[Anki_252hp]

I bumped my 5 Series into a very low metal railing in a very crowded market in Noida & even though I was just parking & almost crawling, I got my driver side side skirt badly damaged & I was sure I had to get it changed. Attached picture for reference at the end of post.

Next Morning, I called BMW service center & I was quoted 40K for the side skirt & since it was just start of my Insurance, I did not want to give up 1 zero dep claim out of 2 at the start of the policy. So I asked them if they can repair it & they said, they can do it for 13K with some "Repair Kit" which I was not sure about.

I was happy with that but though about just checking some other options, I searched on Google about "Bumper repair shops" as it was a plastic part & found the shop named Lala Bumper Repair ( also known as S & D Automobiles ) just opposite of my office.

I just went there to ask if they can repair it, I was not even driving that car so showed him picture & the person who attended me, said they can do it, I will need to show his brother ( who is knows as Lala) and he can definitely fix it properly. But I was not sure as I knew there will be sensors under the side skirts & was not sure if I should get it repaired like that.

Next day, I decided to get it done from BMW itself but since this shop was just few meters away from BMW Deutsche Motors Noida, I just went there to get it checked from the main guy.

Once he saw the damage, he was very sure that he can bring it back to the original shape & convinced me that he has worked on many luxury cars such as BMW, Mers, Audis and more. He also told me that his workshop can repair & paint it to make it just like new. Somehow, after seeing his confidence & as it was an external part, I decided to go for it, He initially quoted 6K for the job but later agreed on 5K which includes paint job too.

Since, I was not very sure, I decided to stay & check the work. He removed the side skirt, managed all sensors carefully, then an old fellow took a heat gun & soften the hanging fiber part. A different guy then did plastic welding to bring it back to original shape.

After that, they fully installed the side skirt to check the alignment which I found unnecessary first, but later I realized alignment can't be checked without installing the side skirt. They had to remove it once again to align it properly.

After this process, I came back to my office & he followed up with me on whatsapp & updated me about the progress. I was very impressed with overall work, his knowledge & professional behavior.

I gave my car around 11AM & got it back on same day 5.30PM.

Location - Google Maps
Things I Liked

• Big Space, can accommodate good no. of cars & office to sit & check the work
• Reasonable Pricing
• Experienced staff with good knowledge of dealing with luxury cars
• On time delivery

Things which can be improved

• Since they don't have a paint booth, you may get some dust particles in paint
• They did not do clear coat on top of paint which would be very good for the car.

I am attaching some pictures of damage, process & final result.

[viXit]

Hi,

That's an awesome repair. I wonder why BMW charges 40k for a cosmetic plastic part. Nonsense. Nice to know it was sorted for 5k

About the clear coat, they did use clear coat. Otherwise it would be a matte finish.
Sometimes, for spot repairs they can formulate single stage paint which would be just as glossy as 2 stage (Base + Clear coat) paint.

Whatever may be the case, I think you're good.

If I were you, I would buy something worth 35k to celebrate the savings by wasting them. But hey, money enjoyed wasting, is not money wasted.

[vishy76]

This is a very good fix. Frankly, I don't find the amount quoted by BMW to be too high either, someone in the known was quoted 40-50K for a running board repair on his Jetta.

However, for 5K, I would definitely say this is job well done. Especially the plastic welding and the overall alignment.

[audioholic]

The issue with such repairs is that after plastic welding, they smoothen the outer surface and level it up with a good amount of body filler. While the plastic skirt is a flexible part, body filler is not and over time, it will develop issues like peel off, cracking etc. This is especially the case if that part is subjected to some flexing due to external force. So the long term effects of such plastic repair are always unpredictable.

[svsantosh]

Ah! Plastic Welding at its best.

Anki - please revisit the person and post pics of the product he has used. He should have used Plastic Primer and Plastic Putty. Did he use a metal mesh to heat and weld-integrate into the structure to regain strength.

The kit used by showrooms are usually JB weld for Plastic, think of it as M-Seal (two part mixture) but a well engineered product. As Audioholic said if it is not repaired with the right material then it can crack and will show up as surface cracks over few weeks time. Let this summer pass, if it holds good till Aug/sep then it is a good repair job.

https://www.motip.com/en-en/automoti...r-repair-putty

https://www.jbweld.com/products

FYI...

[Sahil00090]

This is a good repair if it stays that way after this summer but 40k is pretty reasonable for a BMW considering I paid 22k or something for my Polo sideskirt.

Also, wanted to ask if that 13K repair from BMW included Repaint cost as well?

[Anki_252hp]

@viXit, Since my wife forced me to go on valentine's dinner on such a chaotic time, I put the blame on her for this
We already parked bit far from but my wife found this spot & asked me to park it there, so after that she said, she will take care of the repair & when it was just 5K, she refused to reimburse :(


@audioholic, I was not aware of all these technical details, but if it works now its fine as I spent 5K only, in future if something happens, will get it replaced.


@svsantosh, I will try to revisit & get more information when I will go for car cleaning.

@Sahil00090 - Yes, it was inclusive of paint, I am using there services since my first BMW so they gave a reasonable price I think.