[bcm77]

My new 335d estate (less than 3 months old) got hit on the A6 in Manchester yesterday. Felt like a heavy collision....the scumbag was in the left lane and I was in the right lane about to turn right near Levenshulme train station when he tried to change lanes and nip ahead of me (just as the traffic lights changed) but instead collided in to my front passenger side.
I have the bmw advanced car eye 2 dash cams but they didn't record anything, complete waste of money. There were no witnesses and he drove off and I didn't get the licence plate. It hapened at relatively low speed, I was doing around 10mph due to heavy traffic. The damage seems to be badly scraped alloy and paintwork damage so not as bad as I feared. I have reported the incident to the police after a 3 hour wait on the phone and I'm hoping there are some cctv cameras in the area to identify the car but not entirely optimistic.
My insurance excess is £650 so I'm guessing it's not worth going through them?
Is there much chance of internal/ hidden damage to the car such as on the wheel and axle?

Would appreciate some advice from the good people of this forum. This is by the far the most I've spent on a car and i'm absolutely gutted.

[330XDave]

That's crap for you.

Firstly, why didn't the camera pickup anything? Surely it's recording on a loop whilst your driving?

Secondly, you may be surprised at how much damage has actually been done although it's hard to speculate without a picture. A damaged alloy and a number of panels that need repainting would probably be considerably more than your excess if you wanted the job doing at a proper repairer. Are there no dents at all?

[bcm77]

I had set the camera on continuous loop but there are no recordings since last Friday as it seems it has reset to default settings which is recording activated by g sensor only set at sensitivity of 2. Not sure why that's happened...maybe following an ace 2 software update on my phone. There is only one panel, the one above the front wheel that has scrapes on it and there are no dents. I'll try and post pictures later after inspecting in daylight but the file size seems too big when I've tried posting pictures taken with my phone on here.

[330XDave]

To be honest if it's only 1 panel and a damaged alloy, find a good local bodyshop that could do the work. You could probably get it back as new for £300 - £400 maximum.

I'd also maybe send a strongly worded email to BMW regarding the lack of recording on the ACE, as for the one reason you probably bought it for it has failed to achieve.

[bcm77]

Yeah pissed off with the failure of the dash cam more than anything... at 400 pounds fitted it's one of the most expensive on the market as well. I don't fancy repairing the alloy as it has quite a few gouges and chips on it and these repairs don't last from what I've heard. A new alloy would cost around 500 quid I'm guessing and I could sell the damaged one for a small amount. It seems I'm going to have to keep constant checks on the settings on this stupid dash cam when I wanted something I could just fit and forget.

Do you think I should get the car checked out for any internal damage?

[330XDave]

If you take it to a bodyshop they'd be able to check for damage but unless the wheel has had a fair old whack, in which case you'd probably be able to tell when driving it, I doubt there will be.

[Kendo67]

We had a similar "hit + run" incident with the wifes car at a set of lights , it was 50m from the police station and the junction was covered by CCTV , but guess what - none of the cameras were working that day.

They only keep the footage for 28 days so keep at them if you dont here from them soon.

Even if they do get a reg number then the car may not even be insured plus there is also the point of who was driving , especially without camera footage or witnesses.

Very annoying but i would just get it repaired outwith your insurance and put it down to a "bad" experience.

Kenny

[bcm77]

Thanks for the advice both of you, much appreciated...feels like we live in a lawless society at times and it's not worth the stress of owning anything nice when there are so many idiots who have no respect for other peoples property. I guess the only positive to come out of it is that I'll be more careful to check settings on my dash cam regularly not that I should have to. Going to feel awful driving around in the car until it gets repaired but there's not much else I can do. I have requested cctv footage from the city council as well but I suspect the resolution will be too bad to see the licence plate clearly.

[ByTheSea]

I would not rely on the police to obtain CCTV. No injuries, no cares. Similarly my car was parked in a hotel car park where I was a guest. Sustained some bumper damage. Hotel refused to show or release CCTV saying it was not policy unless requested by police. I just had to swallow the cost.

[Sasquartch]

You don't say if your car is owned outright or leased / PCP

I do know that some of the checks done on return sometimes include paint thickness checks and the like so I'd suggest being very careful to get a good guarantee for the work if done outside the BMW network to hopefully avoid any issues further down the line

My old E39 had a small dent in the bonnet prior to purchase which was repaired prior to sale. The paint looked absolutely perfect however a couple of years later the shine had gone off and was obviously not original. In my case though someone reversed into me and paid for the bonnet to be repaired so it worked out OK.

[bcm77]

I bought the car outright but I still want it repaired to the high standard as I want to keep this car for another 10 years. The paintwork damage seems superficial and I might get away with a smart repair on that. The alloy took most of the impact and I think I'll have to fork out for a new one.

