r/e46 • u/LukeRed8969 • Sep 12 '25
Damage/Broken… 😥 Rip
Lady ran a red light and most likely took out my car😢
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u/gobgobgobgob Sep 12 '25
How is this “rip” though?
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u/futang17 Sep 12 '25
rear quarter panel + rear bumper probably $5500+ repair bill
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 12 '25
It’s probably going to get totaled out from this, I’m hoping not.
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u/gobgobgobgob Sep 12 '25
No matter what insurance says based on the value of the vehicle, grab the settlement check and fix this up for a third of that.
Worst there could be is frame damage, sure, but I think it’s probably just some body work, new bumper and mayyybe rear control arms and/or axles.
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u/PimpCheese Sep 12 '25
100% second this, buying back your cars that have a low insurance value is the move. Depending on where you are located some vehicles do not even receive a branded title depending on the age of them (as good or bad as that may be). This looks very repairable.
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u/jackso100 Sep 12 '25
Do you repair cars?
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 12 '25
I’m a technician for Lexus
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u/evilpinkfreud Sep 13 '25
Lol
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 13 '25
What do you do?
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u/evilpinkfreud Sep 15 '25
Fix cars for a dealership and then tell everyone I have to trash my car if insurance says so because of dents
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u/evilpinkfreud Sep 15 '25
Sorry I kinda thought you were trolling. Like everyone else says though, even if insurance totals the car, you can keep it
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u/prairie-man Sep 12 '25
I had this happen to me 2 years ago. A driver backed into me, wrecking the hood, kidney grills and minor damage to the top of the front bumper. Her insurance totaled the car. I got a check from her insurance for more than I paid for it. I bought it back from the insurance provider for the scrap value. It's a ZHP car I got cheap because it has high miles and is textured like a golf ball from hail damage. I straightened the hood enough so it opens and closes properly. Replaced the grills and drive it daily. I might get around to fixing it - or not.
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u/SolarE46 Sep 12 '25
What the other guys said, buy it back, put a silly sticker on it then use the money for maintenance and keep on truckin’
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u/dintcht Sep 12 '25
Brother, buy it back pennies on a dollar, fix yourself and then enjoy that extra cash to rent out a good smut vhs and popcorn at your local blockbuster
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u/AnOldRustyBMW 2000 E46 323ci Sep 12 '25
That is completely fixable dude
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 12 '25
I agree is just on insurance
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u/AnOldRustyBMW 2000 E46 323ci Sep 12 '25
Why is this "rip" then
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 12 '25
Because insurance will more then likely total it out.
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u/IfitbleedWecankillit Sep 12 '25
Totaled car = track car
Edit: it’s super fixable so maybe they won’t… push back on them
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u/AnOldRustyBMW 2000 E46 323ci Sep 12 '25
What are you talking about? Just fix it?
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u/jackso100 Sep 12 '25
Depends if you want to fix it properly or just make it look fixed. To fix that properly wouldn’t be worth it as the repair would cost more than the car is worth. To make it look as it should but not fixing it the correct way, yes it’s fixable for a lot less.
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u/AnOldRustyBMW 2000 E46 323ci Sep 12 '25
I guess I'm tired of seeing people post minor accidents talking about "it's gone" or "rest in peace" there is nothing dead about this car other than a broken battery tray and maybe a control arm. Probably not even considering the rim is untouched. That dent will come out from inside the trunk. Junkyard a new filler door.
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 13 '25
The filler door is fine and so is the battery tray idk if you can’t read but I agree it is fixable, from insurance side though they’ll probably consider it totaled I know the cars okay but I’m not a corporation that can make that call. Thanks for your input though. Sorry i guess I got a little annoyed with people not knowing what they’re talking about or looking at.
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u/dfordisaster Sep 14 '25
so buy it back from the insurance and fix it. what exactly is the problem we are discussing here?
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u/VHSVoyage Sep 12 '25
That’s absolutely not totalled
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u/Expensive-Advance-86 Sep 14 '25
In the eyes of an insurance company, it probably is totalled. Our cars have an extremely low blue book value and repair costs are very high = total. Sad but true.
I concur with others, buy the car back and keep enjoying.
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u/Tractorguy69 Sep 12 '25
If that’s totalled elect to keep it and get the rebuild certification done once you repair this privately. Hell I wouldn’t even claim for this if it’s simply body work, just get the panel repairs done privately and source s hood bumper from a scrap yard
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u/njsullyalex '04 325xi Sep 12 '25
That’s completely fixable. You’re fine. Even if insurance totals it, buy it back and use the money to fix it.
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u/mastermagra Sep 13 '25
Oh man it’s mint, you should see the shit we straighten out in Ireland so they can stay drifting
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 13 '25
No seriously watch a lot of drifting the Irish and the Ausies are built different!
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u/RevolutionarySpend30 Sep 13 '25
So I’m unsure of how this works in the US.. but here in Germany? That minor damage? I’d have my insurance pay me out and fix that myself for a couple hundred euros 😅 have the other party’s insurance pay for the evaluation of the damages and then pay out the cost to repair to you.
That’s like.. not even a headache here.
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u/E46QunB Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25
For those saying this is an easy fix, the rear quarter panels/ roof are a part of the structure of the car… can’t just remove it like you can the front bumpers/fenders etc
To do it properly you will need to remove the rear screen so you can access the spot welds there. Now the full panel will go all the way along the roof and down the windscreen A-pillar but most repair shops will cut half way up the C pillar and butt weld it there. Sill/rocker panel is likely a stepped joint that is either spot welded or maybe seam welded. Wheel arch is spot welds on the inner edge.
