[hamiltoton74]

Hey everyone,

So, my lovely wife decided to take our BMW X3 for a little adventure. Apparently, she thought our car had been secretly upgraded to an off-road beast that can climb walls. Long story short, she had a showdown with an 18" high stone wall. Spoiler alert: the wall won.

The tire burst in a dramatic fashion, and the bumper and side panel took some battle scars. We put on a new tire, but it looks like the car's alignment (steering) is also messed up because now it won't drive forward altho I can back it up with some noise. (At least it’s great at standing still!)

Now I’m in a bit of a dilemma and need your advice:

Should I take the car to the local BMW repair shop for the mechanical issues (alignment and steering) and then let them send it out to their preferred body shop?

Or would it be better to go to a collision center that says it can handle both mechanical and body work?

Thanks in advance for your help, and feel free to share any similar mishaps to make me feel better about our wall-climbing fail

[Al Faromeo]

Ouch!
And I applaud your sense of humor

Driving older cars mostly (for reasons of economy, really, but also because I really like buttons and switches and see enough pull down menus in my daily work as it is), whenever mishaps like these occur (I too, have a wife), I take it to the friendly local independent.

I've done this with Mercedes, Porsche as well as Alfa Romeo and BMW. I have never been disappointed.

[jgX3]

Take it to a collision center that you trust and one that insurance will cover.