Pull the plug or revive 525i ?

[rattdogg]

This weekend I hit a deer head on with my '94 525i. The body shop estimated $4,600.00- $4,800.00 to make the car right. They figured it would be a toss-up as to whether or not the insurance company would total the car. He told me I had several options since the car was paid off:1. Fix the car (he assured me it would be 100% after repairs) 2. Take the check and sell the car as is 3. Take the check, scour for parts on my own, and outsource the work that I can't do myself to prep the car for paint. This car has 160,000 miles on it, but has been well maintained. Should I send it down the road, or revive the 525i?

[Alexlind123]

Its always good to hear about an e34 that was brought back to life If you like the car and have quality work done, how can you lose?

[HDhandyman]

I'd say it's a matter of personal prefference. I don't think anybody can really tell you, yes or no. How much do you love your car? What else can you buy for 4500 hundon? Will your car be better afterwards? Is the title f**ked after? etc ?

All I can say is that despite the fact that my car constantly asks for my attention, I love it more all the time. 4000 is what I paid for 88,000 miles---I think I'd definately spend it again.

[Dave M]

This weekend I hit a deer head on with my '94 525i. The body shop estimated $4,600.00- $4,800.00 to make the car right. They figured it would be a toss-up as to whether or not the insurance company would total the car. He told me I had several options since the car was paid off:1. Fix the car (he assured me it would be 100% after repairs) 2. Take the check and sell the car as is 3. Take the check, scour for parts on my own, and outsource the work that I can't do myself to prep the car for paint. This car has 160,000 miles on it, but has been well maintained. Should I send it down the road, or revive the 525i?

Deer ratdog, sorry to deer about your loss. Never deer, its fixable. Just chill out, have a couple deer and lend a deer to those who've hit stuff.
This may bring out a few broken 5er pics, so I'll start. It would be nice to see pics of yours to assess the damage, but for perspective, the damage to my 91 525im was in the order of $6000+ Can. It had 480,000km on it at the time and the insurance thieves didn't want to touch it with a disposable ten foot pole, but following an assesment by an appraiser, they covered it all. I'm very glad I chose to fix it, no regrets here.

P.S. Was there any meat salvaged? Always good for hamburger and smokies







Good Luck,

Dave M

[Jimbo]

I just had a very similar experience with my 535i about a month ago. Also front end damage and the bill ended up being a bit less than yours. After alot of thought and research I decided to have it fixed. First of all, to find a car I like even close to as much as my E34 I would need a hell of alot more money than the repairs would cost. Furthermore attempting to sell a wrecked car of that age and miles "as is" would not be an easy thing to do. And finally, i've spent enough time working on the car and always using the best parts, that I know exactly what i've got, which is not easy to say about another car of that age you might find.

[liquidtiger720]

Go for it.

Mine had front end damage, and maybe even frame damage ( I need to check that one out, body shop never told me about it, but carfax says so). The total fixings for my car was over $12,000. No clue on why insurance didn't total it.

[632 Regal]

I remember this and also remember it made me sick.