95 525i deemed a total loss.... help

[blkspruce]

That will be my answer, whats the doubt! I will keep the car and fix, and if I need to, buy another one with the money! Nuff said. Thank you all for the input

[Russell]

will it have a salvage/rebuild title? If so, that may affect the resale potential (if important).

[Hypr5]

That will be my answer, whats the doubt! I will keep the car and fix, and if I need to, buy another one with the money! Nuff said. Thank you all for the input

The car will have a salvage title - which also means insuring it from this point on may be a little interesting and some of your money will most likely have to go into a big safety inspection to get it re-registered, etc.

7300 will get you another decent e34, unless there is centimental value to your current car, it's usually the best way to go. When I lost my black 5 to a rear-end / qtr accident, I wanted to keep it, but it just didn't make sense financially. For a quality repair, I would have actually had to use all of the insurance money + some money out of pocket. (However, the rear suspension / axle was bent and total repair cost was up to 12k)

[Ross]

Maybe not, the title will not be transferred. I had this same experience years ago and no record of a "total" was made. The damage was actually minor and repaired without even any paintwork. Being an old car the damage exceeded book value.
You can also negotiate this with them, I "bought" my car for $100, fixed it for ~$150 in junkyard bumper and grille, drove it four more years and sold for a bit more than my investment.
Keep the car, take the money.
If you don't want it I'll buy it.

[Tiger]

Any picture of damage? If it were me, I'd take the money and leave the car. You are probably thinking of how much you paid for the car and now it is worth less... well, market price makes it worth alot less than what the insurance is paying you.

We just had someone rear ended us... trunk does not shut and the damage was $4000 at the body shop. This is just from an entrance to highway... we both were at stop... and other driver thought we left and accelerated into us. Seems so minor of accident... well... $4000 is the bill. You really can't see the structural damage unless it is checked with laser. What is the circumstance of the rear end accident?

Just because you can't see it doesn't mean it is not damage... did you look in the spare tire well to see if it is pushed in? If so, it is possible the differential is pushed forward too and thus affects the tranny.