Accident-damaged 1990 325i Sport

[shiddot]

It's with great sadness that my beloved 1990 325i Sport has been declared 'beyond economical repair' by my insurance company following an accident.

I've agreed to purchase the salvage from the insurance company so that I can break it for parts to generate some extra cash to put towards purchasing another car - but in case anyone is interested in repairing it themselves, I'm first offering the complete car for sale 'as-is'.

If anyone is interested, I'm asking for offers, as I haven't yet done enough research into the value of the individual parts to know what an appropriate value for it is. But it would of course save me the hassle of having to break it and sell the parts individually, so if an offer is reasonable then I'll be happy to let it go.

Anyway, here are the all-important pictures:












Higher-res versions of any images available on request.

It's not drivable, so would need to be trailered away. I'm unsure of the extent of the damage beyond what's visible, but the car won't idle if that gives any clues.

In case it helps, the car has full black leather, (non-working) air-con, and done just over 130k miles with a good (but not full) service history.

Any questions please feel free to ask.

If I don't get a worthwhile response by the end of the week, then I'll list the parts in the 'For Sale - E30 parts' forum.

Thanks for reading.

Regards,

Matt.

[Jhonno]

seems a shame to break it.. doesnt look that bad imo

whereabouts are you?

[shiddot]

I'm in Hampshire.

I assume it must be more than just cosmetic damage, else it wouldn't have been written off? Perhaps it requires (expensive?) jig-work?

[Nissar]

hi,

u made any plans on what ur gonna do wit the car?? i would be very interested in the interior? dependin on the condition? please let me kno.

cheers.

[shiddot]

Thanks for your reply. As stated in my original post, if I decide to break it I will list the parts in the 'For Sale - E30 parts' forum for enquiries from forum members, and then if not sold there they'll be put on eBay.

[ROC]

Matt,

What would you be after for the whole car? PM if you prefer.

Thanks,

Rich.

[red]

i am in the trade and wuld rather you sell it as a hole car it does look a clean car intrested on a price for the whole thing.

[Wilson325i]

thats not to bad, that can be fixed mate.

even the front shock/bumper mount's havnt gone in at all.

it's just the top part thats gone in, light,fnt panel,grills,bonnet,wing,etc

fix it mate it is to nice to break. Or as RED said sell as a whole car.

[Brianmoooore]

I'm in Hampshire.

I assume it must be more than just cosmetic damage, else it wouldn't have been written off? Perhaps it requires (expensive?) jig-work?

That's definitely a write off. Similar, but worse than the last two tourings I bought.
Won't require any jigging. Arart from the bonnet landing panel and the inner wing needing a bit of panel beating, then it's all bolt on stuff.
It's exactly what I'm looking for at the moment, (high spec 325s), but I expect you want far more for it than I'd be willing to pay. Someone should buy it though and ressurect it. It looks too good to die.

[Simon13]

where in hampshire are u mate? looks way too good to die.

what category write off is it?

[316eyes]

Definitely too nice to break. Have you had any quotes for repair. Remember, insurers base their costs on THEIR value of the car and THEIR approved repairers rates (well OTT). eg. their valueԚ£600, their repaircosts Ԛ£300 = write off! Might not cost as much as you at first think, especially if you shop around.

[shiddot]

Firstly, thanks for all the response I've had to this thread (both replies and PMs, I hope I've replied to everyone).

It seems as though a lot of you think it is worth repairing, so I will look into it. I just assumed that as it was written-off it would cost loads to fix, but maybe like some of you have said the write-off was based on the insurance book-price of the car (Ԛ£1350).

I was told by the insurance company that the car can be repaired and sold perfectly legally without inspection, but that on an HPI check, and also when a new log-book is applied for by any new owner, it would show on there as having been an insurance write-off. They also said that this 'black mark' can be removed by having the vehicle inspected by an approved body.

So I'm now even more undecided as to what to do with the salvage (repair/sell as-is/break), but thank you all for your advise and offers, and I will keep you posted.

[Jhonno]

insurance book price of the car is a joke - it looks like it was a clean sport pre accident which would fetch 2.5k minimum depending on history etc

[Rich_325_sport]

I used to drive past this car on the way to my sisters house in Cove (i recognised it instantly in the photos) - it looked beuatiful, always clean and imaculate looking - sorry to hear its been damaged.

+ Along with an article in evo, this car was one of the reasons i actually bought a 325i sport.

Best of luck, hope someone buys it to fix/ you fix it, it wouldn't be too expensive?

Rich

[shiddot]

Thanks for your compliments Rich, very flattering.

I see you have just sold yours - so what have you got now then?!

Unfortunately I'm almost certainly going to have to buy another car, even if I repar this one, as my hire-car goes back as soon as the insurance company have settled the claim, so I'll need a car long before this one will be roadworthy again.

The question is do I go for another E30, or take this opportunity to upgrade to something a bit newer...? I'm thinking maybe an E36 328i Sport instead?

[JOSEMI]

another E30 will be the consensus answer in this forum for obvious reasons...

