I have a 2007 M6 convertible, which I acquired in December of last year. I have driven the car approximately 4200 miles. Unfortunately, I was involved in an incident traveling at about 5-7 mph in an underground parking garage. The car lurched into a concrete support column, making contact at the left front fender/bumper assembly, just in front of the wheel well. I do not really know what happened, but it felt like the car just lurched sideways as if a piece of suspension broke. I am curious whether anyone has had such an experience or know of any other M5/M6 owners who have.
The really troubling part of this is that initial repair estimates by my insurance carrier claims representatives with an assist from several top grade collision centers are in excess of $25,000! It seems that the minor impact, which was not even significant enough to trigger any airbag deployment, resulted in damage requiring frame straightening and complete suspension and steering replacement in addition to the body and other necessary parts. Moreover, in order to make these repairs, the engine/trans need to be pulled, as well as the complete dash assembly. So far, it has taken 10 days just to make a preliminary determination of the scope of repairs. The time to repair estimate is 20 workdays and climbing. Needless to say, no one at BMW told me that the nature of the car's construction was such that a 5 mph incident could result in this type of catastrophic damage to the car or this magnitude of repair cost. Further, I have been informed that this type of repair means that the car can never qualify for CPO status.
Nothing in any of the BMW produced M6 marketing materials I was provided or any of the M6 vehicle information provided with the car at the time of purchase would give me or any potential or actual purchaser of an M6 any inkling that such damage was a foreseeable result from an incident of such minor nature.
I believe that BMW should have disclosed this information to me before I purchased the car. Had I been advised of this risk, I would not have purchased the vehicle. That is why I am very interested in knowing if there are any others that have had a similar experience to mine, so that I can take that into consideration as I decide how to proceed. If so, please contact me directly on my cell phone – 818.414.7552 - or at
helmuthmalone@msn.com
Thank you for your consideration of the above.
Ronald Helmuth, Esq.
