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

iaind · 7 Dec 2015 at 18:34

Had a brand new insignia hire car the other day and it was fine. Pretty uninspiring but a comfortable and easy to drive way of getting around. Some things would do my head in if I had to live with one long term but they're certainly OK enough to take the 25 quid a day

Joe T · 7 Dec 2015 at 18:36

Howard said:
This may be a daft question, but would taking a downgraded car which costs the insurers less per day perhaps reduce the chances of the car being written off on the grounds of overall costs?

I'd imagine that the cost of an E-Class is only slightly more than Insignia +£25 per day. Not enough to make a material difference, but close enough to make sense in offering it.

T0pPredator · 7 Dec 2015 at 22:41

Just seen this, terrible luck. Absolutely gutted for you Mrk. Hope to see your M3 back to her former glory.

mjt · 7 Dec 2015 at 22:42

Being paid £25 a day to drive an insignia? They can't be that bad

Vita · 7 Dec 2015 at 23:02

Insignia. I just hope they can repair it. Your cab is amazing.

Housey · 7 Dec 2015 at 23:06

Shame to see this, hope it sorts itself out.

mrk · 8 Dec 2015 at 06:39

Now that I've been able to sleep on all that's been mentioned, I think the best thing to do if they do write it off is simply buy it back, then fix it up and pocket the change left over.

The car is at BMW, so it's in legit hands at least, and sure it will be a cat c if it comes to that, but as I said, it's a car I'd happily keep for the remainder of its life, so resale value wouldn't be a bother. I suppose if I did sell it one day, then if whoever buys it is like myself, then this might not be an issue either once they see the circumstances paperwork and condition of the car anyway.

So no matter what happens, my car will be back on the road.

And may as well pay the bit extra for the whole car to have a fresh lick of main dealer paint with that in mind then.

teenwolf · 8 Dec 2015 at 06:52

They will fix that up, can't see it being at write off.

mrk · 8 Dec 2015 at 07:04

I think so too, but stranger things have happened!

Diddums · 8 Dec 2015 at 07:59

Housey said:
Shame to see this, hope it sorts itself out.

This. I don't comment much on your car but you've clearly put a lot of time and money in to it, hopefully you get it sorted mrk

mrk · 8 Dec 2015 at 08:57

Thanks!

This may well be the only performance car I own, and is so far the only performance car I've wanted to own since seeing them back in the early 2000s - So it's got considerable value to me. I found one in this aesthetic and mechanical condition, so I want to keep hold of it

panthro · 8 Dec 2015 at 08:57

It won't be Cat. C surely?

Will · 8 Dec 2015 at 09:09

Sorry to see this damage mrk

Hope the outcome is favourable, whether it's repaired or you have the buy back option.

[TW]Fox · 8 Dec 2015 at 09:52

panthro said:
It won't be Cat. C surely?

Depends on the repair value versus the book value minus salvage value.

grudas · 8 Dec 2015 at 09:57

mrk said:
Now that I've been able to sleep on all that's been mentioned, I think the best thing to do if they do write it off is simply buy it back, then fix it up and pocket the change left over.

The car is at BMW, so it's in legit hands at least, and sure it will be a cat c if it comes to that, but as I said, it's a car I'd happily keep for the remainder of its life, so resale value wouldn't be a bother. I suppose if I did sell it one day, then if whoever buys it is like myself, then this might not be an issue either once they see the circumstances paperwork and condition of the car anyway.

So no matter what happens, my car will be back on the road.

And may as well pay the bit extra for the whole car to have a fresh lick of main dealer paint with that in mind then.

probably the best idea!

but then again, wait and see what insurance offers..

Cosimo · 8 Dec 2015 at 09:59

Hope it's not a write-off and gets sorted out to your satisfaction.

Tom|Nbk · 8 Dec 2015 at 11:12

Jez said:
Sometimes a write off can be good, they will usually sell the car back at virtually scrap value.

Buy another M3 and you have an entire car of mint donor parts, then patch up the crashed one on the cheap and sell it with the bits left over to complete it

So much hassle though for some codger that shouldn't even have been driving.

Sad that Robbie is going to suffer financially because of this but such is life, this is why I simply do not want my M5 as my daily.

Cleisthenes · 8 Dec 2015 at 11:18

Tom|Nbk said:
So much hassle though for some codger that shouldn't even have been driving.

Sad that Robbie is going to suffer financially because of this but such is life, this is why I simply do not want my M5 as my daily.

The chance of something happening are so slim though. I wouldn't drive an old golf instead of your m5 purely because you're worried that it might get whacked at some point. Live a little man!!

geekman · 8 Dec 2015 at 11:21

Tom|Nbk said:
So much hassle though for some codger that shouldn't even have been driving.

Sad that Robbie is going to suffer financially because of this but such is life, this is why I simply do not want my M5 as my daily.

Sure it's not because you can't afford the massive bills that would come from running it as a daily? I know that's what would put me off!

I never understand people who have nice, but not incredibly rare, cars and only drive them on sunny weekends as they're scared of them getting damaged. Cars are made to be used, the whole point of something like an M3 or M5 is that it's a special, performance orientated car that you can use everyday.

Robbie's M3 is one of the nicest I've ever seen, and I was gutted for him when I saw the pictures, but I'm sure it'll all be resolved in the end, and he'll keep using it as a daily.

Cleisthenes · 8 Dec 2015 at 11:22

What asboman said