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2005 BMW 545i

mafia

mafia

Golden Member
I stumbled upon this http://www.ezsalvage.com/product_detail.php?vid=21149679# and want to know what do you all think?

What would be the estimated repair bill on this? (and yes it could have damage that is not in the pictures, but just from the pictures, what do you think.) If possible, include the worst case scenario like frame damage, suspension etc..

I am seriously considering bidding on this. I want to know from the experts first.

I am not going to sell it, so resale value isn't important here.

Thank you 🙂
 
mafia said:
I stumbled upon this http://www.ezsalvage.com/product_detail.php?vid=21149679# and want to know what do you all think?

What would be the estimated repair bill on this? (and yes it could have damage that is not in the pictures, but just from the pictures, what do you think.) If possible, include the worst case scenario like frame damage, suspension etc..

I am seriously considering bidding on this. I want to know from the experts first.

I am not going to sell it, so resale value isn't important here.

Thank you 🙂
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Save the pictures and put them up on photobucket or something. I'm not creating an account for the site to see them 😛
 
Considering how close the damage is to the wheel well, and how they pulled part of the rear seat out, I'd have to say there will likely be pretty severe damage to the body below the exterior pieces. There's also a possibility of the frame being out of whack if they hit the wheel.

I'm not personally sure I'd be willing to take on the project, but others will chime in with more informed opinions I'm sure 🙂
 
crazySOB297 said:
Considering how close the damage is to the wheel well, and how they pulled part of the rear seat out, I'd have to say there will likely be pretty severe damage to the body below the exterior pieces. There's also a possibility of the frame being out of whack if they hit the wheel.

I'm not personally sure I'd be willing to take on the project, but others will chime in with more informed opinions I'm sure 🙂
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Thanks! Yeah that is very close to the wheel.
 
Heh, if you have to ask, you probably can't afford it. 😛

Seriously, fixing BMW is pretty serious business and parts/knowledgable people don't come cheap. Doing something minor could cost thousands and who know what other damage the car has. Unless you are really knowledgable and know exactly what needs to be done, I'd suggest you don't take up such risky project.
 
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2005 545i with 60k miles at $14,500 already and looks like it lost a demolition derby, it's already bid up too high IMO.

Obviously the kind of person who has any business bidding on something like this should already know a lot about the car and repair work. The last thing you want is to tow this into a body shop and ask them for a quote saying you just bought it, they will all have a laugh I'm sure!

Put in an offer on this instead: http://www.ezsalvage.com/product_detail.php?vid=19652069
 
Yeah, if any shop could fix that for cheap or relatively cheap, it wouldn't be forsale as a salvage vehicle.
 
crazySOB297 said:
This will cost less or the same, and despite the miles is probably a better deal. You can get some with less miles in the low $20's.
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Not really. I wont be bidding on it anymore. I figured if I could get it for around 10k why not, but the bid has gone high as I predicted. I'm sure the repair for this car is around 2k, or else it wouldn't be such a high bid.
 
I wouldn't do it, not with a side hit like that. Probably lots of time on a frame machine working rockers and unibody. If they don't fix it right it could dog track causing major problems with tire wear or braking under certain circumstances. If you have a good body man that is willing to work on it for cheap, then it may be a consideration, but if IIRC BMW's and Mercs need specialty tools to do the frame work.

Good luck on your decision!
 
A BMW 545 deal in NJ... try this one, a 2005 with 20k miles and it's not wrecked for not that much more money. You would probably spend more than $6k fixing that other one, and it still might be messed up underneath it all. And maybe this one could be negotiated down a bit. Looks like a reasonably good deal to me:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/vdp.j...price=&cardist=48&standard=false&rdpage=thumb

EDIT: Looks like it sold in the time it took me to write the post, must have been a VERY good deal. But, anyway here's a place to start looking in your area:

http://www.autotrader.com/fyc/searc...&systime=&sownerid=51876119&rdm=1260327526500
 
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mafia said:
Not really. I wont be bidding on it anymore. I figured if I could get it for around 10k why not, but the bid has gone high as I predicted. I'm sure the repair for this car is around 2k, or else it wouldn't be such a high bid.
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HAHAHAHA really, $2k? It will cost many multiples of $2k to have that professionally repaired. Guaranteed. $2k only repairs the most minor of parking lot fender benders. On common vehicles with lots of available parts.