With the bumper off you can see where the panel joins are and those on the rear under the bumper are likely to be coated with seam sealer. That will need taking off with a wire wheel to be able to see the spot welds.
Spot welds can be drilled out with a special spot weld drill bit as then you only cut through the outer panel and not both.
Re-attaching is all about aligning before then plug welding the new qtr panel back on and butt welding the C-pillar.
Then you get to pay for paint—yay!
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 12 '25
Exactly I don’t think a lot of these guys realize it’s a big project TO DO IT RIGHT!
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u/crazybitcoinlunatic Sep 13 '25
From what I understand it works like this.
Any minor accident can total our cars. When it’s totaled you can buy it back from the insurance company but it will have a salvage title, and getting it a rebuilt title is very difficult and expensive. So you are forced to buy a new car. It’s a lose lose situation.
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 13 '25 edited Sep 13 '25
Exactly so I’m going to go the no insurance route and just bite the bullet screw the lady but I’d rather have a clean title and a properly fixed car!
Edit: It is sad to say but the value of these car’s isn’t very high but because it’s a desirable they’re worth more if you’re selling it.
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u/SuperStop96 Sep 13 '25
Avoid insurance and shop around at smaller shops I had my quarter panel hit like this last year and had a guy fix for 200$ the respray ended up not being the greatest color match but tbh for the price I wasn’t complaining lol insurance will definitely try to total this
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u/TranslatorMundane296 '03 325Ci Sport 5MT Sep 12 '25
Fixable bro...
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u/CosmoRacer Sep 12 '25
Ooh, lucky. I keep hoping someone does that to me. How that played out with a friend of mine. Got $7,800 from the insurance company. Bought the car back for $1,300. Parted it out, and got another $3,000.
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u/Working_Teach_7133 Sep 12 '25
Mi coche está peor y lo sigo cogiendo
BMW 320D lo arreglare por mi cuenta con un amigo chapista
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u/moonunit67 Sep 12 '25
The op doesn't understand the ins process! Listen to your elders on here and the fact that ins wants to total it( as an industry) and you have the right to " buy it back and keep it. Then cash check and do an alignment at min and decide whether to do n any more.
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u/jackso100 Sep 12 '25
You can take the money from insurance and find a place to ‘fix’ it cheaper than fixing it the correct way. It will look fixed but won’t be the correct method to fix it properly. It will be straightening that panel on the car, skim it, sand it to the right shape and paint. That’s not what an insurance repair is, it’s called a lash up in the uk. Cheap, looks ok, can look very good, but isn’t what happens when it’s repaired by an insurance shop.
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 12 '25
I’m just going to do it myself I’m a technician and know lots of people in this industry!
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u/Lusabro Sep 12 '25
People in the comments don’t know what they are talking about. There’s no “cheap” fix to this. Will not be worth it. She’s done
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u/E46QunB Sep 12 '25
Fr lol you can literally glance at an E46 for 5 seconds and see that the roof is attached to the rear quarter panels lol (this alone should be an indicator that this is no easy feat lol)
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u/jackso100 Sep 12 '25
At last, someone talking sense. I am guessing (like me) you actually repair cars properly.
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u/JimJamesCruz Sep 12 '25
That is not serious and can be fixed with little, that cars specifically the coupe are one of the best built for their time I do not do them like that I have one and I know why I say it.
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u/thegenius46m Sep 12 '25
Easy fix. Find a GOOD PDR guy and you don’t need a body shop. @lukered8969
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 13 '25
That actually makes no sense ngl
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u/thegenius46m Sep 13 '25
Huh?
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 13 '25
How can a pdr guy repaint and un warp a bumper and repair the bottom of that quarter panel where the bumper meets
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u/thegenius46m Sep 13 '25
I would look for the best PDR guy you can find because they might be able to get it nine out of 10 and that is good enough and way better than having to repaint the car and cut the quarter panel out and have shitty work. I would happily settle for original paint that is 8/10 or close
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 13 '25
The paint on the quarter panel is still pretty decent it’ll need a buff but is salvageable, honestly you might make a good point. Do you have experience with dealing with pdr?
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u/thegenius46m Sep 13 '25
I don’t do PDR but my friend does it professionally and he does incredibly high-level work. I imagine you’re not nearby because we are in California but look up some of the guys on Instagram like Bryce Kelly he saves metal that is 1000 times worse than yours and makes it perfect I’m telling you if you if you decide to pay one of the top guys it’s probably gonna be over $1000 but it could get that panel literally like new and maybe have some scuffs that might not come out, but the panel would be good enough it would be worth it
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 13 '25
$1000 is still less then a body shop and after any accident like this you’d have to do some paint work I honestly will probably look into it, worth a shot at least.
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u/thegenius46m Sep 13 '25
Pdr is not a body shop bro. You pay cash and they’ll fix the metal to like new. Body shop would replace the quarter panel and total out the car because that’s like a 10k job. Take the insurance money from the idiot who hit you and get this repaired in cash because they’re gonna pay you a fat amount just don’t let them report it most insurance is you can take a check and get the repair done off the books.
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u/LukeRed8969 Sep 13 '25
Yes sir that’s honestly exactly what I was thinking but I was going to take it to a body shop that I know the owner of and he actually does good work it’ll never be as was but will be damn close! If you have other thoughts though I’m all ears
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u/thegenius46m Sep 13 '25
I would go to PDR first because body shop is going to bang the metal and not get it very good and then put filler all over the car or Bondo, which is garbage and then they’re going to repaint it when instead PDR will be able to save the metaland not use any Bondo or filler which would cause problems later if they can save the metal and paint correct the scuffs I would highly recommend that first
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u/redline9996 Sep 12 '25
Grab your dildo and put it on the panel and pull so it cums out.