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

ChrisD. · 9 Dec 2015 at 14:47

Jez said:
^^ Its a Cat D write off. Might not bother you, but you already have one written off M3

Ah yeah, hidden in the description again.

mrk · 9 Dec 2015 at 14:52

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!

teenwolf · 9 Dec 2015 at 14:56

i thought that once you accept the insures payout the car belongs to them and anything on the car belongs to them too.

mrk · 9 Dec 2015 at 14:57

No they give you the opportunity to remove any personal and non standard items.

grudas · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:05

were those items declared on insurance? gear knobs etc..

mrk · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:08

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.

grudas · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:10

mrk said:
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.

okay, just wondering because insurers will look for any reason not to pay and anything that's not standard is in their eyes a mod/needs to be declared

mrk · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:11

It's a non fault claim, my insurance has nothing to do with this anyway

teenwolf · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:12

still dont see how they are going to let you strip the car.

Tom|Nbk · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:17

Consider this a route into an E60 M5

mrk · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:18

teenwolf said:
still dont see how they are going to let you strip the car.

You know my thoughts on the E60 interior

Cosimo · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:19

Tom|Nbk said:
Consider this a route into an E60 M5

Boot will be large enough for a spare part boot sale.

Jez · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:19

My experience of salvage costs is that it will be worth buying back, Mrk. It'll probably be a no brainer.

teenwolf · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:20

E60 M5 yep do it.

Tom|Nbk · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:22

I think Robbie, if you do ever buy another E46 M3 it just might not feel the same to you so in all seriousness consider an upgrade route to something else.

Saying it again, stupid old man

Vita · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:24

Dibs on engine m8

SDK^ · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:49

mrk said:
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..

You'll be wanting to drain the petrol out of the tank next !

Will · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:49

Jez said:
My experience of salvage costs is that it will be worth buying back, Mrk. It'll probably be a no brainer.

I hope this is the case with mrks car but its no guarantee

When my 2008 FN2 Civic Type R was written off the 'buy back' price was £4500, this was with extensive front damage and some rear damage, no way was it economical to get it back on the road at that price (insurer paid out £8600 for it) unless you were prepared to properly bodge it or take a year buying up suitable parts one at a time from ebay....

That needed 2x wings, 2x headlights, bonnet, radiator and air con rad, arch trims stuff had been pushed back into the gearbox so it was stuck in gear, undertray was mashed, loads of plastic bits messed up and the metalwork where the cross member goes across the chassis legs was ripped to and would need welding/replaceement, and the rear would have needed bumper and arch trims plus some paint as a minumum....basically a total mess and they still asked for £4500. I expect there was haggle room but even so it would have made no sense at all to buy back at anything like that price.

mrk · 9 Dec 2015 at 15:51

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.

Vita · 9 Dec 2015 at 16:15

Mrk dont waate your time with that. My ep3 came from them and we all know what happened there. Please don't.