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

[mrk]

They said it was cleaned, the girl asked the other and she said said it was just cleaned.

By cleaned I bet they mean just a vacuum. Anyway, it's a terrible car and I'd have swapped it back for the Jeep even if it was properly cleaned.

Be fair, if anyone here is likely to suffer from psychological repair issues, it's Mr 'want a full respray on my mint M3' mrk

Sorry to disappoint, but I go by what I know to be true, father than what I might feel psychologically. I'll pay the extra for the full respray because it's an opportunity to do so, no reason not to.

 

[mrk]

I'd just assume someone stashed some loose leaf tea in there

 

[mrk]

Tucked into the roof lining? What made you pull it back?

Such questions must not be asked

Well there is a reason not to - it costs money and is probably un-neccesary. If, pre accident, this M3 was as minty fresh as everyone says it is then it doesn't need a respray does it, therefore it's a waste of money to give it one

Perhaps you're right, all the more money to save for when something breaks I guess.

I'll definitely be taking this opportunity to do the evolve carbon intake kit and remap though

 

[mrk]

Thanks and I hope so too!

Initially on the night of the accident I was filled with doubt, when I got out of the car and saw the rear end, I was just thinking to myself "well it's been a fun year owning this..." - But now that I've got all the info I need, know what needs repairing, and BMW themselves saying it's an "easy repair, we used to do them all the time" I'm much happier.

All that's left is to hear the insurer's 2nd offer and either accept that or push for more. I get the feeling the 2nd offer will be ideal enough to get the cash in lieu figure sorted. It's going to take a few weeks to get everything sorted, so I won't be back on the road until after the new year which is a shame. No holiday travels for me...

 

[mrk]

Who brings a rental to a meet! Besides, ever seen a Jeep trying to take a corner?

There's a strong chance I could have it all sorted by the 9th if the insurance stuff is sorted by Tuesday. I imagine they will get it sorted by then as they have pre-paid for the hire car until that day. So probably don't want to pay for more days. Which means my guy can get to work starting Wednesday and he's open early until later into the evenings.

 

[mrk]

I know what the full fat CSL sounds like! The dealer I bought my car off picked me up and dropped me off in his tech's CSL Plus Gibbo's car has the CSL airbox too I do recall, the passenger ride in that was sweet

Think the Eventuri is the closest you can get to the CSL sound without spending the £2500+ for the full CSL airbox and accompanying bits, both hw/sw.

-

No call from Admiral yet...

 

[mrk]

I have now, their engineers are now coming up with the figures for total loss settlement, and cash in lieu. For the latter they need to confirm with BMW that there is indeed no structural damage that would cause it to be unsafe for the road - As they apparently don't offer cash in lieu for such damaged cars. I already know there isn't any such damage on my car, and due to Admiral saying it would be a Cat D, so all safe there.

They did confirm the cash in lieu figure would be whatever the repairs would cost (£9400), minus the VAT and something else which somehow has escaped my mind... So realistically it does seem like the cash in lieu figure should be in the 7000-7500 ballpark, which would be very good really.

 

[mrk]

You don't need to spend that much for a CSL set up. You can buy the Karbonius airbox, which is a proper replica of the original CSL airbox, and then just the accompanying parts.
http://forums.m3cutters.co.uk/showthread.php?t=140240
It's supposed to be much better than the Evolve set up that uses the Alpha N.

Any sources for it being better than the Eventuri? I want to avoid Alpha N, as quite a few posts on various boards about little niggles that annoy people such as low end throttle response.

The Eventuri is plug and play and retains the MAF sensor, so doesn't need any remapping to make use of. The sound comparison I've seen is very good too, it's indistinguishable from stick below 4000rpm, go above this, especially at wot, and it comes alive. Which is exactly what I want.

 

[mrk]

If they repaired the car then they'd have to account for the 5yr warranty as well which they said is standard for any insurance work, so in the long run it costs them more. I can see their angle in this regard, and why they deem it an uneconomical write-off.

So in my situation, a decent cash in lieu sum would work out best for both parties really. Still no call from them though!

 

[mrk]

Edit^
Beautiful!

Given Russian driving culture, you can understand why haha!

