Front-End Collision Rebuild (Details and Pics Inside)

[Matticus91]

Decided to start a new thread to document the process I'm going through for anyone it may help in the future.

I initially started this thread which talked about what my starting plans were for the repair, but now I'd like to focus on how it happened, how much damage there is, what it will all cost, and what my plans are to save some dough.

I'll be keeping this post up to date as things progress, to keep it in one spot.

So first, how it happened: I'll admit quickly that it was a bonehead move on my part honestly, there was a light turning yellow that I was confident I could make it through (a light I deal with often in my neighborhood, very long wait on this one), so I sped up. The guy going through ahead of my had a different plan and I couldn't stop in time, so, I hit my brakes...nothing but ABS squishyness and then I "booped" his bumper (Honda CR-V) at about 12mph. Guy was very understanding and I made sure he was taken care of by my insurance, his total damage was ~$700.

On to my car: The front end of the 135 is substantially lower than the back of a CR-V so most of the damage was high on the bumper...





The hood was bent up, and the driver side headlight shattered. The bumper and rad support was pushed back into the radiator causing a puncture, it was also pushed into the belt which caused a belt failure, not sure yet if any pulleys were damaged. Somehow the windshield cracked (shop said it's not genuine BMW and likely flexed). Left fender was creased and bent. The driver side brake duct was broken, and the grilles destroyed. There is other internal damage that hasn't been fully assessed yet.

I chose to bring the car to a certified BMW Collision Center since I knew they would source BMW parts and do the job right. They will also allow me to install aftermarket parts as long as I purchase them myself.

Final Estimate:

• Parts: $5,952
• Body Labor: $1,470
• Paint Labor: $562
• Mechanical Labor: $682
• Misc: $13

Total cost before taxes/adjustments: $9,054


For those that have been following the thread and are wondering where the parts breakdown went, I removed it because there were many changes and it would be a lot to type it all out. Here's the basic list of parts, if you're interested in the cost of something specific let me know (edit, included prices of some big stuff):

• Bumper Cover - $687
• Kidney Grilles
• Lower Grille
• Bumper Supports
• Left Headlight Assbly - $1335
• Left Washer Nozzle and Housing
• Rad Support
• Rad Air Guide
• Radiator - $370
• Serp Belt
• Upper Rad Hose
• AC Condenser - $598
• Pressure Hose
• Engine Air Inlet Ducting
• Hood - $605
• BMW Emblem - $38
• BMW Windshield - $403 (total cost with all supplemental parts + rain sensor = $1000)
• Info Labels (yes, this is a real thing, and guess what they cost??) - $80!!!

Rebuild Time!!


I quickly decided the best way to handle this was to make use of the opportunity by doing some mods (as any enthusiast would). Since I have a 3rd party warranty, I was forced to avoid power mods, so I'm sticking with aesthetics here. So I jumped on the interwebs and started looking at options and costs. I knew some of the parts that needed replacing even before assessment (hood, bumper, headlight, the obvious stuff.

I was very fortunate that 1and1 keeps a vigilant eye on the marketplace and mentioned a bumper for sale. The next morning I had purchased a 1M replica bumper already painted to match my car at a great price and with everything I needed for mounting! This covered my need for the bumper itself, and all the grilles.




Next up was to tackle the hood, I knew what I wanted, just not if it was reasonable: The M3 style dome hood. I did some searching and found a few options, the one I settled on was the Seibon BM-Style CF hood. After speaking with them on the phone they gave me a pretty solid 15% discount which brought the price to just $900 brand new. After working out the prices with the shop it ended up being a completely reasonable move to have them paint it for me and I would install myself (very easy and I've done it before). The delivery time is a wait, but it should be fine. I also found out that lightened hoods NEED pins on these cars, otherwise you will experience hood shake and lift. I solved this issue by ordering some AeroCatch latches from Amazon. They're very low profile and can be painted to match the hood for a more factory finish.

In the shop!!

DSC_0015 by Matt Steele, on Flickr

New Seibon Hood - absolutely gorgeous finish. I've decided not to paint it for now, we'll see if that changes once I see it on the car.

DSC_0017 by Matt Steele, on Flickr
DSC_0018 by Matt Steele, on Flickr


New hood is on:
20170403_120019 by Matt Steele, on Flickr
20170403_120022 by Matt Steele, on Flickr

Current Status:
3/13 -Preliminary estimate was done and sent to my shop, who of course pointed out the use of used/non-BMW parts that need to be replaced with BMW stuff. So they will undoubtedly go back and forth on that until they agree on a price and parts list. I've already received the money for the current estimated total (Allstate has an amazing direct-deposit option that gets you the money in minutes), so my plan is to continue to source parts that I want to, A). Speed up the process, and, B). Reduce my out-of-pocket costs. I'll also be doing some of the work myself to save on labor where I can. My insurance and the shop have both been great thus far so kudos to BMW Rockville Collision and Allstate are in order.

3/20 - Estimate up to $11,000+, no details on that yet, hoping to have the final estimate on Wednesday.

3/22 - Ok, final estimate completed, came to around $9k and was approved by insurance!! Not totaled!!! I was so happy to hear this I almost forgot all my plans. However I didn't forget, and got back on track to make sure the hood would be here on time. I'm in the process of working with the shop to do some of the labor on the hood and bumper myself to save some cash. All parts should be in within a business week, and they're estimating the car will be done in about two business weeks.

3/31 - Car is all fixed up mechanically and is going under the knife for body work and paint. Also, hood and hood pins were delivered and I cannot wait to see them on the car. Shop is saying it will likely be done next week!!!