[bcm77]

Originally Posted by ByTheSea

I would not rely on the police to obtain CCTV. No injuries, no cares. Similarly my car was parked in a hotel car park where I was a guest. Sustained some bumper damage. Hotel refused to show or release CCTV saying it was not policy unless requested by police. I just had to swallow the cost.

Yeah I was on the line for 3 hours before they took my call, I get the feeling they have bigger priorities especially at this time of the year. No wonder reported crime figures are low when they make it damn near impossible to report anything.

[Kendo67]

Originally Posted by bcm77

Yeah I was on the line for 3 hours before they took my call, I get the feeling they have bigger priorities.

We waited 18 days for a visit from the police , to make a statement.

Luckily we had the reg number and the police had a word with the driver , although it wasn`t him that was driving the car at the time , and eventually his insurance admitted liability so our policy wasn`t effected.

Kenny

[JD6]

Sorry to hear about this. My ACE 2.0 did once go back to G-Sensor recording only, but that was well before the new version of the app was released. I have checked since the app release and mine is still recording continuously. Sounds like we have to keep checking though.

[bcm77]

Originally Posted by JD6

Sorry to hear about this. My ACE 2.0 did once go back to G-Sensor recording only, but that was well before the new version of the app was released. I have checked since the app release and mine is still recording continuously. Sounds like we have to keep checking though.

Thanks, it should really be set to continuous recording as default. I've kind of lost faith in the device but I can't afford to replace it so soon after fitting it so will just have to keep checking the settings.

[ByTheSea]

This site will give you some idea of the cost of a new alloy...

http://www.alloywheelsdirect.net/bmw_alloy_wheels

I had to replace an alloy on my 2015 120i Sport hatch and BMW dealer did it for £350 including fitting.

[TouringPleb]

I feel your pain. When my 440i was a week old I hit a deer and had to go to the body shop.

[bcm77]

Originally Posted by ByTheSea

This site will give you some idea of the cost of a new alloy...

http://www.alloywheelsdirect.net/bmw_alloy_wheels

I had to replace an alloy on my 2015 120i Sport hatch and BMW dealer did it for £350 including fitting.

704m are bloody expensive, seen them slightly cheaper on eBay but I might just get them refurbished once if feasible and see how long it lasts.

[Hooded]

Originally Posted by bcm77

Thanks for the advice both of you, much appreciated...feels like we live in a lawless society at times and it's not worth the stress of owning anything nice when there are so many idiots who have no respect for other peoples property. I guess the only positive to come out of it is that I'll be more careful to check settings on my dash cam regularly not that I should have to. Going to feel awful driving around in the car until it gets repaired but there's not much else I can do. I have requested cctv footage from the city council as well but I suspect the resolution will be too bad to see the licence plate clearly.

Have to agree.
Sorry to hear about your car, .. if there's no other damage other than the cosmetic you mentioned I would certainly find a good body shop and pay rather than go through insurance with that amount of excess.

How did the other driver manage to escape in the heavy 10mph traffic after he hit your car? I think I would have tried to give chase if it was possible.

[JD6]

Originally Posted by bcm77

Thanks, it should really be set to continuous recording as default. I've kind of lost faith in the device but I can't afford to replace it so soon after fitting it so will just have to keep checking the settings.

I agree that continuous by default makes sense.

I have found the UK support for the ACE 2.0 to be virtually non-existent, but you can get a very detailed response from: ace20-support@bmwgroup.com

I suggest that you ask them about this. I have been pestering them to introduce mp4 format video export from the app, and this will be added early in the new year. They are also making it work with the PC software for the original BMW ACE shortly.

I think it's actually a pretty good system, but they launched it too soon, before they had ironed out all of the software issues.

[bcm77]

Originally Posted by Hooded

Have to agree.
Sorry to hear about your car, .. if there's no other damage other than the cosmetic you mentioned I would certainly find a good body shop and pay rather than go through insurance with that amount of excess.

How did the other driver manage to escape in the heavy 10mph traffic after he hit your car? I think I would have tried to give chase if it was possible.

Thanks, the traffic lights changed, I was in shock and in the right hand lane while he managed to stay in the left lane and go straight ahead. I also thought I had the recording on my dash cam so didn't think it was worth chasing him. Yes I think I'll just get the wheel refurbished and a mobile body repair shop for the scratches over the wheel arch. I'll just need to make sure my dash cam is on constant recording from now on.

[bcm77]

Originally Posted by JD6

I agree that continuous by default makes sense.

I have found the UK support for the ACE 2.0 to be virtually non-existent, but you can get a very detailed response from: ace20-support@bmwgroup.com

I suggest that you ask them about this. I have been pestering them to introduce mp4 format video export from the app, and this will be added early in the new year. They are also making it work with the PC software for the original BMW ACE shortly.

I think it's actually a pretty good system, but they launched it too soon, before they had ironed out all of the software issues.

Thanks for that email address, I'll definitely send them a message. I have it on continuous record and g sensor sensitivity at 5 now, meaning it bleeps at the slightest bump on the road surface.