Had a bit of a bump, need some help to decide what to do???

[Muli]

Apologies to the mods if this is in the wrong section.

Well where do I start??

Driving into work, the rain chucking it down, so taking my time, go to join the by pass and on the slip road the back end decides to come out, the next thing I know I'm in the shrubs. I'm alright but the car was the one that came off the worst

Devastated is not the word!!!

I've been to see a friend who put it on the ramps and said that mechanically it’s fine no damage underneath the car its all cosmetic.

from what I can see I need a new front bumper, rear bumper, oil cooler, nr side wing and possibly a slam panel??

Been to the body shop who advised to claim off the insurance as its going to be right off
Got the quote and they recon around £1,000 as a minimum for the font end alone went to see someone else and they said I'm looking at around £1,500 for a full re-spray if I can supply the parts.

I love my sport, but now I'm stuck in a dilemma of what to do??
I really don’t know what to do with the car and need to decide on what to do with it??

Options.

1. Claim on the insurance and possibly buy it back and either put it right or break it.
2. Repair the car out of my own pocket
3. Break the car.
4. Sell the car as it is to someone who's going to put it back to its former glory

I know these threads are useless without pics so here you go.


Before





and after

[safedave]

gutted mate gorgeous looking car!!! hope your ok too! have you tried seeing if can get any parts off here at all?

[Muli]

Thanks Dave,

I have kind of already been looking around for some parts, found a Tech2 kit for about £400 as the lad was not willing to sell the front and back bumpers seperate, and I'm sure I can pick up a new wing from the scrappie and front pannel if needed and then its just a case of finding an oil cooler.

I'm just trying to figure out what my best options are at the moment???

[mt1104]

could be worse, could have flicked the other way and pointed you at the dual carriage way. Glad your ok though.

[stevotheevo]

thats a great looking sport, if it was mine i'd rebuid it myself, if you involve the insurance company they will probably write it off, at the very least CAT C it, either way its bad news.

if theres no structual damage it well worth repairing mate IMO.

good luck mate.

[Sanchez]

looking at the pics you may not need a front bumper just the valance that sits behind it.

The valance is very easy to bend like you have done.

Did you see the silver Tech 2 kit on ebay?

[Muli]

Thanks,

I'd love to keep it but its the time effort and money that is going to be the problem.

From what we saw on the ramps the car is structually sound, the inner wings are fine, no damage to the chasis it is just cosmetic, but I will not know the real damage till I get the front end off and have a closer inspection ????

[ric325i]

yep its going to take time and money gutted as that looked like a fantastic sport.

i say fix it!

insurance will just screw you over (imo) so get what you can and fix it.

oil cooler wont be difficult as its prob just the rad that damaged but you could get one from a scrapy. it will never be worth big money now its been crashed but it would be worth it to keep it.


i bet that was a horrible moment

[Elecblondie]

I'd repair it if it were mine, I'd probably have to drive it around for a fair while while I could source/afford the bits but if you've looked after it it could still be better than buying a new car with its potential mechanical problems. I'd be tempted to see what you can do to straighten it out before buying any replacement parts, maybe the font valance can bend back (I hope). Hopefully once straightened out a bit you'll feel a little bit less disheartened. Good luck and commiserations.

[johal87]

pm sent maybe i could be of some help

[madaboutthe30]

I'd fix it by myself aswell.

Whatever you do, do not claim it off insurance, not only will they complicate your life ever more, you face the chance of paying higher insurance premiums in the future as they'll classify you as a high risk driver.

Just keep it and fix it yourself, the last thing you want to do is try and sell it in the future with CAT C included in the description

Goodluck!

[Muli]

I think I have pretty much decided I defo not going to go through the insurance!

The tech2 kit in lanchs silver on e-bay has just been sold

so its either fix it or cut my losses and sell the car as it is?? I know its not going to be worth much as it is but then again as ric said now that its been crashed its not going to be worth much even after its been repaired??

I'll have to take the front end appart and see if I can bend the valance back into shape?? inspect any other damage that I may have caused??

[Alex]

fix it

[Jon_Bmw]

Respraying silver is a particularly sad job. Even professional bodyshops will resort to painting the whole side of a car if not the whole car after the first customer complaint

As the damage is cosmetic, keep driving it like it is till you find the kit in the right colour? Any of the panels damaged, front valance I presume?

[Muli]

Decissions Decissions???

I have had some interest to sell the car as it is, I know I wont get what I paid for it or how much I have invested in it, but at the moment I'm swaying towards selling it rather then repair it???

As you said Jon its a pain spraying silver, I dont think i'd have the paitence to wait till all the parts come up in the right colours (altho I have found a wing in lanch silver) and I really cannot afford the bill from the body shop

I have just been out there, pulled the bottom part of the bumper off and the top part was a T^&T so sprayed the torx screws with a bit of WD40 to help it and may give it another go later on, the front bumper is defo salvagable and can be repaired. the bottom part of the front valance looks a bit worse for ware tho. . . . . ???

