[woopig]

Rear ended someone earlier today. Car is a 2010 335i, red leather, manual. 95k miles.

I know insurance won't consider the 5k in aftermarket parts either.

Hood, fender, headlight, left turn mirror need to be replaced. Front bumper can be repaired. Other than that there seems to be no other damage.

Damage only seems to be external. No engine damage, the car still runs fine.
Thoughts?

View post on imgur.com

[Jashan90]

From my stand point no.... but insurance may total it because body shops love to charge insurance agencies up the ass. So insurance agencies rather cut their losses and write a check. Rather than dealing with on going costs of repairing the car

[sorin1987]

If insurance companies in the US are like the ones here in the UK then yes. My friend's car was totaled for a lot less than that but hers was a 2006 and not 335.
But that is not a problem, just accept the money, buy it back as it is and repair it yourself outside the insurance. There are other costs the insurance company have when repairing a car that you won't have:
- an independent specialist that comes and evaluates the car and damage
- towing the car to the repair shop (they are not allowed to drive it even if it is driveable)
- providing you with a car from a similar class (a rental)
- deal with the extra costs the shop will charge insurance company.

This is pretty much the procedure in the UK. You will have none of that BS. Find an indy and you will get your car fixed and have some money left.
My friend had hers scratched from front door all the way to the rear bumper. Nothing big, just a long deep scratch. She didn't even repaired it because she is cheap but after buying back the car she is up 3k£. She was quoted 700£ to repair the car by an indy.

[Jashan90]

Insurance check is going to be nice. The damage is not very bad at all. I would definitely collect the money and fix it myself. May as well get aftermarket parts and upgrade the look at the same time

[bluewater328]

Doesn't look too bad as I don't see deployed airbags. I don't see a total here unless there is a serious problem under the hood.

- Replace side mirror
- Replace driver fender
- Replace hood
- Replace driver headlamp (if you, just dry and buff first)
- Replace bumper, check fitment and frame (if you, buff probably does most of the work unless that's the raw bumper color vs a scuff. Sand and paint)

Looking at the angle, you probably are looking pretty good, imho.

[Mashman]

Whether an insurance company 'totals' a car or not, depends on the State. Most states use a Total Loss Formula that is - Cost of Repairs + Salvage Value ≥ Actual Cash Value - then the car is totaled. Some states regulate that if amount of repairs is above a certain amount, then the car MUST be totaled. Arkansas is one of those states, and they set the limit at 70%.

I would gestimate that the cash value of your car, assuming it's in excellent shape otherwise, would be between $10k and $12k, that would mean if the cost of repairs is greater than around $7,700, than the insurance company is required by state law to total it. Some states have higher thresholds, mine is 100%, but they can still total it at any point they determine.

With Arkansas's threshold being only 70%, I would guess that it's a pretty likely that they will total your car.

https://www.carinsurance.com/Article...hresholds.aspx

[fredcase]

in for partout

[tcphoto]

It looks like a motorcycle ran over the hood. Odds are, it is not totaled.

[atmosphericM]

Doesn't look totaled to me, at all. Now is the time for a different front bumper if that's something you're interested in.

[e90yyc]

+1 on not totaled.

If they say it is, buy it back. It's a nice build. I wouldn't want to see it go.

That the damage is confined to the front bodes well for you too. You're lucky there. Had it extended down the door toward the C pillar, it would be a different story.

----

Edit: Looked closer at pics. I'm sure tabs on back of headlight are snapped, but last I checked BMW still sell repair kits for them. Lens is obviously knackered but doesn't look like anything a bit of wet sanding and polish couldn't fix. So hopefully insurance cuts you a nice check and you come out ahead!

[woopig]

Good news it isn't totaled me and the insurance will cover it! They quoted 3900 for it using used parts in good condition. I just pay the deductible. Could've been much worse.

I would have taken this chance to upgrade the bumper as suggested as that was my first thought as well. But unfortunately, I actually have to take this car for a road trip in 2 weeks so I have to repair it before then.

Just glad I didn't lose my baby because manual/coupe/red interior is a perfect combo... and rare in Arkansas .

[Nickco43]

Originally Posted by woopig

Good news it isn't totaled me and the insurance will cover it! They quoted 3900 for it using used parts in good condition. I just pay the deductible. Could've been much worse.

I would have taken this chance to upgrade the bumper as suggested as that was my first thought as well. But unfortunately, I actually have to take this car for a road trip in 2 weeks so I have to repair it before then.

Just glad I didn't lose my baby because manual/coupe/red interior is a perfect combo... and rare in Arkansas .

Find a used hood and fender painted in the same color. I would shoot to have this repaired for under $1000 DIY.

[e90yyc]

Excellent news.

This is the first insurance story I’ve heard where they’re willing to do anything less than full repair with OEM parts at a body shop. I had no idea this (used parts) would even be an option in their eyes.

Good luck

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by e90yyc

Excellent news.

