there is something kind of funny about all of the parenting advice.

alpac - glad your daughter is OK, and glad you have a plan to fix it up.

as for the rest of it - I know my kids better than anyone, and love them more than life itself, and I am sure I will figure the appropriate course of action for my family, given my relationship with my daughters, when that time comes.

as forest gump says - that's all i have to say about that.

that was my exact reaction


Alain - I'm glad that your daughter is fine. The rest is all just life lessons.

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Like others have said 'good to see your daughter wasn't hurt'. That's what's paramount with this whole issue.

Lets not all forget we were beginner drivers once and had to learn how to gain experience and hopefully learn from mistakes.

You sound like a top dad and an even better bloke. Post pics as the resto / repairs project gets under way. Good luck.

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Need your opinion. The left side headlight assembly needs to be replaced. I will also have to replace the right headlight glass to make it look as new as the right. I was going to order this on Pelikan when I saw these on eBay. What do you guys think? The pair is less than one OEM headlight and it looks like they come with angel lights. They look pretty good.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/99-01...Q5fAccessories

They look good but does this mean ur gonna mod the rest of the car? It would look kinda strange, IMHO, if there were no other mods. Paint the car black would be awesome!

I might be concerned about this note:
Work with halogen Or Xenon-gas within the bulbs (Modification May Require For Using HID Lighting System)

Good luck!

They look ok..Actually a little bit ricey.. You're on the right track though, keep searching through ebay and other bimmer sites that sell parts like these. You'll find a set that is clear and has the upgraded look, but doesn't look ricey. Sort of like the p53's for our x5's...

The project is progressing pretty well. I got most of the parts. Still waiting for the headlights and bumper cover. I got headlights, expansion tank and grills on ebay. I got a used radiator from a local junk yard which by chance had one in near new condition. I got the hood, bumper cover and front frame panel from Advantage Auto Body Parts of Texas. They were about 40% less than the Online BMW parts catalog and less expensive than other place I called. The only problem is that they sent me a wrong bumper cover. They sent me one for a E36 and not a E46 I called them today and they will send me the right model ASAP. They told me to keep the other one as they do not want to pay for shipping it back. Anybody on this board who needs a brand new e36 front bumper cover assembly let me know. Today I finished replacing the radiator, expansion tank and front frame panel. Before putting all this back together I inspected the belts and water pump and found them in very good condition. I filled in new coolant, bled the cooling system (took me a while to bleed this damned thing properly) and did some tests and everything seems to work like a charm so far. I was able to straighten the front left panel and the panel over the wheel pretty good. There is still a minor dent which I will probably ask a dent wizard to finish for me. Now I need to wait for the rest of the parts to come. In the meantime I will test my paint talent on the hood. I got one can of paint and one can of clear coat for test. If I am not satisfied with my job I will bring the hood and front bumper cover to a professional. After all I am an IT guy, not a car mechanic or car body paint guy for god sake!

Sounds like great progress. Good luck with the rest of the job and the painting.

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I am almost done. After having replaced the radiator, expansion tank, front frame panel, etc... a couple of weeks ago I received, painted and installed the new bumpers cover and headlights yesterday. To my surprise my paint job on the bumper turned out really good. The color matches very well the original color of the car and the result really has a professional look. I bought the paint from Automotivetouchup web site (both color and clear coat). Their paint is of very good quality and it is realtively easy to get a professional finish even from aerosol spray cans. I hope to be able to do the same job with the hood, will see. I ordered more paint cans for the hood and have not received them yet. Here are some pics of the new bumper installed as well as the new headlights which have angel eyes unlike the original ones. I got both sides headlights from ebay for not even the price of 1 OEM.

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