Imagine, if you, will picking up your brand new BMW 1 Series Coupe, driving it home, and then having a tree branch fall on it overnight.

Or imagine, if you, will buying a great-looking 2009 BMW 5 Series, stopping by the grocery store on the way home, and having some idiot parked next to you open his door to fast and ding your door.

Whether you have a brand new BMW or a quality used BMW, one thing you are basically defenseless about is damage to the body parts of your BMW.  They are, unfortunately, the price of doing business as a car owner.

So many things can be damaged on the body of your BMW.  Dents to your grille or hood, your bumper, your spoiler,  or your quarter panel…..scratches to the trunk lid or roof, car door or fender…..and of course, cracks to your windshield or side windows.

And here’s something you are fully aware of if you are the owner of a BMW 3 Series or any other model….replacement parts and mechanic labor is expensive.

Just for the fun of it, call up your local BMW dealership and ask them what a quarter panel for a 2014 BMW 5 Series costs.  If it costs less than $300 this writer will be shocked.  Now ask their service department what the cost will be to have that quarter panel installed on your BMW.  Again, shock is the key word….the cost of that repair will be in the neighborhood of $500 if it’s a penny.

So what’s a BMW owner to do?  In today’s economy, most people can’t afford that kind of expense every time there is a dent or scratch, but still you want your BMW to look sharp.

The answer:  do the work yourself and buy your replacement parts at your local salvage yard.

Truth be told, and this is something most car mechanics do not want you to know, is that most body repairs can be done by the average car owner with basic tools.  Replacing a trunk lid is easy, as is replacing a car door.  In an hour you can replace most body parts on your BMW, and that hour will save you $100 in mechanic fees.

But what about the body part itself?  Go to a salvage yard like All Import Auto Parts and you will save upwards of 50% on your BMW replacement parts.

It’s worth considering, isn’t it?