My Wrecked 325is

[ForcedFirebird]

Pretty sure they can't total the car with less than 80% of stated value in damages (ie you have $21k, they will repair the car if it has up to $16.8k damages). I went through this with my old car and Hagerty. They cannot "make" you total the car out, you have to sign the contract allowing it.

[MR E30 325is]

Holy moly. Glad you are OK, but terribly sorry to hear about all of your hard work being tarnished.

Best of luck to you.

[djjerme]

Is that truck sporting Dayton spider rims on the front? I thought they finally outlawed those widow makers.

[mr2peak]

Time to add up those receipts. If the work was recent enough, they might reimburse you for it. AKA "I just spent $1k on tires, they are new, add $1k to the car's value". Worked for me once.

[MR E30 325is]

Time to add up those receipts. If the work was recent enough, they might reimburse you for it. AKA "I just spent $1k on tires, they are new, add $1k to the car's value". Worked for me once.

This has also worked for me as well, albeit with a run of the mill Honda CR-V. Was able to recuperate full value (of the parts, not labor) for the work I had done in the last ~6 months.

[ForcedFirebird]

Time to add up those receipts. If the work was recent enough, they might reimburse you for it. AKA "I just spent $1k on tires, they are new, add $1k to the car's value". Worked for me once.

This has also worked for me as well, albeit with a run of the mill Honda CR-V. Was able to recuperate full value (of the parts, not labor) for the work I had done in the last ~6 months.

Seeing the OP has collector insurance, that's null and void. Proof of value has to be shown before the policy is written. When you state a value, you are insuring it for that full value.

[infanterene]

I went through this a few years ago but my accident was smaller. I feel your pain.

[Kershaw]

Damn that is horrible.

[Steve L]

This may be a final note on this thread....First of all, Thank you to all of you for your kind thoughts. This is a great forum. I've used it numerous times with tech questions, while refurbishing my car. There are always people on this forum who are smarter & more knowledgeable than me.

This story may have kind of a happy ending. The insurance company and the owner of the body shop finally started paying attention. The insurance company put an adjuster back on the ground to monitor progress and the owner of the body shop has taken a personal interest in the car. Parts are on order. Back ordered parts will hold up the repair process. It may take two months to get some of the BMW body parts. So the body shop dropped the car off and we slid it into the back of my shop until the parts arrive. But at least it's under cover.

The repair estimate? Almost $15K. I only paid $12K for the car last year, and that was too much. When this car is done, about $37K will have been invested in it since my purchase in March of last year. That's the $22K I had in it and the full estimate for repair. I could easily buy another car for less, but this '87 is just too nice to abandon to the junk yard. I've never been rational when it comes to cars or motorcycles.

[parkerbink]

Sounds great! I hope it works out that way and you are happy!

[Eric Giles]

Just saw this thread...I am very glad to hear you are ok. The outcome of this could have definitely been much worse for you. Very wise move in having an agreed upon value policy on the car...I recently did the same for my '91 318is.

Does the car have original paint or what is resprayed during your recent work prior to the accident? I ask because if it is original paint, and the shop is going to blend the paint during the repair, I am afraid the difference is going to be very noticeable. Bronzit is one of those colors that is very difficult to match in the first place.

Please keep us updated on your progress.

[Steve L]

As I mentioned earlier, my car is now stored in the back of my shop, while parts are ordered. The quarter panel is on back order with BMW and may require months to arrive. The body shop has included every single part that was even slightly damaged. The gas tank took a small dent, but is itemized for replacement in the estimate. Ditto for the right tail light, which had no damage that I could see.

The owner of the truck told me that he would work to support my claim. I told him that I wouldn't screw him, but wanted my car repaired....this while my car was sitting dead on the road and everyone was realizing how close the event was to being a deadly tragedy.

I've carefully reviewed the parts list and have questioned a few, but added others. In fact, I could probably accept leaving some of the lightly damaged parts on my car, but on the other hand, why should I have to?

There is one suggestion I want to make to you all. Don't undervalue your car on your agreed value insurance policy. It is very feasible that your car could cost $25K to rebuild. The current value of your E30 is probably different from it's worth. The E30 is a prime car for a sharp rise in value in the next few years. Look what has happened to the 911 in the past 8 years. 944s are now seeing sharp increases in value. That's because they are great cars that were grossly undervalued and expensive to restore.

But regardless of it's current value, restoring your E30 after an accident will very costly. Agreed upon value insurance policies are a perfect fit for E30s.

[coldweatherblue]

SteveL: Glad you are fighting the good fight and keeping your E30 on the road.

[Staszek]

That is awesome!!! I am so glad you are going to get to keep this one on the road!

[parkerbink]

Good to hear, please keep us posted.