[maximk123]

Hi guys

Have been a long time reader of the post, but kinda had no stories to post up until today. Dropped a friend off in the morning, was coming home, and a few blocks away this 740i pulled out onto the main road to go in the opposite direction from which I was traveling. I was in the far right lane and it was a T-intersection for him. He didn’t see me from behind a tree and pulled out onto the road. I was 3 feet short after hitting the breaks. The guy admitted he was at fault but both of our cars sitting at our local BMW dealership right now does not make me feel any better.

The thing is that I am sorta of the same opinion that once the car has been hit, no matter how good the shop or the dealer is – it will never be the same. I really would rather get rid of this car now and get a new one.

What do you guys think as far as the damage? How much something like that would cost to fix? Intercooler is on that side as well and I am not sure if there is any damage to it until the dealer gets to take a look tomorrow morning. The airbags did not go off. The hood got it a little bit as well -- will they fix it or just replace it?

What would be my options as far as getting a new one? I bought it back in November of 2007 and the car has 13,000 miles on it. I financed it and about a year into my payments. Would they work with me if I said I want to fix it (if they can) and then sell it and get a new one? Better yet, am I blowing this up out of proportion? Just like the rest of you, I am very particular about my car and this whole story is rather heart wrenching.

Your advice is very much appreciated

P.S. Bought a JB3 for it, updated the chip to a new map…did not get a chance to install it…It is sitting brand new in the box.

[Year's_End]

wow, two bimmers down. when you get the car back from repairs, try to avoid the mindset that "it's never gonna be as good as when it came from the factory". you'll percieve things that might not be wrong as messed up. it's bad. i had that feeling after driving my dad's 645Ci when he got it back from a big repair and it felt weird. took it out the other day and it felt fine because i didn't even think about it.

just know that you're going to be losing money getting a new one. good luck man.

[bsamoul]

The 7 is way worse off than you are... But your car doesn't look too bad. These days, if a good repair shop gets a hold of the car can do marvelous work and will be like brand new. I really wouldn't worry too much about it not being the same. Plus you're not paying for it, he is, just see how it is when it's done, I bet it'll be good as new.

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by maximk123

Hi guys

Have been a long time reader of the post, but kinda had no stories to post up until today. Dropped a friend off in the morning, was coming home, and a few blocks away this 740i pulled out onto the main road to go in the opposite direction from which I was traveling. I was in the far right lane and it was a T-intersection for him. He didn’t see me from behind a tree and pulled out onto the road. I was 3 feet short after hitting the breaks. The guy admitted he was at fault but both of our cars sitting at our local BMW dealership right now does not make me feel any better.

Sorry to hear. Looks like your car fared better than the 7er though.

Originally Posted by maximk123

The thing is that I am sorta of the same opinion that once the car has been hit, no matter how good the shop or the dealer is – it will never be the same. I really would rather get rid of this car now and get a new one.

I know what you mean but if you use a BMW Certified collision repair shop, there is a very good chance that the shop can make the car almost like new.

Originally Posted by maximk123

What would be my options as far as getting a new one? I bought it back in November of 2007 and the car has 13,000 miles on it. I financed it and about a year into my payments. Would they work with me if I said I want to fix it (if they can) and then sell it and get a new one?

Here I lose you a bit. In terms of options and if they would "work" with you, I´m sure they´ll be happy to sell you a new 2009 car but the old car will have diminished value to some degree so your trade-in value will be less.

[chazzz]

The 335i's fender is made of plastic??? (see the 335i's fender in the picture, it is broken-off, not bent) I've always thought the fenders are made of metal.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by chazzz

The 335i's fender is made of plastic??? (see the 335i's fender in the picture, it is broken-off, not bent) I've always thought the fenders are made of metal.

Half of the fenders are part of the front bumper.

The bumpers and rockers are plastic.

[Year's_End]

ohhhh wait, I see what you mean. that's weird. I dunno. it's metal though.

[maximk123]

Nah, believe it or not that part of the fender is plastic. I was of the impression that it was made of metal as well

[Barbera335]

All E92/E93's as well as all E90/92/93 M3's have plastic fenders. So does the E70 X5, E71 X6 and the E63/64 6 series and M6. They do this to take weight off of the nose of the car. That fact that you could not tell says that BMW did a good job with the fenders. If you press on them though you will see that they give just like a plastic bumper.

[piezo]

Here's a nice diagram from another thread:

http://www.e90post.com/forums/showpo...5&postcount=13

[noro]

Your car will drive just like it did, that is a pretty minor accident.

