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      03-01-2013, 04:30 PM   #1
CedarZ4
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Hit a curb going 30... Possible damage?

So, I just got into my Z4 the other day Love the car, so much fun!

I let my girlfriend try it out today. Short story short, she ended up hitting and going up a 3 inch curb at 30-40mph, give or take. Both the right front and rear rims are scratched pretty badly (it's dark out... will take some pictures tomorrow). A small chunk of the tire got sliced off, but the body of the car is ok, thankfully. I took a look at the curb and a large chunk of it was missing... either BMW makes godly strong wheels, or it was a super violent impact.

I'm wonder what kind of damage am I looking at realistically? I would imagine bent rims, but that's not my concern. What about wheel alignment, or worse, axle alignment (or are they the same thing...?) I drove it on the highway, and the vibration seemed to be normal or minor... What other damage could there be? Frame, ball joint, etc. or am I being over paranoid.
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      03-01-2013, 04:46 PM   #2
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CedarZ4
So, I just got into my Z4 the other day Love the car, so much fun!

I let my girlfriend try it out today. Short story short, she ended up hitting and going up a 3 inch curb at 30-40mph, give or take. Both the right front and rear rims are scratched pretty badly (it's dark out... will take some pictures tomorrow). A small chunk of the tire got sliced off, but the body of the car is ok, thankfully. I took a look at the curb and a large chunk of it was missing... either BMW makes godly strong wheels, or it was a super violent impact.

I'm wonder what kind of damage am I looking at realistically? I would imagine bent rims, but that's not my concern. What about wheel alignment, or worse, axle alignment (or are they the same thing...?) I drove it on the highway, and the vibration seemed to be normal or minor... What other damage could there be? Frame, ball joint, etc. or am I being over paranoid.
I think at a minimum you'd want to swing by BMW and have the alignment checked. I've gone to local tire shop with mine and sometimes they can't fully adjust the BMW due to needing a special tool or something.
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      03-01-2013, 04:50 PM   #3
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Crazykoh View Post
I think at a minimum you'd want to swing by BMW and have the alignment checked. I've gone to local tire shop with mine and sometimes they can't fully adjust the BMW due to needing a special tool or something.
Alignment - Do I request for a wheel or axle alignment? Or are they the same thing...? Not mechanically inclined
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      03-01-2013, 10:20 PM   #4
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Just ask them to check the alignment. They will know what to do. It is up to you to tell them what happened. I would but that is me. they wont void your warranty or anything for the curb massage but they may note it in your file. It all depends on the dealer. likely though the damage is minimal
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      03-02-2013, 12:02 AM   #5
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alignment should handle it. Unless you got unlucky and bent steering parts.

This is probably an insurance and not a warranty claim.

Sorry man
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      03-02-2013, 12:41 AM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CedarZ4 View Post
So, I just got into my Z4 the other day Love the car, so much fun!

I let my girlfriend (now ex-girlfriend) try it out today. Short story short, she ended up hitting and going up a 3 inch curb at 30-40mph, give or take. Both the right front and rear rims are scratched pretty badly (it's dark out... will take some pictures tomorrow). A small chunk of the tire got sliced off, but the body of the car is ok, thankfully. I took a look at the curb and a large chunk of it was missing... either BMW makes godly strong wheels, or it was a super violent impact.

I'm wonder what kind of damage am I looking at realistically? I would imagine bent rims, but that's not my concern. What about wheel alignment, or worse, axle alignment (or are they the same thing...?) I drove it on the highway, and the vibration seemed to be normal or minor... What other damage could there be? Frame, ball joint, etc. or am I being over paranoid.
Fixed. j/k

Hopefully the damage won't be too much on your wallet. Just after a few days' ownership? Damn, that sucks.
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      03-02-2013, 09:28 AM   #7
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Thanks for the reassurance. Hopefully an alignment is all that is needed. It drives perfectly, but just to be sure. I've read horror stories online about hitting curbs and thousands of dollars, so I'm just worried (bent control arms, ball joint, tie rod ends, strut, strut mount, wheel bearing, sway bar, brakes (rotors), calipers, suspension parts, frame... and the list goes on)

Not worried about warranty, since I'm probably doing an indy...

I looked at it today carefully, it turns out the sideskirt was damaged Good thing it's only a $100 part... just need to get a good place to paint it with quality paint. Heard aftermarket sprays aren't the same because factory bakes your paint. Will report back with inspection results later this week...

