[juggsy]

Hi all,

Pretty gutted to be honest, my 7 month old 440i has been hit from behind, came to a stop in traffic, person behind kept going. Her airbags went off if that gives indication of speed, although we were in slow moving traffic.

Most important thing is we (wife, son and I) are ok. It's been deemed repairable, needs a new bumper, tailgate, exhaust, lights, obviously painting/blending. The boot floor is also being replaced, and the geometry needs to be checked.

It's being repaired at a BMW body shop who assure me it will be 'like it came from the factory', but does anyone have any experiences from this kind of shunt? Anything to look out for? Just worried my first ever new car will now be a repaired car, and want to ensure no problems in the future. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[330XDave]

If it's being repaired by BMW you shouldn't have too much to worry about, although I'd give it a really detailed inspection when you collect it. Check that gaps between panels are uniform for starters.

[RoShambolt]

If it's a BMW repair you have to hope it couldn't t be in better hands, maybe make sure they check for any exhaust deformation further up and around the down pipe, if it's damaged the exhaust it may have shunted it forward with force.

Also make sure it's very well lit when you collect it or in direct sunlight, I picked up a repaired car on an overcast day and it looked great. First day of sunlight and it looked like a bag of shit, could see the sanding marks under the paint at certain angles etc.

Also if they are changing the boot floor be aware the will be spraying a fair bit inside the car and spraying seal or adhesive. A mate had that done on a car and the amount of random over spray he found on his interior for months after was insane, so make sure if it's possible that any spray can get in the cabin they mask and sheet it within an inch of its life!

Sorry to hear it's happened, but as you say as long as you are all ok after it. Hope they do a top notch job for you.

[madlad2000]

There are companies that you just give a quick call to and they deal with the entire whiplash process, something that may be deemed plausible given her airbag went off.

With mine, which is more about what you're concerned about, I also argued for extra money due to added depreciation after the repair work given that you're meant to tell people if it's been in a crash. Their insurance accepted a 4k settlement out of court, all from me doing nothing other than signing a document the company sent me.

Btw I did actually get neck pain as I was rear shunted by a stupid twat in a Nissan micra on the 70mph urban dual carriageway next to me on a rainy day. Just because I fly down their doesn't mean I'm racing someone, I'd be going they speed whether there was any any car or not. My car had much better brakes etc allowing me to drive safely at high speed. As I reach the roundabout to go straight over to continue at 70mph, a truck unusually started to go round, I comfortably stopped. He was going to fast for his car in rain so instead of smashing into the lorry, moved across into the fast lane to hit my car instead. Lol. Was quite funny to be fair. Lucky he was insured at least

[Skwirrel]

I feel for you, I had someone drive into the back of me in the snow 18 months ago when my car was 5 weeks old with less than 1500 miles on it, then a damaged windscreen 2 weeks later. Both times driving somewhere for work.

It took the shine off the new car feeling at the time but it was repaired to an as new standard and is now pretty much forgotten.

[xenon]

Originally Posted by danlad99

There are companies that you just give a quick call to and they deal with the entire whiplash process

Fortunately those shit bags who drive up the cost of everybody's insurance are no more.

[Pobsey]

Just make sure the paint finish is as it should be, my local Bmw paint shop are shit, wouldn’t let them paint anything of mine - one of the reasons I now drive 1hr for a decent dealership

[juggsy]

Thanks for everyone's insights, overall feeling a bit more reassured although will wait to see how the car looks before I can really pass judgment.

Have received a lot of ambulance chaser calls, have ignored them all. My insurer is dealing with everything, costs approved for repair, child seat replacement sorted, courtesy car covered for duration etc.

Will update after a few weeks for a bit of closure!

[Russbmw]

The good news is if it was a square on shunt, the chances of the chassis geometry being out are pretty minimal. Bumper shocks would have done their job and taken the brunt of it.

The fact they're suggesting the floorpan needs replacing is a bit concerning, were the rear door shut gaps ok after the event?

It's probably more likely the edge nearest the bootlid has bent a bit, and rather than straightening it out are proposing a new one; which seems a bit overkill to me.

Feel your pain though, but don't stress, it's not the first car that's even had a rear end shunt and been repaired - and also the fact her airbags (LOL) went off is neither here nor there really, as it's doesn't take much to set them off.

FWIW, our E70 X5 had some bird in a newish golf pile into the back of my missus one day. Her Golf was a write off. Bonnet buckled and leading edge shoved into the A-pillars, creasing them too. Wings bent. Headlights smashed, radiator pissing coolant everywhere. The X5 however, had one of the parking sensors popped out and the tow bracket had shoved into the bumper making a bit of a messy imprint in it, and a bit of the exhaust heat shield had been bent a little out of place, but everything else was fine.

I reckon a good number of used cars have had a smack and been repaired to some degree, and I've yet had anyone (including BMW dealerships who check approved used cars over thoroughly) fess up to knowing anything.

[juggsy]

Originally Posted by Russbmw

The good news is if it was a square on shunt, the chances of the chassis geometry being out are pretty minimal. Bumper shocks would have done their job and taken the brunt of it.

The fact they're suggesting the floorpan needs replacing is a bit concerning, were the rear door shut gaps ok after the event?

It's probably more likely the edge nearest the bootlid has bent a bit, and rather than straightening it out are proposing a new one; which seems a bit overkill to me.

It was fairly square on, all doors including rears opened fine, couldn't immediate see any deformity, as you say bumper and shocks took the brunt.

However on the boot floor there was a fairly significant 'V' shape in the boot floor, I assume they replace it so they can stand by the repair and mitigate any strength issues when straightening out bent metal, but I'm by no means an expert on the subject so have to go by their judgment.

[Russbmw]

Fair enough.

[juggsy]

Well after 2 months to the day of the accident, I'm finally getting my car back tomorrow. Any tips on how best to check things over and specific things to look out for? I'm hoping for an improvement over this:

[JustChris]

BMW repair is the way to go, spot on.

How's the whiplash...

[NotGotABimmer23]

Bet the repair on that wasnt cheap...

[TouringPleb]

I feel your pain

My SRB 440i was a week old when I hit a deer! That needed a body shop repair but nothing like yours.

[RobUK]

If they have replaced/repaired the boot floor then take the car for a drive in the rain as soon as you can and drive through puddles, then check very carefully for water ingress in the boot. I got shunted from behind on a dual carriageway many years ago and after 8 months of repeated attempts to repair the car they finally figured they got it right. Turned out there were areas of the boot that were no longer water-tight, but you wouldn't have known if you hadn't gone looking for it.

[juggsy]

Originally Posted by RobUK

If they have replaced/repaired the boot floor then take the car for a drive in the rain as soon as you can and drive through puddles, then check very carefully for water ingress in the boot. I got shunted from behind on a dual carriageway many years ago and after 8 months of repeated attempts to repair the car they finally figured they got it right. Turned out there were areas of the boot that were no longer water-tight, but you wouldn't have known if you hadn't gone looking for it.

Thanks Rob good tip. There are some good tips further up the thread, like checking shut lines, paint in daylight, exhaust, paint in the interior

@Chris Whiplash getting better, having a bunch of physio for some continued neck and back pain which will hopefully subside over time

[juggsy]

Definitely an improvement! A few minor paint defects they said they'll correct, otherwise happy so far!