Damage fees at the end of a PCP
Discussion
My wife's 2 series BMW is coming to the end of a 4 year PCP and the intention is to hand it back, however, we have some damage to the soft top and I was wondering if anyone has any experience of the likely outcome.
About 2 year ago my wife was on the motorway and a truck in front of her threw up a piece of tarmac which hit her roof and tore it slightly, Being a dab hand with a needle she has repaired this and although you can see it, she has done a very neat job. It's not glaringly obvious to a casual observer but will obviously be spotted by someone doing a full 'end of term' inspection. It was a small tear, through both layers of the roof, and about 2 inches long.
So, how will BMW calculate a charge for this? I'm hoping they won't demand the price of a brand new roof? I have seen the BVRLA guidelines but can't see mention a soft tops specifically.
About 2 year ago my wife was on the motorway and a truck in front of her threw up a piece of tarmac which hit her roof and tore it slightly, Being a dab hand with a needle she has repaired this and although you can see it, she has done a very neat job. It's not glaringly obvious to a casual observer but will obviously be spotted by someone doing a full 'end of term' inspection. It was a small tear, through both layers of the roof, and about 2 inches long.
So, how will BMW calculate a charge for this? I'm hoping they won't demand the price of a brand new roof? I have seen the BVRLA guidelines but can't see mention a soft tops specifically.
MEC said:
My wife's 2 series BMW is coming to the end of a 4 year PCP and the intention is to hand it back, however, we have some damage to the soft top and I was wondering if anyone has any experience of the likely outcome.
About 2 year ago my wife was on the motorway and a truck in front of her threw up a piece of tarmac which hit her roof and tore it slightly, Being a dab hand with a needle she has repaired this and although you can see it, she has done a very neat job. It's not glaringly obvious to a casual observer but will obviously be spotted by someone doing a full 'end of term' inspection. It was a small tear, through both layers of the roof, and about 2 inches long.
So, how will BMW calculate a charge for this? I'm hoping they won't demand the price of a brand new roof? I have seen the BVRLA guidelines but can't see mention a soft tops specifically.
why not claim on the insurance?About 2 year ago my wife was on the motorway and a truck in front of her threw up a piece of tarmac which hit her roof and tore it slightly, Being a dab hand with a needle she has repaired this and although you can see it, she has done a very neat job. It's not glaringly obvious to a casual observer but will obviously be spotted by someone doing a full 'end of term' inspection. It was a small tear, through both layers of the roof, and about 2 inches long.
So, how will BMW calculate a charge for this? I'm hoping they won't demand the price of a brand new roof? I have seen the BVRLA guidelines but can't see mention a soft tops specifically.
I would imagine the pcp company would want a new roof - I would if I was buying the car as a private owner ie I wouldn't buy it if it had a tear even if repaired.
Matt_E_Mulsion said:
Because it's got a tear in the (very expensive) roof...
Haha you have a point but clearly that cost is still going to have to be covered as there will be a very thorough damage inspection. If it’s not that noticeable I’d be tempted to try and chop the car in, even if the damage is picked up it might still be worth more than the final payment in which case it will cost less to dispose of the car that way.The one thing any dealer or finance company is going to inspect on a soft top vehicle is the roof!
You should have sorted it via the insurance when it happened IMHO.
You might get lucky and it might not have a detailed inspection and go straight to BCA but some car finance companies do inspect their vehicles on return to a central depot.
They are good at what they do and will spot even minor scratches you probably didn't even see. Minor stuff will be put down to W&T but a rip in the roof which has been fixed with needle and thread is going to be obvious.
Almost all finance companies will provide a guide to damage what they do and don't charge for etc.
You should have sorted it via the insurance when it happened IMHO.
You might get lucky and it might not have a detailed inspection and go straight to BCA but some car finance companies do inspect their vehicles on return to a central depot.
They are good at what they do and will spot even minor scratches you probably didn't even see. Minor stuff will be put down to W&T but a rip in the roof which has been fixed with needle and thread is going to be obvious.
Almost all finance companies will provide a guide to damage what they do and don't charge for etc.
I'm well aware that I will be charged, I don't have an issue with that and I know it will be spotted. The question was really how much is it likely to cost? Would the price of a brand new roof not be considered 'betterment' or similar?
