[steker]

I recently bought a 3 year old Z4 and I noticed the front bumper is slightly misaligned (see photo). The previous owner probably touched a pole or something.

I was wondering what the best thing is I could do here. I'm a bit OCD, so I would obviously like to align it properly. Is it something I could do myself, do I need to go to a BMW dealer, a regular service center, a body shop, leave it like this?

[Horseman]

I think they're all like this.

[bmwz4nc]

We just had our front bumper repainted since one of our kids run into the garage door and I had touched a higher curb. By talking with the shop there are 2 brackets that bend when this happens creating the gap that you are seeing. Not sure how easy it is to replace them without taking the front end off.

[steker]

Originally Posted by Horseman

I think they're all like this.

I checked with other cars online and it should definitely be aligned.

Originally Posted by bmwz4nc

We just had our front bumper repainted since one of our kids run into the garage door and I had touched a higher curb. By talking with the shop there are 2 brackets that bend when this happens creating the gap that you are seeing. Not sure how easy it is to replace them without taking the front end off.

That might be the case here too. There are some small scuff marks on the side of the bumper. definitely not worth it to repaint it, but I would like it to be aligned.

Did you let yours get fixed at a BMW dealer or a body shop?

[GerryC]

Originally Posted by steker

I checked with other cars online and it should definitely be aligned.




That might be the case here too. There are some small scuff marks on the side of the bumper. definitely not worth it to repaint it, but I would like it to be aligned.

Did you let yours get fixed at a BMW dealer or a body shop?

When I had a similar need, I asked my SA. He referred me to the body shop that they recommend (There's also another dealer, where they have an actual BMW body shop.)

Most dealers aren't really set up to do any kind of body work other than simple panel swaps. And the body shops charge a whole lot less than the dealer.

[tracer bullet]

I was looking at the first doc here and it doesn't seem to give much of an answer. I thought I'd link the post anyhow in case it is actually helpful.

https://g29.bimmerpost.com/forums/sh...25&postcount=1

Also there's the Realoem site. You have to navigate through a lot of ads but might find a diagram of parts that happen to show you something about the mounting points.

[MisanoblueZ4]

Check it there is some bumpers that can be raised slightly (usually rubber, turn to raise or lower where hood rests.)

[bmwz4nc]

Originally Posted by steker

I checked with other cars online and it should definitely be aligned.




That might be the case here too. There are some small scuff marks on the side of the bumper. definitely not worth it to repaint it, but I would like it to be aligned.

Did you let yours get fixed at a BMW dealer or a body shop?

I had my brackets replaced by a BMW certified bodyshop and it was part of the paint process. Interesting enough as the shop looked at the car they noticed the wider gap, so seems to be a more common issue since so easy to run into a curb.

[RavenGX]

you can adjust them or the hood a little.
My hood was a little misaligned after wrapping the car, they fixed it while repainting it.

*edit* please ignore the misaligned bmw emblem

[steker]

Thanks for the response all! I will make an appointment with a body shop then and see if they can align it more properly (most probably by changing the brackets).