[helidoc44]

Hi All

Sorry if this has been asked before, however, has anyone made a successful claim against BMW for body side stone chips in front of the cheap PPF which BMW add in front of the rear wheel arches?

My M2 is 6 months old, 7000 miles, used as a daily and the rear wheel arch paint work in front of the PPF is covered in stone chips. I even fitted front mud flaps when I collected the car to help prevent it.

The protection BMW add is just not large enough, it needs to go all the way forward to the door opening.

[cbisson]

Originally Posted by helidoc44

Hi All

Sorry if this has been asked before, however, has anyone made a successful claim against BMW for body side stone chips in front of the cheap PPF which BMW add in front of the rear wheel arches?

My M2 is 6 months old, 7000 miles, used as a daily and the rear wheel arch paint work in front of the PPF is covered in stone chips. I even fitted front mud flaps when I collected the car to help prevent it.

The protection BMW add is just not large enough, it needs to go all the way forward to the door opening.

Why not just add PPF to the area yourself as opposed to making a claim against BMW?

[helidoc44]

Because the damage is already done, plus, should we really be adding protection to a 50K+ car because BMW couldn't do it themselves!! They know it's an issue because they added a token gesture piece of cheap PPF

For clarity, I mean warranty claim

[cbisson]

The front of the car will get stone chips eventually as well. Also the windshield, the A pillars, the leading edge of the roof, side skirts, and behind the rear tires etc. They would need to PPF most of the car.

It's your car so your responsibility. If the manufacturer is to be held liable for varying degrees of stone chip probability your 50k car would be be 70k+ and the flared fender designs we like the look of so much would never be produced.

[David1]

You have no claim. Porsche 911 quarter panels are no different regarding chipping.

[helidoc44]

I know what is acceptable. When I worked for BMW Germany (corporate) there was acceptable standards when a company car was returned. No issue with front facing stone chips....but stone chips on the side between the door and the rear wheel arch, nearly as high as the door handle would be questioned.
The M2 is a fantastic car, however, for a few cent more per car they could have protected this area much better. It's a much more vulnerable area than the front end.
Anyway, I'll take the car back next week and they can correct it.

[Anthony1s]

Originally Posted by cbisson

The front of the car will get stone chips eventually as well. Also the windshield, the A pillars, the leading edge of the roof, side skirts, and behind the rear tires etc. They would need to PPF most of the car.

It's your car so your responsibility. If the manufacturer is to be held liable for varying degrees of stone chip probability your 50k car would be be 70k+ and the flared fender designs we like the look of so much would never be produced.

Ok, the problem with that argument is that the damage to the front of the car, windshield, A pillars, edge of roof, would all be caused by other vehicles on the road. The damage to the rear arches of the M2 is caused by the M2 itself, therefore it's a design flaw and BMW should do something about it.

[Fear-Mongrel]

Originally Posted by Anthony1s

Ok, the problem with that argument is that the damage to the front of the car, windshield, A pillars, edge of roof, would all be caused by other vehicles on the road. The damage to the rear arches of the M2 is caused by the M2 itself, therefore it's a design flaw and BMW should do something about it.

Are you just playing Devil's advocate, or are you making the argument that BMW should be repainting quarter panels?

[akkando]

Originally Posted by helidoc44

Because the damage is already done, plus, should we really be adding protection to a 50K+ car because BMW couldn't do it themselves!! They know it's an issue because they added a token gesture piece of cheap PPF

For clarity, I mean warranty claim

I feel like even the CEO of BMW could not successfully get the service center to bite on that warranty claim.

[pz619]

I commend you on trying, but I think we all know they aren't going to cover it. If it's that big of an issue consider getting a larger section of ppf to cover that area. In the end, bmw won't cover "road hazards" which likely include gravel.

[Anthony1s]

Originally Posted by afwares

Are you just playing Devil's advocate, or are you making the argument that BMW should be repainting quarter panels?

Not playing devil's advocate. I got full PPF done the day after I picked up my car, so I don't really care to fight this more than giving my thoughts. But it does seem like the right thing to do since the PPF they applied from the factory was not enough to prevent damage they clearly knew would happen. And they did clearly know it would happen, because they applied PPF in that area themselves.

Being my first "widebody" car, I didn't even know the rear quarter panel chips would happen, nor did I know there was even PPF pre-applied to the area until I saw a post about it here last year. I'm sure other's are the same, at least with not knowing the rear quarter damage would happen. The M2 being an entry level car, most owners don't have experience with this issue. They may have even thought the pre-applied PPF was adequate, so never considered getting extra protection for that area.

[Anthony1s]

However, with what I said in mind, though it seems like them covering the repairs is the right thing to do, the warranty seems to specifically not cover this, so fighting might not be advantageous.

https://www.bmwusa.com/content/dam/b...s_Warranty.pdf

[heavyD^2]

Plenty of manufacturers install PPF in the rear fender area if they have rear fender flares such as EVO's, STI's, etc and none of them put large enough pieces of film to cover every spot. I got the entire car wrapped in PPF plus stock sized piece of PPF on top of the wrap in fender area so the piece could be re-done rather than the whole panel. Maybe you should have go an M240i if you don't like disadvantages that come with fender flares?

