My E90 got hit while parked
- Thread starter slo town
- Start date
Y'all:
I got the E90 up in the air today for an inspection before I go any further on the claim. I think there is the potential it will be totaled.
I’m not sure exactly how this will play out insurance wise, other than I’m going to be paid something, be it for the repair costs or the value of the car. That said, my preference is to fix the car.
The upper part of the flange on the unibody where the front crash beam attaches is pulled outwards. This explains why the left headlight and left side of the front clip has been pulled downwards on the left side. Just to be 100% certain the flange was bent, I tried inserting feeler gauges between the flange faces. On the undamaged right side I cannot get a gauge between them. On the damaged left side I was able to insert 50 or 60 thou an inch below where the upper studs are.
IMO, I would have ZERO concerns removing the crash beam and hammering the upper part of the flange (on the unibody) back in place. I think that is a easy, legit fix.
Simply removing the front portion of the front fender inner liners made me realize there’s not much behind the front clip and it would be an easy job for me to strip and inspect, adjust and fit new parts, and then have the body shop do the fender R&R and paint, plus install the front clip after they paint it. This would not a complicated job for them or me.
If the car got totaled, I'm not sure it would make any difference to me (salvage title). My plan has always been to drive it until it becomes unreliable. It's in outstanding condition and has 10's of thousands of reliable miles left in it. I'm 100% confident will look just as good once repaired as it did before the mishap.
What do you guys think?
Scott
Right side #1
Right side #2
Left side #1 (damaged)
Left side #2 (damaged)
I got the E90 up in the air today for an inspection before I go any further on the claim. I think there is the potential it will be totaled.
I’m not sure exactly how this will play out insurance wise, other than I’m going to be paid something, be it for the repair costs or the value of the car. That said, my preference is to fix the car.
The upper part of the flange on the unibody where the front crash beam attaches is pulled outwards. This explains why the left headlight and left side of the front clip has been pulled downwards on the left side. Just to be 100% certain the flange was bent, I tried inserting feeler gauges between the flange faces. On the undamaged right side I cannot get a gauge between them. On the damaged left side I was able to insert 50 or 60 thou an inch below where the upper studs are.
IMO, I would have ZERO concerns removing the crash beam and hammering the upper part of the flange (on the unibody) back in place. I think that is a easy, legit fix.
Simply removing the front portion of the front fender inner liners made me realize there’s not much behind the front clip and it would be an easy job for me to strip and inspect, adjust and fit new parts, and then have the body shop do the fender R&R and paint, plus install the front clip after they paint it. This would not a complicated job for them or me.
If the car got totaled, I'm not sure it would make any difference to me (salvage title). My plan has always been to drive it until it becomes unreliable. It's in outstanding condition and has 10's of thousands of reliable miles left in it. I'm 100% confident will look just as good once repaired as it did before the mishap.
What do you guys think?
Scott
Right side #1
Right side #2
Left side #1 (damaged)
Left side #2 (damaged)
Owen Lucas
$100 Site Donor 2023
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That's what the body shop would do and that's what I've written to do in these situations, even at BMW shops. They might want to bill for a setup and measure on the frame machine to make sure they realign everything correctly, but even then, that would be more a money grab than a requirement for a precision repair.
If you have the expertise and the time, go for it. That beautiful BMW wants to live!! 
Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
If they total it, just put a bumper cover on and rig a new light in its place and call it good. 99% of people wouldn't know the difference, and that damage underneath isn't going to change how the car performs if you were in a real accident.
I pulled the entire front bumper clip to get a better look at things.
The following pictures show how much the front cross beam was pulled forward when it got snagged. The cross beam is a structural piece the ties together the front frame rails on the unibody.
I ordered a brand new BMW OEM cross beam, which is supposed to arrive in about 10 days. If the new beam doesn't bolt up perfectly to the flanges on the unibody that'll tell me the front section of the unibody structure has been tweaked.
I'm doing this phase of the inspection myself. I want to know exactly what I'm dealing with. I want to determine whether or not the car has been damaged to the extent I want to total it and cash out. I hope that's not the case because the car is in truly outstanding condition.
Scott
The following pictures show how much the front cross beam was pulled forward when it got snagged. The cross beam is a structural piece the ties together the front frame rails on the unibody.
I ordered a brand new BMW OEM cross beam, which is supposed to arrive in about 10 days. If the new beam doesn't bolt up perfectly to the flanges on the unibody that'll tell me the front section of the unibody structure has been tweaked.
I'm doing this phase of the inspection myself. I want to know exactly what I'm dealing with. I want to determine whether or not the car has been damaged to the extent I want to total it and cash out. I hope that's not the case because the car is in truly outstanding condition.
Scott
Some more progress. I'm tearing down and thoroughly inspecting everything. I want to see any/all damage with my own eyes so I can make my own assessment.
The front section of unibody rails appear to be completely undamaged (except for the flange on the left side). I examined all possibilities, checking every solid mounting point for signs of movement (subframe attachments). I also checked every suspension pivot point and steering rack mounts for any sign of damage. Plus a dozen other little details. Everything looked great.
A few pics for ya', mostly left side, but right side was checked and photographed just as thoroughly. The waviness of the subframe rails is the way they're supposed to look. They're not bent anywhere.
Anyway, it's what I do.
Scott
The front section of unibody rails appear to be completely undamaged (except for the flange on the left side). I examined all possibilities, checking every solid mounting point for signs of movement (subframe attachments). I also checked every suspension pivot point and steering rack mounts for any sign of damage. Plus a dozen other little details. Everything looked great.
A few pics for ya', mostly left side, but right side was checked and photographed just as thoroughly. The waviness of the subframe rails is the way they're supposed to look. They're not bent anywhere.
