Need advice: repair it or live with it?

[cha]

Hello all,

I would like to get advice on getting dent/scratches repaired. Pics are shown below.

1) A small dent is on the driver side front fender (it is hard to show this in the photo, and it seems it was hit by a cart or something). I think the dent may get repaired by PDR but I am not sure because it is on the body line. I was told that the aluminum fender is hard to fix via PDR.

2) The scratches are on the rear bumper right below the right hand side taillight. Something heavy (like a hand tool) was dropped and scratched? Anyhow, they seem deep as the primer (black color) is revealed, so I guess the only way is to replace the bumper?

I would live with them if I damaged my car. But, since it was not my fault, they are bothering the hell out of me although this damage seems so minimal Especially, the dent on the fender under the sunlight

I think I can claim this as vandalism, but I am not sure how much it would affect my insurance in a negative way. In addition, my car has a special paint: Daytona Violet. So, I wonder how well the body shop is able to match the color if I go with repainting them.

Does anyone have any experience with dent/scratches like this? If so, what did you find to be the best fix? Any thoughts?

Thanks in advance!!!

P.S. I inspect/wax my car weekly, so I am 100% sure that I did not damage my car. Only thing that I can think of when this damage happened is when my car was at the dealership for routine maintenance. Unfortunately, I did not inspect the car after the service since I was naive and thought the dealership would not damage my car. So I highly recommended that you inspect your car after every service!


===UPDATE===
The dent on the front fender has been fixed through PDR. I took my car to the dealership as my SA recommended someone who has contract with his dealership. The results are phenomenal!!! I cannot even tell if there was a dent before Thanks all for your suggestions! Now, I will try to fix the scratches on the rear bumper using touch up paint once I get it.

[IVM3]

I would try paintless dent removal on the fender and just use some touch up paint on the rear bumper. I bet a good PDR person could get it to 90%+ so it's not very noticeable at all. Just live with it and enjoy the car!

[9M71]

Just pay out of pocket unless you want to ruin a clean carfax over 2 minor minor issues…

[Fat Goose]

I had a dent at the same spot on my fender, used PDR, completely unnoticeable.

[zillymc]

Agreed easy fixes to live with - do the PDR & touch up and forget about it. I know it's hard for all of us, but the fact is cars that get use will get some dings and scratches, it's only a matter of time! The sooner you do the minor fixes (out of pocket as others said) - the sooner you will be on the road to mentally getting over it

[cha]

Originally Posted by Fat Goose

I had a dent at the same spot on my fender, used PDR, completely unnoticeable.

Fat Goose, for your dent repair using PDR, what method did you use? Glue or pull from inside?

[Fat Goose]

Originally Posted by cha

Fat Goose, for your dent repair using PDR, what method did you use? Glue or pull from inside?

Glue gun, took him a dozen or so times with a small amount

[cha]

I truly appreciate all the feedback in this post!!! All of you are awesome

I guess I will try PDR for the dent and touch-up paint for scratches and just live with it.

Upon searching the forum, many have used Dr Colorchip. But it seems their website does not have Daytona Violet.

Anyone knows a good source for touch-up paint for individual color?

[NickyC]

Nice color!

[RugbyBro]

PDR for sure on the dents and just get some color matched touch up paint for the chips. If you're comfortable and/or have decent DIY skills, the best way to apply touch up is with an air brush. It would require masking off and applying some clear after but I've found that it produces the best results assuming you have a good paint match to begin with

[alex2364]

Originally Posted by cha

I truly appreciate all the feedback in this post!!! All of you are awesome

I guess I will try PDR for the dent and touch-up paint for scratches and just live with it.

Upon searching the forum, many have used Dr Colorchip. But it seems their website does not have Daytona Violet.

Anyone knows a good source for touch-up paint for individual color?

Get your paint code and Dr. ColorChip will be able to make your color. They didn't have San Marino Blue on their website but was able to make it with my paint code.

[cha]

Originally Posted by NickyC

Nice color!

Thanks

[cha]

Originally Posted by RugbyBro

PDR for sure on the dents and just get some color matched touch up paint for the chips. If you're comfortable and/or have decent DIY skills, the best way to apply touch up is with an air brush. It would require masking off and applying some clear after but I've found that it produces the best results assuming you have a good paint match to begin with

Thank you for your suggestion! I wish I had such decent DIY skills. Hope applying touch up with microbrushes followed by some clear coat would work great.

[cha]

Originally Posted by alex2364

Get your paint code and Dr. ColorChip will be able to make your color. They didn't have San Marino Blue on their website but was able to make it with my paint code.

San Marino Blue looks awesome

I just noticed that a correct paint color pops up when I put the paint code into Dr. ColorChip website. By the way, how did your Dr. ColorChip touch up paint match the factory paint?

[SD ///M4]

Originally Posted by alex2364

Get your paint code and Dr. ColorChip will be able to make your color. They didn't have San Marino Blue on their website but was able to make it with my paint code.

^^^ What he said.

With the color code found in the engine bay, Dr. ColorChip can duplicate even Individual colors, like the San Marino Blue on my wife's M3.

[cha]

Originally Posted by SD ///M4

^^^ What he said.

With the color code found in the engine bay, Dr. ColorChip can duplicate even Individual colors, like the San Marino Blue on my wife's M3.

Thanks for confirming this

[Humdizzle]

You can try PDR and Dr. Colorchip. That should get 95% of it. But someone looking up close will be able to tell. Unless it's thousands of dollars in damage never use insurance. Not worth the ding to your carfax... especially on an individual car.

Me personally I'd take it to a good shop and have them repaint the bumper out of pocket.

[GBM3NJ]

I used a PDR guy near me along with Dr Color Chip and results were night and day.

[cha]

Originally Posted by Humdizzle

You can try PDR and Dr. Colorchip. That should get 95% of it. But someone looking up close will be able to tell. Unless it's thousands of dollars in damage never use insurance. Not worth the ding to your carfax... especially on an individual car.

Me personally I'd take it to a good shop and have them repaint the bumper out of pocket.

Thanks for your suggestion! Yes, I agree that it is not worth to use insurance to fix them as many of you said. So, I have scheduled PDR through the dealership as they apparently have contract with someone does PDR for BMWs. Finger crossed I will keep you all update how it turns out.

[cha]

Originally Posted by GBM3NJ

I used a PDR guy near me along with Dr Color Chip and results were night and day.

I cannot tell the dent after PDR. Nice to see the actual results! Thanks for posting your photos

[RugbyBro]

Originally Posted by cha

Thank you for your suggestion! I wish I had such decent DIY skills. Hope applying touch up with microbrushes followed by some clear coat would work great.

You can also mix the paint and clear for the purposes of very small touchups. This could be useful if the touchup paint is a tad too dark and needs to be cut slightly

[cha]

Originally Posted by RugbyBro

You can also mix the paint and clear for the purposes of very small touchups. This could be useful if the touchup paint is a tad too dark and needs to be cut slightly

Nice strategy! I will definitely consider that when applying touch up paint.