You know you can go to any PPF place and they can do a larger piece over that area for not a lot of money if it bothers you that much. BMW certainly isn't going to do anything for you here. I think the probably could have developed stock front mud guards for this car but not a lot of manufacturers do that it seems like which is why Rally Armor and other aftermarket mud flap manufacturers have become popular.

[mrcheezle19]

The only time paint chips are warrantied is when the car is received by the dealership and noted on delivery inspection. Good luck with any dealer helping you unless it's in good faith for a very important customer.

[Poochie]

People complain about the safety reflectors that's solely put in place, so someone won't miss your car in the dark and crash into it. What do you think would happen if BMW tacked on some unsightly M mud-flaps to protect the vehicle from rock chips..

Every vehicle comes with a compromise and no driving situation is perfect.

Like where I live there are the roads that resemble the Gaza Strip; so I bubble or ruin a tire every other month, mainly because of the wheel's low profile tire inability to absorb road hazards.

However, I can't get just get BMW to cover that, on the basis that it's due to their choice of poor wheel design. Trust me, I tried..

Sorry to say, the dealer and BMW are going to claim paint chips are inherent risk of owning and operating the vehicle on the public streets and then tell you to go kick rocks..

[lbahoshy]

Just got PPF on my M2C and the installer (who I’ve used for preciouses cars and trust) highly recommended a much larger piece to protect the bulging rear quarter panel -it is in fact much less noticeable than the stock small piece as it starts at the rear quarter panel door edge and flows across the body crease (which camouflages the top edge) and then tapers down behind the rear wheels. I’m glad I went with it.

[cbisson]

Originally Posted by Anthony1s

Ok, the problem with that argument is that the damage to the front of the car, windshield, A pillars, edge of roof, would all be caused by other vehicles on the road. The damage to the rear arches of the M2 is caused by the M2 itself, therefore it's a design flaw and BMW should do something about it.

A design flaw? Flared fenders are a design flaw? To address the OPs complaint BMW and other manufacturers would have to apply PPF to some areas and not others based on whether its most likely that chips will be caused by the vehicle itself rather than other vehicles. The leading edge of the M2s flared rear fenders are forward facing and will be hit by both. How do you sort that out? It's personal responsibility. Obviously the rear quarter area is going to take some hits. BMW mitigated this a bit by installing the small PPF patch. If you, as the owner, would like to protect your cars finish further then that is on you.

[Anthony1s]

Originally Posted by cbisson

A design flaw? Flared fenders are a design flaw? To address the OPs complaint BMW and other manufacturers would have to apply PPF to some areas and not others based on whether its most likely that chips will be caused by the vehicle itself rather than other vehicles. The leading edge of the M2s flared rear fenders are forward facing and will be hit by both. How do you sort that out? It's personal responsibility. Obviously the rear quarter area is going to take some hits. BMW mitigated this a bit by installing the small PPF patch. If you, as the owner, would like to protect your cars finish further then that is on you.

Don't shoot the messenger, I'm going by product liability law.

And I'm not sure where you're getting "it's personal responsibility" from after describing two situations where damaged happened that the owner was not in control of. I don't understand the argument.

[bjams]

Originally Posted by Anthony1s

the owner was not in control of

Sure you were. You could’ve left your M2 looking pretty in a garage and it would never have gotten those chips.

[Anthony1s]

Originally Posted by bjams

Sure you were. You could’ve left your M2 looking pretty in a garage and it would never have gotten those chips.

lol. i hope you're joking.

[cbisson]

Originally Posted by Anthony1s

Don't shoot the messenger, I'm going by product liability law.

And I'm not sure where you're getting "it's personal responsibility" from after describing two situations where damaged happened that the owner was not in control of. I don't understand the argument.

Product liability would apply too something like a bad braking system, where real personal injury or death were a potential result. This would apply whether the manufacturer knew it or not. Obviously more egregious if they were aware of the flaw and continued to produce and sell the product.

The fact that the body shape of a car makes it more susceptible, in specific areas, to stone chips either from its own wheels or other vehicles on the road does not rise to the level of product liability.

Stone chips are an unavoidable byproduct of operating a vehicle on public roadways. It is the responsibility of the owner to determine what level of inevitable damage is acceptable and too take steps to maintain that level. Add PPF, don't follow too close, avoid bad roads as much as possible, don't drive the car in snowy weather (rock salt and sand does the most damage in my area).

[Anthony1s]

Originally Posted by cbisson

Product liability would apply too something like a bad braking system, where real personal injury or death were a potential result. This would apply whether the manufacturer knew it or not. Obviously more egregious if they were aware of the flaw and continued to produce and sell the product.

The fact that the body shape of a car makes it more susceptible, in specific areas, to stone chips either from its own wheels or other vehicles on the road does not rise to the level of product liability.

Stone chips are an unavoidable byproduct of operating a vehicle on public roadways. It is the responsibility of the owner to determine what level of inevitable damage is acceptable and too take steps to maintain that level. Add PPF, don't follow too close, avoid bad roads as much as possible, don't drive the car in snowy weather (rock salt and sand does the most damage in my area).

You're talking about only one section of product liability "design defects "and the law specifies financial injury as well.

The rest of it about being up the consumer to protect themselves falls under "marketing defects" which you are also incorrect on. This is why we have those labels on our sun visors and warning on our mirrors. It's also why companies lose suits when their spinach has e coli in it, or their coffee is too hot.

Consumers have a reasonable expectation that the product they buy will not cause them harm or injury.