Two Months Later… the BMW Returns
Friday afternoon I received a call from the auto body shop letting me know that the car was ready. I had to pay the deductible over the phone, as I wasn’t going to be able to get there before they closed for the weekend.
For a while there, I thought I might get away without paying anything, since I hadn’t receive anything from Allstate since the week of the accident. But they got me. Oh well… It hurts this month’s budget quite a bit, but I still had it in the back of my mind, so I can’t really call it an unexpected expense.
The car looks… darker. I’m not sure if it was just the light or what, but it looks to be a couple of shades darker than it was. It’s also not as smooth a coat as it was. You know, when you look at it at different angles, there are a few uneven areas, but from a distance, it looks just fine.
The new roof, with a new back window, is great. The back window hasn’t been that clear since the day I bought it.
The new wheels, that supposedly don’t match because BMW no longer makes the 5 spoke wheels I had, look like perfect matches to me.
The damaged areas also look great.
There looked to be a fresh scratch, rather deep too, in the passenger side door (the side that wasn’t involved in the accident at all), but that was the only noticeable blemish. Considering the improvement everywhere else, we decided to ignore it. (I say that now, but my focus will zero in on that scratch for years to come, I’m sure.)
Another downside was that the radio is locked again. A few years ago, I changed the battery myself and it initiated the antitheft “lock” on the radio. Now the radio asks you to enter a password. I don’t have that password.
The last time this happened, we brought it to a BMW dealership and they reset it — but never gave me the code. Sigh… Looks like I’ll be taking it in again. Argh.
In the end, the whole experience wasn’t that bad. I can’t really bash Allstate, and considering the final bill was double their estimate, I almost have to praise them. That is, unless they double my rates when I’m up for renewal later next month.