Edit:
http://www.parts.com/parts/2011/BMW/...iagram=1925415
Part #1 is the sideskirt, right? Does anyone know if I'll need parts, like molding or gasket, or are they reusable from the old one?
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      03-02-2013, 09:43 AM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CedarZ4 View Post
Heard aftermarket sprays aren't the same because factory bakes your paint. Will report back with inspection results later this week...
Usually i would say them same thing but with BMW even though they do bake the vehicle to cure the paint, their paint is so soft that a piece of sand will chip the paint if it hits it at speed.

most quality paint shops use a paint that drys harder so it is comparable to baking the paint like the factory does. Also note that the rocker panel you are talking about will be sprayed and cured off the car so the car will not even be in their heat tunnel while drying so they can ramp up the temp to cure it.

I think people worry about the paint quality of aftermarket shops today erroneously because of the stories they had heard here or there. If you are going to keep the vehicle for show purposes or for collecting then i could think of much better cars to do that with rather than the Z4. Im Not saying that it isnt worth keeping, i love mine. I am saying that there are too many of them to be worth collecting.
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      03-02-2013, 09:44 AM   #9
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Get factory trained tech to inspect and also get body shop guy you trust before buying parts.

May need special tools or training to diagnose the suspension (z4 rare car) and may be able to repair wheels and body panels.
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      03-03-2013, 02:26 PM   #10
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Haven't gotten a chance to make an appointment to the garage yet, but I did take a quick look over it with a good friend. Couldn't get the wheel off because we didn't have a jack that fit under the Z since it sat too low... but from a quick peak, everything seems to be ok. It drives fine as well.

However, I did notice that the wheels look slanted (e.g. it's supposed to look like | but instead looks like \) It's a gross exaggeration and not as severe of course. The interesting part is that all 4 wheels are slanted, not just the two that I hit. Is this normal on the Z? I checked my other two cars and it looked straight. Yes, I did make sure to double and triple check that the steering wheel was straight.


This is the driver front (not the wheel I hit) It looks like the left side of the wheel is pointing out a little instead of straight, while the right is pointing in towards the driver's seat.


Driver rear. Looks like the left side is pointing slightly into the car, while the right is pointing out. The rear wheels aren't supposed to turn, so that doesn't make sense.. unless the Z4 is supposed to be like this? I tried looking at it from different angles and it still looks like this. The picture was taken with my standing dead center in front of the roundel.


Finally, passenger right, the wheel that the impact was on. Left points in, right points out.

I'm not sure if anyone knows why this might be...

If anyone has the time, could they take a look at their car to see if their wheels look like this, or are mine just really poorly aligned/major bent wheels on all 4?

Edit: Sorry for the super large images... don't know how to make them smaller...

Last edited by CedarZ4; 03-03-2013 at 02:33 PM..
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      03-03-2013, 03:16 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by CedarZ4
Haven't gotten a chance to make an appointment to the garage yet, but I did take a quick look over it with a good friend. Couldn't get the wheel off because we didn't have a jack that fit under the Z since it sat too low... but from a quick peak, everything seems to be ok. It drives fine as well.

However, I did notice that the wheels look slanted (e.g. it's supposed to look like | but instead looks like \) It's a gross exaggeration and not as severe of course. The interesting part is that all 4 wheels are slanted, not just the two that I hit. Is this normal on the Z? I checked my other two cars and it looked straight. Yes, I did make sure to double and triple check that the steering wheel was straight.


This is the driver front (not the wheel I hit) It looks like the left side of the wheel is pointing out a little instead of straight, while the right is pointing in towards the driver's seat.


Driver rear. Looks like the left side is pointing slightly into the car, while the right is pointing out. The rear wheels aren't supposed to turn, so that doesn't make sense.. unless the Z4 is supposed to be like this? I tried looking at it from different angles and it still looks like this. The picture was taken with my standing dead center in front of the roundel.


Finally, passenger right, the wheel that the impact was on. Left points in, right points out.

I'm not sure if anyone knows why this might be...

If anyone has the time, could they take a look at their car to see if their wheels look like this, or are mine just really poorly aligned/major bent wheels on all 4?

Edit: Sorry for the super large images... don't know how to make them smaller...
Sorry, dude, mine look straight. Yours definitely look toed out. Though I don't know how the incident you described would cause that.
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      03-03-2013, 05:03 PM   #12
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Yeah go get a Four wheel alignment... And driving lessons for the girl friend... Should get the wheels inspected for cracks and do a wheel tire balance too.
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      03-03-2013, 06:58 PM   #13
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Sorry to heard. Mine looks straight as well.
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      03-03-2013, 09:08 PM   #14
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If the steering wheel is centered and the two front tires are pointed like that it does look misaligned.
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      03-04-2013, 05:19 AM   #15
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Further advice will require a photo of your gf.

