Need BMW (dealer) bodyshop recommendations for Laurel, MD

[pparaska]

Hit a just-hit deer that was laying across the lane Saturday.

Took out the valance below the bumper, the splash shields, cracked the radiator. Who knows what else in that area and under the car. It popped the panel between the exhaust pipes loose also.

I'm thinking since this is an M5, a regular body shop may not know all of the little ins and outs of a the car and I'd be better off in a dealer shop.

Any recommendations for the area? Tischer, Tate, etc. I'm near rt 29 and rt 216. I looked in the threads here, but want something closer than NOVA area and some newer info than I found.

Thanks,
Pete
2000 M5

[pseto]

i used CollisionWorks in Beltsville and they were OK (owned by MileOne just like Tischer). The work was fine, but they just took too long ordering the parts, installing, etc. What should have been a 2 day job took 7 days.

VOB's bodyshop also does good work

[Nick325xiT 5spd]

It's a bit of a ways, but Karosserie in PA is the only place that's I've seen produce paint work that I couldn't easily tell wasn't factory. I've used Wagonwork, MasterCrafters, and VOB around here, and they all suck.

[pparaska]

It's a bit of a ways, but Karosserie in PA is the only place that's I've seen produce paint work that I couldn't easily tell wasn't factory. I've used Wagonwork, MasterCrafters, and VOB around here, and they all suck.

If it was just paintwork (and the attendant body work necessary to have good paint results) I'd use the guy that did the paint on my 240Z:
http://AlteredZ.com/mypics

The painter is Richard Glymph, who is a renowned show car painter on the east coast. He's at Chandlers Collision Center in Columbia (http://www.chandlerscollisioncenter.com/)
I just want a BMW expert to be looking at the underside of the car to get all the non-bodywork damage fixed correctly. Since it's only the valance, having absolutely the best paint work is not top priority for me. Yes, I want it good quality, but the mechanical repair is very important too. That's why I'm looking for BMW dealer body shop recommendations.
If the paint is not acceptable, I'd pay to have the valance resprayed by
Richard as I know he'd do it well and the price would be reasonable.

[Uber-Goober]

Burnt Mills Auto Body on 29 in Silver Spring....repainted front corner, replaced a fender on a 10 year old benz, blended the silver like nothing ever happened, and silver is pretty flippin' hard to match...

[pparaska]

I decided to take it to VOB BMW in Rockville, MD. A friend has had good results with their body shop. I have my fingers crossed.

Now to make sure they put the M-Tech bumper and other parts that go with that install on the car. BTW, I found an excellent page on all the details of that here: http://www.bmwtips.com/tipsntricks/m...ech-bumper.htm

I will update this thread once all the work has been completed.

Pete
2000 M5

[1996 328ti]

I decided to take it to VOB BMW in Rockville, MD. A friend has had good results with their body shop. I have my fingers crossed.

With friends like that, who needs enemies?
Good luck.

Maybe their body shop is better than their parts department.
Check you mileage going in.

[pparaska]

Well, I promised a report, here it is:

The car went to VOB on a flatbed on 17 Dec 2009

Holiday delays (vacations, etc.) and surely a lot of business meant they didn't "finish" the car until 7 January.

I had a friend from work drop me off in the late afternoon, and they had not touched two things I had told CJ, the service advisor that were damaged, other than the front bumper (rear engine cover and finisher panel below the M-Tech rear bumper that is around the exhaust outlets). She said she had told the body guys to look at that. The problem is she should have not told me the car was ready if she didn't make sure these had been addressed. So my friend had to drive me back to work - 45 minutes both ways. THIS IS UNACCEPTABLE service. This is her job and she screwed it up. Unfortunately, what was broken was a tiny corner on the bumper cover that holds the nut that the finisher panel bolts too. If it were me fixing the car, I would have made a bracket to replace this corner (which is hidden) and had it bolt to the area above the corner (also hidden) that would serve the same purpose - have a place for the finisher panel to bolt to. But they said they had to replace the bumper cover. Which means the risk of a bad paint match... Well, the paint match on the front bumper cover they had put on was near perfect, and certainly acceptable....

A week later, 13 Jan I picked up the car. They had replaced the rear engine cover (below the front of the passenger compartment), and the rear M-Tech bumper. The paint match was not very good, but since it was dusk (515pm), I thought I better take a look at it in the sun. I missed having the car and my old Mitsu Galant VR-4 that I was driving (instead of a rental - probably stupid of me) was showing signs of needing some work, so I took the car back. It was clear they had panel-painted it....

Over the weekend, I determined that the paint was not a good enough match. It jumped out at me when I looked at the side of the car (rear of the quarter panel and the bumper cover). So I called CJ and took the car in on the 19th. Showed up at dusk again to pick it up and it seriously looked like they hadn't done anything. they said they did, and I don't really doubt it. Randy the manager came out and gave me the typical issues of 10 year old paint and pearl silver is hard to match, plastic vs steel under the paint, you don't want to blend on an old paint job, etc. I knew they had done as best as they could or cared to. It was clear that they were done messing with this car. I took the car home. The match isn't horrible, but noticeable to me. I'll upload some photos.

I shouldn't have to, but if it really bothers me I will take it to Chandlers Collision where I KNOW Richard Glymph will be able to match it. He is EXPERT at doing blends, and I bet that's what he'd suggest.

The paint match issue is a tough one - you need to have a lot of experience and management that will allow you to do a blend, mix several variations and try them, i.e., lots of time, to make a good paint match.

But giving me the car back without making sure that everything is at least addressed the first time was not excusable.

They did not give me any trouble about the parts being M-Tech (although not installed that way at delivery when the car was purchased new), or any trouble about money. They took my deductible and worked with Erie to get paid and didn't bother me about that at all.

So I have mixed feelings. CJ screwed up and didn't check the car out which cost me 2 extra trips, and if the rear bumper had been painted when they did the front, the match would have been much better, IMO. But she didn't quibble when I asked for it to be repainted, or about the rear engine cover needing to be replaced. They also got all of the M5 and M-Tech grill and duct work, radiator support stuff done well, from what I can tell.

No extra miles that I could tell were put on the car either.

[uptownautoservice]

well...Maybe their body shop is better than their parts department.

[rwfisheriv]

guess it's too late to warn you off of VOB. After I was rear-ended, I had to take my m3 back twice...first they didn't even bother to fix the midpipe damage (and the exhaust tips that were pointed toward the ground), the second time they didn't bother to bolt down the rear bumper completely.

I'd stay away from VOB completely; I drive to Towson to have any warranty/etc work done.