[easyman]

the damage looks mostly cosmetic. The car should be good as new if it is in the right hands.

I would only be worried if there were frame damage.

[BMWMC]

Looks bad! But it has to be fixable!! Could have been worse.

The main thing is your safe and no one was injured!

Your's doesnt look half as bad as this one:

[dreamk]

i dont see no blood

[ATSR]

I know exaclty how you feel .

I got into an accident on February of this year (my car had 2K miles) and the damage was very similar to yours. I also hit the other car with the right front end of my car, but the impact on mine was more towards the front as opposed to yours that is more towards the side. What this means is that the damage was less pronounced on the side and it was "distributed" more through the front, meaning that the left headlamp got pushed in a bit (didn't break) and the hood pushed the left fender, breaking the tip. Both of my airbags deployed even though I was only doing about 20mph at the time of impact.

When they took my car apart, I was very happy to see that there was no structural damage whatsoever and nothing happened to any of the interior components. Radiator, intercooler, etc. where all intact. That seems to be the case with your car as well.

The damage on mine cost $14,000 to fix. They replaced both fenders, both headlamps ($1250 each ), bumper, the "bumper behind the bumper", the hood, both airbags and the windshield since the right airbag cracked it when it deployed (wierd, but since it was about -5 F maybe that had something to do with it).

I took it to a certified BMW repair shop and the car ended up FLAWLESS. Trust me, I am as anal as it can be when it comes to my car and there is no way to tell that the car was ever in an accident. I attribute this fact that they just replaced everything that was damaged and there was no hammering or metal re-working AT ALL. This should be the case with yours as well.

Since the car was fixed, I haven't had any problems with it and I didn't have to take it back to them to "re-fix" or adjust anything.

Your car will end up just fine as long as you take it to a BMW certified repair shop. The worst part is that the accident will be on your car's record and the wait to get it fixed almost drove me insane.

Good luck with your repair

[Deda]

ouch..that hurts! good luck!

[tolkino]

Sorry to hear about the accident, if the guy with 740i is at fault, wouldn't the insurance pay for the damage? Did u guys involve the police and get a report done, or an estimated damage? That does not look like a big damage, it should be an easy fix, and I agree if you think that the car had an accident before, it will feel weird driving it. One important thing u need to think about is the resale value of your car. Ppl who buy cars usually get scared or dont want to buy a car thats involved in an accident.

Check what your dealership is offering you. But if u decide to get it fixed, definitely get it done in a dealership, otherwise you might not get the same repair and paint quality, the color will be the same but they just dont paint it well and u can tell that the cars been painted.

Hope this helps a little

[Neurorad]

As long as it's a good shop, and it's only cosmetic, it will look perfect.

No need to worry until they give it back to you, but some phone calls to the body shop to emphasize your need for meticulous work may help.

[ATSR]

Originally Posted by Neurorad

As long as it's a good shop, and it's only cosmetic, it will look perfect.

No need to worry until they give it back to you, but some phone calls to the body shop to emphasize your need for meticulous work may help.

+1

I would suggest surprise pop-ins as well

[purplewidow]

the biggest things i have seen gone wrong with body shop repairs are bad alignment of panels and crap buffer marks and over spray..after it gets out take the car to the best detailer near you..he will spot any areas with faults and get rid of all the over spray and buffer marks if you have any. good luck and sorry about the crap experience

[ENINTY]

I hit a deer with my car when it only had 12k on it at the same place yours it damaged. My car was much worse than yours is. Get it repaired only at a certified BMW repair facility. Ask your dealer for the list of recommended repair facilities.

Once it is repaired go back to your dealer and have them certify and notarize that it was repaired to BMW standards (which is why you use a certified shop). You need to do that to keep the warranty valid. Read the warranty book and it will tell you to have the repair inspected and certified by your dealer to keep the (body and mechancial) warranty in effect.

My car was repaired perfectly.

Make sure to inspect the core support (the frame that holds the radiator). It is plastic and can have minute cracks in it, from the collision.

It was good you got hit by a fellow BMW owner, so he won’t bitch about how much his insurance company is going to pay to fix your car.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by Barbera335

All E92/E93's as well as all E90/92/93 M3's have plastic fenders. So does the E70 X5, E71 X6 and the E63/64 6 series and M6. They do this to take weight off of the nose of the car. That fact that you could not tell says that BMW did a good job with the fenders. If you press on them though you will see that they give just like a plastic bumper.

E90's have steel fenders.