My 740i go crunch.

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

My daughter is fine, but she got rear ended. So now my first bimmer I ever owned is gona get totalled. Moment of silence please.
http://www.inninfo.com/ed/2007%20may/images/SANY0419.JPG

Darn it, I really wish they woulda fixed it, but they're totalling it. They're gonna give me 8900 for it. They say it'd be 7800 to fix it, and with a rental it would exceed the ACV. Any suggestions, just take the money and run. Are insurance companies negotiable. For me to buy another would be 10000 or so, and they're only giving me 8900. It's got about 140000 miles on it. Thoughts?

Thanks guys.

PS, this is exactly why I have my daughters driving 7ers. They are safe. My other daughter (in pass seat) was reading when this happened, and she kept on reading after the crash!

[E34N]

wow.. glad to hear that they are safe.

ins. companies are not really negotiable... now they may sell the car to you cheap if you want to fix it.. but then it'll have a salvage title. I say take the money and find another one...

[dbals]

Glad shes ok. Does it have a LSD in it? Need one for my 540

[Tiger]

It doesn't look too bad. Bimmer Ed... you work at BMW dealer right? What is your cost through your employer?

It looks like an E38... Your insurance company have to give you near what it would cost to get another car at market price... not what book said. Hell, they get the car and sell on their insurance auction and reclaim another $3000+ back and their end resul pocket expense is only $5900 or less.

Since this is paid by the other insurance company... not yours... why the hell are your insurance company not helping you out? It cost nothing on their part as the at-fault insurance co is going to pay for your car.

[Tiger]

To negotiate, check with your boss on what car you can get that is similar to what you got... with your employee discount... and present that to your insurance co. At least they will pay that much.

Fixing it should not be that bad... I really can't see the cost rising to $8000... I think in your case would be near $5000 if you find the right people. Bumper system need to be replaced... trunk... and pulling out the fender... but I don't see any compromise to the rear window pillar at all...

Your daughter most likely will have neck pain... so there will be medical bill paid by insurance co... plus pain and suffering payment... Get the wholl picture from your ins. agent.

[Tiger]

Another thing... most policy have $50,000 property damage coverage... so don't let them get away cheap. Just tell them replace your car with similar options or suffer from liability claims.

[PScalfano]

When my '95 525i was totaled, the insurance company at first said they would give me X amount for it. When I priced the car via NADA, the value I got was higher than the value that the insurance company quoted me. So I called them back and told them they needed to account for the options. They told me that they do not reimburse for options if the car is >10 years old. I was able to convince them to throw in some more money because the car was in exceptional condition and was fully loaded, and I also stripped off everything I could at the junkyard (from the keyless entry to the ash trays) and sold what I could to try to recoup what I had spent while I owned the car. It about brought me to tears taking all that stuff out of the '5 and saying goodbye at the junkyard. I hope the insurance company properly reimburses you for your car. Good luck!

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

Private Party excellent condition is exactly what they are offering me. Since I can buy near wholesale, I'll likely just take the money and run. The car was not mint, it needed tires, had a rust spot starting at the bottom of one of the doors, the widwhield washer fluid container leaked. But the engine was perfect, valley pan gasket just replaced, as well as the oil separator. New plugs......all the standard stuff, including a new fuel pump. Heck a new instrument cluster too. I know it woulda gone another 100k miles. For the 8900 bucks I know I could find another one, but I had already replaced all the wearable parts on this one. Thrust arms, new bilsteins.....the list goes on the more I think. I believe the 8900 is a good though, and like I said, I'll likely just take it. I had a hitch on the back, so I'll ask to have that removed.

And no tiger, no LSD. ASC car.

Oh, there is a slight buckle in the c pilar.

[Blitzkrieg Bob]

I did this with my Rx mazdas.

Insurance would write off, I 'd get the check and offer to buy the wreck.

use the wreck to donate parts to a new project

[Barney Paull-Edwards]

:) Resist, resist, resist! 1. its only metal,2.it looks and could be kinked,has crush zones remember.3.move on especially if it was not mint.Hope your daughters are ok but how about a 716 next time?

[Tiger]

Ahh... alright then... take the money. Buckle in C pillar is difficult repair... not worth it. Next time put a hitch step on it... Would look wierd on your car but if anyone rear ended you... would hit hitch step first.

[Macv]

Sad to see her go.