Actually, I had an accident leaving a nissan access minivan very much like this one back in 1994, t-bone, same section of the vehicle hit. The van was drivable afterward (at least for 10km, then it started to rub in a disconcerting way so we got it towed) but the repair bill was about $4500, so that was 15 years ago on a nissan.
 
mafia said:
Not really. I wont be bidding on it anymore. I figured if I could get it for around 10k why not, but the bid has gone high as I predicted. I'm sure the repair for this car is around 2k, or else it wouldn't be such a high bid.
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NO.WAY. Small bent (about a half foot long) at the front of the hood of my Bimmer costs me $ 1.2k. With the door messed up as well as rear seat, I'd guess the repair would be at least the north of $ 5k, at least. I wouldn't be surprised if it's close to 10 grand.
 
mafia said:
I stumbled upon this http://www.ezsalvage.com/product_detail.php?vid=21149679# and want to know what do you all think?

What would be the estimated repair bill on this? (and yes it could have damage that is not in the pictures, but just from the pictures, what do you think.) If possible, include the worst case scenario like frame damage, suspension etc..

I am seriously considering bidding on this. I want to know from the experts first.

I am not going to sell it, so resale value isn't important here.

Thank you 🙂
Click to expand...

Unless you fixing the car yourself, it's never worth it.
 
everydae said:
NO.WAY. Small bent (about a half foot long) at the front of the hood of my Bimmer costs me $ 1.2k. With the door messed up as well as rear seat, I'd guess the repair would be at least the north of $ 5k, at least. I wouldn't be surprised if it's close to 10 grand.
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10 grand? Now if it was 10k, the total cost for the car would be 24k, 2k above the KBB average for a non-accident 545i. Lets not get carried away here. The reason why it was 1.2k for you to fix your hood, because when body shops do estimates for repairs, they have a limit the insurance company will pay them. They always try to meet that limit so they will charge you for things you don't really need just so they can get the insurance money.

Example, my mom got into a fender bender with her 05 Camry. The bumper needed to be replaced and there was a few scratches. But the total repair was $2.5k. The insurance covered it. When I looked to see what was replaced, they wrote down: two lights, (none were broken), spoiler (which wasnt broken), all the badges, and other unneccesary things. They didn't acctually replace them, but just wrote them down to get the insurance money.

If you pay without insurance, they will only fix the neccesary. I'm 80% certain that this BMW's damage can be fixed for less than 3k. Thats with labor. (If it has no frame damage, which it probably doesn't since it is a CLEAN TITLE vehicle. Correct me if I'm wrong, but frame damage would automatically put the car as Salvage.)

One more thing, like I mentioned earlier, I am not interested in this car anymore. I was when the bidding was around 8k but now it went up to 14k. I thought I might be able to find a nice 'steal' for around 8-10k but obviously the price went up and its not worth it anymore.

Thank you for all your replies 🙂
 
mafia said:
10 grand? Now if it was 10k, the total cost for the car would be 24k, 2k above the KBB average for a non-accident 545i. Lets not get carried away here. .....
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If it can be fixed for a value at or below KBB, it would not be written off by an insurance company and passed along as salvage.

You should only buy an unrepaired salvage car under the following conditions:

1. The car is special to you (or others) and/or is unique enough to preserve.

2. You have the skills/tools/time to repair it yourself. - What is your time worth? You will never get back what you put into a major repair project in time/effort when you go to sell.
 
If you pay without insurance, they will only fix the neccesary. I'm 80% certain that this BMW's damage can be fixed for less than 3k. Thats with labor. (If it has no frame damage, which it probably doesn't since it is a CLEAN TITLE vehicle. Correct me if I'm wrong, but frame damage would automatically put the car as Salvage.)
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Fantasy land. That is not a $3k repair, period. Like you said, your mom's bumper and a few scratches on a Camry were $2.5k. In reality of course nobody knows how bad the damage is without inspecting it in person, which is why bidding in this manner is an extremely risky crap-shoot.

The bidding ended at $17k. I hope the winner knows what he's doing.

The bumper needed to be replaced and there was a few scratches. But the total repair was $2.5k. The insurance covered it. When I looked to see what was replaced, they wrote down: two lights, (none were broken), spoiler (which wasnt broken), all the badges, and other unneccesary things. They didn't acctually replace them, but just wrote them down to get the insurance money.
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That is called insurance fraud. There is a difference between an estimate and the actual work done, otherwise any fender bender the estimator would run up the estimate as high as they could without encouraging the insurance company to write it off.
 
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