Some of these Autotrader ads make me laugh - "very light damage"

davidstone28

davidstone28

davidstone28

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16 Jun 2006
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2002 BMW 3 SERIES 316ti 3dr Compact
Manual, 42,000 miles, 51 plate, metalic blue, direct from insurance company catd, no checks needed, very light damage, airbags and suspension untouched, starts and drives perfect.


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davidstone28 said:
2002 BMW 3 SERIES 316ti 3dr Compact
Manual, 42,000 miles, 51 plate, metalic blue, direct from insurance company catd, no checks needed, very light damage, airbags and suspension untouched, starts and drives perfect.


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Starts and drive perfectly, apart from the lack of nearside front lights, wing and plastic inner wing rubbing on the front wheel and the sticking out nearside bumper :o :rolleyes:
 
I tell you now that will not drive perfectly. The nearside wheel will undoubtedly be rubbing against the plastic arches unless they have been pulled/cut out, the oil cooler and hoses will probably have been knocked about and/or bodged together, the bonnet will be imposible to get open and probably need a professional panel beater to get it off.........

About £3k worth of damage there and that's before you get into the smaller components
 
Thats some weird damage,looks like its had a breaking ball dropped on it :)
Certainly doesnt look like crash damage to me anyway.
Come on OcUk crash scene investigators,do your stuff :D
 
Don't be deceived by the bumper looking 'in tact'. I'd say he's had a pretty bad head on collision there. I bet he's bent the crumple bar and that baby will set you back over £1k easy to get in a Jig.
 
Rhyzz said:
Don't be deceived by the bumper looking 'in tact'. I'd say he's had a pretty bad head on collision there. I bet he's bent the crumple bar and that baby will set you back over £1k easy to get in a Jig.
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No it wont, have you ever repaired a crash damaged motor? i have, probabaly a good 50 or 60 motors.

From the initial pic the inner wing will need replacing, not the whole part just a piece can be welded in,apart from that the rest is bolt on stuff, which in reality can be classed as light damage.

A grand to jig it, ger off :p
 
Have you ever repaired a head-on collision damaged BMW? You should know that they have 2 crumple bars that are part of the chassis and are attached to the front bumper to absorb most of the force, thus preventing damage to the engine and ultimately, the passengers.

If that thing has been whacked on the corner which it looks to have been, it'll need to be put into a jig. It'll need a new bonnet, wing, bumper, crumple bar, wheel arch, wheel alignment, any mechanical components damaged (more than likely the oil cooler which hangs down around the crumple bar) and spraying.

Not really light damage...
 
Rhyzz said:
Have you ever repaired a head-on collision damaged BMW? You should know that they have 2 crumple bars that are part of the chassis and are attached to the front bumper to absorb most of the force, thus preventing damage to the engine and ultimately, the passengers.

If that thing has been whacked on the corner which it looks to have been, it'll need to be put into a jig. It'll need a new bonnet, wing, bumper, crumple bar, wheel arch, wheel alignment, any mechanical components damaged (more than likely the oil cooler which hangs down around the crumple bar) and spraying.

Not really light damage...
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Yes i have as it happens, and no way will need all what you describe, your over egging it like all the insurance investigators do.

That does not need jigging, you can see from the door shut lines and the wing that the body is straight, even if you need to straighten the front panel a porta-power will suffice.
 
I don't know what a porta-power is, I'm guessing something that bends the chassis back into place. However, all I know is that mine needed whackin on a jig and it cost me an awful lot of money, and before you say, I know the guy who did it so he didnt rip me off! :)

Just looks very similar to what mine did when I had a bump and that set me back nearly £3k.
 
Dtab said:
Thats some weird damage,looks like its had a breaking ball dropped on it :)
Certainly doesnt look like crash damage to me anyway.
Come on OcUk crash scene investigators,do your stuff :D
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It's the sort of damage you'd get where there's a mismatch in ride heights - for example, if you crashed into the rear of an articulated lorry, truck or 4x4 - the 'hard' crash structures punch through 'soft' parts of the BMW.

Agree with Rhyzz, that the repair cost would be excess of £3k. The seller mentions £3.5k for repairs though I'd say its likely to be even more. There will be chassis damage, the engine would have been shunted backwards and the suspension more likley than not will have gone out of alignment. I had a crash in my first car (spun off into a lampost) - damage nowhere near as bad that BMW and in the rear three quarter area rather than the front - and the costs were about £2.5k.
 
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I'll fix it with nothing but hammer and shoe polish - rest will t-cut off - how much is it? ;)
 
wohoo said:
Yes i have as it happens, and no way will need all what you describe, your over egging it like all the insurance investigators do.

That does not need jigging, you can see from the door shut lines and the wing that the body is straight, even if you need to straighten the front panel a porta-power will suffice.
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Maybe it just needs new lights, it needs more to look any good but Im not so sure its badly damaged underneath. Of course unless someone goes to look we wont know.
 
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