This is the first insurance story I’ve heard where they’re willing to do anything less than full repair with OEM parts at a body shop. I had no idea this (used parts) would even be an option in their eyes.

Good luck

In the US, insurance companies avoid using new parts wherever possible. I've never understood why owners with 5 - 10 year old cars insist on new OE parts when the rest of the car has old parts on it.

When I had my car recently repaired, I insisted on used parts and OEM parts to keep the repair estimate down (so as to reduce the gap between the repair estimate and the totaled value of the car). For example the headlight was in the repair estimate as used as $1,030. New it is $1,300+. I ended up getting one for $695 and providing it to the shop. I needed a new AC condenser. The BMW part is $630, the OEM price is $135 on-line. The repair estimate had it at $125.

[Psyphertext]

Originally Posted by woopig

Rear ended someone earlier today. Car is a 2010 335i, red leather, manual. 95k miles.

I know insurance won't consider the 5k in aftermarket parts either.

Hood, fender, headlight, left turn mirror need to be replaced. Front bumper can be repaired. Other than that there seems to be no other damage.

Damage only seems to be external. No engine damage, the car still runs fine.
Thoughts?

View post on imgur.com

If the insurance company totals it, pray that the buy back is low enough to make it worth buying back and repairing. I went through this with a CBR 900RR Europen model several years ago and found out that there is a secret watch list of buyers who want certain vehicles, thus the Insurance company may ask you for a premium price on buy back. Some will negotiate buy back pricing, others will not.

[Efthreeoh]

While we are on the subject of having an E9X totaled, I'd like to tell my recent (July 2018) experience. My advice is if the damage is mostly cosmetic as the OP's car was, but because of age and mileage the insurance might total it, do some research first and be judicious regarding the repair estimate.

- Fully understand your state's regulations regarding what declares a car as totaled. Most states have specific requirements that require the insurance company to total the car and declare it as salvage. You can easily find this information on line.
- When getting a repair estimate, take it to one of your insurance company's approved body shop because the insurance company will trust the estimate from the body shop. Ask for the estimate to include as many parts as possible that are recycled (sounds better the "used" doesn't it) or OEM parts (i.e. not genuine BMW parts). Insurance companies list such shops on their website.
- Research your state's laws regarding what salvage means and what it takes to get the car re-titled as a rebuilt vehicle. (*note - I did not do this, but I should have)
- E9X headlights, especially HID adaptive, will easily total a car, even when the rest of the damage is not that bad.
- research the value of your vehicle via KBB, edmunds, etc. Generally the insurance company will use averages between the various resale values (not the trade in value) of the car and local market used vehicles for sale to determine the value of your car (based on it's condition and mileage).
- Based on condition and mileage is important in light of using the insurance company's approved body shop. Part of the evaluation of the car's condition relies on the body shop estimator's review of your car. My body shop estimator evaluated the condition of my car very high (even with 349,000 miles on it). My interior looks almost new, and the rest of the car is in great shape. I went over with the estimator the mechanical condition of my car; i.e. new clutch at 292K, oil pan gasket at 300K, new driveshaft at 325K, etc. He estimated the value of my car very high; the insurance company evaluated my car at $4,300 with $349,800 miles on it.
- What you can't really find out is the insurance company's determination of the salvage value. I tried all over the internet to figure out how insurance companies determine the salvage value; it's a secret... My car was only $450 (I was expecting $1,500). The salvage number makes or breaks your decision on whether to fix the car or give it up. For me $450 was a no brainer.

* so with my car... I live in Virginia. Virginia within the last several years changed the salvage requirements and titling of rebuilt vehicles. I did not research this part. I happily found out that Virginia uses the term "late model vehicle", which has a specific regulatory meaning. In Virginia "late model" means any car that is a current model year or 5 model years prior will require a salvage title and rebuilt title. Also, the salvage regulations in Virginia states that any car of less than $10,000 in declared value (by the insurance company) does not require a salvage title/rebuilt title. So for my car, I bought it back from the insurance company and had it repaired and have a clean title (i.e. non-salvage/rebuilt title). You have to go to your state's DMV and research this, and even call the department within the DMV that handles salvage vehicles/titling.

[woopig]

Only weird part for me on that is that this crash happened in California but the car is registered in Arkansas, where I will return back to in a couple weeks.

[tcphoto]

I'd get it into a body shop quickly and only if they can complete the work before you leave. If they cannot guarantee it, make sure your insurance knows that it will be done when you get to Arkansas.

[whyzee125]

I don't think that'll be totaled. I bought my car when it was 6 years old with 125k with slightly more damage but to the same exact parts and it was not totaled. PO opted not to fix it, and to rather sell it to me, but it was reported and not totaled.

[Bimmer_Engineer]

We’re all putting the car before the horse here...the real question is...what does god think?

[Efthreeoh]

Originally Posted by Bimmer_Engineer

We’re all putting the car before the horse here...the real question is...what does god think?

The OP got his answer


God drives a BMW apparently