[shiddot]

Good point!

[red]

stay with an e 30 i am selling my 316i really wish i dont just finishng painting it up looks the bollox but got into some trouble and debt so gotta sell up and i lost my licence f**king cameras. your car is repairable ihave seen alot worse trust me got any ideas on a price for the car.

[goldysingh]

Hi i am very interested in buying this car in its present state, is it still up for sale? if so how much are you looking for it? i have an e30 which im going to breal for spare and could use the parts to get your one back on the road..PM me with a price...thanks

[Simon13]

thought i regonised the houses and the car as one of the dolphin sports on our area.

I can come have a look/help/advise for u mate if u wish?

[duke748]

i'm interested in your car as it is could you give me a buz on 07966574802 as i work away a lot and cant get on zone much thanks hope to speak soon Mike.

[duke748]

i'm interested in your car as it is could you give me a buz on 07966574802 as i work away a lot and cant get on zone much thanks hope to speak soon Mike.

[dazleeds]

i wouldnt sell it or break it mate

with a half decent mechanic/panel beater by your side you could have this car back on the road in a couple of days fella

and im sure youll find most of the parts available in fairly easily

dnt lose it mate
looks like a very clean car pre accident
not easy to find

[bmwe30mtech]

As Daz says, keep it! If the chassis isnt twisted or anything it shouldnt cost to much in parts and work. Looks too nice to break, would be sd to see another e30 sport go.

[stevetigger]

DONT SELL


REPAIR IT


Sold mine that was damaged like that for Ԛ£500, have been regretting ever since! I wish I had kept it and repaired it!



KEEP IT...... YOU KNOW IT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO!

[jonb]

guys

do any of you know how much it will take to fix this properly?

thousands. thats what. front panel, inner wing, out wing, bonnet, front bumper, valance, paint, LABOUR, etc.

could be put back on the road if you did it yourself, but then i will be a shitter.

this is best broken.

shame, as it looks like a good example from the pictures.

[Brianmoooore]

guys

do any of you know how much it will take to fix this properly?

thousands. thats what. front panel, inner wing, out wing, bonnet, front bumper, valance, paint, LABOUR, etc.

could be put back on the road if you did it yourself, but then i will be a shitter.

this is best broken.

shame, as it looks like a good example from the pictures.

All it'll take to put this right is a set of panels, etc., in the right colour, and a couple of aerosol cans for the inner wing.
Would be nice if you could find a rear ended or off side damaged write off as a donor.

[M5pilot]

Jon, you could supply all those parts for 50 quid!

Paint wouldnt cost alot and it could easily be taken back to its former glory.

Alot of the current MINT E30's would have been in accidents when they were worth alot more and the insurance would have paid to repair them so whats wrong with repairing this one?

If done properly and economically it will be just as good as anything else out there.

[Brianmoooore]

This has long since ceased to be an E30 for sale thread, so I'm moving it to E30 chat.
Shiddot - If you finally do decide to sell it, you can repost in either the e30 cars for sale or e30 parts, as appropriate.

[stevetigger]

This has long since ceased to be an E30 for sale thread, so I'm moving it to E30 chat.
Shiddot - If you finally do decide to sell it, you can repost in either the e30 cars for sale or e30 parts, as appropriate.

True, well said that man! Good chat though!!

[jonb]

if you lifted the bonnet on this it would look like hell.

have any of you tryed straightening and inner wing? this needs fraging, it will be a shitter if put back on the road.

how much is a writen off, poorly repaired sport worth?

how much is a full set of leather recaros, (most) of an m-tech kit, mint bbs, lsd, engine and sport gearbox worth???.......more than the above.

[Brianmoooore]

Done two since the summer as it happens. Just takes a bit of pulling and a lot of faffing about with panel beating hammers.
This one doesn't look like its damaged the bumper mount fixing much. This was by far the hardest part on one of mine.
It's possible to have the finished article inspected and removed from the write off register if the job's done properly.
Why will it be a shitter? The only repaired rather than replaced part on the car when it's finished will be the inner wing.

[M5pilot]

You got to ignore Jon, he thinks everything is a shitter

What you say spikey boy?

[Moofles]

you should never be able to completely remove evidence it was written off...even if it's inspected and passes, it should always, always be known that it was a write-off - that's the point. Perhaps people's perceptions of write-offs need to change though.

[jonb]

moofles.

you said something i agree with!

brianmore. if you fixed that car with panels, and lump hammers it will still look hanging. rust will set in etc. for the amount of labour and materials you will put in to fixing it, you could just frag it for alot less effort and make more money.

sal. shut up. i dont think everything is a shitter. when theres a nice example on here i will say. my point is that if someone buys this car, they are not going to spend the green on repairing it properely. it will probably be bodged, and then they and be passed on as a nice example. is anyone going to buy this and spend 2k plus on getting it fixed properly?? well no. so this 15 year old car should be a breaker.

i dont want to get into the debate of the early sports, and other "nice" e30"s being fraged. if a car is scrap then why damage your wallet buy polishing a turd?