goodbye?

[angrypancake]

so i crashed my car tonight. i think i might cry.

was coming across an intersection, then the road curved gentle left, tires broke loose (shitty tires, was getting replaced in 3 days, ugh), started spinning, spun 900 degrees, and into a rock wall. impact on passenger side, rear bumper is toast, big ass dent, etc etc. don't know the extent of the damage til tomorrow. looks like the axle might be ****ed, pass. rim is toast and drivers rear wheel camber is soooo wrong. ugh. pics tomorrow, im going to bed.

[Kalevera]

Jeeze Nat. Whatever happens, don't let the insurance company a holes total the red dragon.

best, whit

[angrypancake]

no sir. a friend of mine works at a body shop, we're gonna try and avoid the insurance. the damage isnt terrible as far as i can say. i'm a bit worried about the rear camber being so f-ed, as the impact was dead on the rear axle. time will tell. the worst part was loading it on the tow truck (it was done the right way, thankfully) the car was halfway onthe curb and it scraaaaaaaaped the bumper to ****. sigh.

[Kalevera]

As long as the subframe mounting holes themselves are okay (ergo chassis isn't bent), everything's replaceable. Even then it's fixable, but not worth it.....probably. Maybe it is. Who knows.

About a year ago, I dismantled an E30 325iC. Guy ran it straight into a tree, pushed the engine back into the firewall (through the heater box). The driveshaft didn't compress -- it transmitted the force back to the diff. E30 diffs are secured with six bolts to the subframe, and the subframe is what took the energy and bent. Hopefully it's something stupid like that. A trailing arm would be simpler, though.

best, whit

[CharlesAFerg]

Good luck on the repairs, your E34 was beautiful. It can only get better.

[ThoreauHD]

I'm sorry pan.

[MBXB]

Bummer, Nat. I'm sure you can easily locate replacement parts on this board.

[sKilled]

I'm sorry to hear it 'pancake. I sideswiped a tree backing in my car today - over corrected swinging around a car that blocked my driveway. I kinda know how you feel.

[Nick.Hay]

Agh **** ME!!!

Dude I am SOOOOO sorry to hear that!! :( :(


****.

[Gayle]

Right now it seems like a total bummer. I am encouraged by whit's remarks. None of us want you to lose your car, especially after all the hard work you have done recently.

I am going to hope that good comes out of this. You know--the "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" theory. You will gain additional competencies with your car in fixing this. And after it is over, maybe your will have gorgeous new paint and I will be sooo jealous.

The chicago meet is less than 2 months away so be quick about your repairs. :)

[Qube]

If this were any other forum, we'd be quietly laughing and telling you to total it... but no. We're here behind you all the way :) Not so much the money as it is time. Well... as Gayle put it... you have two months ;)

[angrypancake]

http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/2299/hid0106wv.jpg
http://img60.imageshack.us/img60/6348/hid0166gq.jpg
http://img142.imageshack.us/img142/8740/hid0112rt.jpg

ill take some better ones later. i have to move the car to get some room on it.

[632 Regal]

the trailing arms probably compressed from impact, all that stuff in the rear is bolt on stuff so as long as the subframe didnt bend up too bad you should be OK.

Good luck!

[Dash01]

A good paintless dent repair guy can do alot more with that quarter panel than you might imagine. Conceivably, he could do enough with the sheet metal that final repairs could be done with an airbrush. This is worth looking into, before you contract with a body shop. 15" and 16" basketweave wheels can be had cheap, as can the black plastic trim strip. If you still have the broken bits, the bumper cover can be fixed with Duramix or Fusor, and probably airbrushed, as well.

[angrypancake]

i'm not so much worried about the external bits, that can be taken care of. it's a matter of whether or not there's frame damage. now i have to play the waiting game. at least its a nice day out... or something.

[SharkmanBMW]

sorry to hear dude... it looks painful to deal with... I hope you get it back in top shape soon.
If not, I will give you my 540 for $5k.

[Incantation]

that sux dude sorry to hear that.. :\

might be hard to source just a single basketweave.. i might be able to send u one if u want

[632 Regal]

this was all caused from a waffle someone threw out their window???

sorry, had to.

[SC David]

Damn, sorry to hear this! Good luck with getting it up and running again.

[GoldenOne]

wow sorry to hear, i thought i was having a bad day....and ouch were those the expensive Hella clear taillights? If/when you buy new ones, let me know maybe we can do a group buy together for a cheaper price...good luck!

[NY535iManual]

Bummer Man, I know how painfull this is. I can tell you though, that after my "first love" 1980 320i got hit by an unlicensed driver in almost the exact same place you did that these cars are tough! A new cross member and half shaft & it was back on the road. Chin up!!

