Please Help

[cpatzer]

Okay,

So as many of you already know, my baby got smashed into. It is going to take a minimum of 3-4 months to repair. During which time I have to pay for a rental car. Didn't have rental insurance and in Washington state you can't claim it against your uninsured motorist. This is going to leave me with a $3,000 to $7,000 rental bill by the end depending on what car I rent.

So, it would be cheaper for me to just buy a car and then sell it at the end. If any of you know of anybody selling a 3, 5 or 7 series BMW under $15,000 that is in great shape, could you please send them my way or forward me their information?

I live in Seattle. A small drive is not out of the question, but I would prefer not to drive to southern Oregon or California.

Thanks in advance

[X5Jay]

Why don't you just buy a cheap used American or Japanese car for the time being? You can probably get a much better, more reliable car for a few grand than an older BMW. What if your older BMW suddenly needs a major repair? I'd probably get a few year old Honda to tool around in for a while. You can probably sell it in a few months and get almost all of your money back, with a much lower risk of having to make an expensive repair.

[noncom23]

Originally Posted by X5Jay

Why don't you just buy a cheap used American or Japanese car for the time being? You can probably get a much better, more reliable car for a few grand than an older BMW. What if your older BMW suddenly needs a major repair? I'd probably get a few year old Honda to tool around in for a while. You can probably sell it in a few months and get almost all of your money back, with a much lower risk of having to make an expensive repair.

[2002Silver4.6is]

German car? Pick up a nice little used VW! I agree that there are potential headaches with buying a bit older BMW.

Why should your BMW take 3 - 4 months to repair??? That is rediculous!! Please explain the vast amount of time for the repair.

[cpatzer]

1) I could potentially have this car for over a year.
a) Repair length
b) Have to sell my X5 once it gets fixed (may take awhile with the accident history)
c) Will take me some time to find a "used" auto to replace the X5. Buying a used car is not ever fun and I will be looking for one that is perfect if I don't buy new

2) I don't feel safe in a little Japanese car. Right now I am paranoid as hell to drive. 9 accidents will do that to you.

3) If I am going to have it that long I might as well have something I actually like to drive.

The repair is taking so long for a couple of reasons.

1) The rack system they need to put it on to measure the unibody stretching and flexing is not available for 6 weeks. (I have solved this by taking it elsewhere)
2) Once they find the flexed, stretched or otherwise bent pieced of the unibody (they are 100% sure there is a few) they will need to order those parts, cut them out of the unibody and re-weld them in.
3) There is a sizable wait for these parts and the other parts.
4) Believe it or not my pictures did not do it justice, there is a massive amount of labor involved in fixing it. The guy at the auto body shop guessed it would get close to 25-30k for repairs.

[Boston X5 4.4]

Originally Posted by cpatzer

The guy at the auto body shop guessed it would get close to 25-30k for repairs.

4 months seems crazy. Have you tried other approved body shops?
With 30K for labor and another $$$$ for OEM parts, I'm surprised your insurer didn't declare it a total loss. Have you tried pushing back on this?

[Thunder22]

if your x is going to cost 25-30k to fix, you're insurance company sux ass. It should be totalled out IMHO. (Not that my family business is an independent insurance agency or anything)

[2002Silver4.6is]

I would push your insurance company to declare the car a total loss.

What amount of money is the insurance company giving you? If it is $30,000, keep the money and see what a high end salvage yard would give you for your X5. Not sure if the numbers make sense but definitely worth investigating.

[jragan11]

I have a 02 Lexis IS300 that I am loooking to offload for 17K. Its in great shape. The only thing I live in VA, so thats prob out of the question.

[motordavid]

-3 or 4 months? My buddy hand built a kit car "Cobra", in his
garage in 90 days. Find a new body shop.
-Agree on buy a beater...
-9 accidents? Even if "none" are your fault, I'd think
about a safe/tank-like beater.
GL.