Should I fix it? Totaled e30

[Gilbert]

An at fault driver caused extensive damage, I believe it’s the frame that the passengers fender bolts to, that is really damaged.

Im mainly looking for a general input on how much of a hassle it is to repair/replace the passenger side frame area from people who have worked on this before. local friends and family have been telling me its not that bad of a hit but I'm a little more realistic than that..
Ive googled photos of a e30 frame and can tell right away its damaged in the radiator support and pass fender area.

Im not too worried about the other damaged parts in fact there are rollers that come out on Craigslist every few months for $700-$900

All components of the car worked and had nice little bits and pieces added, that’s by I’m debating to parting it or repairing it.

I’m expecting about $2-3k from the insurance (total loss)

The appealing part about parting it, is the money I get from the insurance + th money i get from parting might generate enough money to buy a better e30. For example I saw a m54 330i swapped e30 for $6000 locally (I could also put in money if I were a bit short)

I’m capable of working on everything but welding and straightening/replacing a frame. The chief and editor of Jalopnik actually owned this car and wrote an article on it, the prior owner took really good care of it as well. I want to emphasize that i do not want to be in a money pit situation, i buy and sell broken bmw's on the side so my mindset is always based off practicality.

Fixing or parting will take plenty of time but Input is appreciated thank you.

[Poorhouse]

Pics?

[Gilbert]

Photo

Photo attached

[Gilbert]

Just uploaded

Pics?

just uploaded, sorry had to make the file smaller so it could upload.
I can't pop the hood open unfortunatly due to the crash.
I can't see any suspension damage but it is possible that the strut assembly did get damaged. The spring looks like its stuck at a compressed position.

[rturbo 930]

Well, first you need to get the hood open and do a proper assessment of the damage.

[Gilbert]

true

Well, first you need to get the hood open and do a proper assessment of the damage.

I agree, I'm mainly concerned about how much of a pain in the ass would it be to fix that passenger frame side? Passenger door will not open so I'm also worried about that area as well, the radiator support based of what I'm reading on other post shouldn't be too bad. Im going to edit my OP, I should have clarified how I'm looking for feedback on that pass side frame.

The car turns on and will move (fender hits the tire a bit), i know the ac fan, ac lines, my new parallel condenser, headlights and components behind the headlight are messed up but not a deal killer to do.

[rturbo 930]

Passenger door will not open

Get it on a frame machine and see how far the damage goes.

[101]

We had a very similar hit on the ES a few years back.

You'll need to get under the hood to see what's going on. In our case the hit damaged the front of the frame rail, buckled the battery box area and the whole front end was actually shifted to the left by about a half an inch.

Ultimately we replaced the front section of the right frame rail (it was available new from BMW at the time), replaced the right fender and hood and invested some cash with the body shop to pull the frame back into spec. It's as good as new now, but had it not been an ES model with a really strong emotional connection I probably would have thought differently about rebuilding it.

Good luck! Don't let the insurance company lowball you. They will try - hard!

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/showthread.php?t=248416

[Gilbert]

Thank you

Get it on a frame machine and see how far the damage goes.

Thanks man my dad advised the same.

[Gilbert]

Cool man thank you!

We had a very similar hit on the ES a few years back.

You'll need to get under the hood to see what's going on. In our case the hit damaged the front of the frame rail, buckled the battery box area and the whole front end was actually shifted to the left by about a half an inch.

Ultimately we replaced the front section of the right frame rail (it available new from BMW at the time), replace the right fender and hood and invested some cash with the body shop to pull the frame back into spec. It's as good as new now, but had it not been an ES model with a really strong emotional connection I probably would have thought differently about rebuilding it.

Good luck! Don't let the insurance company lowball you. They will try - hard!

https://www.r3vlimited.com/board/sho...d.php?t=248416

Hey thank you for your input that is exactly what I’m looking out for.! About the insurance, I’m a personal injury paralegal so i know exactly how they evaluate the property damage. Goal is to get $3.5-4.5 but if they put up a big fight maybe $2-3k

[zwill23]

Shame to see a fellow Austin E30 take a hit like that :(

Good luck with it, if you do end up parting it out I know of a fellow black E30 in need. I'd be happy to take some panels off your hands to help get you in another one.

The white M54 swap is a buddy of mine, quite a quick car and one I think he'll regret selling in the future. Although, I think it could use a bit of money put toward some different wheels ;)

There is also an S50 swap with some goodies for $5k on craigslist currently that is tempting, but could definitely use some paint.

[rzmoser]

Very fixable, check out my thread here. I had worse damage that took me four months to fix, definitely wouldn't have been worth it if I paid someone else to do the entire repair. I just removed all the parts I could, got the frame pulled, and welded in a new front end from the driver's shock tower around to the passenger radiator support.

[e30davie]

Start pulling bits off it until no bent bits are still attached. You never know you might be lucky in that the main chassis isn't damaged. Id say you have some caved in bits around that headlight but it looks like that guard has been squished from the front not from the side so you might be lucky.

You wont know until you pull apart!

[MT325is]

so I work as an auto body technician, been doing it for a few years.

here are my two cents.

just from pictures, looks like you will need... radiator support, upper frame rail*, apron. as far as welded on pieces. If you are going to save it, take it to a body shop and have them set it up on the frame rack. Measure the frame, and pull it straight. then you can take the car apart and see the damage. They key is to pulling the car with as many bolt on parts as possible... so you can try to re create the impact and pull it out.

*your frame rail that the bumper brackets shocks bolt into.. might have created a "v" in the lower frame rail. and if so.. there is no way to fix that if you want to car to act the same in the future with an impact similar. but you can fix it if you don't care about safety.. but then again it would all have to be done on a frame rack.

1. the cost of setting up the car on the frame rack at a reputable shop is 2.5 hrs at 52-56$ an hour(roughly, we charge 54$) Pulling the frame is anywhere from 2-10 hrs depending on extent of damage at $65-85 and hour. we charge mechanical time for that... that is why the labor rate is higher.

2. you can go the cheaper route, and go to "abc" auto body down the street and have them do the frame work. I know a lot of people that "specialize" in frame work. The problem with that is they do not use a computerized measuring system. I have personally never done frame work with a tram gauge. If you are not concerned about exact measurements and possibly having to bend things into place and safety, you can go to a "abc" body shop for a cheaper rate.

3. if the frame rail has a "v' in it(a sharp bend)... Unless you can pull it out without heat or cutting.. which is highly unlikely... you're going to have to replace the whole frame rail which goes all the way to the firewall. its not really that expensive if you can get a shell for 600$.. the problem is it needs to be done on the frame rack to make sure all measurements are correct.
now again I have seen "abc" auto body fix those no problem by cutting the rail in half and welding a new one. that's all dandy and fine, unless you worry about safety. The rail is made up of ultra high strength steel which is not meant to be heated in any way(unless manufacture states it may) because heat from welding it in the middle will make it very weak. and upon future impact it will not be remotely as "safe"(if I can say e30's are a safe car, lol) as it was before.

4. It looks like the wheel took an impact. with e30s being old tech and weaker metals then now a days.. your shock tower might have moved also. which is why it is important to measure the car and make sure.


sorry for making a long post, but I hope this helps you decide.
now if the frame rail doesn't have a sharp bend in it, I wouldn't worry much about the frame work.

best of luck!

[roguetoaster]

Looks like OP decided to try and sell it on (CL link: https://austin.craigslist.org/cto/d/...808271012.html), and r3v made Jalopnik yet again.

https://jalopnik.com/the-sadness-of-...ked-1832243374