[dacoyote]

So did the wall come out to get you like the tree?

Sorry man... Glad to hear you are ok....

[stargazer_61]

What a drag. Glad you are okay.

I couldn't tell from your pictures - is your trunk lid tweaked? If not, and it opens and closes normally, then I would think you suffered no frame damage and only need to replace the bolt on stuff.

Good luck with it!

[sKilled]

Oh my...I think I feel sick...such a shame...I hope you can fix it, as you had done so much nice work, that it would be a shame if it is totaled. BTW I love the red BMW roundels on the mags, very nice. I wish you the best of luck with the hard days ahead.

[rob101]

damn, this makes me want to bring my plan to change to bridge potenzas forward a few months! evil chinese rice tyres mean i can light up the rears too easily around corners :(

[angrypancake]

What a drag. Glad you are okay.

I couldn't tell from your pictures - is your trunk lid tweaked? If not, and it opens and closes normally, then I would think you suffered no frame damage and only need to replace the bolt on stuff.

Good luck with it!


yeah its off a little bit, sort of a bitch to open. it doesnt get stuck it just requires a little extra effort. it's about 1/4" higher on the drivers side vs the passenger side.

i called insurance, and it's going to the body shop on monday morning. my friend works there, and while we're at it he's gonna give the car a respray, get rid of some of the other dents, the metric ton of chips in the hood, etc. so the question now becomes, do i keep the red? or go with another color....

forgive the terrible ghetto-shop jobs.
http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/1737/natscarblue3qv.jpg
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/6910/natscarcherry0zg.jpg
http://img62.imageshack.us/img62/927/natscargreen6mg.jpg

other options are
purpleish (http://img116.imageshack.us/img116/7438/000018865xn7tt.jpg) or yellow. (http://img148.imageshack.us/img148/7686/pl97rs.jpg)

[angrypancake]

damn, this makes me want to bring my plan to change to bridge potenzas forward a few months! evil chinese rice tyres mean i can light up the rears too easily around corners :(


if you can do that, i HIGHLY suggest getting new ones. i wasn't speeding, nor drunk, i was in fact about 100 yards out of a stop light. it was a tiny turn, i've driven over it thousands of times. it just so happened to be just slightly wet, combo-ed with tires that easily could be spun (ha the immense torque of the mighty m30 is to blame).... at least i went across the road into the wall instead of off the road down the hill through someones front yard and into yet another tree.

[rob101]

calypso red all the way;) yeah i am not too worried about stacking it on suburban streets, more on the freeway i usually take it very very easy in the wet after my previous antics where i almost stacked my car!

[sKilled]

The red is sweet, but that dark green ain't half bad either - what colour is your interior? A light interior goes well with a dark green (I don't kno why but it does). Otherwise I would stick with the stock calypso red. It's such a nice vibrant colour (and very rare here in NZ).

[angrypancake]

the interior is TBD. the seats and console, lower dash etc have all been pulled out of the car. its just a matter of what color i want to paint the outside, or if i want to keep it the zinnoberrot. then i'll redye the interior. wait what am i talking about it sure as **** sounds like im keeping this car. hell yeah! i cant wait.

-pancake formerly known as depressed.

[stargazer_61]

I like the green, but I am biased as mine is Oxford Green Metallic. Hopefully I won't get flamed for this, but I like the purple, too. You could have it shot in "Plum Crazy" or "Statutory Grape", in Mopar parlance. Have you thought of going with M5 Daytona Violet?

[Gayle]

So changing color is really an option?

If so, which of those colors makes your heart skip? Doesn't really matter which one we like--it is what makes you happy. (I kind of like the purple :) )

Didn't you want green? And what color do you think would look best with those headlights you are so crazy about?

.

[ThoreauHD]

I agree with stargazer. Oxford Green is also my suggestion. Just so your car will look like mine. :) We can be best pals! AHhaha.. ehh, anyway.

While we're on the subject of how not to have tires explode on the road, I bought and installed 4 new bridgestone potenza tires. Are these tires decent, or are there a better brand/model for longevity? They have alot of japanese and italian brands, and also french. I'm hoping the potenza's are a decent choice.

Again, sorry for the loss pancake.

[sKilled]

Ok, stop it, now you guys are getting me all excited about repainting mine - I've got cancerous rust. Was intending on just fixing it up back to stock, but now....dammit I don't have that kind of money, stop putting ideas in my head!

[Gayle]

While we're on the subject of how not to have tires explode on the road, I bought and installed 4 new bridgestone potenza tires. Are these tires decent, or are there a better brand/model for longevity? I'm hoping the potenza's are a decent choice.


Which potenza's did you get?

I just bought the RE750s this week from tire rack and will have them installed Monday. I had been planning to do Michelins but I started reading all the reviews on Tire Rack and decided to replace the tires with exactly what is on there.

I have the 18 inch rims and I was shocked to read what other purchasers were saying about thread life on some of these tires. An installer I talked to said the RE750s were the equivalent of a Costco generic tire, but it had better thread life ratings than some of the other potenzas. All the potenzas (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/bridgestone/bridston.jsp) There are lots of reviews written by drivers Potenza reviews (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/reviews/brands.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone) and nice little surveys that sum up the ratings ratings of summer tires (http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=MP).

I was really happy with the way these tires held the road in the rain this year (My e34 rocks in the rain) (http://www.bimmer.info/forum/showthread.php?t=19264) and that was when they had very little thread. I figured if I am happy with the way they hold the road, the way they look, the noise level and they cost about $700 (after $50 rebate and before installation and shipping) where the Michelins would have been $1050, why not stick with a winner? I felt like they were a good value for my situation.

[GJPinAU]

Sorry about the car mate:(
Pity you can't blame anyone for it.
If you lived here I could donate another wheel to replace the damaged one.
Best of luck with the repairs.

Greg

[Tiger]

Can't go wrong with Potenza... I still have the RE730... which is the predecessor... awesome tire... very long lasting. Now for my other car... It is the Avon MTech 500... so awesome for the price. Just as great as the RE730... and probably quieter too...

[Kalevera]

Nat, make sure this body guy knows what he's doing. A respray of the original color is a completely different animal than a color change. Although I know very little about body work, it's my understanding that to do a color change in a manner that keeps the new paint from coming off in the next wash, all of the original paint has to pretty much be removed, which means all of the glass comes out, trim, everything. Then a lot of stripping, sanding, and priming.

best, whit

[trumpetr]

'Pancake, if you need a replacement wheel,,,let me know-- I have a full set of 15" basketweaves,,with Michelins with about 70% left on them--- let me know if you can use one or all of them.

Really sorry about your car, man.

[Alexlind123]

I like the original color. I think if you change, it would be safer to redo the same color, or another red. That way, dings or chips wouldnt be as noticable.

A different color might be easier than i might guess tho.

[Gayle]

Nat, make sure this body guy knows what he's doing. A respray of the original color is a completely different animal than a color change. Although I know very little about body work, it's my understanding that to do a color change in a manner that keeps the new paint from coming off in the next wash, all of the original paint has to pretty much be removed, which means all of the glass comes out, trim, everything. Then a lot of stripping, sanding, and priming.

best, whit


This is the voice of reason in this debate along with Alex's comments about stone chips.

[Qube]

I like the original color. I think if you change, it would be safer to redo the same color, or another red. That way, dings or chips wouldnt be as noticable.

A different color might be easier than i might guess tho.

A good paint place will sand and prime so it shouldn't be a problem... ;)

[Paul in NZ]

red would be a very difficult colour to match,the pigments fade...period,but if you go this route now is the time to tidy up stone chips etc,as has been said...its what i do,somebody else pays for the paint matching and mixing,so its never cheaper to do paint and panel work!

[liquidtiger720]

I vote to paint it Jon-K's color.

[Evan]

dude, take off all your trim, door handles, grilles, lights, etc, etc... new CAPA quarter panels can be had for $80 shipped... new trim and grilles is about $450, all inclusive. lights will cost another $300.

As long as your frame isn't bent, you can make yourself a new car... if your doors are rusted, you can buy good used ones for $100 each.

BUT

Go for original color... it will look AWESOME.

ok enough reading... get to work

[ThoreauHD]

Thanks for the info Gayle. Lots of help.

[QUOTE=Gayle]Which potenza's did you get?

I have 15 inch standard EO rims and I'm not quite sure what model tire they put on. My car is currently being serviced at the shop for an a/c leak repair and also some trim work.

The tires were not as expensive as what you are describing- 800? I haven't found a tire that expensive for my year/model yet. Perhaps I'm looking in the wrong place, or am not assuming labor. These were 100 per tire and labor was a bit more. I don't know the model atm, but I know is that they do grip and ride well- they are also very quiet. I can't speak to their longevity though.

My mechanic chooses offbrand tires most of the time(Dayton, etc), and they seem to last forever. He choose an onbrand tire this time, so I am hoping the same. Choosing tires are one of those things that you can't know until your nose is in that line of work. It's exact production model/date specific. And I ain't in that line or work.

Ask me about clustering a linux farm or remote encrypted desktops etc., and I will have more than a clue. But alot of this knowledge is based on experience and honesty. And believe it or not I trust my mechanic. Crazy aren't I. So I hope for the best.