[Jon_Bmw]

Fortunatly the front valance is a bolt on bolt off part so it is easy to change. Obviously the bumper has to come off first as well. Colour match on that won't be too vital, as its not really seen, bar the bit directly under the headlight grills.

You could tidy it up best you can, rejoining the rear valance together and giving it a rattle can respray. Get a front wing in the right colour, shouldn't be too hard. Is the front Mtech valance fucked? This way it will be presentable to drive round in, and then you can wait for the right parts to become available.

Good idea?

[Elecblondie]

Don't sell it! It may not look quite as cool for a while but it's still a good car. How much would it cost to buy a sport in the condition of your car pre-off, combine that with the hassle of finding it and it strikes me that if you can bare to drive a car that isn't in top cosmetic condition for the time being then you're better off keeping it. You might regret selling it and you can always sell it later on if you're fed up after a while. If you've got access to the replacement wing and you can do the main bodywork fairly cheaply just drive it around without the kit until you can source replacements and if you find that too difficult someone will always buy a sport which just needs the kit.

As far as spraying silver is concerned my car is Glacier blue metallic and I'd imagine is equally difficult to get right and I'm quite happy with the respray I did on the rear quarter, I'll try and get some pics of it later. I was just using a rattle can with very little experience, so don't be too scared by it.

[gooner1]

Muli, you know the mechanics and any rust issues,if any, on the car better than anyone else.
If you were happy with it before the bump, then fix it yourself, and maybe invest in a LSD, for those dodgy damp moments.

[Muli]

The more and more everyone is replying to this thread the more and more you guys are convincing me to keep it

I think a trip to the scrappie is in order on the weekend to sorce a front valance, mechanicaly the car is sound, I've just spent over £600 on the cambelt, oil filter housing and some other bits and bobs to get done. the car is rust free!!

I'm going to try and source a new front wing the same colour if I can, spray the valance myself to keep costs down and repair the front bumper as it seems to be ok

Just need to find a rear bumper, defo an oil cooler and maybe a new rad (depending on its condition)

Gooner the car has a LSD on it anyway

[e30bmlover]

im gutted for you mate! unfortunatly the insurance will wright the car off.. £1500 for a full respray is cheap. hope you get her sorted!

[320ise]

the car in question is a sport so will come with l.s.d anyway! and l.s.d will only prevoke sidewards wet days! when they lok the fun starts!

[gooner1]

Gooner the car has a LSD on it anyway ....... and you STILL lost it, tut tut.

Rust free, its a no brainer then mate. Good luck with whatever you do.

[SK360]

I know you won't get the best colour match but cheapest and best option if you want to hold onto it is:

Buy second hand lower half M-tech bumper, Wing and rear bumper, get them sprayed, and get a second hand valance for around £20-£30? and then just bolt them all on yourself, as for rad and oil cooler, can't be much second hand off of here? Don't let this put you off or scare you, half of the forum could probably manage (if and when funds allowed) to do repairs like this the DIY way, im sure with the help off everyone on the zone you'll manage mate!

S.K.

[MartC]

Doens't look that difficult a job mate. The parts you've bent just unbolt anyway. Used valence probably about 20-30 quid, and used wing about the same if they're both good nick. Just the MTec stuff and the paint work you'll get bummed for.

If its a rust free one then I'd personally keep it. If its rusty all over the place then best to get rid of it

[Elecblondie]

Don't know if it helps, m3 oil cooler here:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/bmw-e30-m3-oil-co ... 638Q2em124

[DHFiS]

I'd fix it - if you dont then some one else will.
Then they will have your car back on the road and you will have peanuts from the insurance company.

[Simon]

Definitely repair it yourself, you'd be mad to sell for that damage, it's all bolt on stuff.

The rear bumper could even be repaired if you were really stuck.

It's the paint work that's going to cost.

[Aubs]

A very similar thing happened to me 2 weeks ago, so know exactly how you feel. All of the panels you've mentioned as damaged are - as Simon said, just bolt on.

Do it yourself and it'll cost a little bit, do it through insurace and they'll rinse you out.

You know its a lovely car - it's totally worth repairing

[huntchevy1]

What a shame mate we had a sport virtually the same once it had a bit of rot on it at the time and i couldnt be bothered!! I wish i could turn back the clock they are a true classic and look the biz hang on to it till u have got the money and restore it. Trust me you womt regret it. Like i do.

[Muli]

Gooner the car has a LSD on it anyway ....... and you STILL lost it, tut tut.

Rust free, its a no brainer then mate. Good luck with whatever you do.

I know, I know . . i'm disapointed in myself

I think the way forward is to take the car off the road for a bit, buy a little run around to keep me going till I get the old girl back on the road.

Mr Gerbic, how you getting on with your repairs??? seen as most of the parts are bolt on . . . might have to give this a go myself, then possibly look into a full re-spray nxt year maybe??

I'll have to get trauling through the for sale and make some posts in the wanted sections.

as all of you are saying I think I will regret it if I do get rid of it.