Tag Archives: BMW

Car Care

How to Keep Your BMW From Getting Scratches

A new BMW is sleek, sexy and has a presence that can’t be imitated or duplicated by any other car brand in the world. We do everything we can to keep our BMWs in good shape — washing the exterior, detailing the interior and performing regular maintenance to keep the engine running smoothly. 

While we can’t always avoid scratches, there are plenty of things we can do to prevent the ones that can lead to costly repairs.

Park It Indoors

Even if you’re in an area that isn’t prone to things like hailstorms, parking outside could still be detrimental to the health of your paint. Sticks and sand can get picked up by the wind and can scratch up your clearcoat. 

Bird droppings are one of the worst culprits. Animal droppings are corrosive and can cause more damage the longer they are allowed to sit.

You can’t always avoid bird droppings, especially when driving. However, if you notice that a passing feathered friend has left you a nice gift on your car, wash it off as soon as possible. 

Inspect Car Washes First

While washing your car by hand is the best choice, we don’t always have the time to do that, so we’re left with automatic car washes. While these businesses aren’t inherently evil when it comes to scratches, you need to be careful when choosing your car wash. Brushes can pick up sand and dirt from other cars, turning into sandpaper, which can leave fine scratches all over your BMW. 

Make sure the carwash you choose is well maintained and kept clean. Skipping this step could cost you a lot of money in the long run as you’re stuck repairing the paint. 

Be Mindful of What Is in Your Garage

Even if you have room to store your car in your garage, these rooms tend to become a catch-all for lots of things. Be mindful of what you’re storing in your garage if you want to prevent scratches on your BMW. Hazardous chemicals could burst as temperatures rise or fall, causing untold damage to the exterior of your favorite Bimmer. 

Also, be careful of anything that could potentially fall on your BMW. Anything from Christmas decorations to gardening tools can damage your paint. 

Take or Stow Your Valuables

Even if you lock your car, leaving valuables like phones, purses, wallets or laptops in plain sight is just asking for someone to bust your window. Thieves aren’t going to be careful to avoid scratching your paint when they’re making off with your goodies. 

If possible, remove all your valuables from your car when you arrive at your destination. If you can’t take them with you, stash them out of sight. Don’t make your vehicle a target for thieves, and you won’t have to worry about them scratching your paint while they’re stealing all your toys. 

Always Be Careful

It’s not always possible to make your BMW scratchproof, but you can take steps to reduce the risk and help protect your investment.

Car Care

How to fix your bmw after hail damage

Something is relaxing about a stormy day. You can watch the rain with a warm drink in your hand, and enjoy how things seem to slow down. Of course, all of that relaxation goes out the window when the skies open up and start dropping hail on your home and, worse, your BMW. Hail can range in size from little pebbles to softball-sized rocks that can do some serious and expensive damage. What steps can you take to fix your car after hail damage?

Assess the Damage

Wait for the storm to pass. Don’t try to get to your car or fix anything while there are still chunks of ice falling from the sky. You’ve already seen the damage that hail can do to your vehicle. With this precipitation able to fall at more than 100 miles per hour, imagine what it could do if it hit you. 

Once the storm has passed, and it’s safe to be outdoors again, head outside and assess the damage. Depending on the size of the hailstones, these issues could include anything from paint chips and cracked glass to a shattered windshield and fender dents. If there are any broken windows, take the time to cover them with tarps or plastic to prevent water from getting into the interior. 

Fix Broken Glass

While repairing dents and paint damage is important, fixing any cracked or broken glass should be your priority after a hail storm. These problems make your car impossible to drive, so you may need to put in a call to your local repair service that offers house calls. Cost will be determined by the model of the car, size and complexity of the windshield.

Windows can be complicated, partially because most of the companies that replace windshields don’t handle window glass. Plus, unlike the laminated windshield glass, which spiderwebs when cracked, windows tend to shatter into a ton of small pieces. As a result, you have to clean out the debris before you can fix anything.

If you have a sunroof on your vehicle, a severe hailstorm might damage or destroy that too, and you may need to go to a dealership or to a specialty shop to get it repaired or replaced. Either way, make broken glass your priority. 

