e39 530i crash!

[Arma 134]

I put an M5 front bumper on mine, you will need the mesh insert, fog lights, the brake ducts, and the flat panels underneath in front of the wheels, but should bolt straight on. Good upgrade!

Can I just use the ones I have for the current bumper (assuming they aren't damaged) - or use the same mesh insert/foglight/brake ducts and the brackets as ordinary msport cars do? Or did you have to get new ones specific to the m5?

In other news - had a chat with Shane @ Prima who said to get the car to him tomorrow so I can get a quote. Think they are booked out for at least a week, but that's not too bad. Will organize the tow for tomorrow - though the car is in an underground car park and needs to be lifted from there (unless i push it out of the park).

[allan 295]

Re bumpers you can research this online as it was all done to death by the yanks . From memory their are 3 different type bumpers for the e39 standard, M sport and M5 as Andrew mentioned the bumpers mounts may all be the same. BUT its BMW and their is always a but the attachments and some of the under panels are different also the air brake duct method , type of fog lights, lower bumper mesh etc etc. Just research it a little and you will get a better understanding of what it en tales.

[jeffbebe 1560]

It'll be easier to get an Msport bumper than an M5 bumper I'd have thought, then you don't have to change brake ducts, etc which are different on the M5.

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

M5 bumper should be a straight swap, since you already had the m-tech 2 bumper your car will have the correct lower corner and under belly trims. The spot lights are the same, the mesh insert is the only difference, you will need to get an aftermarket mesh insert that has brake cooling holes in order to retain the stock cooling duct setup :

[allan 295]

http://www.ebay.com/itm/BMW-E39-96-03-M5-Style-PP-Front-Bumper-Cover-Clear-Fog-Lights-/400726392079?fits=Make%3ABMW

and if you do the rear

http://www.ebay.com/itm/97-03-BMW-E39-5-SERIES-M5-STYLE-REAR-BUMPER-W-SINGLE-OUTLET-EXHAUST-/191250445486?fits=Make%3ABMW

[keltik 15]

Sad news, makes me think twice about my 3rd party insurance.

Was actually talking to the guys at Brit-Euro today and bumpers/guards are pretty well priced for the E39. I know aftermarket stuff cant match the quality of genuine, but a new bumper fascia for $300 aint bad.

Definitely worth repairing with a bit of time and care to find the parts.

[str8_6 275]

Yeah, funnily enough, the M5 didn't come with brake ducts from factory. At first I thought mine had not been replaced after a bumper respray but they weren't on the parts listing.

[_ethrty-Andy_ 2136]

Sad news, makes me think twice about my 3rd party insurance.

Was actually talking to the guys at Brit-Euro today and bumpers/guards are pretty well priced for the E39. I know aftermarket stuff cant match the quality of genuine, but a new bumper fascia for $300 aint bad.

Definitely worth repairing with a bit of time and care to find the parts.

Avoid that taiwanese crap at all costs.

I have their stuff on my Hiace, have to readjust it getting it sitting right once every few months. Go genuine or go home in my opinion, goes for mechanical parts too

[Arma 134]

Yup i try to stay genuine as much as i can. Going to buy the parts from a used msport hopefully. Will order mech parts through Glenn, whatever is needed.

[Arma 134]

Panelbeaters had a look - still waiting for a quote but went to have a chat with Shane this morning and it's not looking that good. Left side chassis rails have bent/crumbled/folded a bit and Shane says they might need to take the motor out to fix it - but won't know for sure till everything has been stripped down.

Possible write-off if the cost gets too up there.. but really don't want to

[Arma 134]

Need to get myself a nose cut of an e39 msport. Anyone got one?

[qube 3570]

if you have the time and patience it would be worth while to keep it at home and strip it out wouldnt it?

[hotwire 352]

I find it unbelievable to have done that sort of damage mentioned above at a speed of 10 ish kph

[BreakMyWindow 1878]

If the chassis rail is bent then their will be a lot of labour involved with stripping down the front of the car, measuring the frame once on a jig and pulling the rail back to spec. You're also looking at possible further damage to the front aluminium subframe. Seems like a lot of damage for a kiss in to the wall.

[hotwire 352]

^ this is true if it was only 10km/h. The bumpers are meant to absorb impacts of that level aren't they?

Yep there abouts.

Although an older car, I head butted the concrete wall at Puke in my E30 race car, at about 25 -30 kmh & virtually square on. Minimal damage - bumper has concrete rash, broke the kidney grille, broke the L/H headlight frame mounting (not the lamps) very slight turn down on leading edge of the bonnet (hardly noticeable) & L/H rail pushed back about 30mm. Slight tweak in the valance.

