I think my baby was in a serious head-on collision...

[andyman32]

...that Carfax didn't catch.

I found DOT-R stickers on the hood and both fenders; there's some kind of black mounting bar that connects the assembly with the master cylinder and the brake fluid reservoir in the front with some frame part at the firewall, on the right side of the engine compartment facing it, which looks like it actually bent in 2 places, but was manually hammered back straight and re-mounted; and the clincher is, there's a giant hole ripped in the right side (facing) aluminum plate over the firewall. I think everything forward of the passenger compartment has been rebuilt.

Carfax gave me a clean report!

Though, it's my fault. I was so preoccupied with the Nikasil problem that I didn't spend enough time inspecting the engine compartment. Oh well. Guess it's on me now. :-(

[warton]

...that Carfax didn't catch.

I found DOT-R stickers on the hood and both fenders; there's some kind of black mounting bar that connects the assembly with the master cylinder and the brake fluid reservoir in the front with some frame part at the firewall, on the right side of the engine compartment facing it, which looks like it actually bent in 2 places, but was manually hammered back straight and re-mounted; and the clincher is, there's a giant hole ripped in the right side (facing) aluminum plate over the firewall. I think everything forward of the passenger compartment has been rebuilt.

Carfax gave me a clean report!

Though, it's my fault. I was so preoccupied with the Nikasil problem that I didn't spend enough time inspecting the engine compartment. Oh well. Guess it's on me now. :-(

If you got a clean Carfax, you should pursue it and claim the $5K guarantee.

Peter

[andyman32]

Yea, the only problem is that I didn't register for the buyback guarantee within 90 days of the purchase. :-\

It still might be worthwhile chasing down a more accurate history of the car and trying to pursue it with carfax. It supposedly only had 1 owner prior to myself.

[NoSpeedLimits]

I ran my Van through carfax to see if it would report on the head on collision it was involved in.... and to my surprise it did not. Hence, I do not put much faith in their reports.

[Mr Project]

IIRC, Carfax is at the mercy of the state reporting system, so if the accident wasn't reported to the state, it won't show.

My dad's mercedes was totalled, and I fixed it. Ins. Co. didn't ever take the title, so it's clean, and my state doesn't know, so Carfax won't show it either. On a car with 212k, I figure it's not a big deal. :)

[TimGinCentralNJ]

...I've had it save my butt from buying an E28 in North Carolina which, although it looked great, was involved in a head on several years prior, resulting (according to the report) with the car landing upside down on it's roof. Thank you CarFax!!! Imagine the owner trying to explain his way outta' that one! :)

On the other hand, one time I bought an E34 with a "clean" title only to find out from a ex-BMW body shop guy that it had light front and rear damage, and had been t-boned at some point (all different accidents, according to him). I hadn't found this out within 90 days of the guarantee. Lucky me.

My feeling is, CarFax doesn't hurt, but after taking it to a good mechanic for pre-purchase inspection, always have a GOOD body shop check it out, too. Even tho' it might drive & look straight, it may not be!

Rgds,
Tim G.
'91 535iM


Yea, the only problem is that I didn't register for the buyback guarantee within 90 days of the purchase. :-\

It still might be worthwhile chasing down a more accurate history of the car and trying to pursue it with carfax. It supposedly only had 1 owner prior to myself.

[rickm]

Not all states report everything. I believe Texas and Florida don't put everything down or don't care. Post Hurricane Floyd we were seeing a LOT of cars leaving NC for FL because NC wouldn't allow cars that were flooded to be sold as rebuilds. I also believe that if an accident is not reported then it won't make it to Carfax.

Andy, you might talk to the DMV to see if they can run a report on it, then use that to go after the owner if he said it was clean.

I had a car that I was in an accident in (a drunk driver pulled in front of me, I nailed him) and all of the front end was rebuilt. By looking at it you'd have never known...it drove better (and a lot straighter) after the fact than it did before! :P

[andyman32]

Well, thanks for the advice everyone. It's just (obviously) a bit of an unpleasant surprise. I always stick with completely clean & stock cars to begin with, no matter how old. The car is very smooth out on the highway and in the city... well, except for a metallic rattle coming from somewhere under the right-front wheel that I can't find... but that's for another thread. I guess it's just that bent mounting bar in the engine compartment and the big gash in the firewall that bothers me most. If a hose (or, heavens forbid, the BLOCK) moved enough to tear a hole in the firewall and require the replacement of the hood and both fenders, that was no meagre accident.

