nas

I had an 05 545i, i hit a curb on high speed and sustained what i thought was some minor damage that insurance would fix, got a call today that they will be writing the car off as a total loss. Is buying the car back from the insurance company then fixing it myself worth it? It was in excellent condition before the accident, 85090 miles, bone stock, also how much can i expect for insurance payoff, it is non sport, logic7, active steering, nav, pdc,and cd changer.I have attached some pics, any input is appreciated.

greycoopers

I guess the insurance guys decided on a write off because the costs to repair the damage are higher than the economic value of the car...so thats means that you are looking at pretty high costs (repaired by dealer with OEM parts).

You could ask the insurance company or a dealer for a quote...and then have the repairs done by an indy shop you trust. Maybe that way you can save some $$, compared of what a "new" similar car would cost...

On the other hand, if you are really fond of the car and are willing to spent a bit more, than have it repaired regardless of the extra cost.


I personally would take the cash from the insurer and buy an other car...in my experience repairing a totaled car would take my confidence away pretty quickly..

Good luck!

sndohio

i dont see anything wrong except side skirt

nas

The damage is apparently on the suspension. The dealer quoted the insurance company $16278 to fix.

guysk8r1717

do you know the buy back price yet? i think its all up to that number if its worth it or not and hopefully suspension mounting points weren't torn out completely because then your getting into a repair job like that its no fun and can turn into a nightmare with alignment issues

v_therussian

I think that once the repairs reach over a certain percentage of the car's value, insurance companies will not cover the damage, but rather write off the whole car. This is probably a result of some sort of regulation and is probably a benefit to you. I say, just allow them to write it off and use the opportunity to get something newer - I hear there are some good deals out there on CPO LCI E60's these days

Good Luck with whatever you decide!

PS I'd buy the nav screen, if you happened to have one for sale on the cheap...

@mr

Suspension parts on a BMW are extremely high if you buy it from the dealer. I had about 14K USD worth of damage at the eft side after hitting a curb with a e90. And it did not look bad to me either.
So, it are the parts that are responsible for the high cost of the repair in general. As said already, if you have the time, knowledge and tools to fix yourself, it might be doable. Specially if you get your parts from some car disassemble company (we call that scrapyard ;-) )
But make sure you know exactly what is wrng with the car. Structural chassis damage is hard to repair.

jgt

i guess if you can do the work yourself or trusted independent that can, have the time and can source the parts at a half decent price it MIGHT be worth it. its all going to come down to the total cost and the amount of time its going to take.
for me it wouldn't make sense since my E60 is my only car and would honestly chuck it if my insurance company called it a total loss.

skeeter

I would guess the insurance company will offer you 12-15k for the car....

pjinca

Remember, the insurance company does not total a car ONLY when the cost to repair exceeds the value. There is a % involved. Let's say the car has $10k worth of damage and the assessed value is $15k, they will total it and write you a check. Why bother putting $10k of repairs into a $15 car? So you might still be able to buy it back from the ins. and get it fixed. Just a matter of how bad the damage is and how long you can be without a car. I would personally go get another 545 and be done with it.