature off.

It is non Sport, so drives like a boat. The steering is much easier to turn than mine as well. I do note the 8 speed A/T, but don't like the way the shifter works.

Uses a FOB, so no place to insert the key. I really don't like that, feels unnatural for some reason. Guess I'm a bit old fashioned, need someplace to keep the key.

Can't say I like it, definitely miss the "D".


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## Alpine300ZHP (Jan 31, 2007)

Flyingman said:


> The loaner is a dark blue/tan interior 328i, 2012.
> 
> When I first got in I was confused if it was a 3 or 5 series. It seemed a bit roomier than mine and had a different feel all together. It has i-drive which I don't have. Can't say that is a big loss on me. Seems even more complicated to find a radio station. The engine stopped at the first red light and I was trying to figure out what the heck was going on. It started back up when I took my foot off the brake. This is a rather annoying feature to me. You can turn that feature off.
> 
> ...


I felt the same way when I test drove the F30. This is the first BMW that I do not like more than the prior model. I thought the E46 was better than the E36, I thought the E90 blew the E46 away. However, I think the F30 is inferior to the E90. It has nothing to do with me owning an E90...I just do not particularly like the F30. With the 5 series the new F10 made me trade my E60, but that will not be happening with the E90. I am keeping it or getting an SUV, but there is no way I would trade my E90 for the F30. I see the E90 as the pinnacle of the 3 series lineup.


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## Pierre Louis (Oct 23, 2011)

Alpine300ZHP said:


> I felt the same way when I test drove the F30. This is the first BMW that I do not like more than the prior model. I thought the E46 was better than the E36, I thought the E90 blew the E46 away. However, I think the F30 is inferior to the E90. It has nothing to do with me owning an E90...I just do not particularly like the F30. With the 5 series the new F10 made me trade my E60, but that will not be happening with the E90. I am keeping it or getting an SUV, but there is no way I would trade my E90 for the F30. I see the E90 as the pinnacle of the 3 series lineup.


I haven't seen or test-driven an F30 but see it as a totally new car, so it might take BMW a while to figure it out. The electric steering, the suspension, the engine, the interior are all new if not in concept but in execution. Only the look has some resemblance to the E90, and that with a sloped front end which appears as an afterthought to me. But I have only seen a couple on the road so far.

PL


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

Alpine300ZHP said:


> I felt the same way when I test drove the F30. This is the first BMW that I do not like more than the prior model. I thought the E46 was better than the E36, I thought the E90 blew the E46 away. However, I think the F30 is inferior to the E90. It has nothing to do with me owning an E90...I just do not particularly like the F30. With the 5 series the new F10 made me trade my E60, but that will not be happening with the E90. I am keeping it or getting an SUV, but there is no way I would trade my E90 for the F30. I see the E90 as the pinnacle of the 3 series lineup.


Hear, hear!:thumbup:


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

OK, got my D back today. Definitely a huge difference all-around between the 2010 335D and the 2012 328i. Would not want to do a trade for that one.

$605.00 bucks to repair/straighten my rear wheel, all wheel alignment under load, and some adjustment on the rear wheel suspension, plus a reset of the wheel speed sensor. I left the rocker panel alone as you can't even see the scrape on it, it was so low.

I'll be more careful next time.:thumbup:

By the way, the 328i was beating the 335D on mpg. It was running close to 31mpg vs my 29.1, however I did not really get into heavy commute traffic with it, but still impressive.


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## UncleJ (May 7, 2006)

Was that the new turbo 4 328? They are supposed to be really great, the new X3 28i is alleged to get 0-60 in 6.5 which is pretty swift for a 30+ mpg SUV! Of course the new turbo 4 diesel would be even better -- but when will we ever see that one?


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## Flyingman (Sep 13, 2009)

I doubt it had a turbo, certainly didn't respond like it did.

What was interesting was the 8 speed A/T. It shifts in a very narrow band, much narrower than the "D" does with it's 6 speed.

I suppose if you are really looking for efficiency, and don't want a Prius, this would be a good option.


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## Snipe656 (Oct 22, 2009)

Flyingman said:


> I doubt it had a turbo, certainly didn't respond like it did.
> 
> What was interesting was the 8 speed A/T. It shifts in a very narrow band, much narrower than the "D" does with it's 6 speed.
> 
> I suppose if you are really looking for efficiency, and don't want a Prius, this would be a good option.


It did in fact have a turbo


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