[brettl]

My 2019 had a moderate accident in 2020, repairs were made at the time. However now the dealer has pulled out a tsb indicating that based on the repairs made, the steering rack needs to be replaced. Quote is for $7k. Car is still in warranty until about Labor Day 2023.

I’ve reached out to a well known indi shop who specializes in engine mods and suspension upgrades (and has 3 bmw master tech’s on staff) and asked them for their thoughts on the repair. My guess is they will come back with a better price.

I’ve had a persistent rattle in the front of the car since before the accident, although it is now progressively gotten worse. It was documented before the accident, but the dealer has looked for it several times and now says it’s likely the steering rack that should have been replaced as a result of the accident.

My question for this forum, do I risk any additional warranty claim by having a known great shop do the repair, or pay full tilt to the dealer for the repair.

What if the repair doesn’t fix the rattle, and the indi shop did the repair? Will the dealer say ‘sorry’ (I know this is speculative).

I’ve thought about just trading it in as is, but the resales are now actually below the toilet, and a new one would be $300 more per month….

[J3mbeck1]

Can't you go back to your insurance company?

[brettl]

Originally Posted by J3mbeck1

Can't you go back to your insurance company?

Already did, that’s all buttoned up.

[lfdal54]

Originally Posted by brettl

Already did, that’s all buttoned up.

If the TSB existed at the time the claim was filed then you have a pretty good case their appraiser missed it. I'd push back on them again as it means the original repair was never completed properly.

If the repairs were made at a BMW-certified body shop you also have a case that they missed it when they did the work, so again, an incomplete repair. For $700 I'd eat it and move on, but for 7k I'd push some more. A lot of this will possibly come down to how hard you want to push things. It will also depend on when that TSB was issued I would think, pre-or-post repair. Good luck.

[brettl]

Originally Posted by lfdal54

If the TSB existed at the time the claim was filed then you have a pretty good case their appraiser missed it. I'd push back on them again as it means the original repair was never completed properly.

If the repairs were made at a BMW-certified body shop you also have a case that they missed it when they did the work, so again, an incomplete repair. For $700 I'd eat it and move on, but for 7k I'd push some more. A lot of this will possibly come down to how hard you want to push things. It will also depend on when that TSB was issued I would think, pre-or-post repair. Good luck.

The TSB has been around in some form for many years and refers to all BMW’s, how the repair shop missed, I do not know. I did not use the local authorized BMW repair shop as they were not rated well. Instead I used a well know local body shop known for their work on exotics, along with their ‘good’ ratings. The guys at the dealer unofficially ‘agreed’ with my decision.
My insurance company has been GREAT, I submitted the tsb and quote from the dealer to them and they paid the supplemental estimate no questions asked.
I guess my question is, as the insurance has already paid and given me the option again to use who I’d like for the repair, do I go dealer and pay the full tilt, or go indi and save some of the money and gamble on further warranty support in this area when I have 8 months of warranty left? The (new) indi shop is Carbahn (Steve Dinan’s new shop) so I’m not concerned with quality of the work, I just don’t want to feel I was over charged by the dealer. Especially because with the car values these days, putting $7k into the car is going to do nothing for it’s potential resale…

[lfdal54]

Did the insurance company pay the full 7k with the supplemental estimate? If so, I'd go with the stealership, as no questions about the warranty down the road.

[titomi]

My thoughts exactly.

[arRod1981]

Does your insurance not warranty the repair work, to include any part replaced as long as you own the car?

[brettl]

Originally Posted by arRod1981

Does your insurance not warranty the repair work, to include any part replaced as long as you own the car?

They do and they’ve already paid for the new repair, I was just looking for opinion on using an indi shop vs the dealer.

[arRod1981]

Originally Posted by brettl

They do and they’ve already paid for the new repair, I was just looking for opinion on using an indi shop vs the dealer.

Originally Posted by brettl

The TSB has been around in some form for many years and refers to all BMW’s, how the repair shop missed, I do not know. I did not use the local authorized BMW repair shop as they were not rated well. Instead I used a well know local body shop known for their work on exotics, along with their ‘good’ ratings. The guys at the dealer unofficially ‘agreed’ with my decision.
My insurance company has been GREAT, I submitted the tsb and quote from the dealer to them and they paid the supplemental estimate no questions asked.
I guess my question is, as the insurance has already paid and given me the option again to use who I’d like for the repair, do I go dealer and pay the full tilt, or go indi and save some of the money and gamble on further warranty support in this area when I have 8 months of warranty left? The (new) indi shop is Carbahn (Steve Dinan’s new shop) so I’m not concerned with quality of the work, I just don’t want to feel I was over charged by the dealer. Especially because with the car values these days, putting $7k into the car is going to do nothing for it’s potential resale…

I guess that is where I am confused as you asked about gambling on warranty support.

[jsh139]

Sounds like you're trying to pocket a little of the insurance money on the repair. Hey, who wouldn't want to do that? I get it. You have to ask yourself if it's worth the risk of either of the shops not performing the repair correctly. And, in that case, who pays the bill on the subsequent repair? The indie shop, the insurance company, or you? And, what if you get the repairs done and it still doesn't fix the rattle? I'd guess you'd have to go through this all again?

Me personally, I would probably go to the shop I trust the most and leave the insurance "profit" out of the equation.

[brettl]

Originally Posted by jsh139

Sounds like you're trying to pocket a little of the insurance money on the repair. Hey, who wouldn't want to do that? I get it. You have to ask yourself if it's worth the risk of either of the shops not performing the repair correctly. And, in that case, who pays the bill on the subsequent repair? The indie shop, the insurance company, or you? And, what if you get the repairs done and it still doesn't fix the rattle? I'd guess you'd have to go through this all again?

Me personally, I would probably go to the shop I trust the most and leave the insurance "profit" out of the equation.

Nail on the head, thank you for your thoughts, everyone, the potential for problems down the road isn’t worth a few bucks in the pocket.