Quick update on my car. Seems BMW want the business badly, they phoned me today saying BMW direct have authorised a 30% discount. Brings the figure well below Admiral's first offer of £9400 for Cat D total loss.

BMW have sent this new estimate to Admiral and are awaiting authorisation/rejection for repairs.

This throws a mix into the bag for me, on one hand this is good. If it gets authorised then the car is sorted by BMW and has the repairs warranted for 5yrs at least. Downside is no pocketed cash from getting it done cheaper at my own bodyshop choice.

More accident adventure updates coming soon…

 

[mrk]

It probably will, which kinda sucks I guess. But hey, if they approve the repair on the new estimate then that's good I guess. Everything stays BMW side.

 

[mrk]

Thing is, if they reduce it enough to be repaired then the CIL figure will be much lower making the mates rate fix non-viable.

But if the link posted earlier citing the financial ombudsman letter this morning is anything to go by, they simply should pay the repair costs inc VAT anyway, so if it's say £7000 now, they should pay CIL £7000.

I suppose this means the person receiving the cash would get less, but still be able to pocket change from getting the repairs done cheaper than than 7000 elsewhere.

If they approve the new estimate, then fine, I'll stick with it even if it means don't pocket any cash for all my troubles. At least the car has main dealer repair history then I suppose.

 

[mrk]

More fun and games.

Just had a call from Admiral, their engineers doing the figures seem to have 2 VIN for my reg number. Obviously one of them is the old E46 318Ci which they seem to have used in some of their estimating processes – Quite why or how I don’t know. Anyway, they’ve asked permission to call BMW to get the M3’s VIN and then re-assess the valuation and come up with a new figure.

They said they have no problem with the examples I’ve sent establishing that my car is indeed worth every bit as much as they are, so just need to correct VIN to re-run the numbers and see what difference that makes. As it stands, they say 7K is too high for a single cash in lieu of repairs payment, but the possibility of a contract repair through BMW is there providing the VIN correction and re-evaluation checks out.

If need be, they will also send out an independent valuator to BMW to go over the car to report on the condition, damage, parts required vs the cost BMW have stated and other things.

I thought there wasn’t really a “limit” on cash in lieu anyway?

Due a call back before the end of the day now with an update on what’s going on.

 

[mrk]

If they still aren’t playing ball with the new figures, then I’d have 2 options.

1: Cat D + buy back.

Or

2: Have the car collected by my bodyshop guy and have him do his repair estimate, which will be lower and will fall into their acceptable number margin to authorise repair. This option also means no cash pocketed, but if they won't pay mid-high 4 figures for CIL anyway, then nothing more to lose I guess.

Number 2 assumes that they are OK with it being seen to by a 2nd garage. I guess they should be as it's my choice who inspects the car anyway.

Edit*
They are sending an independent valuator round to BMW to give the car a full rundown. I'll try my best to attend during this session.

 

[mrk]

Why do they need to call BMW for the VIN? It's should be on the car?

And the car is at BMW.

 

[mrk]

Yup, Admiral did say if it comes to that, then the recovery cost would be on me to get the car to him, this is £100. This is fine, as I'd probably not end up having to pay that anyway.

At least as of now I know one thing for certain. Admiral value my car at £9900 based on their valuation without even seeing the car. The independent valuator that will be seeing it should increase that figure as his/her valuation is based on more factors than just age and mileage which Admiral only go by.

If we still don't come to an agreement then it's off to mate's bodyshop and get it all done through him. I've spoken to him this evening and he's had a few price quotes back for genuine BMW parts. As an example, the exhaust from him will be £440, brand new. From BMW with club discount it was just under £670.

 

[mrk]

They know it now, lol. But yes I did raise an eyebrow when the guy asked for my permission to phone BMW to get the VIN...

Shame, they seemed so good and helpful the first few days. Now it just seems like they are being noobs.

 

[mrk]

M3 update: Expecting update today. Valuator bloke went to see the car at BMW yesterday, writing report today and valuating it.

 

[mrk]

Thanks!

I just ran some numbers, assuming they approve the new valuation and go ahead with repairs, I won't get the car back until early January at the earliest. So assuming another 21 days of hire car, that's £525 on top of the £175 already earned. I reckon a grand could be fairly easy to make out of this.

Neat!

 

[mrk]