new to me 1986 325es

[baram23]

Hi -

I just bought a 325es the other day, 500$ US for a mint 2dr with 218,000 miles on it. The previous owner recently had the timing belt and water pump changed out, however in the past week the following have happened to me:

1. Suv backed into the drivers side fender, pushing the bumper fender and the frame back a little bit. Driver is a hit and run, so I have to pay for this out of pocket. Is there a good place to buy the parts cheap and do it myself? I've been checking various boards and sites looking for the bumper schematics and I see there are supposed to be 2 bolts that secure the bumper to the body, I can find the 10 or so bolts that hold the trim on, but not these 2 torx/hex bolts. Can anyone post a picture where to look?

2. Odometer stopped working on the highway this morning, is there anything I can check myself or does this have to be fixed by a mechanic?

Thanks!

[witeshark]

Any trace evidence from the suv like paint traces? I'd have a shop give an estimate

[baram23]

There is no paint, i'm going based on the area of damage, assuming someone backed into it while I was sleeping. I would guess it was some SUV with steel rear bumpers.

I have already taken it in for an estimate and they're saying it would cost 3k to repair. For a 500$ car with 218k miles on it this seems a little excessive.

I have found a couple of places that will sell me the replacement fender, front bumper, valence, headlamp retainer and grille piece (driver side) for about 350$ US, I'm just wondering if anyone one the board considers this to be an OK price to pay? I can also get the frame pushed back to where it should be (off about 1 inch, only in the top near the hood, not in the bottom or by the steering rack) for about 600$ US, making the total cost to repair around 1K$ US.

I wonder though, am I better off saving the money and driving this as it is until I can scrape together enough to buy another used e30 in a few months.

Man, I am just so pissed to have my new car hit in the first 24 hours of owning it.

[seandaly]

2. Odometer stopped working on the highway this morning, is there anything I can check myself or does this have to be fixed by a mechanic?

Don't have a solution, but I'm having the same problem with my '86 325. It goes in and out. The odomoter will roll over just fine for a while, then quit for some time, then start back up when it feels like it.

Hopefully someone will have an answer to this.

[e30devo]

did you guys check the fuses?

[gotKRAUT]

lol fuses....if your odometer stops working but your speedo keeps goin...time ti rebuild the internals of your gauges...that means that the lil gears are breaking or sticking...IMO i suggest ripping it out pulling it apart and rebuilding that thing haha $0.02