Collision Repair Recommendations

  • Thread starter Thread starter bucoshi
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bucoshi

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Hey everyone, my SE suffered some damage this evening when a deer ran into the right side of my car.

I was able to swerve to the left so I think the damage was minimized quite a bit, as opposed to a head on collision, but there still is damage and now I just want to make sure that when it's repaired, it's repaired correctly by someone who understands MINIs and electric vehicles.

It appears to mainly be body damage on the right passenger side (the door and the rear panel area). Weirdly enough, the charging panel area also suffered a small but noticeable indentation. But again, it's mainly the back passenger panel, the passenger door, and the passenger mirror. Hopefully there's no significant damage to the frame. (both us and the deer were able to continue on with our business)

Has anyone had to get their SE repaired for collision damage? If so, are there any specific things I should keep in mind when setting up a repair through my insurance?

I plan to go to my local MINI dealership and ask them similar questions, but figured I would check on the wisdom of the forum as well.
 
Any reputable body shop can handle it. The F56 has been out since 2014, so it shouldn't be completely new to anyone at this point.

Mine was in the shop for a few weeks because my wife drove it into a parked car (don't ask). Mostly cosmetic damage though the radiator was damaged and that took about 10 days to get in. Looks good as new at this point.
 
Thanks for sharing your experience chrunck ⏤ and bummer to hear about the radiator and cosmetic damage your MINI had to deal with. After reading your comment (and being reminded that the F56 has been out since 2014) I do feel better/more assured compared to just a few minutes ago. My main concern is the battery/charging components... hopefully all that stuff is away from where my SE suffered damage.

By the way, your blue MINI looks amazing.
 
You don’t say where you’re located, but perhaps check if there’s a BMW Certified Collision Repair Center relatively close by. I got some minor damage on my hood in a parking lot hit and run in December, and got a lot of body shop recommendations for places I’d never heard of before, then went online and found the CCRC. Turns out it’s probably the best body shop in my metro area — authorized for Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Tesla, McLaren, Land Rover, and Jaguar also. They were finishing jeweling the paint on a McLaren Senna when I took my car in for an estimate last month. Chances are a local CCRC will have a good relationship with your insurer as well. Worth a look.
 
I've had repairs done to my MINIs (including a deer hitting my Clubman recently). For your SE I'd recommend asking your dealer service department who they use for body repairs, and make sure whomever you use is MINI certified. I'd also say for your SE use MINI parts, not 3rd party.

My opinion is the MINI is high enough quality that the extra is worth it, and it may affect resale value if you use non-MINI parts.
 
@SameGuy I did check to see if there was a MINI Certified Collision Repair Center here in Michigan; however, the website didn't really provide any results for me when I checked. Not sure if it was my browser or what.

@Puppethead, I did end up asking Motor City MINI who they use for body repairs. Motor City shared who they used so I went to chat with them. I feel pretty good about the shop they recommended, so I'll be going with them. Hopefully everything works out well.

Thank you both for the helpful info/insights.
 
Did it look like this? I also got by a DEAR. Her insurance covered everything. Time for repair work was about 2 1/2 months.
IMG_20221009_105149190_HDR.webp IMG_20221009_105149190_HDR.webp IMG_20221229_160017596.webp IMG_20221229_160017596.webp

Before image was taken outdoors and after in my garage that's why color off.

Total cost of repair was around $10k plus.
I live in Minnesota.
 
old guy said:
Did it look like this? I also got by a DEAR. Her insurance covered everything. Time for repair work was about 2 1/2 months.
View attachment 19769 View attachment 19769 View attachment 19770 View attachment 19770

Before image was taken outdoors and after in my garage that's why color off.

Total cost of repair was around $10k plus.
I live in Minnesota.
Click to expand...

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IMG_0104.webp

That's a bummer that your MINI also got hit by a dear ⏤ definitely not a fun experience. Glad your MINI came out looking great in the end. And yeah, mines was similar location, but a little less damage. Will probably still need similar parts fixed though. Did the repair shop have to do anything special to the area surrounding the charging port? The area around my charging port seems to be a little bit deformed due to the impact ⏤ was wondering if there's a certain part name/number for that area.

IMG_0084 2.webp
 
Puppethead said:
Woodbury! I live in neighboring Afton, how come I've never seen your SE around town? :)

(Welcome to the SE forum!)
Click to expand...
Greetings..... I've been to Afton several times about 30 years ago when I was a member of the Jaguar Minnesota car club.
Now about as far east I go is Eagle Valley Golf course . I don't own a Jaguar now.

As to my first post , it's called sarcasm ! I missed entering the word "hit" also.
 
For collisions, I recommend Biggie Smalls:
Escargot, my car go one-sixty, swiftly
Wreck it, buy a new one
Your crew run-run-run, your crew run-run ​
 
[Quick update] My SE is back home and looks great again. Repairs came out to $3500 and some change. Took 10 days to get it all fixed up and returned back to me. Overall, quite happy with Service King/Crash Champion's repair work and that they used genuine MINI parts (that they ordered through the MINI dealership). The only exception is the strong paint smell and having to wait X number of days for car washes and what not. But yeah, had a BLAST turning my Jeep car rental in and then driving my MINI back home yesterday. I definitely thought about driving past my house and going on a quick 2-3 hours road trip lol ⏤ but then I remembered I needed to stop and charge anyways.

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