Should I repair total loss E93?

[AamirAtl]

I currently have an E60 (wife's). Never driven an M or sat in one.

I have an opportunity to repair this E93. Entire right side damaged. Both front suspensions and rear right suspension damaged.

This was a total loss hence salvage. Will result in a rebuilt title if repaired.

2010, vert, 46k miles, has DCT, Nav, MDrive.

I have read a lot about expensive throttle actuators going bad and rod bearing failures. I am concerned about that. Don't know what other common problems I may encounter. Should I be concerned about the top open/close mechanism?

I am not 100% sure I should rebuild. I don't know any body shops in Atlanta. What would this be worth after repairs?

Any suggestions or advice would be helpful.

[///M Power-Belgium]

70% chance there is damage on not visible parts and on a E93 it's even worse .
Advice => Personal I would never do it ! !

[8600RPM]

Pass

[Hierlevelz]

Looks like a glancing blow. Might be worth it to remove door fender and wheels to get a look at the damage below.

[BrewRifle]

I'd pass.

[AamirAtl]

Originally Posted by ///M Power-Belgium

70% change there is damage on not visible parts and on a E93 it's even worse .
Advice => Personal I would never do it ! !

Are you thinking structural damage? Like frame damage or unibody damage? Given it looks like it was side swiped and probably ran off the road I was hoping there would not be any major structural damage. Maybe low frame machine time. Wishful thinking...

[njdrive]

Originally Posted by AamirAtl

I currently have an E60 (wife's). Never driven an M or sat in one.

I have an opportunity to repair this E93. Entire right side damaged. Both front suspensions and rear right suspension damaged.

This was a total loss hence salvage. Will result in a rebuilt title if repaired.

2010, vert, 46k miles, has DCT, Nav, MDrive.

I have read a lot about expensive throttle actuators going bad and rod bearing failures. I am concerned about that. Don't know what other common problems I may encounter. Should I be concerned about the top open/close mechanism?

I am not 100% sure I should rebuild. I don't know any body shops in Atlanta. What would this be worth after repairs?

Any suggestions or advice would be helpful.

Pass on this one. It probably has frame damage.
If you've never drive an M, I would not recommend starting with one that was totaled and has a wrecked front and rear suspension. I'm guessing, the amount you will spend on repairing it correctly will be close or equal to buying one with about 10k more mile. You asked what will will it be worth after repairs, I can't imagine any where near to a clean titled comp. because it will have a totaled title so don't expect to make a profit after repairs unless you sell it to a high schooler. Good luck.

[vsix]

Save up and get one in better condition.
Sometimes patience is the key.

[STooK]

Even if someone gave me that car for free I would not want it. E93 can be had for cheap, especially an 08. I'd rather have a clean higher mileage 08 than this one.

[BzsBimmer]

2 layers of Opti Coat, you'll be fine...

[AamirAtl]

Originally Posted by Hierlevelz

Looks like a glancing blow. Might be worth it to remove door fender and wheels to get a look at the damage below.

Will have to find a body shop to do a tear down and give me an estimate based on actual damage.

[BzsBimmer]

I think you're putting the cart before the horse if you're worried about rod bearings and throttle actuators. Chances are those are just fine. You need to be more worried about the frame, DCT, differential and 3 piece roof first.

Can can be repaired but the price of the car plus repair costs needs to be considerably low if you want to fix it without getting into good used car pricing.

Resale will be very low considering it'll be a salvage.. you'll probably be very lucky breaking even

[AamirAtl]

Originally Posted by njdrive

Pass on this one. It probably has frame damage.
If you've never drive an M, I would not recommend starting with one that was totaled and has a wrecked front and rear suspension. I'm guessing, the amount you will spend on repairing it correctly will be close or equal to buying one with about 10k more mile. You asked what will will it be worth after repairs, I can't imagine any where near to a clean titled comp. because it will have a totaled title so don't expect to make a profit after repairs unless you sell it to a high schooler. Good luck.

If I end up repairing this I am not looking to sell any time soon, and certainly not for any profit down the road. Most buyers don't want to touch rebuilt vehicles and I completely understand why. I was trying to figure out at what price off retail would it be worth considering. I see similar E93s around $30K+. Hypothetically speaking, if this ended up costing me $20K is that good enough savings to consider the repair effort? Of course this assumes it it repaired correctly.

[AamirAtl]

Originally Posted by BzsBimmer

I think you're putting the cart before the horse if you're worried about rod bearings and throttle actuators. Chances are those are just fine. You need to be more worried about the frame, DCT, differential and 3 piece roof first.

Can can be repaired but the price of the car plus repair costs needs to be considerably low if you want to fix it without getting into good used car pricing.

