rear left wheel bent in

[brooklennb710]

hey guys so i bought a 335i last monday. it needed a few things here and there but overall it was in decent condition. long story short i was driving down a mountain on a one way road taking a turn, i see a symbol pop up and before i could have time to pull ocer the car lost all power and the wheels locked up. the car did a full 180 and took a rest against a guard rail only touching the back bumper and wheel. i had the car towed home. once home i found out the previous owner did not tighten down the negative cable on the battery and it was completely off.. there is not much body damage but my rear left tire looks pushed forward a quarter inch or so and it is cambered in a bit at the top. this is my first bmw what should i do get a alignment and see what they say and go from there?. very depressing week.

[White94RX]

You've definitely bent one or more control arms. An alignment won't correct it. After a shop replaces the bent parts, then an alignment must be performed.

[brooklennb710]

You've definitely bent one or more control arms. An alignment won't correct it. After a shop replaces the bent parts, then an alignment must be performed.

i will most likely be doing the repairs myself to save on money, buying the car cash broke my bank. what component would be likely to be bent and need replacement? just the control arms mabie the trail arm? thanks for the info!

[White94RX]

It's just not that simple. It's going to take some investigative work to find out what parts are bent. Raising the vehicle on a lift, and inspecting. Then the components must be replaced, properly, and the suspension loaded at ride height before tightening down anything with a bushing (which is probably every control arm). Then have an alignment performed. It's even possible you damaged the rear subframe to the point of it needing to be replaced.


If buying the car took all your money, and now you have none for repairs, I'm sorry, but you shouldn't have bought a BMW. They require ongoing maintenance and repairs, and some can be very costly, especially on a 335. Exactly the predicament you are in now.

[Critter7r]

And for the record, the car's natural state is for the wheel to be cambered in at the top, so it's a question of degree (literally). Depending on the amount of negative camber, it could be normal. Also, it seems odd that sliding sideways into a curb would cause the wheel to camber IN at the TOP.