Drove over metal pipe on expressway, significant damage resulted

[Padfan9]

In late December, I was driving on the freeway when someone lost a small metal exhaust tip from the bed of their truck and it landed in front of my car. I couldn't avoid it and ended up hitting it. It went right under my bumper, broke through the bumper guard flap and rattled around under the car for only a few seconds before I stopped and got it out. I checked the bumper and noticed the damage and was obviously furious being the meticulous obsessive compulsive BMW owner that I am. I also refuse to let anyone touch my car except for the best, so I took it to BMW first thing and had my Insurance adjuster meet me there. They put my car up on the lift and you won't believe what they found:

Cracked upper control arm
Bent subframe
Dented radiator
Cracked steering wheel column

All of this happened because of that small exhaust tip????

My car has been in the shop for 3 weeks now and BMW couldn't even fix it! They had to send my car to a specialty shop that deals with high end cars and has a special JIG machine that can adjust the cars frame back to stock (I hope). Bmw won't even cover my warranty if I go anywhere else to get it fixed. They are thinking my car won't be done for another 6 weeks!!!! $17,000 in damage total.

Coincidentally, my friend just got his 1200 mile service done last week and has a 2015 M4 as well. I just heard from him tonight. He had almost the same situation happen tonight on a dark road where he ran over something and it broke the plates under the car, dented the radiator and destroyed his oil cooler and we don't know what else until we take it in tomorrow. The car won't even start.

Imagine the diminished resale value on a car with damage like this?

[Lups]

I've been the first one to mock people with the attitude 70k will buy you a bullet proof car, but this story of your and after reading many of your posts before this makes me think there are issues.

My way of thinking takes us to leases. the mileages are low, and no one has done anything in their cars so the next generation can be less road worthy. the repair costs are too damn high.

[Doctor///M]

Originally Posted by Lups

I've been the first one to mock people with the attitude 70k will buy you a bullet proof car, but this story of your and after reading many of your posts before this makes me think there are issues.

My way of thinking takes us to leases. the mileages are low, and no one has done anything in their cars so the next generation can be less road worthy. the repair costs are too damn high.

A $70k bulletproof car is possible



Titanium ftw!!

[rebirth24]

Originally Posted by Padfan9

In late December, I was driving on the freeway when someone lost a small metal exhaust tip from the bed of their truck and it landed in front of my car. I couldn't avoid it and ended up hitting it. It went right under my bumper, broke through the bumper guard flap and rattled around under the car for only a few seconds before I stopped and got it out. I checked the bumper and noticed the damage and was obviously furious being the meticulous obsessive compulsive BMW owner that I am. I also refuse to let anyone touch my car except for the best, so I took it to BMW first thing and had my Insurance adjuster meet me there. They put my car up on the lift and you won't believe what they found:

Cracked upper control arm
Bent subframe
Dented radiator
Cracked steering wheel column

All of this happened because of that small exhaust tip????

My car has been in the shop for 3 weeks now and BMW couldn't even fix it! They had to send my car to a specialty shop that deals with high end cars and has a special JIG machine that can adjust the cars frame back to stock (I hope). Bmw won't even cover my warranty if I go anywhere else to get it fixed. They are thinking my car won't be done for another 6 weeks!!!! $17,000 in damage total.

Coincidentally, my friend just got his 1200 mile service done last week and has a 2015 M4 as well. I just heard from him tonight. He had almost the same situation happen tonight on a dark road where he ran over something and it broke the plates under the car, dented the radiator and destroyed his oil cooler and we don't know what else until we take it in tomorrow. The car won't even start.

Imagine the diminished resale value on a car with damage like this?

Interesting. You took to to BMW of SD (Kearny Mesa)?

[Lups]

Originally Posted by Doctor///M

A $70k bulletproof car is possible



Titanium ftw!!

Ouch. now let's aim for the idiot proof!

http://f80.bimmerpost.com/forums/sho....php?t=1080562

I'm so sick of risking my life because of that fucking asshole, it's unreal.

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by rebirth24

Interesting. You took to to BMW of SD (Kearny Mesa)?

I took it to BMW Encinitas since that's where I bought it and they have a body shop. They couldn't even fix it so they told me to go to Amato's Auto Body. They have a good reputation. My car is just sitting there wasting away while the OEM parts are lagging from Germany. I am beyond livid just waiting around for months because of some stupid random little metal pipe.

I am literally going crazy not having my car, everyday feels like a week.