Resale will be very low considering it'll be a salvage.. you'll probably be very lucky breaking even

I'm not a sports car fanatic and have never considered an M before. Of course I would love to own one. Most likely I won't go out and buy an M for various reasons, financial being the biggest. I came across this and thought If I can get into a correctly rebuilt M for a great price, that would be great. Don't care about resale. Last car I had I kept for 16 years.

[djDori_C]

I wouldn't waste my time... Any slight frame damage or frame pull on either side... The roof would never line up properly... Then you're dealing with future leaks, electrical problems etc...
Just my 2cents

[///M Power-Belgium]

Originally Posted by AamirAtl

Are you thinking structural damage? Like frame damage or unibody damage? Given it looks like it was side swiped and probably ran off the road I was hoping there would not be any major structural damage. Maybe low frame machine time. Wishful thinking...

Look...One of my best friends has a body shop only for Mercs , Porsche, Bmw, and Audi .
And I can tell you he has the nessesary knowledge for our cars , and so I saw serious BMW's damage in his shop in the last 15 years .
So I showed him your pics and he said ...///M3-E93 ? Oughhh !
Repare is always possible these days , but a E93 and if something is bent there is always a chance for wind noises inside cabin .
As for frame damage...Our ///M cars are very sensitive for steering wheel vibrations and when it's not fixed in perfection with the specific tools there will be extreme tire wear and probably the car will always pull to one side of the road .
And please don't forget about the value of the car...Even repared in perfection your car is/was a "total-loss" wich means "huge value loss" !
In short....Think twice

[NashvegasR]

Oof. I'd not repair that. . Does the top operate smoothly now? (could be a good indicator of frame damage if *not*)

Go buy my old E93 at United Roswell. It's there. 2009. Silver.

[Three Pedal Steve]

If it was a coupe it might make a good track car. $20k seems high for salvage. Engine and DCT might be worth $10k if unharmed.

[Rajmun340]

Originally Posted by AamirAtl

Will have to find a body shop to do a tear down and give me an estimate based on actual damage.

Aamir, based on what you wrote anyone with decent automotive experience can tell you that you are blinded by the idea of having a M logo car and choosing the worst possible path that will waste you time and money (even if you are getting "this" for $10k). It's easy to read between the lines that you have no clue what you are contemplating. The first thing i looked at in your post is any mention of "resale value", and there is, it means you are fooling yourself. Second, it's a wrecked convertible, that's upping the ante. But what you are probably most unaware of, is that high end car have expensive parts everywhere around the car, especially bmw. It adds up very quickly even for parts that seem insignificant to you and this is not just about replacing damaged parts, it's much much more. The final nail on the coffin is that with some patience you could probably find a 08 M3 with higher mileage for not that much more than the total cost of giving a new life to this wreck . When it's all said and done you are probably looking at $15k++ $20k ON TOP of buying this wreck.

Sorry but sounds like you do not have the financial ressources to own any degree of used M car. Maybe an E46 ?

[FogCityM3]

That differential looks bent and some of the bracing sheared off.....Assuming if diff is ok, just by visual inspection of the damage you can see how much the obviously needed replacement (and discounted) OEM parts are online, and it will add up very quickly....definitely stay away as you won't come out ahead financially and if you consider the opportunity cost of time/labor, makes even less sense. A part out may be a way to make a very modest amount of money at best, but again, is time consuming.

[TrevorM3]

if you will track it and not worry about resale and the price is low enough do it.

most people on here (as you can see) can't even wrap their minds around a crashed car.

[AamirAtl]

Originally Posted by JoeM3SSII

Aamir, based on what you wrote anyone with decent automotive experience can tell you that you are blinded by the idea of having a M logo car and choosing the worst possible path that will waste you time and money (even if you are getting "this" for $10k). It's easy to read between the lines that you have no clue what you are contemplating. The first thing i looked at in your post is any mention of "resale value", and there is, it means you are fooling yourself. Second, it's a wrecked convertible, that's upping the ante. But what you are probably most unaware of, is that high end car have expensive parts everywhere around the car, especially bmw. It adds up very quickly even for parts that seem insignificant to you and this is not just about replacing damaged parts, it's much much more. The final nail on the coffin is that with some patience you could probably find a 08 M3 with higher mileage for not that much more than the total cost of giving a new life to this wreck . When it's all said and done you are probably looking at $15k++ $20k ON TOP of buying this wreck.

Sorry but sounds like you do not have the financial ressources to own any degree of used M car. Maybe an E46 ?

You have inferred correctly. I am no automotive expert, I am not a DIY guy (unfortunately), and I am infatuated with the idea of being able to get into an M.

I do have access to recycled parts nationwide, however, M parts are in short supply and expensive. I think all you enthusiasts horde extra parts

You are also correct I cannot spend $30k on an extra toy.