[BanjoPaterson]

Hello all - a new owner of a 2015 pearl white with blue trim i8 coming from a 2009 E92 M3 (traded in). Yup.

I've been following this forum and found most of the newbie help threads, but none on what to do in the event of a stone chip.

After driving today I noticed on the front RHS quarter panel a pin-sized chip -- presumably a stone chip. It could've been there before this morning's drive (I doubt it as I am OCD about these things, but it is small enough that I could have missed it).

Most people would not know it's there... but I know it's there! So - the question...

... what have others on this forum done in similar circumstances?

The body is a composite with a pearl white paint. I'm highly uncertain if my usual stone-chip repair van man will be in a position to rectify this. Not sure what usual stone chip repair solutions ARE available?! I could try BMW and buy their stone chip repair kit for that paint colour, but from experience I'd make a hash of it and end up with a blob 2-3x as big (PS - that's how I got to know my usual stone chip repair van man by hashing a repair to the M3. However, he fixed it exceptionally well!)

I could ignore it. But if I can get a stone chip DESPITE trailing cars by at least 10-15 metres (about the same in yards) and within a few weeks of owning it, then I suspect I'll be getting more of them.

The full solution is BMW's recommended body shop, which in these parts is Tony Farrugia, and they are exception BUT I suspect they will want to respray the entire panel... as they wanted to with my M3.

Anyway - putting it out there for anyone who's been in the same situation. Bit of a bummer, but I knew the "new car" feeling wasn't going to last must longer.

I could put a plastic wrap on the body work, and I think I will do that in short time -- has anyone else tried this. I'm not a fan of the "car bras", and in this instance it would not have helped since this chip is quite high -- on the top of the panel directly over the front wheel -- and not on the bonnet, where I expected stone chips to go.

I had thought of putting the Williams ceramic coat on it, as I had my M3, but the detailer has to buff the paint before applying it and I'm uncertain if the composite body can be treated the same.

Anyways - any and all suggestions greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance.

As for my impressions... the car's fun. Expensive, but still fun. I got a bit of shtick from some colleagues as "not being as fast as it looks", but as I've discovered it's plenty quick enough and you can't get the same reaction from people unless you spend 2-3x the $$$$ for a Lamborghini/Ferrari/MacClaren. It is really the most cost effective way to get scissor doors with a "supercar" look! Recent example: the waiter last night came up and, as pouring the wine, asked "What car is that? We [the staff] were all wondering as you drove up."

Plus it drives very well -- although more GT than track -- and is economical. As long as you tape the mouths of the back passengers to muffle their cries and forego any concept of using it to go to Ikea, it's a blast!

Cheers

[Coastali8]

In my experience there is not a whole lot you can do once you have a rock chip except try your best to cover it up. Repainting a whole panel in pearl white could make things worse. Pearl colors are very difficult to match. I purchased a used 2015 in pearl white also. My car had just a couple of pin sized rock chips on the front bumper cover. You can purchase a touch up paint kit from paintscratch.com but the pearl requires an undercoat coating first before the pearl coat is applied. Using a very tiny brush and a little bit of polishing compound you can make a decent repair. I actually had better luck buying a spray can of diamond white which was a Honda color from my local auto parts store and applying that with a tiny brush because it didn’t require multiple coats. The color was very close.
After my repairs, I had a clear bra installed over the entire front bumper and partial hood. You can hardly see it. Now my worries are over.

[BanjoPaterson]

I'm booking it for a clear car bra. Thank you for the touch up tip!

[Coastali8]

Most welcome...
Also after a lot of research I came to the conclusion that the “Xpel” clear mask product was the best. Never yellows, has “self healing properties “ and I am very pleased with how invisible it is.
Professional install cost me $1250

[BanjoPaterson]

Originally Posted by Coastal i8

Most welcome...
Also after a lot of research I came to the conclusion that the “Xpel” clear mask product was the best. Never yellows, has “self healing properties “ and I am very pleased with how invisible it is.
Professional install cost me $1250

Again thank you for the follow up recommendation. I've taken your advice and booked a vinyl wrapper in Canberra who uses Xpel. He described the "self healing" properties -- but my cost for a full frontal wrap is $2500 AUD !!

Ah well, the cost of living in a remote country!