A simple repair, still to be done - once I sort the engine!

[Arma 134]

Yeah, if I go through with it it's going to be costly unless I can find a used nose cut for a good price. Already got a quote on the labour including repair, refitting, refinishing/repainting, regassing aircon, jig hire etc. adding up to the 3k mark. Just need to source all the parts I need (don't actually need everything from a nose cut but apparently it's cheaper/easier to just buy a nose cut from a wrecker). Brand new parts (out of the question here) adds up to $8.5k just parts.

I really don't know what speed I was going but it wasn't a very big car park and didn't feel very fast at all. It is literally a 10-15m strip of ground before my parking spot. Perhaps turning the car slightly, just before the 'crash', caused the momentum to cause more damage? But the max it felt like was 15kph. What kind of speed would that kind of damage be caused by anyway cause there was no way I was going over 20 (didnt even feel over 15 for that matter) - but I could be wrong and perhaps I lost my sense of speed..

Only good news out of this is that the motor doesn't have to be taken out to fix it, which is what they said after someone from BMW who's done a similar repair had a look at it. If I write it off, i'd imagine I would get barely anything from selling the whole thing as a damaged vehicle. And I just don't have the tools or mechanical expertise (or space) to strip it apart myself to sell parts separately. If it was a computer or other electronic then that'd be piss easy for me, but not vehicle mechanics .

Decisions decisions...

[hotwire 352]

Seriously, from the first pic you show i it doesn't look overly serious damage, certainly nowhere near write off material

[Arma 134]

Is that 3k labour only? Excluding parts? Ouch...

I very much want to see a video of this now, that carpark sounds lethal. Do they have CCTV, could you snag a copy?

No CCTV . Otherwise would have grabbed a copy already to relive my stupidity over and over again. But yeah 3k labour only. Drew the line at 5k+ will mean possible write off. Anything less, will repair. Really don't want to write off though. Rest of the car in too good of a condition!

[Arma 134]

Yep. Kind of wish I spent some time learning mechanical workarounds earlier on - but time is always a limitation!

May or may not get required parts from Brent depending on how much it comes down to - waiting to hear on that.

If everything falls apart, might just get an e34 - been wanting one lately.

[sonic_attack 89]

I think once theres talk of front cuts and alignment machines you're going to want to be seriously in love with that car to progress.

Surprised to read the damage report even based on that pic alone. Theres a tidy/straight e34 well inside the cost of getting that looking like it did prior to stacking it. It was a nice car so I imagine youll be quite critical of the repair.

Crap scenario for sure. Ouch!

Cars not in eden terrace now is it?

[Arma 134]

I think once theres talk of front cuts and alignment machines you're going to want to be seriously in love with that car to progress.

Surprised to read the damage report even based on that pic alone. Theres a tidy/straight e34 well inside the cost of getting that looking like it did prior to stacking it. It was a nice car so I imagine youll be quite critical of the repair.

Crap scenario for sure. Ouch!

Cars not in eden terrace now is it?

I live in eden terrace yeah - crash happened inside my car park there. Cars at the PB atm, awaiting my verdict. I'm just pricing parts up from various places to see if there is a path that falls within my budget for repair.

[Arma 134]

Went to see Brent today, bumped into Andy too (ethrty-andy) - was good seeing you guys.

Looks like a few of the parts that were on the quote list aren't really needed because I already have them undamaged (guard liner extensions and what not). Will probably be sourcing some of the parts from Schmiedmann and the rest locally. Have found an m5 bumper for a decent price which I'll probably get - will deal with the aftermarket mesh with brake ducts later. Current one comes with the stock mesh (without the brake duct holes).

This will, hopefully, bring down the cost of parts and hence the whole job. Fingers crossed.

On another note, test driving an e34 540i tomorrow.. just to keep options open.

[charles28 138]

I'd be interested in your opinion of the E34 540i, since you also have an E39 530i, i've been tempted to look at a cheap one for sale in CHCH

[Arma 134]

I find the e34 540i quite nice actually - steering feels a lot lighter and the engine is definitely torquey. I always notice that the brake pedals seem very stiff in every e34 I've driven - not sure if this is an e34 specific thing or whether something is wrong with the brakes.. They are nice cars to drive. In terms of comfort the e39 definitely wins for me though.

I think I've decided that I'll repair the car as I've managed to source some parts for decent prices. Will be nice to have it tip top looking from the front.

[qube 3570]

damn. i was going to say do a: e39 interior into an e34 body conversion.

but actually glad that this will be getting repaired. it would be such a shame not to.