My BMW E46 330i Sport
Discussion
petrolveins said:
I'm always keeping an eye out for you, whenever I'm bored I always head out that way for a little explore, resurfaced tarmac over the Beacon is very enjoyable at the moment I'm sure you'll agree.
I haven't tried it yet! I used to commute over the Beacon daily, I'll probably go over it next week to test it out.It was certainly quieter in the village with the Beacon shut!
Some stupid b
h pulled out of a car park into my path today, I swerved and hit the brakes but couldn't avoid her. Will now need both passenger doors replacing, just thankful it was quiet as there are usually throngs of cyclists about. Could easily have been a fatality. Doesn't look too bad but there is also a concern that the sills might have taken a bit of thwack, and my insurers have warned me that if they are damaged then the car will be written off. Just what I wanted to be sorting out just before my end of year exams. 
First ever collision with anything before, was shaking so much I struggled to take pictures and write any details down. Horrible experience, thankfully she has admitted fault and I have the details of a security guard who witnessed it all.
h pulled out of a car park into my path today, I swerved and hit the brakes but couldn't avoid her. Will now need both passenger doors replacing, just thankful it was quiet as there are usually throngs of cyclists about. Could easily have been a fatality. Doesn't look too bad but there is also a concern that the sills might have taken a bit of thwack, and my insurers have warned me that if they are damaged then the car will be written off. Just what I wanted to be sorting out just before my end of year exams. First ever collision with anything before, was shaking so much I struggled to take pictures and write any details down. Horrible experience, thankfully she has admitted fault and I have the details of a security guard who witnessed it all.
petrolveins said:
Some stupid bh pulled out of a car park into my path today, I swerved and hit the brakes but couldn't avoid her. Will now need both passenger doors replacing, just thankful it was quiet as there are usually throngs of cyclists about. Could easily have been a fatality. Doesn't look too bad but there is also a concern that the sills might have taken a bit of thwack, and my insurers have warned me that if they are damaged then the car will be written off. Just what I wanted to be sorting out just before my end of year exams.
First ever collision with anything before, was shaking so much I struggled to take pictures and write any details down. Horrible experience, thankfully she has admitted fault and I have the details of a security guard who witnessed it all.
Ouch...good luck in getting it repaired. I love my 320i so can only image that the 330i is wonderful. I've only just got mine back after some knob in an A4 TDI reversed into it on a petrol station forecourt! h pulled out of a car park into my path today, I swerved and hit the brakes but couldn't avoid her. Will now need both passenger doors replacing, just thankful it was quiet as there are usually throngs of cyclists about. Could easily have been a fatality. Doesn't look too bad but there is also a concern that the sills might have taken a bit of thwack, and my insurers have warned me that if they are damaged then the car will be written off. Just what I wanted to be sorting out just before my end of year exams. First ever collision with anything before, was shaking so much I struggled to take pictures and write any details down. Horrible experience, thankfully she has admitted fault and I have the details of a security guard who witnessed it all.
Note the damage went all the way up to the swage line on the rear panel - it also knocked the wheel out of alignment, which made itself evident as I limped the car home. It was almost written off but luckily there's a brilliant body shop nearby ( www.chartwells.net - I've used them twice now and they're highly recommended) and it now looks like it's just emerged from the factory. - The only problem is that it shows-up the imperfections on the other side of the car!
- I might have to get them to do the rest now!The only consolation is that for the past month, I've been given a Jaguar XF 3.0d Premium Luxury as a courtesy car. It's lovely, but can't match the sound of the inline 6 petrol (and it's not as wieldy on a B-road blast).
Ouch, that looks much worse than mine, I'll get a photo this afternoon and pop it up. It's booked in for repairs for 2 weeks time. Should take 5 days. Looking forward to getting it fixed, thatnkfully it is cosmetic so I can still enjoy driving it. Not sure about how capable the garage are, as they say both doors need replacing and then the whole side of the car will be resprayed, sounds like overkill to me.
I also wonder what the great hire car lottery will provide me with. I thought I had like for like cover, but it seems that because of the age of my car I don't get that, and the small matter of not having many 3 litre petrol hire cars.
I also wonder what the great hire car lottery will provide me with. I thought I had like for like cover, but it seems that because of the age of my car I don't get that, and the small matter of not having many 3 litre petrol hire cars.
When someone used our Toyota Avensis as a brake we also guessed at what car we would have as a hire car..
Enterprise wanted to give us a Chevrolet Spark for like-for-like. In the end we got a Vauxhall Insignia but we still did not get how a Chevy Spark is the same as a Avensis, albeit they are about as dull as each other.
That is one upside of having a bump though, the hire car lottery.
Enterprise wanted to give us a Chevrolet Spark for like-for-like. In the end we got a Vauxhall Insignia but we still did not get how a Chevy Spark is the same as a Avensis, albeit they are about as dull as each other.
That is one upside of having a bump though, the hire car lottery.
petrolveins said:
Ouch, that looks much worse than mine, I'll get a photo this afternoon and pop it up. It's booked in for repairs for 2 weeks time. Should take 5 days. Looking forward to getting it fixed, thatnkfully it is cosmetic so I can still enjoy driving it. Not sure about how capable the garage are, as they say both doors need replacing and then the whole side of the car will be resprayed, sounds like overkill to me.
