Update Pictures on my Accident Please Advise

[edjalu]

Looking at the car now I am wondering,
Will the car drive the same as it was before?
should I keep the car after being on a accident?

please let me know what do you guys think...thank you
here are the pictures....

[BEAMitNOW]

Cars are never the same once they get into a large accident. Odd's are the frame itself is crooked now and will drive differently. Man, that car got jackeddd up.

[Beer Goggles]

Not true, they have very expensive and very accurate frame straightening tools. I'm willing to bet you don't notice a difference if you went to a good shop. Selling will be more difficult because you're car is tagged as in an accident.

[gEEkChris]

I had an accident with my '02 330xi and the damage was almost identical to yours. It cost $6000 to fix and I have to tell you that I could not tell ANY difference after the accident. I sold the car last January and even the dealer that I consigned it to said that it was perfect and added their own warranty to the car. So, yes it can be fixed...and fixed well.

[Georgere]

if there is/was frame deformation:
poor guy who bought that 02 330xi :)
can be fixed - yes; will be same - no way IMHO

if it is totaled by insurance (it should be) just get a new car

if there is no frame damage, it can be fixed well no problem... resale price will always be affected so what - hope u got insurance or the guy who hit u pays :)

[JunkStory]

Cars are never the same once they get into a large accident. Odd's are the frame itself is crooked now and will drive differently. Man, that car got jackeddd up.

+1

After a major accident, you will notice things you wouldn't have otherwise. Like more rattling, more squeaking, more shaking, more electronic problems, loose components, etc. It's impossible to restore the car 100% back to its normal state (unless you have 100 BMW engineers working on it)

[Pitch Black]

+1

After a major accident, you will notice things you wouldn't have otherwise. Like more rattling, more squeaking, more shaking, more electronic problems, loose components, etc. It's impossible to restore the car 100% back to its normal state (unless you have 100 BMW engineers working on it)

Not true. I know from experience, it all depends on the shop doing the work. In this case you absolutely get what you pay for.

[dullgirl]

it sucks to have to replace a rear quarter because of the cutting, welding and grinding required on the pillar.

i have to believe the body loses some rigidity. at least you won't have a car full of bondo. gross.

otherwise, every other part for your hit is replaced. demand all o.e.m. replacements.

and make sure BMW does a full wheel alignment. if they can't get the car 100% spec., demand that the affected suspension parts be replaced. and demand that the bodyshop have BMW service inspect the rear suspension.
also, make sure that the drive train is inspected by a qualified BMW service tech. a rear hit like that can jump all the mounts.

offset hits can do a lot of damage away from the area where you got hit.

[dullgirl]

my 335 is the same color.

those photos made me cringe.

[JunkStory]

Not true. I know from experience, it all depends on the shop doing the work. In this case you absolutely get what you pay for.


You are very lucky. It also depends on the type and severity of the accident. I've been rear ended twice HARD, both with different cars (Nissan Maxima and Acura Legend) and even after being fixed by a respected body shop, the cars were noticeably different.

Lots of things were rattling and shaking. The rear window, for example, would rattle on the highway, and would only stop temporarily if someone smacked it hard. The alignments would go off no matter how many times I went to the shop to fix them. Electronic warning lights would come on and off. Trunk wouldn't close properly. I finally had to get rid of the Acura Legend, but I still have the Maxima as a beater.

[DrivinCrazE]

It actually doesnt look that bad. I think you'll be ok.

[Grumpa72]

First, we don't have frames, do we? I thought that BMWs had a unibody construction? If so, then the arguements that the frame will be crooked don't make sense. Regardless, good shops have jigs and other alignment devices that will ensure that the car is put back together as originally designed.

EVERYTHING counts on your shop being a good shop with attention to detail and the skilled employees who can and will do the job right. I had a car that had significant damage shortly after I bought it. I had it fixed by a very high quality shop. I drove the car for seven more years and it was as nice as the day I bought it. I would suggest that some of the advice given here, while good intentioned, isn't from actual experience but more along the lines of "I have a friend who (fill in the blank)...".

We have a shop near me that has BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, and other high end car in their "to be repaired" section. They not only do great work, but they recently tripled their space to handle the work. Some of the cars, seen as you drive by, actually look worse than yours. Shops that handle these high end cars wouldn't stay in business if they did shoddy work, imo.

Again, I say everything depends on the quality of the shop. Once the car is fixed, drive it over various types of road surface, including rail road tracks, rough roads, etc and see if it makes weird snow.

[dullgirl]

First, we don't have frames, do we? I thought that BMWs had a unibody construction? If so, then the arguements that the frame will be crooked don't make sense. Regardless, good shops have jigs and other alignment devices that will ensure that the car is put back together as originally designed.

