It's a 2002 4.6 and the insurance company is just going to go by what KBB or some other source say the car is worth. Plus once the insurance company total the car and pays the owner, the owner will have to buy the car back from the insurance company. Now after paying out 12,600 (KBB price for private sale) for a 2002 4.6 BMW X5 in excellent conditions the insurance company is not going to sell it to the owner for just a couple of thousands. A 2002 4.6 X5 in fair condition is still worth 11,300. Even if he gets the car back for 10,000 he still needs to figure in the cost to get the car running.

For a Mini Cooper Clubman that I was looking at that had water damages to the electrical system the quote was 3,000 for a new DME and labor to install and code.

Do you know what specifically the water got into?

The point being he'll have already been "compensated" for diminished value because the insurance company will have paid him for the vehicle when (if) they total it. The cost to buy it back, repair it, and eventually resale is irrelevant.

This.

What specific electronic components were damaged?

I believe he already stated he's not sure what was damaged yet, Rush please report back before you make your decision and let us know what's damaged. Don't forget you can always argue the value of your vehicle I had to do so by showing the insurance other forsale ads off auto trader and they bumped the value of my totaled e30 from $4000 to $8000

Am I the only one that don't understand this reasoning????

Insurance companies do not give you back what you think your car is worth, but what they think the car is worth less the "Deductible".

I think we are getting off topic here this isn't an argument on how an insurance claim is done this is just cluttering up this gentlemens thread lol

^ what you said.

A bloke is going through a tough time - let's just support him though it, hey?

Which has nothing to do with diminished value due to buying a vehicle with a salvage title. He will have been made whole by the insurance company when they total the vehicle and he accepts the check. Whether you feel they've offered fair compensation is an entirely different argument.

With that said if he's worried about the diminished value that would come from buying back his vehicle from the insurance company he should not do it. Problem solved.

I see no problem with our discussion. We're not dissing on the OP, faulting him, belittling, or what-have-you. Until the OP has something more to add I see no harm having a side discussion in the thread. Happens all the time.