4/3 - Hood is on, work on the fender has begun, and car will go for paint soon. After paint the windshield will be replaced and then it will get a mechanical shakedown to test all the replaced components. They will also check all fluids and make sure everything passes inspection before releasing it to me. Still on schedule to be done this week!

If anyone has any questions on the process feel free to ask. When something like this happens, it's nice to have a shared experience to look on for advice, which I'm hoping this thread can offer to someone in the future

[1and1]

I'd be happy to hold onto those wheels for ya while it's in the shop.....
Just the helpful kinda guy that I am!

Seriously tho- get well soon & all that crapola

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by 1and1

I'd be happy to hold onto those wheels for ya while it's in the shop.....
Just the helpful kinda guy that I am!

Seriously tho- get well soon & all that crapola

Lol you're the third person to ask me about these wheels, they aren't for sale and i'm terrified of damaging one since they're no longer available

I really like them but I'm having a hell of a time finding BMW center caps that will fit!!

Thanks for the well wishes, pass-em on to the car though lol

[1and1]

Oh no, not "buy" them, just..., you know...., hold on to em for ya...
Keep em safe, yeah, that's it, just to keep em safe

I p r o m i s e to send em back sort of around the time you get your car back. Honest.

no, really...
probably...

And the get well soon was totally to the 1
at 12ish mph I figure the worst you got was a coffee burn lolz

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by 1and1

Oh no, not "buy" them, just..., you know...., hold on to em for ya...
Keep em safe, yeah, that's it, just to keep em safe

I p r o m i s e to send em back sort of around the time you get your car back. Honest.

no, really...
probably...

And the get well soon was totally to the 1
at 12ish mph I figure the worst you got was a coffee burn lolz

Hahaha in that case of course you can "borrow" them. Only conditions are: you need to get BMW center caps for them, and any damage results in a $4,000 "wtf" fee.

No coffee burn for me, just an ego burn

[griz31]

Cool, looking forward to the final product!

Out of curiosity, how much of that cost is covered by insurance and what's out of pocket?

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by griz31

Cool, looking forward to the final product!

Out of curiosity, how much of that cost is covered by insurance and what's out of pocket?

All of it minus my deductible ($500). However I think I'll be able to recover that by doing things myself and using parts I've purchased.

[champignon]

Originally Posted by Matticus91

All of it minus my deductible ($500). However I think I'll be able to recover that by doing things myself and using parts I've purchased.

You left out the $3000/year in additional premium after the insurance company factors in the accident :-)

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by champignon

You left out the $3000/year in additional premium after the insurance company factors in the accident :-)

Accident Forgiveness is a wonderful thing

[infinitekidM2C]

its gonna be better than ever man...but search the forum regarding the 1m foglight issue there's some issue about brake cooling you should look into.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by infinitekid2002

its gonna be better than ever man...but search the forum regarding the 1m foglight issue there's some issue about brake cooling you should look into.

Yeah thanks man, and thanks for the vote of confidence haha. I think I'm going to leave the fogs out and just keep the housings there. Depending how it looks I might replace the mesh with a full panel as well but I don't mind the circle. To be honest, I don't really understand why the replica bumpers all have fog lights. They don't wire up to the 135i, they block cooling, and they weren't even on the 1M anyway

This is what the bumper looks like without the foglights installed, notice the circle openings in the side grilles:

[Yeineken]

Check for tun3d's 1M replica bumper solution on here.

http://www.1addicts.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1056904

[Matticus91]

Update: new estimate is now over $11,000 in damage from a 12mph collision. WTF!!!! It might end up being totaled from this. I can't believe it! Has anyone dealt with a total loss buy-back before?

[zx10guy]

What the heck? What did they find that shot the estimate up like that?

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

What the heck? What did they find that shot the estimate up like that?

Apparently there's a ton of plastics in the front end that are meant to disintegrate in the event of, even a minor, impact. That, paired with the general cost of BMW parts/labor is driving the price up like crazy. I'm not really sure what is going to happen at this point.

It's like I'm cursed with these cars, had the first one 9 months and then it was lost in a flood. Now the second is potentially totaled almost smack-on my 1-year anniversary with the car.

[1and1]

Still have all your stock parts? I've always said the third 1's the charm....

Seriously tho, it's not major structural items so she should come home and feel just as good. Fingers crossed for good work and sending some good karma towards your baby!

[zx10guy]

What's the estimated value of the car now? Talk about a total loss doesn't enter the picture unless the repairs equal at least about 70 to 75% of the value of the car. Even at $11k, I don't think your car has depreciated that much.

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by 1and1

Still have all your stock parts? I've always said the third 1's the charm....

Seriously tho, it's not major structural items so she should come home and feel just as good. Fingers crossed for good work and sending some good karma towards your baby!

Thanks for the good vibes haha. Yeah depending how this goes I might very well end up buying it back if it's a total. My other concern is my insurance rates

Originally Posted by zx10guy

What's the estimated value of the car now? Talk about a total loss doesn't enter the picture unless the repairs equal at least about 70 to 75% of the value of the car. Even at $11k, I don't think your car has depreciated that much.

Car value is one of those gray areas with insurance, but I've been doing a bunch of research and it seems to be around $20-21k. I've not yet received an answer as to what the percentage is for Allstate but the legal limited amount for MD is 75%.

[Gray_Panther]

If you have any parts for sale headlight wise. Hit me up!

[Esteban]

Maybe there's an M2 in your future. Haha

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by Esteban

Maybe there's an M2 in your future. Haha

Lmao if this works I'd be ecstatic

[Matticus91]

Originally Posted by Gray_Panther

If you have any parts for sale headlight wise. Hit me up!

How about if they're broken lol. I'll be making a list of everything I get back after the repair.