Rescuing a E46

[Wankelfollower]

Ok Guys, here's the deal. There's a '04 325i sedan sitting at a local bodyshop, 50k mi and a $8,500 price tag. The catch: There was a underhood fire on the passenger side.

The passenger's side under the hood is burnt up. It obviously started within the headlight, the wires running to the light are singed back up to the peak of the wheel well, but beyond that the wires look fine. The head light is just a puddle of plastic, but the hood, fender, and front lip are fine. The plastic cover on the top of the engine on the pass, side is melted slightly, but it doesn't look like it got to any underlying parts. The Washer fluid resvoir is halfing missing, so it doesn't look like the heat got past the middle of it.

The engine gives a nice hard crank but won't start up. I don't hear any firing on any cylinders. I'm curious as to what the worst case scenario could be on this bimmer. I looked on realoem.com to get an idea of what's located in that region of the engine bay, but I thought it would be good to get your advice as well.

I will check back a couple times a day. Any ideas would be great. Thanks for your time.

[saltshaker185]

check the fuse box? if one wire shorted and started a fire there may be others that shorted too? ummm look for burnt wires is all i can tell you...

[Wankelfollower]

Here's some shots with the digital cam.

Engine Cover, mostly surface damage

Image of engine cover - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting


Front drivers side, Air box only has surface damage

Image of front drivers - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting


Front Passenger's Side, Main Damage, Melted out Head light and passenger sub wiring harness, washer fluid bottle is melted halfway down, but the bottom is fine, so anything under it should have been protected

Image of front passengers - Photobucket - Video and Image Hosting

[PrInG]

If you wanna get new parts for that.. They are going to nickel and dime the shit out of you. Idk know what it's like for an E46. But when I got my M I just had to replace a couple of plastic peices and clips and suck. Brackets and other misc. part cost a shit load. Be prepared to open that wallet wide.
Sorry. IDk if your saving so much on the car it won't matter but.. Just a thought..
- The pringster

[AlpineSixAndSeven]

Looks like....
Engine Covers
Headlight bdy
Headlight bulb low beam and high beam
Corner Lens
Paint....
Wiring Harness
That thingy next to the valve cover...
Radiatior support... because there is a chunk of it missing...
Valve cover gasket might need replacing...
Washer Tank... maybe pump...
Wiring harness holder..

Your looking at a couple G's in damage.....

Check the fuse box for blown fuses.. make sure no major circuits are blown... and check the grounding straps in the area... then figer out with one is missing Gas, Spark(on time), or compression....

[Teh Prof]

And the intake manifold.

And don't forget those wiring harnesses are EXPENSIVE.

At that price, I don't see how you're going to make money on this deal.

[AlpineSixAndSeven]

^ why the intake? it just looks dirty i couldn't see any holes/splits...

[Teh Prof]

Looks like a hole on the top near the throttle body.

[AlpineSixAndSeven]

look at pic two it isnt there.
I saw that at first and it tripped me out...

[saltshaker185]

wow umm i dont know if you realized that but there is supposed to be a metal bracing across where that headlight used to be... that fire must have been pretty damn hot...



this ladies and gents is why we put the recommended fuses in out fuse box :\

[AlpineSixAndSeven]

^ yeah i mentioned that i recommentd checking all of them... and compare them to what the manual says...
"Radiatior support... because there is a chunk of it missing..."

[Wankelfollower]

Ok guys, here's what info I gather from realoem.com

Wiring Harness
RealOEM.COM * BMW E46 325i REPLACEMENT CABLE F MAIN CABLE HARNESS

Radiator Support - listed as #5
RealOEM.COM * BMW E46 325i FRONT BODY PARTS

Engine covers
RealOEM.COM * BMW E46 325i CYLINDER HEAD COVER

RealOEM.COM * BMW E46 325i VALVES/PIPES OF FUEL INJECTION SYSTEM

Air Pump for Emissions Control
RealOEM.COM * BMW E46 325i EMISSION CONTROL-AIR PUMP

Windshield Cleaner Resevoir
RealOEM.COM * BMW E46 325i WINDSHIELD CLEANING CONTAINER

I would probably replace the headlights+corners left and right, aftermarket.
The car blue booked at 20k (yeah yeah, not salvage or burnt to hell). I planned on fixing the car for myself. I have free access to a paint booth, and my uncle is a rather experienced mechanic, so I should be ok doing work myself with some assistance from him. Idk if this would be worth my time or not, but after owning my '93 325i Sedan I'm hooked on BMW, maybe I should just look thru autotrader listings for the '00-'01's. My '93 has 160k and was backed into a couple months ago. I got a pay out for it, but needed money more than aesthetics at the time. It needs a new radiator (the one in it was repaired before I bought the car, didn't see it until now tho. would rather have it replaced than risk it) the catalyst in the exhaust broke free, so it's got a good rattle now, just replaced a suspension control arm in the front and replaced a wheel bearing in the rear. It also needs new brake rotors. Hood and grille surround needs to be replaced/painted. Needs a new blower for the ac/heat.

I'm just lost as what to do.

[AlpineSixAndSeven]

If you want to take on the project go ahead. just bewarned the it is going to cost alot to fix. and will be alot of work but id say you should go for it once you know how much it is going to cost you... but good luck! see if you can get them down more

[PIMPO]

- I own a 325i
- Wish i had a 330i
- your project is gonna be a lemon (and your gonna get pissed time and time again to fix it)
- BMW parts are way to fucking expensive. (i dont' know why since some have GM trannys)
- I recommend 330i or go straight for ///M
- If you can't afford to fix a bmw you shouldn't get one! damn parts!!!!!

[chinonca]

Unless you can find a good deal on a complete front clip, that repair job is going to be real expensive 1 !!! best bet would br to find a complete front clip even better with the engine. Looks like that car got pretty HOT!! Need to break them down on the price ! Good Luck Dude.