I am in NC and bought it in NC, but the previous owner was in NY. I don't know who to contact in NY to ask about any reported accidents... the DMV website for NY isn't very helpful.

[Unregistered]

Well, thanks for the advice everyone. It's just (obviously) a bit of an unpleasant surprise. I always stick with completely clean & stock cars to begin with, no matter how old. The car is very smooth out on the highway and in the city... well, except for a metallic rattle coming from somewhere under the right-front wheel that I can't find... but that's for another thread. I guess it's just that bent mounting bar in the engine compartment and the big gash in the firewall that bothers me most. If a hose (or, heavens forbid, the BLOCK) moved enough to tear a hole in the firewall and require the replacement of the hood and both fenders, that was no meagre accident.

I am in NC and bought it in NC, but the previous owner was in NY. I don't know who to contact in NY to ask about any reported accidents... the DMV website for NY isn't very helpful.

Maybe you got that one from the same a**hole I got mine from.535i in 1989 was only a dream for me 18 years old,1st year of college,no money I can only dream then. 8 years later I got one from a private seller,in my haste I didnt have a mechanic look at it,didnt know about Carfax.Anyway it seems this vehicle was hit hard on the passenger side,the paint job was horrendous,the lines if you can call them that are horrendous,interior everything leans to the left even the dashboard,the cluster said 79000 ks,find out later the cluster was changed. What does carfax say,vehicle was registered at 45k miles in 1994.What happened between 89-94. No accident reports and according to Carfax I am the only owner of this vehicle. I have put so much money into this vehicle that I could have bought three of them and it still isnt 100%. I only hope if I ever see this guy again, I get a judge who says case dismissed he deserved it.

[Sweetwater]

...that Carfax didn't catch.

I found DOT-R stickers on the hood and both fenders; there's some kind of black mounting bar that connects the assembly with the master cylinder and the brake fluid reservoir in the front with some frame part at the firewall, on the right side of the engine compartment facing it, which looks like it actually bent in 2 places, but was manually hammered back straight and re-mounted; and the clincher is, there's a giant hole ripped in the right side (facing) aluminum plate over the firewall. I think everything forward of the passenger compartment has been rebuilt.

Carfax gave me a clean report!

Though, it's my fault. I was so preoccupied with the Nikasil problem that I didn't spend enough time inspecting the engine compartment. Oh well. Guess it's on me now. :-(

I find your sense of self responsibililty refreshing. I haven't bought a "new" vehicle since 1997 and just returned from a road trip that turned over 43K miles on it. The "used" market is a quagmire, to say the least. Yet, I haven't had the displeasure to feel like I've been taken by a bad auto. My worst experience to this point was the need for an A/C compressor in the Audi. I bought it in December and I'd swear that it was not working at the time of purchase, but the problem didn't become apparent till the following (hot) spring.

Anyway, what I really want to say is that we are dependent on the tools available and the honesty of the sellers. I think it's important to be on both sides of that fence over the years to develop the ability to be fair and truthful in these transactions. And it takes time to have the powers of observation and listen to that little voice that is in the background. It sounds like you did your homework to the best of your ability but might have used another professional opinion to avoid this situation. What are you doing to reinforce the firewall?

[andyman32]

What are you doing to reinforce the firewall?

Well, yes, I should have been more thorough. I could have visually inspected this car and decided not to buy it (or asked for like $2k off the purchase price).

The firewall isn't destroyed. Here, I'll post some pics of the firewall and the bar I'm talking about. I circled the area. The scrape in the firewall isn't that visible in the pics, but you can see the rumpled metal at the top part of the gash.

http://www.andywhalen.com/images/damage1.jpg

http://www.andywhalen.com/images/damage2.jpg

http://www.andywhalen.com/images/damage3.JPG

http://www.andywhalen.com/images/damage4.JPG