Seeking Advice

[ereed89]

Hey fellow bimmer fans,
My son committed the unpardonable sin...he is learning to drive and confused the brake pedal and the accelerator. The end results are seen in the photos. fortunately he was not hurt. The other car is fine. The BMW actually went under the bumper (except for the hood). A little background...I am the second owner of the car...never wrecked till now 100k miles. Drives great. Have installed zionsville radiator, stewart water pump, converted to electric fan, etc. In other words I have just redone all cooling system, alternator, 100k items, rotors, brakes, etc.

So here is where I need help:
1) I am having trouble opening the hood. Because of where the damage is on the hood I cannot access the release mechanism by reaching through the driver side grill (which is removed now).
Q: How can I get this open to see what other damage might be there? Any and all suggestions are appreciated. Worst scenario will involve me getting my saws out...

2) I was given a 4k dollar quote for hood, lens assembly, repair of quarter panel (minimal damage), paint, etc. I can see that my Zionsville radiator is tilting back toward the engine some...maybe 5 degrees. This scares me for what other repair work might be needed beyond the obvious cosmetic items.
Q: When I know my budget is tight and the car's value is not that high, do I cut my losses? If so, what is the best way to get value from the car? I never thought I'd ask the question, but the situation is possibly forcing it. Again, any ideas/suggestions are appreciated.

Q: Has anyone used any aftermarket light assemblies and hoods? The estimate I was given quoted BMW hood ($1200) and light assembly ($700). I notice lots of hoods and assemblies for much cheaper on the web. Are these legit? Are any brands better than others? Can someone who has had work like this done share what they've learned.

Thanks ahead of time.
ereed89

[schatzy62]

First off on the parts price. Good condition hoods and fenders can be found at your local pick a part (junk yard) for much less than new and are not the low auality you may be seing on ebay etc. I picked up 2 used front doors, drivers front fender, and hood for $350. Yes they were all different colors but once it is painted that does not matter.

Headlights on the other hand is a different story. I order light from ebay, amazon, and other places. ALL were "JUNK" I ended up buying new Hella (oem) and yes they are expensive but tbey work and look so much better.

If the radiator is leaning backwards at the top you may have other bent structural issues under the hood that are not visible. That could make it get alot more expensive quickly.

BUT if you can find a place to paint the car for you after you have replaced the parts (thats what i did) you can have it back to looking almost new in a short period of time at a much lower cost than what you have been quoted. Of course the only issue there is that your insurance probably will not pay anything toward it if it is now "new" parts.

As for opening the hood, if you cant get it with the grill out it sounds like some cutting is going to be required, especilly if the frame tbat the bood latches go into is bent.

Good luck and keep informed on your progress.

[ereed89]

BUT if you can find a place to paint the car for you after you have replaced the parts (thats what i did) you can have it back to looking almost new in a short period of time at a much lower cost than what you have been quoted. Of course the only issue there is that your insurance probably will not pay anything toward it if it is now "new" parts.

What is a good price for a quality paint job. I would prefer to get it all done since it would look odd having pristine paint up front and 17 year old paint the rest.
The shop quoted me $3,500 base + clear coat using PPG.

[StRaNgEdAyS]

That's a reasonable price for a full respray

Sent from my G8141 using Tapatalk

[ereed89]

Thanks for the confirmation of the bid. I appreciate it.

[1823alex]

Looks to me like you just need a new hood at the minimum and at the most a fender or two? The headlights look fine to me, if you're located near the Wisconsin / IL border I'll put you in touch with my parts guy since he's very fair, my Dad got a fender for his '03 525i for like $60-80 I think.

I have a 2003 530i M sport as well, if you do end up selling or junking it let me know as I'd love to buy some random parts from you lol. (I assume it's a 530i based on the wheels & mine is black sapphire metallic as well.)

[ereed89]

Looks to me like you just need a new hood at the minimum and at the most a fender or two? The headlights look fine to me, if you're located near the Wisconsin / IL border I'll put you in touch with my parts guy since he's very fair, my Dad got a fender for his '03 525i for like $60-80 I think.

I have a 2003 530i M sport as well, if you do end up selling or junking it let me know as I'd love to buy some random parts from you lol. (I assume it's a 530i based on the wheels & mine is black sapphire metallic as well.)

I am in Houston, Texas. I will definitely keep you in mind for parts if I go that way.
Thanks,
ereed89

[FireTumbleweed]

Pardon my ignorance but not being a Zenon guy I can't tell if yours are those? If not FCP Euro has the Hella lights for $327, free shipping. Replace both so it doesn't look so odd.

I had a similar repair, though less damage where I bought the lights and had a used hood installed and the cost wasn't that bad. Insurance covered it all. The rest of the car was in excellent shape so there was no question of me doing the repair. All they had to respray was the hood and blend the quarter panel. Unfortunately I lost some of the OEM decals which I couldn't replace .

The cable for the hood latch runs right there in the groove where your hood is bent. Are you able to look in side the crease and visually see the cable flexing as it is pulled? Off chance you might be able to reach in and manipulate it. If not then a sawzall is in your future, just try to not damage the hood insulation. Hopefully your hinges or your radiator core support are not damaged.

If you need pics of what the inside looks like before you cut let me know, I have the same car/year (except in blue).

[ereed89]

Pardon my ignorance but not being a Zenon guy I can't tell if yours are those? If not FCP Euro has the Hella lights for $327, free shipping. Replace both so it doesn't look so odd.

According to the sticker from the purchase of the car, the headlights are Xenon. I am not sure what that means...I just know i agree with you and want to replace both so they look normal. Any suggestions?

I had a similar repair, though less damage where I bought the lights and had a used hood installed and the cost wasn't that bad. Insurance covered it all.

I am not filling this with insurance due to my son just being a learner...he's is learning life lessons from this stuff.

The cable for the hood latch runs right there in the groove where your hood is bent. Are you able to look in side the crease and visually see the cable flexing as it is pulled? Off chance you might be able to reach in and manipulate it. If not then a sawzall is in your future, just try to not damage the hood insulation. Hopefully your hinges or your radiator core support are not damaged.

If you need pics of what the inside looks like before you cut let me know, I have the same car/year (except in blue).

I will take pics for sure...the header is bent some. I also would like to see how the insulation is attached to hood before I start cutting.

Thank you so much!!!!