Advice needed: Recondition or Replace?

Post Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:28 pm

http://a6.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos- ... 8962_n.jpg

so i got backed into awhile back and had a medical emergency not long after the insurance check came in; and well u know being in my mid 20's i had no health insurance so u can guess where the car insurance check went... med bills. which kinda sucks.

ive put up a post in the wanted area bc i wanted to get some prices and didnt know what the part was called, but anyway this is a pic of the damage on my 1989 bmw 325Ic.

Front left wing is crinkeled over the well and is mushed by the door. i used a bending tool to give it enough room for the door to open without scratching or messing it up, but anyway; price for replacement is around 180usd for a part near here and the one from the UK is L69 without shipping. the price is pretty close either way but has anyone delt with a recondition of this nature? just wondering which way to go.

and while im here, i might as well ask because i dont know, im missing the lower front bumper assembly and have no idea exactly what part/s i need to replace it. here is a pic so you know what i am talking about:

http://a1.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos- ... 8673_n.jpg

so any hints or suggestions welcome. im a total n00b to E30 so bare with my misnaming of parts.

Post Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:34 pm

The part you're missing is the Front Valance; no idea what you call it Stateside (since you call wings Fenders, which is a guitar as far as I'm concerned.)

Shipping of either part across the Atlantic will be astronomically expensive, I'd have thought, not because of the weight but the dimensions. Parts over a certain length have special charges for size, and the Valance is 1.4m wide (more than four feet), while a front wing is 1.3m long (just over four feet). It's only worth doing if you need panels in a special colour that you won't then repaint afterwards.

You're best off looking for a good used wing and valance, either through the Registered Traders on this forum, or through a forum in the US. Pattern replacement panels (non BMW) are very rarely a good fit.

Post Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:35 pm

Gotta love our NHS...

Looks like you just need a new wing and lower valance. Are there no scrap yards near you? That would be my first port of call rather than trying to ship from another country.!

Post Mon Apr 23, 2012 3:58 pm

@Grrmachine
Kewl beans. i will keep that in mind and enjoy the drive to Toledo for my "wing". and thank you very much for the part name clarification.

@mcbonio
thats the crappy part about living in the midwest. next to no one owns foreign cars. even fewer sell their rides to junk yards, and there are only 4 junk yards within 200 mi that even have bmw's of which 2 "might" have the part and 1 actually does. 1 of the 2 that "might" doesnt keep a computer log of parts that go in and is self service and charges 5usd to even enter the yard. which is kinda dumb.

Post Mon Apr 23, 2012 4:24 pm

oh Grrmachine; any suggestions for US groups? i dont know if there is a filter for US traders in this forum :/ still figuring everything out.

Post Mon Apr 23, 2012 4:38 pm

I doubt you'll find many US traders on here, what with this place being "the UK's largest E30 group", but we do have more than one overseas member (including myself!) so you might strike lucky.

I don't visit US forums much, but there's plenty out there; Bimmerforums, r3vlimited and e30tech have all proved useful to me in the past, so they ought to be your first port of call.