I am even more upset that I feel my car will never be the same. I even tried to fight getting it totaled but there is no way. The shop says it will be perfect again so we will see. They have the best precision machines so I feel good about it, but they have to drop my engine, take my seats out, what a disaster.

[Vigilant]

I do feel for you OP. I also ran over an exhaust tail pipe but was traveling at a slow speed which probably saved my vehicle. I keep wondering if something will leak or break loose. I have not thankfully had any issues driving. I will be doing an intermediate oil change soon...hopefully the dealer won't surprise me with "oh we found a problem under the car".

OP...were your issues immediate or delayed after the collision (other than the bumper)?

Again, sorry about the accident.

[fortressmaximus]

Keep us posted. I'm sorry to hear that this happened.

[CanAutM3]

Did you happen to roll over the exhaust tip with the front wheel?

[S65V8]

murphy's law. sorry to hear it. unfortunately, i feel the more we "try" to take care of a car and be "anal", the worst someone's luck is...although, the amount of damage that small piece of metal caused is eye opening.

[Patel511]

I'm still in the shopping phase at the moment and this is a disappointing thing to hear, in comparison how does the last generation m3 undercarriage hold up. Living in the country side we run over a lot of crap, anything from roadkill and live animals that can't be avoided to tree branches and chunks of mud.

[JoeFromPA]

I have the opposite impression of the m3/m4 - I've seen video of it slamming into a curb hard enough to lift the entire car off the ground and drive away just fine

Seriously though I've spent a decent bit of time under my f80. The undershielding is quite good, better than most recent cars I've owned because they are doing more extensive shielding to channel airflow.

The front belly pan is integral aluminum for stiffness and serves as a very nice protective barrier.

The only thing I feel is truly at jeopardy is the front oil cooler...but then again, it's not that much more exposed than many radiators and A/C condensers so I guess we will see.

I don't mean to doubt the Ops account but there's no way I can imagine this happening. An exhaust tip is thin rolled metal. Let's assume stainless steel - it still bends easily. How on earth could an exhaust tip bend a subframe? I can't picture any scenario - even if it was a 4 or 5" diesel truck exhaust tip, it would still bend and crunch easily.

My only guess is that there was something ELSE on the road, that the exhaust tip was shiny and easily seen, and that something else did the damage.

I mean: look at the tesla example. The model S had a huge very protective undercarriage....until one owner hit a 3-ball hitch that tore it apart and caused a fire.

I know our cars are low and somewhat exposed, so I'm not doubting something can easily happen, but I don't think they are any more exposed than most other sporty cars of our era either..

[Jacky Treehorn]

If they are telling you that you need to go to a specialty shop to have the "Frame" of the car righted (and the body shop can't even fix this), then shouldn't they just have totaled it?

Something does not add up with the description of the item that you ran over, and the reflected damage.

[Trips]

It seems unlikely that a small metal clip could do that kind of damage. Crack a control arm, bend the subframe? That's high impact damage.

Maybe somebody drove your car as a test drive before you bought it, and the damage was done then? Did you ever have it valet parked? A mishap on the ship, at port, at the dealer prior to delivery? These seem more likely.

Sorry though, I feel your pain. Always sucks not to have your car.

[JeffM-Houston]

I simply can't believe an exhaust tip would bend a subframe, the physics just don't add up. Crack a upper control arm??? Just not happening from a 3-4 oz. piece of rolled steel. Sounds more like hitting a curb or something.

[FlagBonz]

OP,

Did the car drive any different immediately after the "hit"?

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by Vigilant

I do feel for you OP. I also ran over an exhaust tail pipe but was traveling at a slow speed which probably saved my vehicle. I keep wondering if something will leak or break loose. I have not thankfully had any issues driving. I will be doing an intermediate oil change soon...hopefully the dealer won't surprise me with "oh we found a problem under the car".

OP...were your issues immediate or delayed after the collision (other than the bumper)?

Again, sorry about the accident.

The issues were all immediate. Bmw actually didn't see all the damage the first time they looked, they had to get a second opinion from the speciality shop and they stripped my whole car down and that's where they found the major damage. BMW actually let me drive my car around for a few days. Then I got a call from the shop saying "I can't believe BMW would allow you to drive you car, your steering where column is cracked you could have been killed" letting me know my car was extremely unsafe to drive. Thanks for the post.

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by CanAutM3

Did you happen to roll over the exhaust tip with the front wheel?

No, it went under the front bumper on the passengers side. Here is a picture of the bumper if you can see it at the very bottom. It's almost underneath the bumper but you can see it if you look closely and it just broke through everything else.