Additionally, don't ever wear those shoes and red pants will driving your Z. At least not during daylight hours. :-)
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      03-04-2013, 05:24 AM   #16
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You're all basing the 'look' of the wheel angle against a curved and contoured body. Don't make any assumptions based on this. Get the alignment professionally checked.
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      03-04-2013, 07:00 AM   #17
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yeggman View Post
Further advice will require a photo of your gf.

Additionally, don't ever wear those shoes and red pants will driving your Z. At least not during daylight hours. :-)
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      03-04-2013, 07:16 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ManiacGT
You're all basing the 'look' of the wheel angle against a curved and contoured body. Don't make any assumptions based on this. Get the alignment professionally checked.
I thought of that, too. But his definitely looks different than mine.
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      03-04-2013, 10:43 AM   #19
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I recommend (as others did) a wheel alignment also have them check the camber of the rear wheel (the side that made impact with the curb.

Further I would find a qualified mechanic and tell him exactly what has happened (there have to be shops that service Euro build cars like Mercedes, Bimmers etc in your area). I would use them to put the car on a lift and let them tell you if any other damage can be seen or noted. I would not use BMW for this inspection since they a) might tell you anything and b) they make note of it and it may affect future warranty issues.
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      03-04-2013, 10:57 AM   #20
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At least they're not 19's, they'd have just crumbled. Let us know how you get on with alignment and checks etc. As for toe in/out stuff. On RWD cars fronts are usually a little toe in, and rears toe out. In other words, the fronts should be a ^ (pointing in a little at the front) and the rears a v (pointing out a little at the front). This is all to do with driven wheels being pulled forward and rolling wheels pulled back by the force of the car/road. You really can't tell by looking though, you need the proper kit to measure it all.
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      03-04-2013, 11:45 AM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by M3RD View Post
. I would not use BMW for this inspection since they a) might tell you anything and b) they make note of it and it may affect future warranty issues.
You're saying not to use a BMW certified collision center to repair a crashed BMW because BMW might void the warranty later on?

That doesn't make sense to me.

In my opinion OP had a (minor) collision, so he should take it to a BMW certified collision center, use his insurance to fix what is needed (if anything needs to be fixed other than alignment), and go on enjoying the car. If the vehicle is repaired to BMW standards by a BMW certified collision center, there is no reason there should be any warranty issues.

I would say the opposite is true if the OP uses a random indy shop. I personally would proceed with extreme caution when going to an indy (personally I only use an indy collision repair shop if I am certain a BMW franchise dealer farms collision repair work out to that indy shop)
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      03-04-2013, 12:38 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by nicknaz View Post
You're saying not to use a BMW certified collision center to repair a crashed BMW because BMW might void the warranty later on?

That doesn't make sense to me.

In my opinion OP had a (minor) collision, so he should take it to a BMW certified collision center, use his insurance to fix what is needed (if anything needs to be fixed other than alignment), and go on enjoying the car. If the vehicle is repaired to BMW standards by a BMW certified collision center, there is no reason there should be any warranty issues.

I would say the opposite is true if the OP uses a random indy shop. I personally would proceed with extreme caution when going to an indy (personally I only use an indy collision repair shop if I am certain a BMW franchise dealer farms collision repair work out to that indy shop)
I meant for the evaluation only (like a second opinion), perhaps you miss-intereted my note or I may not have made myself clear.

I've been driving BMW's for 25 years and Mercedes' even longer. I just find that if the OEM does the evaluation then he is out already $100- just for showing up. The shops I refer to have ex- OEM mechanics or even the owner is an x-OEM mechanic. I get our 1987 535is (my first Bimmer BTW - now driven by a family member) repaired there if I cannot handle it. Repairs are in general 1/2 the cost that the OEM would charge me. etc. etc.

It just makes sense to get a second opinion and the OP should get his car onto a lift and have an experienced mechanic have a good look and feel from under his car.

I never advised him (the OP) to have it repaired there that is up to him.

I don't think his insurance would cover this sort of damage if there is any damage to speak of (unless he intends to not tell them the actual fact).

So just to be clear, I am expressing an opinion here, I never tell people what to do.
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