Not really, as it's across two doors. The rear quarter and wing, and front wing will be blended. Don't complain you douché Stedman said:
petrolveins said:
Ouch, that looks much worse than mine, I'll get a photo this afternoon and pop it up. It's booked in for repairs for 2 weeks time. Should take 5 days. Looking forward to getting it fixed, thatnkfully it is cosmetic so I can still enjoy driving it. Not sure about how capable the garage are, as they say both doors need replacing and then the whole side of the car will be resprayed, sounds like overkill to me.
Not really, as it's across two doors. The rear quarter and wing, and front wing will be blended. Don't complain you douché petrolveins said:
Excuse me Dickie, I'm only referring to what some of the experts at work have said, that a decent place shouldn't need to paint any extra panels to get the paint matched, but I'm no expert.
The problem is that the existing paint on the other panels may have aged / worn / faded etc. slightly over the 8/9 years you've had the car - fresh paint on just the doors would look like a slightly different colour if not matched properly. The whole side of our car has been matched (I'll post some photos later) but it seems the body shop is trying to do you a favour by making sure it all matches. 
petrolveins said:
Ouch, that looks much worse than mine, I'll get a photo this afternoon and pop it up. It's booked in for repairs for 2 weeks time. Should take 5 days. Looking forward to getting it fixed, thatnkfully it is cosmetic so I can still enjoy driving it. Not sure about how capable the garage are, as they say both doors need replacing and then the whole side of the car will be resprayed, sounds like overkill to me.
I also wonder what the great hire car lottery will provide me with. I thought I had like for like cover, but it seems that because of the age of my car I don't get that, and the small matter of not having many 3 litre petrol hire cars.
Which bodyshop are you taking it to, is it one in Brighton?I also wonder what the great hire car lottery will provide me with. I thought I had like for like cover, but it seems that because of the age of my car I don't get that, and the small matter of not having many 3 litre petrol hire cars.
Clivey said:
The problem is that the existing paint on the other panels may have aged / worn / faded etc. slightly over the 8/9 years you've had the car - fresh paint on just the doors would look like a slightly different colour if not matched properly. The whole side of our car has been matched (I'll post some photos later) but it seems the body shop is trying to do you a favour by making sure it all matches.
I'm just worried if they do that, what about where that panel meets the bonnet, or the rear of the car.DJC said:
Which bodyshop are you taking it to, is it one in Brighton?
It's in Shoreham, my insurers don't have any approved ones in Brighton seemingly, I did point out a rather nice one called Chandlers BMW, but that would have been way too complex for them to work out.petrolveins said:
I'm just worried if they do that, what about where that panel meets the bonnet, or the rear of the car.
What I meant was that if it's properly done they blend-in the new paint all the way around so that there's no mismatch from any angle. The nearside of our car is now literally as good as new. The only thing, as I mentioned, is that the one or two door dimples on the driver's side (a result of numpties banging doors in car parks) and a couple of other marks mean that the driver's side doesn't look as good...if mine was a 330i, I'd pay out to have the other side done too...but my plan is to keep this 320i until I can afford a 330Ci in the right specification (black on black with heated leather and xenons), then trade it in.My advice to you is that you have the right to dictate where the car is repaired. Insist it's done by a BMW approved bodyshop then you can sit back, relax and get to test another car whilst yours is being taken care of.
JayTee94 said:
That is one upside of having a bump though, the hire car lottery.
Yep, sure is. We used to have a Megane (a very well spec'd one with leather, panoramic roof etc.) and someone hammered the back of it at a pedestrian crossing. The first "like for like" hire car we got was also a Megane of similar vintage - but as base as base model could be. Fortunately, it broke down within 4 hours of being dropped off - quite ironic, because it was "like for like" our own car at the time in that respect - and the only car they had left was a brand new BMW 120d (not long after they first came out) which we smoked around in for a fortnight, noticing how much better it was than the Megane.We got rid of the Megane a couple of months later, trading it for a ... 120d. And since then, we've only had BMWs. So I guess the hire car lottery sometimes allows you to try a car/model you'd never have thought of before, and might just change your future car buying habits.
That is true. We went to Florida and had a brand-new 2008 Toyota Highlander as a rental. It was a lovely car and it really changed our view on Toyota. In three weeks we put nearly 4,000 miles on it. So when we got to UK and needed a replacement car we looked at Toyota's and the Avensis. We finally found one we liked and got it.
Sorry to go O/T.
Sorry to go O/T.
Waugh-terfall said:
However, Richard has a little trick for keeping the paint shinier than a handfull of... pearls in the light, and it's disguised in a pot branded Dodo Juice... However just one Dodo was squeezed in the making.
No no no - it's all in the prep. It should become a lot more shiny over the next few weeks 
Wrong topic for car cleaning here, I've personally cleaned my car once, had two blokes valet it for 5 hours once, and most recently a colleague at work actually asked if he could wash because it was looking such a mess. So that's 3 times since January it's been cleaned. In all fairness now it's almost summer I will try to clean it more. I say me, I mean the valet chaps.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff