[MyN52willBEATyou]

Hey people I just wanted to get some opinions on what I should probably do with this car, insurance is most likely not going to cover damages. I’ve included pics and a small part list of what is damaged.

The car has 130k miles, the drive train is perfect and so is the majority of the car besides the damaged stuff.

Damaged/missing parts:

Driver side tie rod
Driver side control arm
Driver side front fender
Front bumper
Xenon headlight
Fog light
Both A-pillars
Headliner(possible salvageable)
Steering wheel air bag
Roof/Side air bags

[alpinec1984]

the damage far exceeds the car’s wholesale value of 5000 tops

[M-technik-3]

Airbag deployments make this car null and void, but it would be a good candidate for 24 hours of lemons.

[rick100]

Not worth fixing sorry, even if you are doing the work yourself.

Insurance should atnleast cover value 9fnthe car which would give you some money to purchased something.

[Mantraxalos]

Not too bad if you got a you pull junkyard nearby. I frequently see e90s with most of those parts if you go early enough.
It would need a little pulling also as I see the hood very tight against the fender.
I'd definitely fix it up if it was a manual. It looks like an auto though.

[Serf27]

The insurance is not going to repair that. The second the airbags blew it was done. Even without airbags deployed it would be done.

But if you can do work yourself and find a used car in the same color at a junkyard, you can repair it for under 1k.

[MyN52willBEATyou]

The hood is slightly damaged in the corner but The frame is not damaged at all. The fender did get smashed/tore pretty badly.

I planned to do all the work myself.. I know the cars value but looking as cost of parts it seemed like I could fix it too a driving condition if I planned to keep it and not try to resell.

It seems like most people do not think so, I’m not sure what I’m going to do. Still waiting on insurance.

[mapleleaf1773]

I agree with others, airbag makes it totaled. We are speaking from experience, sorry brother.

[Serf27]

The most tedious part of this repair would be dropping the headliner and replacing the curtain airbags.

Replacing the rest of the parts is no different than if you were to swap the old parts with aftermarket/lci parts.

[neilvan]

Oh ya Insurance will write it off.

That being said if you can turn a wrench and there is a local pick n pull yard near you; That's pretty fixable and cheap (going by the prices from my local one I bet under 500 for the parts listed)

[jdstrickland]

Both A Pillars makes this a fatal event for the car. Even if you could replace all of the rest of the parts on the list in your driveway, the A Pillars will require straightening on some sort of jig, this means you cannot straighten the car at home. The A Pillars (the bottom of them) are attachment points for the front suspension, and if the mounting locations are not in the right places the alignment will be all but impossible to get right.

Walk away.

[Serf27]

I am 99%sure he meant a pillar covers, not the actual pillar.

[tcphoto]

I would listen to their offer and weigh whether it’s worth parting out or just taking a check.

[jdstrickland]

Originally Posted by Serf27

I am 99%sure he meant a pillar covers, not the actual pillar.

That could be true, but the airbags that deployed will have a multiple thousand dollar price tag to replace them. I'm not positive, but I would expect the A Pillar covers to be the actual airbags, just like the cover on the steering wheel is the airbag. Bottom line, if the if the insurance company is not willing to repair this car, it's best to just walk away UNLESS the OP is able to strip it and sell it for scrap. This takes a greater investment in time and space than most of us are willing to invest. Yes, there are some who will part out a car and not think twice, but I submit that they are the exception. Most of us do not have the space to have a junk car sitting around.

[lowrydr310]

Originally Posted by jdstrickland

That could be true, but the airbags that deployed will have a multiple thousand dollar price tag to replace them. I'm not positive, but I would expect the A Pillar covers to be the actual airbags, just like the cover on the steering wheel is the airbag.

The pillar covers are separate from the airbags.



Looks like a fun project if you have the time, space, the desire to fix it, and a salvage yard nearby to source parts! Like someone else said, if it was a manual equipped with the sport package you bet 100% I'd be repairing that. Since it's not, clean 328i autos are super cheap (even amidst this silly used car market inflation.) Add a 3 stage intake and flash the stock 330i tune and you have the same performance as the 330i.

[Serf27]

The curtain airbags are $70 from parts cars online.

It’s only worth keeping/repairing it if the insurance only knocks off a few hundred from your payout.
$300-$600 knock off would be ideal.
$700-$1k is questionable.
$1k knock off or more, probably not.

Let us know what they say!

[eljay]

Get the payout, buy it back from insurance. Fix it.

Besides the external stuff (fender, headlight, hood), you will need airbags, seat belts, airbag module reset, battery safety terminal.
Certainly doable.

[fravel]

Depends on how picky you are.

I just went through a similar ordeal on my 330i, almost identical damage minus the airbags. Being the anal SOB that I am though, repairing it 'correctly' was a fair bit more expensive/time consuming than I originally expected. Knowing what I know now I probably wouldn't have bothered.

[eljay]

BTW, if you need an air bag or want a Sport wheel with an air bag, PM me. I have both.

[MyN52willBEATyou]

Originally Posted by Serf27

I am 99%sure he meant a pillar covers, not the actual pillar.

You are correct the a-pillar cloth/plastic material is damaged from air bag inflation.

They could be reused but I’d rather just replace them at $100 for two at the most.

[MyN52willBEATyou]

Originally Posted by jdstrickland

That could be true, but the airbags that deployed will have a multiple thousand dollar price tag to replace them. I'm not positive, but I would expect the A Pillar covers to be the actual airbags, just like the cover on the steering wheel is the airbag. Bottom line, if the if the insurance company is not willing to repair this car, it's best to just walk away UNLESS the OP is able to strip it and sell it for scrap. This takes a greater investment in time and space than most of us are willing to invest. Yes, there are some who will part out a car and not think twice, but I submit that they are the exception. Most of us do not have the space to have a junk car sitting around.

The A-pillar and side curtain air bags are one piece and go for around $200 a side.

Not too bad, the steering wheel air bag cost more than that and it’s much smaller.

[MyN52willBEATyou]

Originally Posted by Serf27

The most tedious part of this repair would be dropping the headliner and replacing the curtain airbags.

Replacing the rest of the parts is no different than if you were to swap the old parts with aftermarket/lci parts.

I agree with you on this.. it looks like the seats or windshield/ or rear window will need to come out to remove the head liner and without bending it and possibly damaging it while trying to install.

I think I’m going to save up some cash while insurance decides on the fate of my dear 2006 330i, whether they pay me for it or not and if the buy back cost is worth the price of parts and all other cost.

If the insurance does not pay for the car, I will keep the car and slowly repair it myself. I can do the work and it’s just a matter of acquiring the parts at the right cost and saving the money to get it done.

Lesson to ALL:

if you truly love your BMW/e9X/car make sure you have full coverage insurance at all times.