Oh me,

Like so many here, I have treated my car with the utmost care over the past year and a half. Yesterday, a colleague smashed the right side of my car in, in our parking lot. It was an accident. Have any of you taken your wrecked Minis to the dealer for body repair instead of closer collision repair centers? I'm really interested in the results.

Thanks, Jim

 

When I had my accident a local body shop repaired my car. This guy works on BMWs, and exotic cars. It looks it always has...

 

I think you'll find that most BMW/MINI dealerships farm out their major bodywork to other shops.

A good shop can do great work now a days, but make sure that there is some kind of warranty either through the MINI dealership (a big plus of taking it there initially) or through the independent garage.

 

The repairs to my MCS were preformed by the local body shop that works on exotics in my town. They did a fantastic job. Other than the fact I know it has been repaired, no one else would be able to tell.

 

The problem you may run into re. taking it to the dealer's body shop (or, as smokey points out, the body shop your dealer outsources to) is that your insurance company may refuse to pay their rates. Depending on your state and/or your policy, there may be nothing you can do about this other than to pay the difference (which depending on the damage may be huge) out of your own pocket.

But I personally would start with my dealer and their recommendation...'cause I like and trust my dealer (actually, their service dept only). I'd say though that if you think that your dealer is a dirtbag - as too often seems to be the case - that you look for local recommendations on good, reputable, body shops. As has been posted here before, the "family-owned" shops often do a better job than the bigger chains.

Good luck!

 

I'm bringing mine in for damage repair next week. What I did was call my MINI dealership and asked where I should bring it. They gave me the name of the shop they use for all of their body work. I figure if it's who they use, the workmanship should be good.

Give your dealer a call.

 

Thanks to everyone who offered the advice. I am going to begin the process by asking the dealership who they recommend. As always, this place is a wealth of knowledge.

Thanks again,
Jimmy