Remember the Dents

Once the car is drivable again, you can start thinking about exterior damage that needs attention, including dents and scratches or chips in the paint. Removing hailstone dents is no different than removing any other dings if only one or two stones struck your vehicle. If your hood or fenders have tons of little pockmarks from a barrage of ice crystals, however, you may need to employ the skills of a professional body shop.

Hailstone damage tends to be clustered on the surface of your car, making it more difficult to remove the dents because, with standard DIY tools, it’s impossible to get a good seal. You can get under the fender and start hammering the dents out. Still, if you’re not skilled at bodywork, you risk causing more issues. If this is your first BMW, you might get a shock to find that repair is going to be more expensive than your old beater, so use caution.

Dents and paint chips might not seem like a priority. However, if they’re left alone, water will come into contact with the body’s unprotected metal, allowing it to rust. Over time, this oxidation eats away at the metal and makes it weaker. It can also cause parts to stick together, making repairs trickier. 

Try to Park Inside

If you live in an area that’s prone to hail storms or other weather-related disasters like hurricanes or tornadoes, the best advice is to park your car indoors or under some type of covering. Even parking under a large tree can help mitigate the damage caused by ice chunks, though it isn’t a good solution for hurricanes or tornadoes. You can also consider renting a garage space between the beginning of June and the end of November when 97% of Atlantic hurricanes occur.

If you get caught out in a hail storm, try your best to take shelter. Hail can cause some serious and expensive damage to any vehicle unlucky enough to be caught in it. Plus, if you’re driving while the glass shatters, you can get in an accident or injured.

Fixing Your Car After a Hail Storm

No one links having to fix their car, especially when it’s your BMW that you’ve been saving up for and finally have. Still, the inevitable can happen, especially if it’s an unpredictable storm. If your vehicle sees damage after a hail storm, follow the advice above.

Images: Bimmerfest

Information

What’s It Like to Work for BMW?

When you think of luxury vehicles, BMW is probably one of the first brands that comes to mind. These German cars are among the most well known in the world, and in addition to dealerships, it maintains factories in the U.S., Germany and 12 other countries. If you’re a fan of the brand and what it does, you might even be considering a career with this company. Here’s what it’s like to work for BMW.

Starts Like Any Other Job

Getting started in a career with BMW is similar to most other jobs. You brush up your resume, send in your application and wait until you get a call for an interview. Seems pretty straightforward, right?

If BMW decided to offer you a job, you’d likely find yourself meeting with leadership at your local BMW headquarters. Depending on where you’re located, that could be an office, a factory or a dealership. This allows you to talk to your future bosses about your goals, experience and what you’re hoping to get out of your career.

Once You Get the Job

Once you accept a job offer at BMW, your path will depend greatly on your experience and the career you’ve chosen. If you’re working in one of the brand’s assembly plants, you can expect your first few weeks to be filled with technical training to learn the ins and outs of putting together one of the brand’s iconic cars. There are all sorts of classes to take to expand your knowledge base and improve your promotability. 

In rare cases, if you excel in your chosen field, you may get the opportunity to transfer to one of the brand’s home bases. There is even a possibility that you could be sent to Germany to work at the company’s first factory. 

BMW prides itself on its supportive leadership. If you’re interested in working for one of the most famous automotive brands in the world, it’s a great opportunity. 

A Great Company — but Not the Best

While BMW might be one of the best automotive brands to work for in the United States — and possibly the world — it isn’t the best. In the U.S., that title belongs to Ford, easily one of the most well-known domestic companies. If you want to work in an assembly plant for BMW, you’re limited to Spartanburg, South Carolina. Ford, on the other hand, has plants and facilities spread out across the country.

That’s not to discourage you from seeking out a career with BMW. Both brands have their pros and cons, but if you adore BMW’s cars and marvel at its engineering prowess, you likely won’t be happy at any other company. 

Working for BMW

Whether you enjoy working in the automotive sector or just love the idea of being able to include BMW on your resume, now is as good a time as ever to seek a career with the iconic company. Working for a brand you love can be one of the most rewarding experiences of your life.