My car got hit. :(

[frey328is]

So just got back home from school in Boston 2 days ago. Driving around today and some 15 year old kid pulled out in front of me when he was making a left. Accident was his fault, but this still REALLY sucks.

how I got her:


at her finest:


And the damage:




The engine still runs, I had to drive it into the garage after it got towed. The radiator is cracked and the power steering wasnt working but that might just be because the pulleys got cracked. I dont want to go out and mess with anything since the insurance still needs to look at it so i cant tell how bad the damage is.

So what do you guys think? its a 1996 328is with 165k miles on it. Do you think it will be totaled? Is there certain things I should tell the insurance agent about upgrades so they will hopefully say the car is worth more and it wont get totaled? Should I go out and swap stock wheels and other parts before the insurance guy comes to look at it so they wont take any of the new stuff if it does get totaled? I think it is definitely fixable its just the car isnt worth much and new oem parts are really expensive.

Any input would help. I want to get the maximum amount of money without it being totaled. And if it is totaled I want to either buy it back and fix it with the money they give me or take off all my parts and buy a new car.

I would appreciate any help you guys can give me on what to do. Still cant believe this happened.

[hinrichs]

damn that sucks, looked so nice

leave it alone till the adjuster comes, my last car was totaled and they told me that it just had to be complete and roll when they took it from me so i could keep anything i wanted but i had to replace it with stock parts

i happened to buy myne back for relatively cheap tho and still got a good check for the car...98 jetta tdi which is the most basic with like 180k on it and i got 3600 back after the buyout was taken off...it helped that i put leathers in it and it was very clean tho

good luck with your insurance company

[Kielan]

I would start the parting out so you can get more money, if it is totaled that is.

[wheelfetish]

I would start the parting out so you can get more money, if it is totaled that is.

This. I know a few people who had their e36 totaled with damage just like you. They bought it back from the insurance company and parted it out. They made enough to pick up 97-99 M3's.

Ill take your some things off your hands if you do decide to part it out.

[CSBolger]

Ouch.

What color is that?

[H5G]

ohhh noezzz

[frey328is]

Ouch.

What color is that?

Color is montreal blue


So should I wait till the insurance comes to take anything off? or should I swap over stuff before? I guess I could try and make the car seem like it is worth a lot so that it wont get totaled, but then if it does get totaled it would be more to buy it back from the insurance company? Or I could swap parts and not make it seem more expensive so it definitely gets totaled and I can buy it back for cheaper.

I am feeling that it is going to be totaled and I will have to buy it back and part it out.

[Kielan]

The insurance company most likely won't care if there are aftermarket parts or not. I would say start taking it back to stock now. And decide if you want to get another e36, buy it back, or go a completely different route. Selling the parts could get you quite a bit of $$ along with the the insurance company's check.

[Skibum291]

better idea- find said 15 year old- give address to stanceworks- riot ensues-

[aar0n.]

Unfortunately that's most likely totalled. I'd start taking parts off bc like everyone said, the insurance company will want the car to just be able to roll and have all the basic parts on it

[SteveO@OpenRoad]

nooooooooooooo. ill poor some out for the fallen stancer

[Ollie]

It sucks but it's a great way to make a huge upgrade. You can definitely turn this situation into a nice M3 or buy it back and do something crazy to it with all that extra cash.

I secretely hope that my car gets hit(as long as my wheels are okay) everytime I get in it so don't feel bad.

[riffman12]

I secretely hope that my car gets hit(as long as my wheels are okay) everytime I get in it so don't feel bad.

+1

[GotALMS]

It sucks but it's a great way to make a huge upgrade. You can definitely turn this situation into a nice M3 or buy it back and do something crazy to it with all that extra cash.

I secretely hope that my car gets hit(as long as my wheels are okay) everytime I get in it so don't feel bad.

You say that now, and even I used to say that, but wait until you get run over by an H2 Hummer running a red light at 50mph. My MKIV GLI had everything done (BT, Bags, Custom bumpers/trunk/hood, R32 interior) and you have no idea the scare I went through thinking I was about to lose every penny I spent on the car. Lucky for me, since it was the other guys fault, the insurance company paid out for EVERYTHING (on a depreciated value of course), and I walked away with more than I bought the car for new, and then bought it back for only $2900.

To the OP, I just went through this situation in August. Because it's the other person's fault, it is the responsibility of the insurance company to get your car back to how it was before the accident. With that being said, do you have receipts for the parts that are on the car? This is going to help you considerably when making the argument that the car had aftermarket parts. Also, if you have any intention of trying to get the insurance company to cover the mods, don't touch the car. You could probably pull the wheels off, but aside from that, I would keep everything on the car and just tell the insurance company what was on the car and what the value of the mods are (this is where the receipts come in handy). If you want to email or message me, I can explain a little more about my situation and hopefully that will help you handle this one.

[Bracknaphobia]

better idea- find said 15 year old- give address to stanceworks- riot ensues-