My car was hit in a car park

Go through insurance and have the car repaired properly. Have seen too many people getting stung by not going through insurance when someone else is at fault

Photos if possible for best comments.

A 3 series headlight might not be too dear new depending on spec but some bmw lamps can be multiple thousands.

I'd be more worried about the paint work than the lamp. A used lamp would be perfect if you could find the right spec one. Might even be a better match in terms of wear compared to new one which can stand out alittle.

The only thing I’d advise in this situation is NOT to let the other party take care of the repair. Almost invariably in these situations the other party “knows a lad who can fix it for half the price you’ve quoted”

Get it quoted. Give the quote to them, if they play hardball claim off their insurance. You should also notify your company anyway, just in case.

I would agree with this 100%.My wife was involved in an accident. The other driver was a young lady who was at fault and admitted her mistake to the gardai. All apologies and she told my wife to get a quote for repair. 2 quotes from reputable garages were passed on and my wife received an abusive call from the young lady's father.

I took the phone to be told there was a con job going on and he knew someone that "could dicky up that dent".We ended up going through the insurance who had no issue with either quote. It turned out that the young lady was a named driver less than a week, was driving unaccompanied and never reported the accident to their insurance.

The ironic thing was we only wanted the damage repaired properly but we were given a replacement car that we didn't want and didn't drive. It sat at home and added €600 to the costs.

In that case call your insurance company tomorrow morning

Similar happened my Sister. Her car was hit and she spent a few days chasing up quotes and hire cars. She sent the person the quote for €xxxx and got the same "That's stupid money I've a friend who can fix it for €xxx". I'd already told my Sister this would happen so as soon as she got the text she went to her insurance and the repair was a few thousand more.

OP just go through your insurance. If the other person wants they can repay their insurance. Either way it's not your problem

When I was a young inexperienced driver a middle aged Clontarf Gaeilgeoir reversed out of his driveway straight in to the side of my car. He was fairly rude and didn't want it to go through his insurance. I got a quote from a friend (good deal) and a quote from Fiat (expensive). When the quotes came through he hit the roof and told me "this is what's going to happen"... proceeded to tell me that I was to go (with him) to a body shop of his choice & get the car repaired and he'd hand over the money to the business because he felt I wouldn't get the car fixed and would keep the money for myself.

Called his insurance company and the cheque (for the Fiat garage) was in the post the next week.

If the driver is dishonest they could use the fact the accident was in a private carpark to her advantage. Just go through the insurance quickly.

I am not the OP

Recent damage to my 2016 330e. Front wheelarch was buckled - needed to be fixed too, but in total this was €3,800.

Of that, parts cost €1,875, which consisted of Bumper Bracket Kit, Left Headlamp, Front Grille and Left Front Panel Support. The headlight was obviously the vast vast majority of that.

Tell me about it! Someone else bumped it causing almost identical damage on the right side, and then this happened when I had the car back about an hour from the repair shop.

Honestly though, Zurich were a pleasure to deal with. I couldn't believe how nice everyone was. They hand the entire repair management to an independent company who sort out rentals, repairer, assessors, etc, and it was all sorted in just a few day. Go via the insurance company OP. Even if you managed to fix it for half the cost in cash, it would never actually cost you (or the third party) a few grand in increased premiums.

No, BMW don't actually do that work generally, unless it's straight swap of a part really. It wouldn't be worth their while running a paint shop, employing professional painters, have equipment to check body alignment, etc.

I can say Dennings in Dublin are excellent, and are approved by BMW.

When did you notice condensation in the headlight, was it at the time or a bit later? If it wasn't at the time, it may not be as a result of the collision as water would have to get in, then the heat from the light causes the water to evaporate, resulting in condensation.

It might be hard to get them to agree to pay for that if that wasn't originally noticed. Unfortunately, both the people who cause crashes and those who are crashed into can be dishonest.

In my situation above the damage included a crack in the headlight (you can see it in the bottom right corner of the 2nd pic) with condensation as a result (which you can also make out under the LEDs).

Like the OP describes, the entire light unit was pushed in too (you can see it in the 2nd pic with the gap on the left and top right) so the mounts/brackets were gone. Entire headlight (as well as many other bits) needed to be changed in my case and i'd say the OP will be the same.

It won't be cheap but it'll need to be done.

OP...if you have the other party's insurance details, contact your insurance company and tell them this person has crashed into your car.