Is my 318is repairable?

[Tornwald]

First off, I have to say this: The e36 has to be my favorite car to drive AND crash in. Everyone was completely unharmed, the air bags didn't go off (lucky, or maybe they're just faulty ) and the hazards even came on to warn everyone around me. Even the handling was good enough to let me give it a burst of gas to get out of the way of any cars. Props to BMW's design team for making a really solid car.

I recently went around a corner, hit ice, and slid out. This caused the front right rim of my 318is to come into contact with the barrier (thank heavens, i wanted a different style anyway!), then slamming my tail into the barrier (only some scrapes there, not even a dent, yay BMW!).

The impact has cracked the rim, and bent it inwards, as well as the panel above it. There is a cracked weld by the strut tower, and it seems like the entire strut tower is bent in.

Here are some pictures for more detail:
Damage - Imgur
I would hate to see this car go, ive put so much work into it (albeit not as much as some that I've seen on the forums, props to you guys!)

The car has 244,300km on it, which doesn't seem to matter as it runs great after the rebuild (new upper end gaskets, water pump, timing chain rails and chain itself, etc).

What I ask you guys is...
Is it repairable? Or should I start fresh and part it out / sell it for cheap as a whole.
What kind of parts am I going to need if it is?

Ps. I'm about $2500 deep into this car including the '94 Mustang v6 I traded for it.

[Ivan413]

Glad to here that you guys are unharmed coming out of that crash. And as far as those pics to asses the damage I don't see any but maybe it's just me that can view them?


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[Ivan413]

Wait never mid I went on the desktop site and it worked the app wasn't allowing me to view them. And I was wondering if you had a budget for the repair of this car .


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[Tornwald]

Thanks, we're glad too

I dont want to spend much more than $800 to fix it, if it comes to something like 2k im going to part it out I think.

[Ivan413]

Well to make it at least drivable you need a new strut, rim, and you need to get that torn weld fixed because it could compromise the "flex" the car does when you corner mildly hard. As far as the law in your state goes I'm not sure if they would let you drive without a quarter panel, nose panel, bumper and headlight missing. As far as those parts go I can't really tell if your missing any engine bay pieces or if there damaged. To fix the torn weld yourself or have a buddy do I will save you a couple hundred dollars alone instead of taking it to a shop. A little welding and some fresh sheet metal from like your local metal supply place and you can cut a box or so around that rust area and replace it with new and weld it in followed but grinding it down bondo, primer and paint and ur set.


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[Ivan413]

You might also want to take a look into some junk yards or craigslist ads near you for those e36 quarter panel. Nose panel, fog lights, bumper and any other pieces you might want to replace such as if anything got to damaged in the rear. you can always have them repainted to the color of your choice later when you get it back up and running again.


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[Tornwald]

Yeah, I would need a lot, but the hard part I think would be bending the whole strut tower / front quarter panel assembly back to where it was. It seems to have shifted at least 2 inches inwards and broke a weld :S

[Tornwald]

how much do you think I could generate towards a new bimmer if I parted this one out? the transmission is really smooth and the m42 has new engine parts in it ...other internal parts are in good shape too

[Ivan413]

Is your chassis bent at all? Because if it is your car is unfortunately totaled believe it or not


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[Ivan413]

As far as it goes for price wise if you part it out, I have no clue you would have to see how much other 318is Are going for on craigslist near you and adjust your price according to that


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[Turbohugh]

Just get a roller or car with bad engine and transplant your parts. Fixing crash damage can start to add up and sometimes its cheaper to just start with a known good shell .

[Tornwald]

Do those ever show up on craigslist or should I look at a wrecker?

[Ivan413]

Craigslist is a good place to start there's always cars being parted out and stuff that's been in rear end accident and you can use those pieces of the body. The junk yard is good if you live close to one it doesn't to ask to see if they have that body style of a car you can strip for parts. But more often then not craigslist is going to be cheaper the the local junk yard.


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[Lord Vader]

Ill imput my opinion here if I may.

From the firs picture, you need a new nose piece ($80), and a new fender ($250+) and a new sideskirt ($100+). Hard to say, but it also looks like your tie rod bent from the impact, which is what its supposed to do to protect your steering rack. You will need to replace that and inspect the wheel hub assembly and control arm. That their looks fixable. Prices qouted reflect prices from a Body shop guy im good friends with, and are for replacement pre primed panels. Not junkyard peices.

However from the last picture it looks like the wheel was pushed backwards. Now you need a new control arm. Expect $130 for a new OEM one.

From the picture of you pointing at that metal peice, that right their, I would not bother fixing it. You would have to weld in a repair patch to fix that. Unless you have a welder and can do it yourself that will get costly. Look at a part diagram but that is an important component of the front end of the vehicle as it leads into the bumper supports. Judging by the rust its been like that for a long time.

You will make more money parting it out then selling it as a whole, but know this: It will take a long time to sell every bit. And once its stripped down, you still have to pay to have the scrap shell hauled off. The engine isnt worth much as its an M42. M50/52's are much more sought after. The interior and body that isnt damaged can be swapped into any other E36 so that is good.