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BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - Gavski

Last week I bought a 2009 BMW 1 series. At the weekend I noticed the nearside front door has had an extensive repair, not only that but the repair has been very badly done - The line of the repair is not straight, there is rippling where the filler is uneven, there are sanding and scoring marks and places where it's been badly rubbed down and finished and there is a paint run.

I bought it from a dealer and want to know if they have to accept any responsibility for selling a car with such a bad repair and if I have any rights to help with the cost of sorting it out (quoted £560 +vat by local body shop).??

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - RobJP

No. It is a 7 year old car, and any previous damage that had been poorly repaired would have been obvious to you before purchase. If you failed to inspect the car, then there is only one person to blame.

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - Gavski

Obviously it was't, I'm no expert!

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - alan1302

Can't see how/why the dealer should be expected to pay for it?

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - scot22

Sorry Gavski but, as you describe it, even I would have noticed it, certainly not a hidden problem. You say that you noticed it at the weekend so how much expert is needed to see how it is.

It is possible the poor door paintwork was reflected in the price.

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - Gavski

So I went back to the dealer, who on inspection accepted he'd missed it but the repair was indeed very poor, he has agreed to get it re-done to a professional standard at no further cost.

This is my first post on here and I was hoping to get some informative input and perhaps some other peoples similar experiences - sentiments such a "blame" are not helpful, neither are conclusions from people who think that I should have noticed it, having not even seen the problem.

Perhaps this forum is contributed to by car dealers who whish to take no responsibility for the car's that the sell to people, who are neither dealers or mechanics, or perhap it's a reflection of peoples low expectation when buying a used car and spending many thousands of pounds.

To anyone who may have a similar problem my advice is go and talk if you have a problem, you may actually find that not all car dealers are as evasive as their reputation may suggest.

Edited by Gavski on 27/04/2016 at 15:42

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - madf

So I went back to the dealer, who on inspection accepted he'd missed it but the repair was indeed very poor, he has agreed to get it re-done to a professional standard at no further cost.

This is my first post on here and I was hoping to get some informative input and perhaps some other peoples similar experiences - sentiments such a "blame" are not helpful, neither are conclusions from people who think that I should have noticed it, having not even seen the problem.

Perhaps this forum is contributed to by car dealers who whish to take no responsibility for the car's that the sell to people, who are neither dealers or mechanics, or perhap it's a reflection of peoples low expectation when buying a used car and spending many thousands of pounds.

To anyone who may have a similar problem my advice is go and talk if you have a problem, you may actually find that not all car dealers are as evasive as their reputation may suggest.

Can I say you have acted very quickly.. posting yesterday at 11.44am and getting agreement within 24 hours..

Edited by madf on 27/04/2016 at 16:08

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - scot22

Good advice Gavski. Surely that should be the first thing that a sensible person would do ?

I still struggle to understand why a dealer and yourself fail to spot a 'very poor repair'. Still all's well... pleased it was a satisfactory outcome.

No need for unpleasant comments.

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - Wackyracer

Glad you got it sorted out Gavski, Sometimes it can be easily over looked if it's a poor repair as although it probably looked a straight car generally you can often see minor imperfections if you look down the panels from the front or rear of the car.

I hope the dealer fixes it to your satisfaction.

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - Gavski

That was exactly it, if you look at the door straight on it looks ok but when you stand back and catch it in the light you begin to see the ripples, when you close in on that area you see unfinished filler, sanding marks, poor spraing etc.

Anyhow I can't tell you how relieved I am at not having to chuck another £500+ for the repair to get the car I originally thought I was buying. It's being done in a professional body hop so I'm sure it will be good.

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - RobJP

Congratulations on getting a good outcome to this.

I think you've been very lucky though. Unless damage is concealed, and especially if it's in a clearly visible place (which it is, as you noticed it quite soon after purchase), then you'd really have no legal comeback for getting it re-repaired by the dealership.

Damage to the underside would be another matter. It all comes down to what would be 'reasonable' for a person to spot when inspecting the car.

The obvious lesson here is that any car - whether being bought from a main agent, backstreet garage, private sale, even auction - should be thoroughly inspected before buying / bidding. To me, that includes getting down on hands and knees and looking carefully down the flanks of the car, checking for minor dents in roof, bonnet, bumper scrapes, etc. You'd be surprised how many people never do that sort of thing.

As I say, I think you've been lucky. Legally, the garage could have turned around and said "second hand car, repair clearly visible, go whistle".

BMW 1 Series - Poor body repair - Gavski

Cheers Robjp, I appreciate that I have been lucky and had a good outcome, the guy who runs the dealership is an absolutely genuine and decent human being. Big lesson learned for me.

I also thought about whether I could just sell the car on in a few months, but there's now way I could do that to someone else, fortunately the dealer thinks the same way.