My E90 got crunched!

[halik]

I forgot to say, uhhhh snow. F dat.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I am curious, what area of MPLS?

Nice of the neighbors to get the plate, as much good as it did.

Looks like a lot of damage actually, have you got a quote yet?

I live in Nordeast.

No estimate yet. My understanding is that USAA has a direct-repair relationship with its recommended body shops, so you just bring it in and they fix it without an initial estimate.

 

[ViviTheMage]

I live in Nordeast.

No estimate yet. My understanding is that USAA has a direct-repair relationship with its recommended body shops, so you just bring it in and they fix it without an initial estimate.

:thumbsup:

still try to collect on that lady.

 

[Fausto]

This is why my motto is "always call the cops". Sorry man.

 

[vi edit]

Out in CA where I live there are a ton of uninsured drivers. Which is why we have waiver of collision deductible... I'm surprised you do not have it... its like a few bucks a year. Gives you your deducible back one you find out the other party that hit you had not insurance. At least your keeping a good attitude about it op.

Wow. So it's an insurance policy on your insurance policy?
:hmm:

Sorry Don...having had 3 different cars get hit while parked I can empathise. It's just frustrating how careless and unable to own up to their mistakes people can be.

 

[Bacstar]

It makes one wonder if your neighbors didn't attempt to chase her down or not been out, would she have actually came back. I can't imagine doing that much damage and not realizing that I hit something.

 

[halik]

It makes one wonder if your neighbors didn't attempt to chase her down or not been out, would she have actually came back. I can't imagine doing that much damage and not realizing that I hit something.

I think that story is pretty transparent - no insurance, no money and drove away until she realized she got caught. People that like that ...

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Looking at it again today, by the light of day, the damage is even worse than I thought. There is actually a crease directly behind the C pillar where the panel was crushed, with the C pillar limiting further deformation. The driver's side of the interior of the trunk is completely deformed as well.

I don't know the first thing about auto body work. How will they replace the rear panel when there's damage so close to the C pillar? I don't see how they can cut and weld without it being totally obvious, and I would also have concerns about the structural integrity of such a repair.

In other news, I am feeling some notchiness in steering. I had the front wheels curbed when the car was struck, and I'm wondering whether it could have somehow damaged a control arm or other steering component.

The more time that passes the more pissed I am at this idiot woman.

 

[Black2na]

i would be surprised if you knew the car was repaired once done with it most direct repair shops have to jump through hoops to get the DRP status. but also remeber you decide were you get your car fixed so ask around see if there are highly rated shops in the area. and if you dont like the one they send you to take it to another one. its against the law for them to tell you were to get the car fixed. the will replace any panel with excessive damage. and just make sure they OEM parts from BMW and not aftermarket junk. and check the warranty on the repairs my concerned about replaced panels is improper corrosion protection. in a few years they start to rust. so just be carefull of that. and most good shops will have the proper tooling and Spot welders to make it basicly unnoticeable and just as strucurely sound as it was before. basicly footnote of my ramblings. research a good shop it will pay in the end.

 

[SpatiallyAware]

If they decide to fix it, I would not let your insurance company handle the repair.

BMW has specialty frame / body shops spread around the country, that can do things like remove and replace complete rear end sections of the faulty e46 m3. I would push for something like that, which would probably be near the value of the car

I would definitely look for diminished value in the 30-40% value range of the car

 

[CptCrunch]

I saw this on e90post, glad the lady came back. I'd mention anything and everything to the body shop (including the steering issue you are now experiencing) and have them do a full workover. Hopefully the frame isn't damaged since you mentioned the C pillar damage.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I just dropped my car off. Unfortunately I got a Chevy HHR rental car - good God is this thing a hunk of shit. It's really one of the worst cars I've ever driven.

My USAA claims adjuster has been great thus far, and this morning told me they might have found some insurance on the part of the driver or the car she was driving which would provide coverage. We shall see . . .

 

[mvbighead]

I just dropped my car off. Unfortunately I got a Chevy HHR rental car - good God is this thing a hunk of shit. It's really one of the worst cars I've ever driven.

My USAA claims adjuster has been great thus far, and this morning told me they might have found some insurance on the part of the driver or the car she was driving which would provide coverage. We shall see . . .

Be glad it isn't a Kia Forte.

 

[halik]

If they decide to fix it, I would not let your insurance company handle the repair.

BMW has specialty frame / body shops spread around the country, that can do things like remove and replace complete rear end sections of the faulty e46 m3. I would push for something like that, which would probably be near the value of the car

I would definitely look for diminished value in the 30-40% value range of the car

Easily, unibody damage will keep me away. Plus you can never go go paintless dent repair, they'd pull the paint off it.

