My E90 got hit while parked

[slo town]

So happy to see this sweet ride coming back together.

Me too.

All that's left is getting the new front bumper (it's ordered it and I expect it soon) and having the body shop R&R the fender and paint it, plus the front bumper. I will install the front bumper myself after it's painted.

Also too, I had the alignment checked. It's out slightly but IMO not from getting smacked. It's been over 40K miles since it was last aligned so I suppose I'd expect it to be out slightly. Regardless, steering wheel is straight and it tracks down the road perfectly.

I'll get it aligned by "my guy" when all the repairs are complete.

Scott

 

[wemay]

Glad they did the right thing. Hopefully the fix is to your satisfaction.

 

[Dave Hess]

It would be a shame if this car was scrapped by insurance company.

Nice rebuild project.

 

[JeffKeryk]

Incredible work Scott. Keep 'em alive! What a great history you and your beautiful BMW are writing!

 

[slo town]

It would be a shame if this car was scrapped by insurance company.

The crazy thing is, it did get totaled. But....

State Farm insured the company truck that hit me. Although their efforts were okay, there were large gaps in communication. I got the distinct impression that SF was going to low ball the repair costs.

I got two estimates; one for $9,000, the other for $5,600, which got lowered to $4,000 when the body shop realized that State Farm would be paying for the repairs. The main reason for the reduced estimate was because State Farm wanted to use used parts.

I insure with Hagerty. Given State Farm's casual pace I decided to let Hagerty deal with the situation - and deal with it they did!

I have the car insured for a value of $15,000. In a matter of just 3 days, some phone conversations and a few emails, Hagerty gave me two excellent options.

#1) I get rid of the car. Hagerty offered to send me a check for $15,000 minus my $500 deductible ($14,500), and have the car taken away by Copart and presumably sold at auction as a salvage title.
#2) I keep the car, it now having a salvage title. Hagerty would give me the $14,500 minus a buy back price of just $2,822. Just $2,822!!!! This would net me $11,678.

Both options were excellent. However, I chose #2 because I am confident I can repair the car to perfection for about $6,500, leaving me $5,000 left over. IMO buying the car back and fixing it was a no brainer.

After telling Hagerty my choice, they deposited an $11,678 check in my checking account just 36 hours later!

I got amazing service from Hagerty and cannot speak highly enough of them!

I am going to post a new thread about Hagerty's superb service as soon as the car is fully repaired. You guys need to know this.

Scott

 

[Owen Lucas]

After telling Hagerty my choice, they deposited an $11,678 check in my checking account just 36 hours later!

I got amazing service from Hagerty and cannot speak highly enough of them!

I am going to post a new thread about Hagerty's superb service as soon as the car is fully repaired. You guys need to know this.

That is indeed great service and it appears the company is not understaffed either. Dealing with SF and the other bug guys really is an administrative crapshoot. They have so many claims to handle and not enough experienced employees to cover all of the work.

This is by design IMHO. Prioritizing quarterly earnings reports over customer service by firing institutional knowledge, overworking underpaid and barely trained employees will result in what happened with SF. Here's the scary part, SF is one of the better companies!

 

[slo town]

Here's the scary part, SF is one of the better companies!

Agree. I'm confident SF is one of the "more reputable" insurance companies out there.

But Hagerty was so much better. I cannot speak highly enough of Hagerty. Hagerty compensated me for what I "hoped" I was paying for.

I say "hoped" because you read and hear so many insurance company stories about bad service and getting stiffed on claims due to some technicality.

But with Hagerty, they paid up without any hassle whatsoever. They even let me mourn the car briefly during my conversations with Kim and Lynette. Those two were awesome.

Scott

 

[edyvw]

I missed this, Scott.
Sorry about what happened. I know how much love you put in your cars.
I have no doubt E90 will be same as before

 

[slo town]

The garage gang...

I still haven't received shipping confirmation for the front bumper. I think I'll get the fender R&R going next week and paint the front bumper whenever it finally arrives.

Scott

 

[The Critic]

Did you get a check from the insurance company?

 

[Owen Lucas]

I still haven't received shipping confirmation for the front bumper. I think I'll get the fender R&R going next week and paint the front bumper whenever it finally arrives.

Take the fender to the body shop and pay extra for a few spray down panels so the painter can match the door and hood just right. The extra cost is worth not having to blend the door an you'd probably have a better front bumper / fender color match than factory (due to plastic vs metal color mismatch on some vehicles).

 

[slo town]

Take the fender to the body shop and pay extra for a few spray down panels so the painter can match the door and hood just right. The extra cost is worth not having to blend the door an you'd probably have a better front bumper / fender color match than factory (due to plastic vs metal color mismatch on some vehicles).

View attachment 240566

Thanks. That is my plan. I don't want the paint work blended into the hood and driver's door. Perfect factory paint is on those pieces.

Scott

 

[slo town]

Did you get a check from the insurance company?

Yes I did, electronically deposited into our checking account. Hagerty was on it the entire time. No lapses or ambiguity. They were great.

Scott

 

[slo town]

New BMW OEM M-Sport bumper has arrived. New BMW OEM fender arrives this week. Paint next week, hopefully.

Scott

 

[Dave Hess]

I love this rebuild and your perfection and quality of work.

 

[slo town]

New fender arrived so paint gets done next week. Both bumper and fender will be painted off the car and then I will reinstall.

A few picks sans fender. Smudge on wheel rim is a tire mark from the truck that hit me. It will polish off.

FWIW,

Scott

 

[slo town]

I find it interesting to see parts of a car that you seldom see. That's why I post these pictures.

Anyway, look at all the shaped patterns on the various unibody panels. I imagine those things are precisely placed and sized as part of the design for the crushable structure.

I find myself meandering out the the garage every so often and look at little things you normally don't see.

I can tell you this, the front fender provides minimal crash protection. I was surprised how light it was (it's steel) and how "casually" it was bolted on. Just eight 10MM bolts. The fender bolts up like a large piece of trim.

Anyway, just a ramble.

Scott

 

[slo town]

Y'all:

I got the fender and bumper back today. I did not want the paint blended into the hood and doors. Even though the color match is what I'd grade 98% to 99%, I am 100% satisfied. And I'm a hard grader.

The fender is just hung in place, I'll install it properly tomorrow. It's too hot to work in the garage right now. It's 106 outside.

Scott

 

[Al]

So Cool. You certainly did the right thing. What year is it. Beautiful vehicle!!!

 

[slo town]

Bit by bit progress. Fender and headlight installation is complete. All the body and headlight gaps are exactly like they should be. In fact, just 15 minutes earlier I shone the headlights on the garage door to see how far out the new left headlight was. I also wanted to check headlight aim and make sure the "active steering" function still worked. It did. What surprised me was how close the left headlight was to being properly adjusted. All this work and it wasn't out by much! To me that means things have gone back together pretty much the same as it was. I'll tweak the aim after I get the front bumper on.

And speaking of front bumpers, here I am populating the new bumper with lights, grills and headlight washer covers - and doing it on the kitchen table. Just like I did 50 years ago, like rebuilding my 1962 Austin Healey 3000 BT7 transmission. I did the final assembly on that table. Lots of memories on and around that table!

Scott