[winfred]

the manager is selling his wifes car, 95 740il black on black looks perfect (one bump that wasn't repared nice on the right rocker in the rear from before he got it), 89k on the alusil i installed 5+ years ago, pretty much everything in the suspension has been replaced in the last couple years(by me) with bilsteins on the front and cross drilled brakes all around, i just did the leaking hoses and valve on the lad, new cooling system, ac compressor, new cats ..... he was planning on keeping it another few years till a black on black 00 528 sport came in, the only thing close to a problem is 215k miles $6500 and it probably doesn't know what road salt is :D

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

I was hoping to hit 215k miles with mine. I too replaced cats, PS Hoses, cooling system, vally pan, oil sep, thrust arms, bilstein sports, fuel pump, cup holders, and prolly more I can't remember. The only complaint from the family about the 740 was it's gas mileage. They want a 6 cyl.

I got a line on a nice 323isA 1998. 150k miles, mint, about 5K$ white/sand, I'm thinking about.

[rickm]

Sorry to hear about that, at least the kids are safe.

When my wife totaled her Volvo they offered us a mid range price (it was in ok shape but she never cleaned it, so it looked rough when the adjuster looked it over). I got them to go up 300.00. A day later the place holding the car called me and said that the ins co was sending someone to get it in 3 days and that I should gut it. I got my spare tire/rim out (it was a full sized and was used once), the jack, the stereo and everything else I thought had value. Sold it all for 500.00, which offset what I wasn't getting paid.

[Zeuk in Oz]

Glad to hear your daughters are OK.

I bought my E34 for my sons to drive for the same reason. Safety only ever seems to be important after a crash.

Hope you find a suitable replacement.

[Nick.Hay]

Poor old girl...

Glad the daughter is ok, and hopefully there will be another BMW on the cards for you!!

[stargazer_61]

Ed,

First of all, I'm glad that your daughters are alright. Too many parents do not put their children in safe cars.

Insurance companies can be negitiated with. Had a similar experience with a Mustang a few years ago. Other driver made an illegal left turn and the Mustang hit them hard. The bags deployed and the car was definitely totaled. The insco called the next day to offer $5400 for a pristine 1995 V-6 convert. Sign the papers and all is done, right? Wrong! They use some software that basically calculates depreciation at retail and options at wholesale, then "say" that the offer is what the average selling price is in your area. As you already know, you cannot find a similar vehicle for what they are offering. They make deals with the area dealers for the absolute lowest prices, prices that the average civilian could never get, much less a hard-core negotiator.

After much web research and strategic delay tactics with a provided rental, I called their adjustment manager and asked about what valuation software they used. It was the same name that I had found on a certain web site that I have since lost. Needless to say, I told them that no similarly equipped car could be located anywhere near me for what they were offering, and only a few scattered across the USA. Would they like to pay for me to travel to these locales? Would they like me to keep the rental until a replacement in my area appeared at their offered amount? Converts in NC, in the summer, are at a premium. After all, it was their insured that totaled my car. It should cost me $0.00.

After a couple of days of making them sweat, they called back with an offer of $6500, which was exactly what I wanted for the car, since that's what it would cost to replace. In the end, using the settlement money, I was able to upgrade to a 1996 GT convert for $7100.

The bottom line is yes, when you are not at fault, you can negotiate with them. They want to settle quickly, because the longer it takes, the longer they are exposed to liability lawsuits. Lawyers don't care about property damage, only human damage. There's no money in it.

I realize that this is more than $0.02, but that was my experience. I got what I wanted and was technically out no additional money for something that was not my fault.

Good luck finding another 7!

John

[Ross]

Ed,
That sucks but at least your daughter is okay.
You can buy the wreck for peanuts usually and even negotiate the price as they don't need to transport and pay auction fees. Since you have so many fresh parts on it you should do well parting it.
What hit her?

[bimmerd00d]

i will pay for a few items if you still have the car!!!! my E39 needs a few small motor items that they wouldn't see :D

[dacoyote]

Glad to hear the Kids are ok

[Bimmer Nut Ed]

An '07 Hyundai Sante Fe, I didn't see it, but the girls tell me it was completely totalled. Fluids all over. 16 year old girl driving it. She was OK, but very distraught.

I appreciate the feedback. I will let you know what happens. It'd be 2k$ to keep it. Not exactly peanuts. I'm looking into taking the Bilsteins and the hard to find trailer hitch off, and giving it up.

[Fetch]

Glad everyone is OK Ed, hope however you deal with the situation works out well.

[Tiger]

I figured that... smaller SUV did it. Damn bumper height difference. We got rear ended on our 540i a couple days before thanskgiving... by another BMW! X3... no real damage on his as we were stopped and he thought we left and boom. It was like $3600 damage.

I wouldn't keep it for 2k... take whatever you can out of the car though... pay those body shop guy to rip them off for you. Bilsteins are not gonna be easy to get off the car unless you got a buddy with exact car and give everything to him or sell the car to him for $2500.