Settled: Road debris totaled my 1988 325iS, how to proceed with insurance?

[Ray Smoodiver]

Did not expect this opening the thread!

That shell is toast mate, sorry to say.

How are the struts not bent if the shock towers have pulled away from the unibody?

[RCM3]

Ya I know the car is beyond repair. I havent inspected the housing, its most likely damaged, I mean even the control arm bent. Those e30 M3 housing are damn near impossible to find too, that would be the icing on the cake if its not salvageable...

[LSM3]

I have feeling you may have to sue your insurance company for the true value or at least go into mediation. My buddy had to do the same for his Datsun.

[freeride53]

As I've said before, FUCK 880. Especially in Oakland.
Buncha fucking idiots running around and shitty roads to match.
Let me guess, was this near the Alameda exits?

Anyways, very sorry to see the car which you put so much work in get totaled.
It looked pretty sick when I saw it last summer, and it was looking better than ever before recently.
With the way you build your cars, I'm sure you'll be back and better than ever with that 91 318i/4 .. *hint hint* 91 318i/4's ftw *hint hint* ;) ;)

[RCM3]

I have feeling you may have to sue your insurance company for the true value or at least go into mediation. My buddy had to do the same for his Datsun.

Ya, I had to go into mediation for my 1991 318iS, they offered like 1200. Eventually got a fair price after a week or so. The 325iS is going to be a much more arduous battle Im sure. Just hoping my adjuster ends up being rational and sympathetic towards my situation.

As I've said before, FUCK 880. Especially in Oakland.
Buncha fucking idiots running around and shitty roads to match.
Let me guess, was this near the Alameda exits?

Anyways, very sorry to see the car which you put so much work in get totaled.
It looked pretty sick when I saw it last summer, and it was looking better than ever before recently.
With the way you build your cars, I'm sure you'll be back and better than ever with that 91 318i/4 .. *hint hint* 91 318i/4's ftw *hint hint* ;) ;)

It was by 880/980, I rarely drive through that area so Im not sure what surrounds where the accident took place.

Yup, 3 years of working every weekend went into that car, but like many have said the car can be replaced and a new project can always begin. It might be time to focus on getting my 2002 S14 powered and getting the Z3M 5 lug swap underway... I have the needed ingredients sitting in the barn at home waiting.

Oh, and I see where youre coming from, the 318i is fun, it may inherit parts from the 325iS, its just too soon to think about what Ill do with the 4 door just yet.

[gnarlycreature]

Glad you are okay. Cars can be replaced!

[MR 325]

Fuck. I'm so sorry to see this. :(

Best of luck and glad you're ok!

[damith]

Damn... sorry for your loss bro. Really glad that you are OK. Could have been worse.

[jefrolison]

So here is how it works:
If they say it's collision you'll be own your own you'll get the car and the parts and you'll end up with a shell to get rid of.
If they say it's comprehensive it's totaled for sure and they will try to lowball you on a stock 1988 325is value. They'll ask you to send the keys, title and send a notarized power of attorney/ affidavit with your signature.
They use Autosource to come up with the values which are low. You go to NADA.com and plug in your cars value. They don like to use EBAY or Craig's List for values because it doesn't show sale price.
Before the adjustor's show up get some R3V car for sale adds for cars like yours and all the receipts for the cool parts you put on your car.
I'm sure you have good photo's of the car before this happened show those to the adjustor.
They will make you an offer and it can turn into a negotiation- they offer and you counter offer. Once you agree to settlement they usually offer the car to you to buy back. It gets a salvage title and price is low $300 - $400. Sometimes they call a local salvage yard and ask them what they would pay for it to get a value.
Sorry this happened and glad that you didn't get hurt!

[jlevie]

If you have receipts for everything purchased for the car and any labor you paid for, you are in a good position to negotiate a higher value than the appraised value. The other thing to do is to look for sale adds for similar vintage cars of that model in your general area (say 200mi radius). Those can also be a factor in negotiating a higher value.

[brads2002]

What a shame. Did you call the state police to see if anyone else reported it? Maybe someone caught the plate on that truck.

[RCM3]

The unfortunate part about the labor is that I have done 99% of it myself, everything except the welding/ reinforcement items.
Many parts came from R3V, S14, Craigslist, and a few on eBay. Meaning I have digital records/ receipts for some purchases, but certainly not all. Im thinking of the many cash deals from local e30 enthusiasts or trade items, whether it was me trading labor or goods for a specific item. I do have a spreadsheet created which contains the costs involved on this project. I can back up some with the receipts or purchase records online, but the others are just the amount I paid that I will not have proof of.

NADA appraises it at: 3600, 5275, and 7450 depending on retail condition, I guess since thats retail those figures make sense.

http://www.nadaguides.com/Classic-Cars/1988/BMW/325IS/2-Door-Sedan/Values

I will dig up FS ads that match the car in options/ accessories and that are local. Im sure this will be a critical part to determine vehicle value, but it has been difficult to find a few so far.

Thank you again for all of the help guys!

[TrentW]

If you have receipts for everything purchased for the car and any labor you paid for, you are in a good position to negotiate a higher value than the appraised value. The other thing to do is to look for sale adds for similar vintage cars of that model in your general area (say 200mi radius). Those can also be a factor in negotiating a higher value.

This is what you need to do--although may not be easy to find comparables.

Negotiate, negotiate, negotiate!

Sorry you have to go through this.

[LivingLegend06]

I would think that this would fall under collision and that your car would not be covered. Getting them to even agree to cover you is going to be your first battle before you even start worrying about negotiating a value.

Do you have any pics of what the road looked like with the debris on it? How close were you following the truck that dropped the debris? Were you the only car that was damaged by the debris?

[RCM3]

No pictures of the area, it was a very unsafe part of the highway with not even enough room for the tow truck and my car to be safely off the edge of the highway, that and it was at night.

I was maybe 100 yards behind the truck ahead. I know I was the only car damaged at that moment, I put up some LED blinking safety lights when there was a break in traffic a few hundred yards down the road to warn drivers of the road conditions in the slow lane and that my car was up ahead partly in the lane. Debris was scattered all over, and from the impact with my car. I told the tow driver about the road back behind where my car came to rest, he said there was nothing he could do to clear any more debris safely... so I am hoping no one else got caught up in the mess. I picked up a some items not just to clear the edge of the lane, but also as evidence of what happened.
Hoping AAA is willing to work with me on it, I was told it can go either way regarding coverage. But directly from them, moving and unavoidable objects is comprehensive... so fingers crossed I am covered.