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by JoeFromPA

I have the opposite impression of the m3/m4 - I've seen video of it slamming into a curb hard enough to lift the entire car off the ground and drive away just fine

Seriously though I've spent a decent bit of time under my f80. The undershielding is quite good, better than most recent cars I've owned because they are doing more extensive shielding to channel airflow.

The front belly pan is integral aluminum for stiffness and serves as a very nice protective barrier.

The only thing I feel is truly at jeopardy is the front oil cooler...but then again, it's not that much more exposed than many radiators and A/C condensers so I guess we will see.

I don't mean to doubt the Ops account but there's no way I can imagine this happening. An exhaust tip is thin rolled metal. Let's assume stainless steel - it still bends easily. How on earth could an exhaust tip bend a subframe? I can't picture any scenario - even if it was a 4 or 5" diesel truck exhaust tip, it would still bend and crunch easily.

My only guess is that there was something ELSE on the road, that the exhaust tip was shiny and easily seen, and that something else did the damage.

I mean: look at the tesla example. The model S had a huge very protective undercarriage....until one owner hit a 3-ball hitch that tore it apart and caused a fire.

I know our cars are low and somewhat exposed, so I'm not doubting something can easily happen, but I don't think they are any more exposed than most other sporty cars of our era either..

Guys, why in gods name would I make this up?

It wasn't a "thin metal tip" it was an exhaust tip from a truck and it was Very thick. I pulled over on the 5 freeway and it was completely wedged under my car. I had to kick it loose and pull it out. So NO there was nothing else in the road but that and it wasn't shiny, that is exactly what I ran over.

I was actually on the phone with someone from HG Motorsports in San Diego as it flew it front of me I had to hang up with him because it was so loud underneath my car and it was clanking around. I was on the freeway and clearly not driving 15 mph.

You don't think a thick metal pipe breaking through could do that much damage at high speeds??? Just because another random car went over the center divide? Did you see the center divide? It wasn't that big. And he has damage to his front bumper I am sure but I got unlucky is what happened. Just because I know someone else who had this happen doesn't mean we are both idiots who just run crap over all day.

I take excellent care of my car and I am a good driver. The piece flew it front of my car, it was unavoidable. I am devastated by this situation as I get upset about a spec of dust being on my car and now it's all messed up.

The frame damage isn't the worst part, it caused slight frame damage to where it is bent and even a tiny bend can cause issues if it's not within MM's of spec.

The cracked control arm, steering wheel column and radiator is where the issue is because the parts are taking so long to get.

Why would I come on here with a made up story? I can take a screen shot of the damage. Here you guys go:

I was doing this so all of you could be more careful and get something positive out of it.

I am not sure if all 3 pictures will post but there you go. This was the initial estimate the second one added on a few thousand more in labor. So who is BS now?

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by Trips

It seems unlikely that a small metal clip could do that kind of damage. Crack a control arm, bend the subframe? That's high impact damage.

Maybe somebody drove your car as a test drive before you bought it, and the damage was done then? Did you ever have it valet parked? A mishap on the ship, at port, at the dealer prior to delivery? These seem more likely.

Sorry though, I feel your pain. Always sucks not to have your car.

Is this a joke? My car was perfect until I hit this and I checked under the car after and could see the bumper damage and the flap behind it that was broken. I took it straight to BMW to check the undercarriage.

You think I wouldn't notice this when I am that meticulous about my car? Don't be ridiculous .

[DML]

I believe ya.... Glad I don't have to place an order for a little over a year from now. Missing the ole "Is"?? Love mine. Good luck and hope the car literally gets straightened out

[Padfan9]

Originally Posted by Jacky Treehorn

If they are telling you that you need to go to a specialty shop to have the "Frame" of the car righted (and the body shop can't even fix this), then shouldn't they just have totaled it?

Something does not add up with the description of the item that you ran over, and the reflected damage.

No, I tried, the car has to have 70% of the value to get totaled. This was only $16,000-17,000 so I wasn't close plus the shop said they have the jig machine with BMW specs that can get it back to perfect. This is one of the best shops in CA. They only work on BMW, Porsche, Audi and Tesla. All their machines and techs are the best. I just got done fighting with State Farm to cover everything because they wanted me to go to one of their recommended shops. They said this shop charges more then the industry average and they shouldn't have to rent special machines to fix my car. I let them know the car is brand new and BMW will void the warranty unless the work is done at a BMW certified shop and since BMW doesn't have the proper equipment to fix the frame, this shop is the only option. They are covering all the damage now as I have an excellent case. No reasonable person would void their warranty to save a few thousand dollars going to a recommended shop.