Another Z4MC down - but not for long!

[DocRiSK]

My baby is out of commision - ahhh!!! I miss it - stuck in a rental chevy impala.

[jragan]

Good luck -- but I don't think this is looking good...

[gizmo83]

Something like that happened to me in my other car with less damage than that and it was declared a total loss.

[BU Z4]

Yeah that looks like a total loss dude!

[Thisisdudewhoru]

Yea, looks like you're going to have some serious frame damage to fix man. It's not going to be easy or cheap.

Be careful you all, I've had the car a few weeks now and it seems to me the stock conti's like to do a little hydro with the smallest puddles imo. They don't compare at all to ps2's or bf kdw2's at all in the wet imo. I am however going with the conti uhp all season for my next tire as people rant and rave over them.

[MetMan]

Easy on those Chevy Malibu comments, that happens to be my daily driver!!! Just kidding as I don't particularly care for the car either. Glad you came out of the accident ok!

[nmulax]

Man that sucks... but glad to hear you're alright!

[crfine88]

Glad to here you are okay

I hate to say this, but the damage is sructural. No matter what the body shop says, I would not want that repaired.

Good news is, there are lot of great deals on coupes out there.

[Blind32]

Oh no not another SG! It better not become a trendy

[inTgr8r]

ouch... that looks nasty.
Glad to hear you're OK though.

[Rick Hunter]

Ouch. Glad to hear you're alright.

But your car is not. I wouldn't even want it back... looking at the condition it's in. Hope they declare it a loss because it'll never drive the same way again.

[nmulax]

Originally Posted by Blind32

Oh no not another SG! It better not become a trendy

That's what I was thinking! First mine, now this one... be careful SG drivers

[DocRiSK]

Originally Posted by jragan

Good luck -- but I don't think this is looking good...

Originally Posted by gizmo83

Something like that happened to me in my other car with less damage than that and it was declared a total loss.

Originally Posted by BU Z4

Yeah that looks like a total loss dude!

Originally Posted by crfine88

Glad to here you are okay

I hate to say this, but the damage is sructural. No matter what the body shop says, I would not want that repaired.

Good news is, there are lot of great deals on coupes out there.

Originally Posted by Rick Hunter

Ouch. Glad to hear you're alright.

But your car is not. I wouldn't even want it back... looking at the condition it's in. Hope they declare it a loss because it'll never drive the same way again.

Well this is what I was thinking to when I went to the body shop today and looked at it for the first time properly. I was hoping to get some unbiased feedback and wanted to see what you all thought. Your comments have validated my thoughts and I will be talking to my insurance agent and taking these pics to him tomorrow. The repair guys said around $6,000 in repairs but that doesn't include a new hood (which is warped and dented) and wheel and tire, undercarriage damage, and who knows what kind of damage to the engine which he said they could not assess properly until they pulled back the crumpled part. I think they are going to slowly add things up to make their buck and my insurance company is gonna wish they had totalled it.

Thanks for your feedback guys... I'll keep you updated.

[Nate2046]

I'm kind of confused From reading your description it sounds like you avoided hitting anything. Then looking at the pics you can see the bent brace which I assume means that strut tower was pushed in. I wish I knew more about body work but I always thought that meant major structural damage and frame straightening. Definitely the kind of thing I imagine salvage title cars have been through. Like others have said, not sure I would want it back.

In any case, glad you escaped unscathed. Dibs on your extended leather bits

[DocRiSK]

Originally Posted by Nate2046

I'm kind of confused From reading your description it sounds like you avoided hitting anything.

The median that divides the highway is v shaped. It is probably a good 6 feet or more deep with a concrete drain in the middle. The brunt of the impact likely occured as I went down into the median and the front driver side impacted into the ground. I still had enough momentum that i shot back up the median and onto the other side.

Originally Posted by Nate2046

Dibs on your extended leather bits

The extended leather really is a nice feature... we'll see what my insurance agent has to say. let my misfortune be someone else's fortune!

[AWM3]

The entire left front corner of that car will have to be cut off and new unibody pieces welded in. Everything in the front half of the car will need to be removed including all the radiators, engine, transmission, suspension, etc. Basically the front of the car has to be rebuilt. $6000 isn't anywhere even close to how much it will cost. If the car is to be repaired, you should have it transported to one of the BMW certified repair centers, otherwise there is a risk of a poor result.

http://www.bmwusa.com/Standard/Conte...airCenter.aspx

[schwank]

Good luck! Unfortunately I also have experience in this area, I hydroplaned and hit a Semi when my coupe was 1.5 years old. I had "minor" frame damage and the total bill was around $16,500. I took it to a bmw repair place that my insurance company would also warranty the work for the life of the car. The car drives as good today as it did when it was new. As long as you have a good shop, and the repair bill isnt too high you'll be fine.

[onebluemcm]

Structural damage, yes certainly. The way the crumple zone is crushed back and the way the shock tower is displaced inward, I'd wonder if even the front cross member/subframe will be affected - I think the chances are high. Is the door or A-pillar displaced at all? This could be one of those where the reality of the damage is far greater than the outward appearance would seem - hopefully not. Just about anything is fixable though, and could be done right if in the hands of the right people. We hade a P-car, 997 race car, back into a guard rail due to a brake failure at oh, about 120 or so, and it was repaired. Also cost alot....no dispute there. But then we didn't have an insurance company telling us "Sorry, you're screwed, we won't fix it..."

[DocRiSK]

Unfortunately there isn't an authorized BMW collision center near by. The collision center it's at is the one that the local BMW dealership recommends and is also a preferred provider for my insurance company and the insurance company guarantees the work for the life of the car - which is good. My friend had a pretty bad wreck a couple of years ago in his 3 series and they did a reasonable job - but he had to take it back in about 3 more times for minor things that popped up. So even if the quality of the work these guys do is okay; it still worries me, as many of you pointed out, that the damage is more extensive and will be revealed as the repair proceeds.

As far as I could make out the cross memebers and frame seem intact. The door opens and closes without any problem, but I really didn't pay to much attention so a closer exam may reveal potential problems there.

[chickdr]

You may want to suggest to the insurance co you would prefer they total the car. Maybe no effect but it may put a bug in their ear about it. I wouldn't want to have that car anymore.

[Nate2046]

Originally Posted by DocRiSK

The median that divides the highway is v shaped. It is probably a good 6 feet or more deep with a concrete drain in the middle. The brunt of the impact likely occured as I went down into the median and the front driver side impacted into the ground. I still had enough momentum that i shot back up the median and onto the other side.

Ok, I see. Sounds like you were lucky the driver side didn't dig in and roll you. Good luck dealing with your insurance, hope it works out to your desired outcome.

[RBull]

Good luck docrisk. That's tough seeing your car in that kind of state.