[wrskgs]

My 17 year old daughter was in a collision in my 7 month old BMW i3. Someone hit her squarely on her drivers side door at approximately 30 mph. The car protected her perfectly, the only slight injury was a minor burn from the air bag. The repair however is becoming a less than perfect experience. One shop in the area is equipped and trained to handle the repair, insurance estimate is $18,000. Parts ordered from Germany two weeks ago, arrival expected to be three more weeks. The repair schedule is three additional weeks. The shop informed me they would also need to get a special tool from BMW for the install. I'm looking at an easy three month repair for a relatively ordinary repair. This seems unusual, extremely inconvenient, and damaging to BMW reputation. I now understand that the carbon frame is quite new and not well supported by BMW. Sad because I was really enjoying the car!

[328iX]

Similar situation with my Alfa Romeo Giulia, not a big seller in the U.S, parts were all unavailable, everything on backorder from Italy, total nightmare.

I imagine you will have the same experience due to the construction of the car and also the low units they sell (although more than my car)

It took 3-4 months, I had no rental coverage and spent 2-3k in rentals, got fed up and asked Alfa Romeo to pay for my rental for a month due to lack of parts and surprisingly they did.


Possibly you can look into getting an i3 rental? Maybe find one off Turo and have your insurance reimburse you depending on how much your daily allowance is.

[cfm56d7b]

I am glad your daughter is OK. Cars are just a collection of steel, rubber, glass, leather and other materials.

Covid-19 created ripples in 'just in time' global automotive supply chain as main factory shutdowns caused suppliers to do the same.

Patience is the only solution.

[capt_slow]

Did you take it to a BMW carbon fiber certified CCRC?

I'm surprised insurance didnt total the car, especially with the airbag going off. The i3 is not a cheap car to repair and easily totaled.

[sspade]

Im a dick and that's okay.

17 years olds shouldn't be driving 7 month old BMW's. This crash is just the first of many issues created by that being allowed to happen.

Learn from your mistake!

[davidr3]

Originally Posted by sspade

Im a dick and that's okay.

17 years olds shouldn't be driving 7 month old BMW's. This crash is just the first of many issues created by that being allowed to happen.

Learn from your mistake!

From what I understand someone hit her drivers side door, which means it most likely wasn't her fault. Would of happened to anyone and to think someone older could avoid such an accident is silly.

I was never in an accident or ever got a ticket at that age.

[jmg]

Originally Posted by wrskgs

My 17 year old daughter was in a collision in my 7 month old BMW i3. Someone hit her squarely on her drivers side door at approximately 30 mph. The car protected her perfectly, the only slight injury was a minor burn from the air bag. The repair however is becoming a less than perfect experience. One shop in the area is equipped and trained to handle the repair, insurance estimate is $18,000. Parts ordered from Germany two weeks ago, arrival expected to be three more weeks. The repair schedule is three additional weeks. The shop informed me they would also need to get a special tool from BMW for the install. I'm looking at an easy three month repair for a relatively ordinary repair. This seems unusual, extremely inconvenient, and damaging to BMW reputation. I now understand that the carbon frame is quite new and not well supported by BMW. Sad because I was really enjoying the car!

The Carbon Fiber composite monocoque is very expensive. I'd call your insurance company and ask them to total it. Remind them that 3 months of car rental will increase the bill ($39/day is $3500). That puts the bill at over $20k. I'd get an adjuster to recalculate the TLR and make sure they account for the extreme depreciation of the i3 over a standard car. Also, if you bought the car, ask about diminished value, which will further increase expenses to help total it.

I'm on my 3rd i3 and I feel you, I love this car.

In the end though, it's just a car and what was important was protected: your daughter.