Weird Dents

[Graves]

So, I have had my car for almost a year now and I meticulously maintain it and notice everything about it. I know exactly where my only two rock chips are and can tell you how big they are. With that being said, I was standing outside at work today and noticed what looked like waves along the A-Pillar running towards the back of the car parallel to the roof. It's a bunch of dents/creases. However, the paint is perfect, no marks what so ever, nothing. I cannot for the life of me figure out what would have caused it. There are about 8-9 of them. This is on the drivers side. The passenger side is flawless.

I recently dropped it off to get ceramic coated but I can't for the life of me think of what could have happened to cause that while it was being done. The only thing I can think of is somehow I never noticed and it's a factory defect in the panel or possibly from body twist. Body twist seems unlikely considering the car is solid as hell and is still stock. No way factory TQ is causing that, but maybe. I'm going to take it to the dealer and see what they say since it's still under warranty. Anyone else had this issue?

Here is a few pictures, not the best but you can see where the light concaves and shows off the dents slightly. Pictures with red circles is the D/S. Pictures with nothing is the P/S.

[kolosy]

yeah no pics, but.. could be from hail?

[Graves]

Car is not daily driven and has never seen snow or hail.

[shay2nak]

I see it in the 3rd pic. Weird. I had that happen with a car I used to own. Was a mystery. Maybe something pressed against it at the dealer while servicing or someone while it was parked??? who knows...

[tebbnsx]

It looks like orange peel texture in the paint to me.

[maniz]

Someone putting a lot of weight there while getting into the car, may be? That area isn't reinforced so it bends easily. I have seen it across many makes (not my cars) and I'm always surprised by it.

[DadVibes]

Yep, I see it in pic #3. Looks exactly like a dent form hail damage. I know it's never been in hail, so obviously not that. My guess is someone/something was putting some pressure in those spots when doing service or possibly the ceramic coating?

Hard to say, really. But if they all look like pic #3, they can be easily popped/massaged back out with paintless dent repair (used to repair hail damage).

Strange, nonetheless.

[ChuMpion3]

Golf ball strike?

[jdgamble]

Are there a few? I def see the big one. Are they on a radius? Maybe the coating installer lost control of a buffer and it banged the car. They are generally plastic, so they wouldn’t nick the paint. And of course they could have polished it out.

I seriously doubt that is not man made. It looks like a dent.

[Eric S]

def not hail.

looks like someone/something pressed against it hard.

should be an easy fix, glue pull should do it

dents like that are not caused by a polisher unless it was dropped

[CS328Ci]

I've noticed these on my m4 and my older 435i when I first received it as well. Not as many - perhaps 2-3 minor depressions that reflect light differently. Mostly among areas that are not dent prone.

They were only visible in certain light and I had a paintless dent repair fix the major ones. I had to live with the other imperfections.

I was told that it may be related to when it was being shipped from Germany.

Anyways, it's difficult to accept and I can relate to your plight. Hope it works out

[Graves]

Taking it Friday to the guy that ceramic coated the car. What I truly think happened is it was damaged when the PPF was being taken off the roof. I think whoever removed it rest their forearms or something on it applying enough body weight to create the slight depressions. Hopefully, it can be resolved.

Anyone do the paint less dent repair before where they apply that plug with glue and pull on it?

[maniz]

Originally Posted by Graves

Anyone do the paint less dent repair before where they apply that plug with glue and pull on it?

Yes I had to do it on my 550i 2 years ago when my mountain bike fell off its wall mount and hit the edge of the R front fender. It was inaccessible from the back so glue was the only option. The guy did a great job. Your clear coat will likely get very lightly scuffed (even if the spot is clear of dust) in that area but it will polish out very easily. A good PDR tech will be able to tell you if the glue option will work in that area before he starts.

[Graves]

Originally Posted by maniz

Yes I had to do it on my 550i 2 years ago when my mountain bike fell off its wall mount and hit the edge of the R front fender. It was inaccessible from the back so glue was the only option. The guy did a great job. Your clear coat will likely get very lightly scuffed (even if the spot is clear of dust) in that area but it will polish out very easily. A good PDR tech will be able to tell you if the glue option will work in that area before he starts.

Is it expensive?

[maniz]

Originally Posted by Graves

Is it expensive?

No. Mine was a compound dent but cost was <$150 IIRC

[Graves]

Originally Posted by maniz

No. Mine was a compound dent but cost was <$150 IIRC

Okay, cool. I need to find a trust worthy shop.

[rblood303]

maybe attempted theft?

[Graves]

Originally Posted by rblood303

maybe attempted theft?

No

[yayaya]

Had a very similar dent a little lower on that piece toward the rear. Have absolutely no idea how it happened, had the car a total of two days before it happened. My detailer used paintless dent repair to pop it out, now I forget which side it was on.

[Graves]

Update:

Car is at a shop locally that BMW dealerships use for hail damage among other things. They've been there for 30+ years. They are doing the paint less dent repair. Car should be done tomorrow. Fingers crossed there are no further issues.

[Graves]

Fixed!

[shay2nak]