EVERYTHING counts on your shop being a good shop with attention to detail and the skilled employees who can and will do the job right. I had a car that had significant damage shortly after I bought it. I had it fixed by a very high quality shop. I drove the car for seven more years and it was as nice as the day I bought it. I would suggest that some of the advice given here, while good intentioned, isn't from actual experience but more along the lines of "I have a friend who (fill in the blank)...".

We have a shop near me that has BMWs, Mercedes, Audis, and other high end car in their "to be repaired" section. They not only do great work, but they recently tripled their space to handle the work. Some of the cars, seen as you drive by, actually look worse than yours. Shops that handle these high end cars wouldn't stay in business if they did shoddy work, imo.

Again, I say everything depends on the quality of the shop. Once the car is fixed, drive it over various types of road surface, including rail road tracks, rough roads, etc and see if it makes weird snow.


you're right but your conclusions are wrong.

cars don't have frames anymore, which means any repairs to the unit body, such as the replacement of a rear quarter, affects the rigidity of the vehicle.

[dullgirl]

aditionally, manufacturers such as bmw have multi-step paint processes, which can never be replicated in any bodyshop.

unless there are bodyshops out there which give the car electrostatic acid baths which i'm not aware of. lol

[Grumpa72]

you're right but your conclusions are wrong.

cars don't have frames anymore, which means any repairs to the unit body, such as the replacement of a rear quarter, affects the rigidity of the vehicle...aditionally, manufacturers such as bmw have multi-step paint processes, which can never be replicated in any bodyshop.unless there are bodyshops out there which give the car electrostatic acid baths which i'm not aware of. lol

Not sure why that qualifies for a lol but let me refut your two points. 1. yes the car has a unibody which means that some body panels are welded together to form a rigid structure. A quality shop that uses quality materials will have the necessary skills and tools to replace those panels and weld them in properly, in the same manner as the original manufacturer. The shop I have had an unfortunate chance to visit (more on that in item 2) has the skills and tools to do proper unibody repairs. And their finished products bear this out.2. My wife had a minor backing-up accident which scraped the rear door of her Lexus RX-330. The shop used the same three step process that Lexus uses and I can not tell new from old. Fwiw, they took the tail gate door off, removed the trim, lights, and medallions and then brought the door back up to Lexus standards. No, they didn't use an electrostatic bath but even that can be done in a shop using other procedures.My point is not to go toe-to-toe with you about shops like this but to tell the OP that his can can be brought back up to OEM and will peform and look like new.Gary

[BEAMitNOW]

Not true, they have very expensive and very accurate frame straightening tools. I'm willing to bet you don't notice a difference if you went to a good shop. Selling will be more difficult because you're car is tagged as in an accident.


That's always the catch, isn't it?

[psucelticXI]

those photos made me cringe.


Yeah, same here..

[74u2]

Besure to let us know if you do decide to sell it...

[dullgirl]

Not sure why that qualifies for a lol but let me refut your two points. 1. yes the car has a unibody which means that some body panels are welded together to form a rigid structure. A quality shop that uses quality materials will have the necessary skills and tools to replace those panels and weld them in properly, in the same manner as the original manufacturer. The shop I have had an unfortunate chance to visit (more on that in item 2) has the skills and tools to do proper unibody repairs. And their finished products bear this out.2. My wife had a minor backing-up accident which scraped the rear door of her Lexus RX-330. The shop used the same three step process that Lexus uses and I can not tell new from old. Fwiw, they took the tail gate door off, removed the trim, lights, and medallions and then brought the door back up to Lexus standards. No, they didn't use an electrostatic bath but even that can be done in a shop using other procedures.My point is not to go toe-to-toe with you about shops like this but to tell the OP that his can can be brought back up to OEM and will peform and look like new.Gary

hi gary,

i don't want to debate you but you're wrong.

pinch welds and grinding can only be done on one side of the pillar. and no bodyshop can replicate an high end factory paint finish. for example, audi's are notorious for not being able to blend and finish.

i hope i'm not offending you.

[adrianb26]

Wow! This looks like what happen to my car and on the same side.. At first I was worry if my car was going to come out the same.. But when I went to the shop where my car is being work on all my worry were gone..

BMW had my car sent to a BMW/Porsche certified repair shop.. Talk about special tools.. Almost everything is done by a computer /machine even the welding.. My accident was in March (03/27/08). I was told I might get it back next week. Yes wow 3 months I don’t mind as long as they do a good job.. It was just sent to the local BMW Dealership to have the car inspected and to make sure it meats BMW standers.. So I don’t have any worries my car won’t be the same…

[scanboy]

:wow