What do you think will need fixing?

[zakool21]

My suitemate accidentally backed his chevy silverado into the front of my E36 friday evening. I saw it happen too. Painful to watch.

Here are some pictures of the poor thing.

The fan spins and sucks in a lot of air, but
1) I hear a clicking noise coming from near the fan
2) I can't get the hood open so I can't tell what's wrong with it (I can get to the release latch, but I think I've just got metal+metal locking itself together)

The bumper looks off-kilter, so they may need to replace/re-allign it too, but so far i think I need a hood, front grille assembly, and possibly a headlight assembly.

A friend of mine (who has only seen the pictures) suggests that I might have a broken radiator support. Can anybody else clue me in as to what kind of other damage I may have that's not obvious from the pictures?

A few have suggested that the repair bill should be between $3-$4k. Good thing my suitemate's parents are very wealthy and have insurance.

 

[Kirby]

$3K - $4K if they replace the body parts. But, not speaking from experience, I'm thinking a good body man might be able to rework the hood if it is just bent in the front. If then entire hood is bowed, that's a different story.

Internally in that area, you have the Auxillary electric cooling fan, the A/C coil, the radiator & mounts, the expansion tank, and radiator shroud. All of that is attached to or supported by the front grille assembly, so any or all of it could be damaged.

 

[zakool21]

Thanks!

I took the car in this morning to a place that specializes in European cars. I got an estimate for about $2325 - that is if there is nothing on the inside that needs replacing. He said that the radiator support could easily be another $2500.

 

[andreyiv]

Don't worry, most probably nothing serious is broken except maybe the radiator support which of course is just a part you can replace. I've had far worse damage to mine and I just bent sheet metal back. Oh, one more thing, the engine fan might be broken but thats easy to fix. To open the hood just pull really hard up, it should come loose eventually. Wish you luck.

 

[Big Daddy]

I would have the hood replaced. If they use filler (Bondo) on that it will eventually crack from closing it. Settle only for the best repairs.

 

[zakool21]

Absolutely getting a new hood.

Why would he have said that the radiator mount would cost so much? The dealer in sacramento quoted me $268 for the mount, and their shop quoted me 8-9 hours of labor for replacing it (at $70/hr). The place here in Davis where I took it this morning charges $60/hour labor and seems like it'll be the least expensive, overall.

 

[Kirby]

I just replaced the radiator on my 94 325i so I am quite familiar with the job. If the radiator mounts ON THE RADIATOR are broken, it will need a new radiator at $185 (AutohausAZ) - $350 (dealer) depending on who/where it is bought. Labor to replace the radiator is only 2 - 3 hours unless things are bent up and need straightening.

If the radiator upper mount clips are broken they are only about $5 each, I replaced one of mine. If the lower radiator mounts on the body are broken, as I recall that is part of the front end "clip". Don't know what that would cost, certainly more expensive.

It is hard to estimate what it will cost without actually seeing it.....

 

[zakool21]

Took it to a place this morning where they got the hood open. The headlight assembly seems OK, it was just pushed back.

The upper tie of the radiator support is bent a little bit, but it's a lightweight part that he says can be repaired without replacing it. He pulled on the support to demonstrate the weight of the bracket, and was able to pull it away from the fan that it was rubbing against. It's perfectly drivable according to him.

He quoted me $2273 for the hood, grille, and paint job, along with 3.5 hours of labor to fix the radiator support.

 

[Big Daddy]

Sounds like you have it all under control. I am gald that you are going to fix her. Post some after photos when the job is done.

 

[zakool21]

I'm going to use this price and knowledge of what needs to be fixed to get it fixed elsewhere. This place, even though it's reputable and the least expensive, is backed up till the end of june. I'm going to be moving out of college town for the summer by then, so I'm going to have to get it done at my mom's place. There'a VERY good place there that we've had long-standing experience with. I called him and he let me email him the pictures. He said he'd email me a quote back. Hopefully it's comparable.

 

[zakool21]

The quote was for $2571. My suitemate talked to his dad tonight and they've just decided to pay cash so that their premium doesn't go up.

I'm wrote up a legal agreement and he and I are going to sign it (along with a witness).

I'll take my car and get it fixed and he'll write me a check for the cost.

 

[Murray BMF]

Don't know much about the technical stuff, but I feel for ya. My car got hit y a Camaro, cost me $1800 bucks to get fixed. I hate seeing a fine automobile like a BMW get hit by a piece of S*@T GM product.