Bought an old BMW M3, filled with regret...

Yup, he had no lights on either, and claimed they were on and showed me after the accident "look they work, *flicks them on*" :/

I would post "the photo", but it would be unfair on the man and a bit out of order I think :o
 
Gibbo said:
You paying extra to get the whole car re-painted m8?
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If they write it off, then may as well just so it's all new and fresh. If they repair it, then no, will see what their workmanship is like though first, if the match isn't acceptable to me then I'll just complain and push for a full respray, so no extra expense.
 
Just had a call from BMW, the guy who rang has been examining the car and has almost done everything, just wanted some details on the alloy refurb place as they will arrange all that with them directly no probs.

The estimate as it stands, before VAT, is approx £9000 :eek: :eek: :eek:

The parts alone required come to £4000 he said. A new exhaust system is definitely needed.

He also said the car is fully repairable, just the sum of the (new) parts is obviously high.

Now, he also said the estimate once complete will be sent to Admiral later today, and obviously it's up to them to value the car and either authorise the repairs or not. He said to not let them write it off based on the condition and other factors alone, but if they don't authorise the repairs, then I have a few options according to BMW.

1: The dealer can help get discounted parts based on the age of the vehicle, which would drive parts down. I assume this means they source in used genuine parts as opposed to the new parts from Germany.
2: Last resort option: I can take a payment in lieu -But reading that link, it states insurers should pay the full cost of repairs inc VAT.

My mind is drawing a blank today so I need time to absorb all this.

Either way, I'll find out shortly what they come up with...
 
To be honest, the BMW quote covers everything needed, the estimate will likely be higher still once the guy has 100% checked everything (it was on the jig when he called).

I think I'd be fine with taking the payment in lieu option as long as the final estimate is sound for the work needing done, as anything they discover afterwards that needs doing won't be paid for by the insurer if the case is settled using payment in lieu. But as it's a main dealer, I can't see them missing anything off the repair list. Essentially I get my car back repaired as it should be, and while it is being repaired I get £25 a day for driving an Insignia?

Also, if the repair leads to any issues, I can just go back to BMW and let them sort it.

Someone set me right if I've missed something :o
 
I don't know what to think as Admiral just phoned now to say they are sending me the cheque for the £25 a day for the hire car downgrade (7 days worth so far) and said they had not heard from BMW yet due to the bodyshop being busy.

I mentioned BMW phoned me and that they should have the estimate over soon. He said "that's great, as soon as we do our engineers will get that all authorised and we'll get some timescales from BMW".

Now, the cynic in me says he misworded that.... Do miracles happen?
 
I'll see once I get the list of parts needed from BMW, if there's nothing that suggests the rear axle area is damaged and needs work, or subframe, then it's worth buying back and fixing using the list to source parts myself and pass them to my bodyshop guy. The alignment, alloys and things are all done by other local specialists as well.

It's massive faff, but each of them are good at what they do, so providing there's nothing that suggests any questionable damage in those above areas, surely it would make better sense to go the buy back route?

I really don't want to cut my losses. It is not a car I will find again for any reasonable money in the same condition, although buying it back and stripping it for parts would bring in quite a bit of extra money I guess and that could well get me back into an E46 M3 which does meet a standard I'm happy with, but then there's the disposal costs and faff of getting rid of the rest when it's all been stripped?

Did I mention the massive faff in all this too?
 
I have the head unit I'd definitely be taking back, £100 worth of the side and front indicator bulbs, there's nothing I can do about the new brake pads and discs I had fitted some 2000 miles ago, my plates, I'd like to keep the steering wheel too and gear knob but I bet that won't sit well with the insurer? I had an inspection 1 and an oil service done, the tyres were still good, around 4mm left on rears, and a host of other little upgrades like stainless steel lines and so on that aren't easily removed if I go to BMW to collect the bits I can remove, along with personal possessions still in the car..

I suppose if there is a private seller out there with a good example who is selling it for less than 10k I'd be in business. It doesn't "have" to be a manual, but I'd prefer one. It doesn't "have" to be a convertible either, but again, I'd prefer one. Just has to meet my base preferences of condition and colour combo really I guess.
 
Obviously if I go that route and don't buy the car back, then maybe steering wheel and knob should be left on the car, if I get an SMG, then they are useless :p Although Sellable I guess... No call from insurer as of yet.
 
S2KIP said:
http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classified/advert/201509177016104

Trade seller thought.

As for getting bits back, it's a dangerous game as far as I'm aware but you may get some time. I remember I took a load of stuff from my DC5, things like rad cap, indicator bulbs etc etc.
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I like how it's advertised as a manual :p

But that does look decent, though it's a 2006, so will be in the higher tax bracket purely because of that. It's priced a bit higher than anything the insurer is likely to offer (post rejection of initial and maybe 2nd offer)? I guess dealers are open to negotiation just as much as a private seller though. But yeah, that does look ideal. Seats in good condition too, so all I'd get done is the steering wheel and bin those smoked chav lenses, pu t OEM ones back on.
 
D'oh! Didn't notice the Cat D bit.

I really just want my car repaired. That's all I ever wanted. None of this extra hassle. When I drove it back home after the accident it drove fine, just with a blowing exhaust. So I'd be quite confident based on what BMW say and what I've felt so far about it being repaired without issues. Assuming no underlying damage of course!
 
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What the stereo, indicator bulbs etc? No. My insurer said they don't matter and wouldn't factor into any valuation. But that's beside the point, I've mentioned to the other insurer everything that's personal to me on the car (the above) and they had no quibbles with that. Steering wheel/gear knobs are standard items, not aftermarket. They were just replaced with new ones.
 
It has a full tank of petrol in it, I had just filled up minutes before being hit!

I've been browsing cars all afternoon and apart from 3 so far that look somewhat workable for my liking, the rest are all massive faff. I'd have to redo everything again systematically like I did on my car, seat bolster wear, steering wheel re-trim to name a few.

I'm more willing to buy it back as salvage and get my local bodyshop and garage to take their time on it now that I've seen what's available for sale on PH/AT. The ones I've seen that are genuinely excellent have the grey interior, which is quite frankly vomit worthy :S

I mean, assume I did take a decent offer and not buy it back, what do you guys think of this one:

http://www.autotrader.co.uk/classif...sedcars&sort=default&price-to=11000&logcode=p

It has a rare option on the seat too, the bolster button is something I've never seen on the convertible, it's standard on the coupe.
 
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