Subframe fix BMW Woodstock

[JBird]

I have recently got my car back after having the subframe repair done. I was originally booked in at Elms Stanstead, but they left me high and dry with delay after delay, and I was less than impressed with the stories from others on the forum.

I ended up arranging my repair through BMW North Oxford. Their bodyshop is in woodstock, its actualy a Mini dealership out front. They did an excelect job, taking good care of the interior. I was kept up to date, sent photos of the progress, and the guys asked if they were unsure of anything (e.g., which brake fluid), which was reassuring as I wasn't in the country and fairly shitting bricks that the car would get trashed. A few cosmetic things wern't up to my standard, but they were sorted promptly the next day.

You don't need to go through BMW in Oxford, you can go to Woodstock Mini directly. Sounds a bit odd, but they do all the BMW body repairs in the Oxford area. The bodyshop manager is David Smith, and he is aware I have posted here. I think he said they have done about 20 cars so far, a few CSLs.

Will try to get some pics up at some stage, but just wanted to put it out there as an option as it sounds like the gong is about to chime.

[mattCSLnut]

THANX for sharing Jay I'm glad this has worked out well for you mate

[JBird]

So I though I would give a bit of a write up on my floor repair, probably nothing new here in this post, but it might help someone nonetheless.

A crack just on 20mm in length was found on the left hand side during Insp II. You see this if you look up through the LH stabiliser bar mount.



I think the crack became visible between 26,000 and 33,000 miles, as Gareth checked the car at both points. Not sure how detailed the check was at 26,000 but it was certainly cracked by 33,000. I should mention that this car has had an easy life, with no hard track work. I have managed to get it to crack with daily motorway driving. My gut feeling is that 1st to 2nd shifts and the odd pothole cause it.

I tried to get the car repaired in Munich, as I'd be based there at the time of needing the repair, and wanted to be able to talk to those working on my car face-to-face. After much enquiring I eventually found a helpful Munich bodyshop who said they would do it under goodwill, but only after inspecting the car again themselves. They would not accept photos from Elms. The problem seems less well know / acknowledged in Germany (odd I know). Along the way I got responses such as "yeah, but it's almost 10 years old, so we can't" and "it's not far enough developed to do anything", to the most shocking "you must be mistaken, this problem does not occur" from M-Gmbh directly. I did not want to risk taking the car all that way, then having them decline on a technicality, so I booked myself in at Elms Stanstead for early August surgery. They delayed and delayed, and the day I flew over to drop the car off they called to say they couldn't do it till early 2014. By then the car would be knocking on 10yrs. There is a catch that once the authorisation has been approved, the repair must be done within 4 weeks. This means the garage doing the repair have to delay lodging the goodwill applications if they have a backlog. Also, the original inspection date seems to count for nothing, I was told the date of the authorisation application is what counts in determining the age. I decided / had no choice to ditch Elms Stanstead and go somewhere else. I chose the North Oxford bodyshop, which is actually in Woodstock. Here are some pics of the repair they did.


Some effort made to protect the inside of the car during the repair.


Some ref pics of the factory finish inside the boot. I wanted to be sure a similar level of tidiness was achieved.



Floor cut out, no going back now....





New floor welded into place, wheel arch seams and underside sealed. Looks like brake line was sprayed over which could have been avoided. I was concerned about how well sealed the arch seams were, but there was another M3 on the ramp to compare to, and they were similar. I will keep an eye on them over the coming years though.



Foam injection



All plugged up, showing final finish inside the boot area. To be honest I was not completely happy with the patchy paint. Looking at other posts on the forum it seems most garages struggle to paint the thing evenly. Don't get it. Joins etc look OK so I did not push the issue.





Finally the car was reassembled and the KDS done. The bumper was a bit on the piss and not clipped in properly, but this was fixed upon collection after a little haggling. Could have done it myself, but that's not the point.



I was given the usual certificate which states that car has not lost value because of repair as it was due to premature failure and not an accident. There is also a second certificate of repair from the body shop. This is a lifetime guarantee on the workmanship, as long as the car remains in my ownership - so impt that I get the floor thoroughly inspected if ever selling.




Finally i'd like to thank all on the forum for their advice along the way. It's now time to start enjoying the car (well, as soon as winter is over anyway).

I have since had a spirited drive to Munich with an obligatory stop at Spa on the way. Quite a few creaks from the rear seats, but that settled down by the time I was home. Handling seems fine, but with cold roads I was hardly pushing it.

Cheers
J

[JBird]

@ outnumbered, yeah, there are a lot of threads on this topic, but I think this should be separate as it's specifically about Woodstock.

@ PP, Glad to hear Bedford worked for you, they were not an option for me due to the time constraint. In case it wasn't clear, it's Elms Stanstead that I had problems with, not Cambridge (Emma / Gareth) - we all know they treat us well.

@ Matt, your welcome, cheers again for your tips!

[Equinox]

Great post with some really good pics, Its a real issue that all of us are potentially going to come across I guess at some point.

[pinkpanther008]

Great write up of this fix JBird

[MCSL]

Originally Posted by JBird

Finally the car was reassembled and the KDS done.

KDS. Whats that then?

[Bounce]

Originally Posted by MCSL

KDS. Whats that then?

KDS 4 Wheel Alignment

Correct wheel alignment is important on BMWs as even slight changes in geometry can affect the handling, not to mention tyre wear and fuel consumption.
Simply by knocking one of your alloy wheels on the kerb or going over a pothole can effect the geometry. Also, when modifying your BMW's suspension the geometry of the car will instantly be knocked out. To gain the benefit of the improved lowering springs and/or dampers, you will need to get the geometry reset through alignment.

[s1csl]

Originally Posted by Bounce

KDS 4 Wheel Alignment

Correct wheel alignment is important on BMWs as even slight changes in geometry can affect the handling, not to mention tyre wear and fuel consumption.
Simply by knocking one of your alloy wheels on the kerb or going over a pothole can effect the geometry. Also, when modifying your BMW's suspension the geometry of the car will instantly be knocked out. To gain the benefit of the improved lowering springs and/or dampers, you will need to get the geometry reset through alignment.

You know a fair bit about this KDS Brett , your eyes not so good now days do you hit a lot of pot holes and kerb down your way

[MCSL]

Originally Posted by Bounce

KDS 4 Wheel Alignment

Correct wheel alignment is important on BMWs as even slight changes in geometry can affect the handling, not to mention tyre wear and fuel consumption.
Simply by knocking one of your alloy wheels on the kerb or going over a pothole can effect the geometry. Also, when modifying your BMW's suspension the geometry of the car will instantly be knocked out. To gain the benefit of the improved lowering springs and/or dampers, you will need to get the geometry reset through alignment.

Cheers Bounce. I'm guessing Elms Bedford will do mine then?