Big, bad BMW shop - What to do?

[Fidhle007]

Yes, your aftermarket fender fits horribly (a common occurrence with aftermarket E30 body parts) but your frame is still racked. I'm sorry, but that's the sad story of it all. I'd say the front of your frame is at least a 1/2 inch out of whack, just looking at the pictures provided. I could tell you more accurately seeing the car in person obviously but you really need to have it addressed by a GOOD body shop if you want everything to work.

[einstein57]

Invest in a bently manual

[Spec]

Hey guys! Sorry I havent been on in a couple days. I received my car back from AR. I was extremely happy with their service and communication, a better experience then what I received before.

Ok so here's the deal:
1) AR aligned the car to appropriate toe and it did remove a bit of the problem. I am unsure why Boyds did not align the car originally after their work. Boyd admitted to me that they were unsure why they did not either. Either way, this has helped.

2) AR checked out the suspension and said everything looked to be installed properly. No big bends, no misaligned parts. Boyds did proper work there. There is a slight difference in camber between the front wheels now, but not as drastic. I'll try and take pictures later.

3) I think the aftermarket fender has a lot to do with the fitment issues up front. It is bent slightly different bow-wise then the OEM fender, and there a small crease developed while it shipped to us. I have an OEM fender in the garage, so I'll try to spray the OEM one and install it to see if I can't get things looking better, and to find out if there is indeed frame misalignment or if it's just the poor quality of the aftermarket piece.

4)The ABS is still not working. I didn't have AR look too much into this. I am going to do a little looking myself this weekend, and do a full diagnostic of what the problem is once I get the wheels mounted over the next few weeks. I will contact Boyds and inform them of such, so that they can honor their claim to pay for work if that is determined to be their fault.

5)New Magnaflow muffler put on. Sounds quiet but with a much deeper tone. I like. :) Again, will try and grab pics soon.


So I'm going to call Boyds and inform them of the findings. Let them know that an alignment did help some and that there is still some camber difference, but that everything they did looked ok as far as suspension goes. I'll let them know I'm still having an ABS malfunction and that I will have it checked in full when I mount my wheels and report back with findings.

I have still not been able to get the ABS to work. I've stomped on it a couple times and no ABS, just slight lock. Hm... maybe it's not just an unplugged sensor... or would that not allow the ABS to work? I don't know much about the ABS system, any ideas? I'll know for sure after AR takes a look.


As far as the buying another E30.... Perhaps. The thing is this car is in (generally) great shape, just passed 130,000 miles, had every belt/fluid replaced in the engine, new water pump, etc, great interior quality, yada yada. Would be a pain (and $$$) to switch cars and all parts unless there was physically something wrong with it, which I'm not thinking to be the case.

[JoeyJoeJ0]

So what happened at AR anyway?

[atomic]

After reading all of this and seeing how it is turning out in what the problem is with your car, explains to me why " MOST " shops around here will not touch a car without it going back to factory specs using oem parts period.

[Fidhle007]

Spec it sound like you might want to invest in another e30. Will probably be cheaper for you to get a much cleaner car and swap all your upgrades. Rollers are butt cheap.

What he said. I would have done the same thing except I hit a raccoon and the insurance agent made an accurate assessment of the damage. :D

As you can see in my profile picture, the body shop I use now is brilliant.

[einstein57]

Spec it sound like you might want to invest in another e30. Will probably be cheaper for you to get a much cleaner car and swap all your upgrades. Rollers are butt cheap.

[Fidhle007]

Exactly, but it explains very well why he wasn't very eager to repair damage "that wasn't there before." At my shop, if we find another problem that we ARE equipped to fix (we don't do body stuff in house, we leave that to the folks who are good at that sort of thing) we will try to do so but it will show up on the bill.

[2Big4a3Series]

Techs are actually very good forensic scientists

That is true but looking at it from the tech's perspective, he just wants to do quality work and get paid for it. He can't be concerned with a semi-unrelated problem. It would have been nice of Boyd to check it out completely but he can't concern himself with something that he did not cause.

[Fidhle007]

Techs are actually very good forensic scientists and can get a very accurate idea of if and how a car was hit. Especially techs who have friends at body shops...

[Spec]

And you are 22, right? I'd add, "only" 22... Do you realize that some of those people that you call "kids" and that have highlighted a few problems with your car may well be old enough to be your father. And you called them "kids"... Not only in this post, but on many others.

Yea I realize that. I personally would be addressing "kids" as more of a maturity rather than age issue.

[Massive Lee]

... I've been on forums for almost 10 years, so I realize it's a place for the immature to call people out that they wouldn't in person. Just shows me who the kids are on the board.

And you are 22, right? I'd add, "only" 22... Do you realize that some of those people that you call "kids" and that have highlighted a few problems with your car may well be old enough to be your father. And you called them "kids"... Not only in this post, but on many others.

Look. End this drama by having the car measured in a reliable bodyshop. It takes 30 minutes to measure a car and conclude if it is straight or not. It usually takes 5 minutes to see what exactly in the suspension is crooked. Why all the drama with badmouthing a business?

Realize that while you may be the Golden Kid in the insurance business, your automotive knowledge might be limited. It's okay. I am a lousy plumber.

And now some more titties.

[Spec]

Spec, you said: How was Boyd supposed to figure that out? Techs are not forensic scientists who have the ability to know everything that ever happened to the car. I deal with that crap in the IT industry when people pretend like they don't know how they hosed their computer and then expect me to figure out that they weren't supposed to be surfing porn.

I informed him of the accident and damage it caused and what was replaced (bumper, valance, fender). That's most likely what got him thinking that was a possibility. I've been as up front and calm as I can be with the shop.

I'm a big internet bully. Look at me, I'll lay into you up at my shop in a different state!

Ok, whatev dude


Fidhle, I understand your point. I didn't intend on 'flipping' my story. I assumed most everyone could realize my tone at the start of this thread, the knowledge I've gained from it and others as the story developed, and my tone now. That's generally how problem-solving goes. My bad if it came across differently.

Xlibelle, thanks. I've been on forums for almost 10 years, so I realize it's a place for the immature to call people out that they wouldn't in person. Just shows me who the kids are on the board.

Schnill, I guess it's a possibility, but really I don't know. They said after I gave it back that everything looked fine and that it was 'next to impossible to bend a control arm'. I believed him.

[Farbin Kaiber]

Spec, After reading all this, I would love to invite you to my shop, just so I could chew your ass out to your face. I love working at an independent, It gives me the ability to "weed" out those select "VIP" customers. You just seem to be the type I could have lots of fun with before lunch. Come in early, I'll have a rack waiting for ya.

[Fidhle007]

Spec, you're missing my point: you had the problem all along, it just wasn't as noticeable at stock ride height. As far as my tone, it's a reaction to your own. You started off accusing Boyd of breaking your car and now have tried to change your story. If you had started by saying "Could it be possible if..." things would have gone very differently...