Anyway, it's what I do.
Scott
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I'm especially happy with this. About 200 or 300 blows using a 4lb mini sledge with a sacrificial 1/2 drive extension and sacrificial deep socket. Using a friggin' sledge hammer on one of my cars.....I don't think I've ever done that until now. Thankfully it didn't feel inappropriate in any way.
First picture is damaged left side flange on the unibody frame rail. The second is after repairing it. The third is a pic of the undamaged right side flange for comparison.
I think my repair came out really well.
Scott
First picture is damaged left side flange on the unibody frame rail. The second is after repairing it. The third is a pic of the undamaged right side flange for comparison.
I think my repair came out really well.
Scott
You do realize that your tinkering, before adjuster review, can potentially muddy the waters…right?
It might, but it's my car and I want to take a close look at it first so I can make my own determination on what I do with it.
I already got two estimates with the car "intact", and both places took lots of pictures when they saw it. So, besides my pictures, the body shop has theirs. Damage just like it was when it got hit.
Both estimates came with the caveat that said to expect the total cost to be at least 15% more than what the estimates showed. Hidden damage.
What I found with that bent flange and cross beam is exactly the type of hidden damage that they warned me about. The only difference is I was the one to fix it. They are free to inspect my work.
The shop I'm using itemizes a "Four Wheel Alignment" as well as "Set Up and Measure Frame/Unibody". I'm curious to know what the later is, but theoretically it could be a good thing. I'm going to ask them about it and probably get it done. Results from the alignment and "Measure Unibody" will be good things to know.
I'll have the shop R&R and paint the front fender and paint the front bumper.
So far I've bought about $650 in parts, just to get going. I expect to get my money back, or at least close to it. My time is free.
If they get pissy I'll just put it back together. That would take us back to the starting point and we could restart from there. I could put things back together in 4 or 5 hours of easy paced work. The only difference would be everything is cleaner.
But at least the flange was fixed and the crossmember replaced with a new BMW OEM one (and with all new OEM fasteners, BTW) - so the car has a head start for whatever fate awaits it.
I noticed this morning - the steering lock doesn't work. Smacked hard enough to break the locking pin. More hidden damage. Does that mean it got hit hard enough that the steering rack should be replaced? How about the the front Bilstein B8 strut?
Also too, it was sitting there in Park. The car got smacked sideways 18 inches and pulled forward 18 inches. No way was that good for the transmission.
And lastly, the factory M-Sport bumper is rare. I *think* I can get one, 2 or 3 months from now. It is my belief that if I really persisted, I could make a strong safety case to spike the $5,600 estimate by several thousand dollars more.
Everything considered I'm still not sure what State Farm may do, fix it or total it. I haven't wasted my time with what I've done so far. This was need to know information for me.
Scott
PS For example, the front cross beam was bent in multiple directions. After close inspection it didn't look like the unibody is bent, but the new beam will be a good way for me to validate that. If it bolts right up, the studs fitting perfectly through the flange holes - that tells me things are in spec for that dimension.
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Nick1994
$100 site donor 2024
Maybe accept the price that comes as close to totaling it as possible, then pay the body shop the difference to actually fix it. That way the insurance company doesn't total the car out.
Otherwise it looks fine. Seriously it`s maddening because you will probably will not ever feel the same about it.
I am 100% confident the car will look and feel just like it did before getting hit. There is nothing that cannot be easily fixed.
Parts-wise, it doesn't need much; 1) left front fender, 2) left side behind headlight splash shield, 3) left side headlight support bracket, 4) left side headlight, 5) front M-Sport bumper, 6) front cross beam, 7) misc fastening hardware kits for nose and beam installation. I'm worried the M-Sport bumper might be hard to get.
Scott
You're right. I've been thinking about those angles. What I don't know is the "book value" of the car, or whatever it's called. I figure it's somewhere between $4K to $8K, a number far below what it would take to make me happy. Not to mention totaling it would be a complete waste of an exceptionally nice car that can be repaired to "as new" condition without too much trouble.
Scott
I would consider getting the payout and fixing it yourself.
Someone above mentioned you will never feel the same about this car. I think that’s true of a shop fixed it, if you fix it yourself, you will likely like this BMW even more. That’s at least how I fell about the motorcycles I fixed up. I tend to keep them longer.
Someone above mentioned you will never feel the same about this car. I think that’s true of a shop fixed it, if you fix it yourself, you will likely like this BMW even more. That’s at least how I fell about the motorcycles I fixed up. I tend to keep them longer.
Exactly.
My goal with this car has always been to take it to 200K miles. It has 114K on it now. Given that it's paid for and pretty much fully depreciated the last 85K miles should only cost me about 10 cents per mile to drive it and use it up.
Scott
A few more measurements...
Scott
Scott
New front crash beam installed, plus close up look to left side attachment points and repaired unibody flange. I used all new BMW OWM fasteners. Holes on the beam lined up perfectly with the studs on the unibody flanges, giving me another sanity check that the chassis is straight.
Also, I installed new OEM rivets even though it's my understanding the rivet is used only during the manufacturing process when two parts are attached to each other prior to mounting on the car.
Scott
Also, I installed new OEM rivets even though it's my understanding the rivet is used only during the manufacturing process when two parts are attached to each other prior to mounting on the car.
Scott
More progress. Here I'm test fitting the new headlight and corner support beam. I wanted to make sure I can get proper gaps. Given this was the very first fitment I'm confident I can get all the gaps to factory spec. I'm going to remove the headlight assembly before I get the fender R&R'd and painted.
Anyway, FWIW.
Scott
Anyway, FWIW.
Scott
So happy to see this sweet ride coming back together.
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