M3 - scratched on first day! (UK, South London)

[Cottie]

Hi all - proud owner of a bog standard white M3. What a ridiculously amazing car. However I scratched lightly the bumper getting it out of our driveway on the very first day (don't, just don't...)

I've just got an estimate back from the Tesla approved garage and it is for a crazy £2.3k inc VAT!

18 hours labour for these tiny marks - has anyone got similar done locally for cheaper? Oh and £500 paint?! They need to blend the paintwork on a 3 week old car...??

They talk about needing to shut the car down and " pre and post sweeping" for 4 hours - then what are they doing for 14 HOURS?!

Any advice welcome in the Croydon area, this is nuts. And yes, I am hanging my head in shame nonetheless but this seems criminal. I got rear ended in my Outlander (just a big ish dent) and the bill was less than this.

 

[TW14 9LF]

Congrats on your new car, sorry for your first scratch. Obviously can't see from your picture whether there is any underlying damage to your bumper, but assuming this is all cosmetic, 2.3K does seem a bit high. Here in the US we have mobile bumper repair folks that come to your home or workplace and fix cosmetic damage like this. I recently had a nasty scrape on my back bumper (thanks to somebody who apparently parked by feel rather than sight). I had it fixed for $350, took about 3 hours. The paint he applied isn't quite as smooth and glossy as the OEM paint, but it isn't bad; I notice it only because I know it was done. Plus, I haven't compounded / waxed it yet, so likely it will get better after that. While at our house he also fixed a rather large dent in the back bumper of my Nissan. That didn't come out perfect, but certainly acceptable for a 20 year old car.

Keith

 

[MP3Mike]

Did you check with Tesla service center and see if they could just get you a factory pre-painted bumper cover? Here is the US they do that and it is much cheaper than taking it to a body shop for that kind of damage.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

That's a shameless money grab for a simple little scrap! Disgusting! Make sure to laugh in their face and post negative reviews.

 

[SMAlset]

I’m sure labor is a big part of their quote and the fact it’s not a “just spray once” kind of repair.

Sorry about the scrape. It’s always a killer when the car is new and when it’s due to something you did or didn’t do. Don’t be too hard on yourself. After driving our cars without any incidents for many many monyhs, within a few months of each other I curbed both of our cars while parking on the street. Hurts still when I see the roughed wheel rims.

BTW clear bra (Paint protection film) probably would have saved you from a paint job looking at the damage.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

I’m sure labor is a big part of their quote and the fact it’s not a “just spray once” kind of repair.

It's about 30 mins of extra labor for an experienced body shop to slap on a skim coat of filler and sand it smooth. Then it's the normal spray.

 

[SMAlset]

It's about 30 mins of extra labor for an experienced body shop to slap on a skim coat of filler and sand it smooth. Then it's the normal spray.

How many coats paint and won't there be a clear coat on top of that?

 

[Biscuitman]

Hi all - proud owner of a bog standard white M3. What a ridiculously amazing car. However I scratched lightly the bumper getting it out of our driveway on the very first day (don't, just don't...)

I've just got an estimate back from the Tesla approved garage and it is for a crazy £2.3k inc VAT!

18 hours labour for these tiny marks - has anyone got similar done locally for cheaper? Oh and £500 paint?! They need to blend the paintwork on a 3 week old car...??

They talk about needing to shut the car down and " pre and post sweeping" for 4 hours - then what are they doing for 14 HOURS?!

Any advice welcome in the Croydon area, this is nuts. And yes, I am hanging my head in shame nonetheless but this seems criminal. I got rear ended in my Outlander (just a big ish dent) and the bill was less than this.

If it makes you feel better, I backed into my neighbours stone retaining wall when I was driving it the first day of ownership!
Misery loves company.

 

[fr100]

I think it would be cheaper to buy a new bumper from Tesla.

 

[Bubbatech]

Put some touch up paint from Tesla on it and forget about it. I have done that to almost every car I’ve owned. Pisses me off. So far I have not done this to my M3. However, if I do, I’ll curse, touch it up, and move on.

 

[N.Y.R.]

Ooof - Karma owes you and I hope you didn't owe karma!

You can cover the bottom of the front bumper with a Carbon Fiber Lip ($500 USD?) or Polypropylene lip (<$150 USD?) that would cover 95% of the damage.

Alternatively, perfect time to consider vinyl.

CARBON:

PP:

 

[mlkmade]

That price is likely replacing the whole front facia. I just had mine done under warranty but the original estimate was $1300 US.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

How many coats paint and won't there be a clear coat on top of that?

so you think 14hrs is reasonable amount of time to do this repair?

 

[Ofarlig]

so you think 14hrs is reasonable amount of time to do this repair?

Yes, I am surprised it isn’t more. It will take them time to remove the bumper, possibly build it up and sand it multiple times, properly blend the pearl white with the surrounding areas (so repaint a large part of it, possibly multiple times if it isn’t perfect), remount bumper, buff it out.

That’s why you use insurance for these things.

 

[J1mbo]

Hi all - proud owner of a bog standard white M3. What a ridiculously amazing car. However I scratched lightly the bumper getting it out of our driveway on the very first day (don't, just don't...)

I've just got an estimate back from the Tesla approved garage and it is for a crazy £2.3k inc VAT!

18 hours labour for these tiny marks - has anyone got similar done locally for cheaper? Oh and £500 paint?! They need to blend the paintwork on a 3 week old car...??

They talk about needing to shut the car down and " pre and post sweeping" for 4 hours - then what are they doing for 14 HOURS?!

Any advice welcome in the Croydon area, this is nuts. And yes, I am hanging my head in shame nonetheless but this seems criminal. I got rear ended in my Outlander (just a big ish dent) and the bill was less than this.

I had a similar scrape, thanks to a neighbour who reversed into my bumper. Will PM you with details of a company based in West Molsey that I used to fix my pearl white MS. The company restores classic cars but will also do this kind of thing. Cost was around £500 all in.

 

[SMAlset]

so you think 14hrs is reasonable amount of time to do this repair?

I didn’t see the quote and don’t have an idea of dry time between the layers of spray or what ever else they might be checking out like sensors. When my husband’s car was side swiped in a parking lot (pretty much just XPel damage except for a small dented quarter panel portion and bumper gouge and turned out sensor needed replacing), I can tell you the car was there for just under a week. It was handled by the guy’s insurance.

 

[TLLMRRJ]

Yes, I am surprised it isn’t more. It will take them time to remove the bumper, possibly build it up and sand it multiple times, properly blend the pearl white with the surrounding areas (so repaint a large part of it, possibly multiple times if it isn’t perfect), remount bumper, buff it out.

That’s why you use insurance for these things.

Body shops must love you!

 

[Ofarlig]

Body shops must love you!

I don’t know, it’s insurance companies that deal with that kind of stuff, that’s what I pay them for. My guess is that they don’t like being charged too much though so they most likely have an idea of what stuff should cost.

I just drive the car there and then inspect the work up close afterwards with strong flashlights, if I can tell that it has been repainted they have to redo the work.

How long do you think it should take to do it properly? Meaning you cannot tell it has been repainted.