 

[RKS]

At least MN recognizes Diminished Value claims (along with Loss of Use).

 

[foghorn67]

I just dropped my car off. Unfortunately I got a Chevy HHR rental car - good God is this thing a hunk of shit. It's really one of the worst cars I've ever driven.

My USAA claims adjuster has been great thus far, and this morning told me they might have found some insurance on the part of the driver or the car she was driving which would provide coverage. We shall see . . .

Pro tips for sanity, only use the turn signal when you have to. That shit will drive you nuts. Worst tone ever.
I had one for a rental, I promptly returned it and asked for a different car.

 

[PhoKingGuy]

Pro tips for sanity, only use the turn signal when you have to. That shit will drive you nuts. Worst tone ever.
I had one for a rental, I promptly returned it and asked for a different car.

Same, it was funny because the girl behind the counter laughed and said she wasn't surprised. She ended up driving me to another location and I got a Hyundai Sonata with 25 miles on it .

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I just spoke to my body shop, and they told me that BMW uses bonding, rather than welding, for installation of major body panels. Looks like what will happen is something like this - http://www.detailingworld.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=240215

The car in that series of pics is an E60 rather than an E90 but I would expect a similar process. It actually kind of makes sense in that it eliminates some of the human error in the welding process. It's kind of neat actually.

Sounds like I should get the car back this week. Thus far they are estimating cost at around $4,500, but I would expect it to go up somewhat from that. We shall see.

 

[Saint Nick]

Chevy HHR...ROFL

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

Chevy HHR...ROFL

You're telling me, brother . . .

I am not a car snob, though I am an enthusiast. I have owned and loved a number of very modest cars, including a rusty 1984 Toyota SR5 and a 1984 Accord with 206,000 miles. This HHR, though, is the worst piece of crap I have ever driven more than a few miles. Just dreadful in every meaningful way.

We keep hearing that American cars are getting better and are now really competitive with their Asian cousins. The HHR I am driving is a 2011, and the model itself hit the market in 2006, the same year as my E90. The HHR seems like something built on another, stupider planet. It is not only not competitive with my BMW (which would admittedly not be a fair comparison), it is in every material way poorer than my beat-to-hell '84 Accord, or any other car I have ever owned. My old girlfriend had a PT Cruiser (the clear inspiration for the HHR, which was actually designed by the same person if memory serves), and even that was better than this thing.

I'm glad American cars, particularly Fords, are improving, and other things being equal I'd like to drive an American car. The fact that this piece of garbage is being sold in today's marketplace, though, suggests to me we still have a long way to go.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

At least MN recognizes Diminished Value claims (along with Loss of Use).

Unfortunately this would only be covered under my policy if I had purchased a special uninsured-motorist collision coverage that I don't have. Bottom line is that USAA pays for the repair but I will pay the deductible and suffer the decreased value.

I will be getting my car back today. The initial estimate from the body shop was $4,500, but I would guess it went up as they were doing the work - we shall see.

Fortunately it was so nice last weekend that I was able to drive my M3 rather than my godawful HHR rental car . . .

 

[exar333]

Unfortunately this would only be covered under my policy if I had purchased a special uninsured-motorist collision coverage that I don't have. Bottom line is that USAA pays for the repair but I will pay the deductible and suffer the decreased value.

I will be getting my car back today. The initial estimate from the body shop was $4,500, but I would guess it went up as they were doing the work - we shall see.

Fortunately it was so nice last weekend that I was able to drive my M3 rather than my godawful HHR rental car . . .

Best of luck getting the E90 back! I am in the Mpls area as well (St Paul) but I definitely suggest getting the uninsured-motorist coverage if you drive a car >$10k in value. It's not much, and can make a big difference, expecially if you are in an area with a lot of uninsured drivers. This saved my folks a couple times down in the Milwaukee area, with almost half of drivers down there without insurance and/or even licenses.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

I just got an update from my insurer - the total repair cost was $6,200. I hope USAA sues the dopey uninsured driver into the ground. In Minnesota they can keep her license in a revoked status until she pays in full.

 

[Toastedlightly]

What bodyshop did you end up using? Always curious to see what places people use around here (I'm in the Twin Cities area, about a mile northeast of Como Park)

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

What bodyshop did you end up using? Always curious to see what places people use around here (I'm in the Twin Cities area, about a mile northeast of Como Park)

I took it to Abra in Roseville. They used all BMW parts and did a nice job.