M42club.com - Home of the BMW E30/E36 318i/iS
DISCUSSION => General Topics => Topic started by: Zugunruhe on October 23, 2010, 09:49:57 AM
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Takoma Park, Maryland, Fall 2010
So, I'm standing in my driveway about to do some work on my front roof gutter. Wife's getting ready to take her mom to the airport in our 1991 318i, with Bill Arnold shop-rebuilt engine 10,000 miles ago (195000 on odo), single-mass flywheel, lowered suspension (eibach spring, sport shocks), recaro seats from 318ic, completely rust and trouble free California-until last year (garaged all winter), never seen salt in its life.
BANG! Emanating from intersection 100 feet away. Instant sound of engine revving to redline. SWOOSH-BANG. 15 feet away something slams into my baby at 60+, turns on its side, hits speed bump, flips, skids 300+ feet down road, bang - totals another car. Flame from engine bay. Bang - door opens and three kids pop out and go running away.
Ultimately, the thugs are caught, but Bianca is no more:
http://www.examiner.com/dc-in-washington-dc/robbery-suspects-fleeing-police-dodge-get-mangled-crash-and-try-to-escape-on-foot
Now, my insurance company has valued the car at $2000. It probably cost me about $8,000 to get the car in its pre-crash state with the mods above and numerous other repairs (like new steering rack, control arms, ac system....). And I don't expect to recoup my investment. Thank god I didn't do the complete two stage paint job this summer. But $2000 for a car in that condition?
Ah well, thanks to anyone who's posts helped me build up this car and from whom I may have bought parts. With a newborn and a mountain of debt, my days as an e30 owner ('89 m3 and 86es) are over for the foreseeable future.
I thought I could add a couple photos to this post, but uploads of smallish size jpegs failed. Would love to share, so not sure what to do. They're impressive photos.
Car is in a junk yard in Baltimore awaiting final resolution of insurance claim. If someone wants it - engine should still be in tip-top shape - and can pick it up (will need flatbed), minus a couple of parts I'd like to keep, like the OEM stereo, let me know. You can have it. I'll just tell my insurance company I'm keeping it, which they let me do when my es was totaled.
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Glad to hear you're OK, but sorry to hear of your loss...I hate when another old BMW goes away. I know you likely used the car as a daily driver, but consider collector's insurance in a situation like this... it allows you to assign your value to the car. It's cheaper than standard car insurance too, but with mileage caps & other tough restrictions. Good to hear you have a baby on the way too, congratulations!
I know it's a pain in the ass, but are you going to sue the kids that did this? You might be able to recoup some of your loss. Regardless, don't settle with the insurance company until you've spoken with an attorney. Many times a little bullying will go a long way with them, it's just another ledger entry...if it gets potentially expensive for them they'll cover a bit more of your loss.
I went through something similar with my '97 240sx. It wasn't destroyed by hooligans, but it had lots of mods. Then, suddenly it also had a car seat for my brand-new little girl...I fought the inevitable & kept it. Then we found out another baby was on the way...poor car was gone the next month. I lost more than $7k on that car for the three years I owned it.
Still, it paid for a used minivan & my wife has never been happier with a car. If you're considering more than one child I'd highly recommend a used Mazda MPV. For a minivan it's a surprisingly nice ride. Once you get used to the flexibility of a minivan it's difficult to go back. I've used it for hauling motorcycles, lumber, furniture, you name it.
I post on photobucket then use the thumbnail code to paste into this site. There are several others probably better. I like it because you can easily share with facebook and other popular social network sites.
If only I was closer! I'd be there this weekend! I might be heading out your way middle of next month though, to Lancaster PA. Maybe we can work out a deal.
I'd love to have a spare motor, especially a fresh rebuild. Suspension bits would be ideal. If you're not into pulling the car apart, why don't we split it? I'd be more than happy to help another board member tear down a car if I got to keep the suspension as payment, or something along those lines. We can raffle the other stuff off cheap to help the board perhaps. I'd assume that your front left suspension is shot though - that wheel is really mangled.
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Depending on your insurance company and the coverage you have, as long as you have it documented for the costs invested in the car, I think you should be able to get a good bit back.
I would very seriously consider seeking legal counsel on this. I really do think it depends on the coverage you had. Also, in order to get the car back you will have to buy it back.
I personally would LOVE the motor! I suspect a good number of other parts as well. However, I'm in Germany right now. :(
Hopefully an enthusiast will gobble it up...
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thats horrible.. sorry to hear about your loss man.
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*sigh* that sucks, man. a 4-door like that was what i was looking for originally. seeing as i'm about $20k deep into my car, i pretty much live in fear of something like this happening.
at the very least, hit the insco with all the documentation you have on costs sunk into the car, and be prepared for a vicious argument. i've never gotten an attorney involved with a situation like this, but it's probably not bad advice to seek legal counsel.
shoot me a PM if you're ever down in san jose.
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you should demand to keep car and be paid the $2000.00 claim. contact the claims office and demand the car and claim, i did.
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Hey if you are just giving it away let me know. I'd be interested in picking it up for the engine and suspension. I saw the pic in the link and it made me very sad. Poor little 318i :(