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front bumper recognition needed. insurance issue incl.

5K views 34 replies 16 participants last post by  sunsetcoast 
#1 ·


this is the way I've bought the car. seems like not the factory oem one.
can anybody tell this is the oem bumper or not?

if I had an accident and make the insurance pay for this bumper , are they not going to pay for this bumper cover?


got some horrible situation with insurance. need to get some advice from all fanatics. thank you in advance.
 
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#4 ·
M Tech II. It's perfectly plausible, and considering the age of your car, quite likely that it was installed from the factory, it all depends on the original spec of your car. However, I don't think an insurance company would pick up on it, or particularly care if it was added; I know mine certainly wouldn't. M Tech II bumpers are very common on facelift coupes so would probably go under the radar.

See if you can find the original spec sheet of your car.
 
#13 · (Edited)
I

Tell the body shop you want the m tech II bumper.
Do all the leg work for them by providing the exact bumper with links, and phone numbers for the supplier. Chances are the Body Shop will make a bit more money off the part, depending on how much your insurance allocates to the new bumper.... likely it will be the same or even less money for the aftermarket MT2 bumper...so the shop wins and you win.
Good luck.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-I727 using Bimmer App
 
#14 ·
Cant you just cash out claim, and take it to the body shop yourself? You can just buy another bumper.
 
#19 ·
This.

You are entitled, as a paying customer of insurance, to obtain the check from the insurance company for the repair and go where ever you want to get it fixed. Remember YOU are the one that is insured, not the autobody company. Your car has been damaged. You can chose to do the work yourself if you want, so you can get the check cut to you.

You should go to at least 2, if not 3 shops and get estimates for the repair from all the shops. File the estimate that most suites you (without totaling the car) to the insurance company. Ask them to cut you a check for the repair. Go to the repair shop of your choosing and give them the parts list for the OEM MTech II bumper and let them fit and paint to match your car. Chances are you may come out slightly ahead. Note this is NOT fraud, it's how the system works.

If you want to know who the shops are that charge the most for their work go to your local autobody supply shop (yellow pages - too many hits on the internet) and ask who does the best work. Get your estimates from those shops. The autobody supply shops are kind of like a wholesale paint and body shop supply depot for the local autobody shops.

GL
 
#15 · (Edited)
speaking of which, does OEM ZHP fit 325i sedans without modding?
i've got a friend at an insurance accredited body shop and was wondering, in the future if my front bumper gets damaged can i have them order oem ZHP and swap on as replacement?
he states if it's OEM to the series/make he has no problem doing it.
would rather do this then rep m-tech II
 
#17 ·
It is an M-tech II, your insurance will know if it was a replica or a real one.
A real one is about $700 from BMW, a replica is about $120 from a number of sponsors right on this forum.
That bumper for the front and rear are specific to the ZHP performance package which would come up in a VIN search.
Whomever had the car before you added the side M3 mirrors as well as the trunk spoiler so I assume the bumper was an add on as well, also I don't believe the OEM bumper has side markers on it.
 
#21 ·
Mtech II broski. Go all out for OEM replacement, even if it was aftermarket.
 
#31 ·
they only paid 60% of the original bumper because it had some scratches at the bottom from the towing.
What?!?!?!

The bumper loss occurred when the other driver hit your car. What happened afterwards is irrelevant. :thumbdwn: It worked out for you, apparently, but...

Generally speaking, insurance companies insure what you tell them you have. Typically, you give them the model and VIN which indicates packages. The policy premium is based on that information. If you have "upgrades" that you want to insure, then you need to tell them. Do you have an CF hood and trunk? $3K wheels + $2K tires? $6K entertainment system? Maybe a $8K "chameleon" paint job? FI for the engine? etc? Don't expect these to be covered in the coverage for a "plain jane" model.
 
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