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Of course my first post since joining would be a doozy. I need some advice and am hoping people here can help...
I have a 2013 Paceman S, love it and it loves me. However the other day I did a bit of accidental off roading off Mulholland in the hills of LA and ended up bottoming out to the point of getting stuck. Fortunately helping hands helped me lift/nudge the car off the peak, but along the way I scraped the bottom of the plastic trim pieces along the side of the car popping out a few pieces that hold it in place as well as shredding it in the middle.
My question is in essence is there any way that I can replace this trim piece at home and how would I go about purchasing one. I'm not a technical know it all, but I can find my way around mechanicals when I need to and I have a feeling if I take it to my dealer they will gouge me to death.
Which ones , take a look. If you damaged the under-body past the plastic or into metal or structural , I would turn it into the insurance as that could be an issues with alignment or the subframe. Could be much worse.
Thanks for the reply! I really appreciate it. I plan on having the car of course checked for damage, but it was a really light impact, more sliding along it than any jolt or direct hit. The piece that was damaged is the left door sill trim panel, shown here as 1. It's scraped up badly and a bit deformed underneath, and it is what took the impact from the curb.
Any idea on whether this could be a DIY or whether I should suck it up and let insurance handle it?
You are welcome, I would inspect the underbody, if its plastic, you can replaces it, if its body or metal or you pull back the plastic and there is stuff under the plastic damaged, I would make a claim. Its can get really expensive out of pocket.
If its just a plastic scrap or scuff , you can replace it.
If its just #1 its a bunch of clips and trim pieces , not a big job. I would peal it off and look under to make sure there is no metal crushed. Otherwise its going to be the insurance.
You are awesome for the reply. I will definitely crawl under there but I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's just that one piece. If not, here goes insurance.
Any idea where I could get instructions on replacing that piece on my own or is it really straightforward? Again thanks for your insight. I love my MINI and love that this forum is so friendly!
The diagram linked is a good tool. it shows the points of the fasteners and clips it you study it. Peal back the bottom section. The top part of the rocker is a little more involved with the trim / rocker sill plates. Study it and compare.
The trick is not to break the clips or fasteners. If you do they will need replaced. Get a trim tool kit or something like it so you will have a better chance of not breaking things.
I will definitely crawl under there but I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's just that one piece. If not, here goes insurance.
+1 this is your best course of action.
Sometimes simple accidents like these can leave more damage than you think. Just make sure you get things all checked out and if there is more damage and your insurance deductible is low, it might be best just to make sure things are all properly fixed up. Good luck!
It would be considered an 'at fault' collision claim so think hard before you put it thru your insurance policy.... it might not be worth the additional premiums depending on your insurance history.
First Post and First Need Of Advice