I'm not trying to get out of anything or pass it off as a none issue. Re-reading my post I have perhaps made the tear sound worse than it is. Honestly, most people wouldn't spot it at all.
Maybe we should have claimed on the insurance in hindsight, but presumably too late now?
Anyone have a clue as to the cost of a new soft top? I they charged me say £1000 I could live with that but if they were wanted say £3000 it would probably be better to sell or p/ex. That was the question really.
For reference, the car is a '66 plate M240i Cab with a GFV of £15.5K. Webuyanycar listing at £13K and a BMW dealer suggested £14K over there phone, neither of which take the roof into account. They seem to retail at about £18/19K for a similar car (with an unblemished roof
)
I'm not trying to get out of anything or pass it off as a none issue. Re-reading my post I have perhaps made the tear sound worse than it is. Honestly, most people wouldn't spot it at all.
Maybe we should have claimed on the insurance in hindsight, but presumably too late now?
Anyone have a clue as to the cost of a new soft top? I they charged me say £1000 I could live with that but if they were wanted say £3000 it would probably be better to sell or p/ex. That was the question really.
For reference, the car is a '66 plate M240i Cab with a GFV of £15.5K. Webuyanycar listing at £13K and a BMW dealer suggested £14K over there phone, neither of which take the roof into account. They seem to retail at about £18/19K for a similar car (with an unblemished roof
) Gio G said:
I suspect a new roof fitted would cost upwards of £1,000. Not sure how BMW is with end of agreement damage. I came across a company called Cayman that specialises in roof fixings, maybe they can help?
G
Thanks for this. Ive seen Cayman online and there are others around too. The main worry is if despite paying for a professional repair, would BMW still look for some kind of compensation in any case!!G
Benbay001 said:
I would tend to agree.
I doubt it will be significantly more, but it is going to be a brand new roof (£2k?) fitted by a BMW main dealer (15+ hours at £100 per hour)
I agree but in reality it isn't going to be repaired. It will go to auction and BMWFS should just look to recover any reduction in value? I can't see it dropping £3K for a small mark on the roof? I doubt it will be significantly more, but it is going to be a brand new roof (£2k?) fitted by a BMW main dealer (15+ hours at £100 per hour)
MEC said:
Benbay001 said:
I would tend to agree.
I doubt it will be significantly more, but it is going to be a brand new roof (£2k?) fitted by a BMW main dealer (15+ hours at £100 per hour)
I agree but in reality it isn't going to be repaired. It will go to auction and BMWFS should just look to recover any reduction in value? I can't see it dropping £3K for a small mark on the roof? I doubt it will be significantly more, but it is going to be a brand new roof (£2k?) fitted by a BMW main dealer (15+ hours at £100 per hour)
About a week before my R went back the whole rear quarter got damaged.
VWFS repaired it before it went to auction.
Edited by SmoothCriminal on Tuesday 9th February 02:20
I can't help with anything specific on the roof issue, but the one thing I've found with the two lease/PCP cars that I've handed back is that the charges they add always end up being considerably less than it cost me to fix myself. IME it's worth just stomaching their charges, but if you book your inspection ahead enough of the term ending, you do get an opportunity to sort yourself - so book it sooner than later, so at least you know where you stand.
SmoothCriminal said:
Who says it's not going to be repaired?
About a week before my R went back the whole rear quarter got damaged.
VWFS repaired it before it went to auction.
To be honest, you would have to be quite mad to spend £3K to repair what is essentially a small mark on the roof of a 4.5 year old, relatively cheap car.About a week before my R went back the whole rear quarter got damaged.
VWFS repaired it before it went to auction.
Edited by SmoothCriminal on Tuesday 9th February 02:20
Quite different to repairing obviously accident damage,
MEC said:
SmoothCriminal said:
Who says it's not going to be repaired?
About a week before my R went back the whole rear quarter got damaged.
VWFS repaired it before it went to auction.
To be honest, you would have to be quite mad to spend £3K to repair what is essentially a small mark on the roof of a 4.5 year old, relatively cheap car.About a week before my R went back the whole rear quarter got damaged.
VWFS repaired it before it went to auction.
Edited by SmoothCriminal on Tuesday 9th February 02:20
Quite different to repairing obviously accident damage,
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