Worth saving from salvage?

[driftwood258]

I've been offered £880 by my insurers in exchange for the salvage of my E92 335D. An album of the damage is available here.

Whilst it's not London ULEZ compliant, which will be an issue for me come next year, I'm tempted to try and save it from salvage. I've conveniently found a donor car on eBay which would allow me to source a rear window, side window, rear brake light, all of the side window guttering/trim, and part of the body panel running from the boot to the roof which has a tear in it - I conservatively put this at a cost of ~£250. These are the only parts I think I'll need.

On top of that, I'm hoping the rear quarter panel above the rear bumper can be knocked back in to shape and filled, and the piece between the boot and the roof where the tear is can be cut out, and the replacement piece welded back in place. That entire rear quarter section would then need a respray.

What would the general opinion be here of attempting this? Worth the hassle? Or could I get more than my insurer's offer by putting the salvage up on eBay? The car is otherwise mechanically good, with a full service history, as is the body work and interior.

[driftwood258]

Thanks for all the input!

Davie_GLA said:

can't help with your query but curious as to what caused damage that high?

Mobile crane swiped into me at low speed on a dual carriageway in traffic - the jib that was sticking out of the front is what caused the damage to the C pillar before the rest of him swiped my quarter panel.

rxe said:

Depends on year and mileage I would guess. A tidy low miles one seems to be 6.5K, a moon miles one about 3. What’s yours? A 6.5k car is worth fixing.

I'm being told Glass's is somewhere right in the middle of that range. It looks like it was the jib took the glass out, so it's just surface damage. Where the metal is torn it's just resting on the rubber trim surrounding the rear window, and hasn't penetrated/damaged it at all.

fwaggie said:

If you're only going to run it for a couple of years you could do a quick fix on the C pillar (weld in plates to make it waterproof and then lots of filler), ditto rear panel

Are you proposing a DIY job, or find the cheapest shop near me? If the former, I don't think I have the skills to do the C pillar. I could potentially have a crack at pulling out the dented quarter panel though.

Checkmate said:

If you like the car, why not fix it and keep it?
800 odd seems a good price to buy the car back at.

I do like the car, but I'm wondering if it'll be a false economy. I've yet to get any quotes for the damage to the C pillar and quarter panel - I could be massively underestimating how much it'll cost.

Likeomg said:

Isn't the engine alone worth more than that....

It seems to be the most common up and coming LR defender engine swap... so engines will be in demand.

I didn't mention it's got 145k on the clock; do you still think the engine's worth more?

eezeh said:

Worth saving it? not sure
Worth buying it back and breaking it for parts, yeah id definitely do it
Very pessimistic i know but i wouldn't trust any body shop to do a half decent job of repairing it, not up to my standards anyway.

I don't really have the inclination to keep it on the drive and split it for parts, but it did tempt me. I totalled up "the big bits" - interior, navigation, alloys - and figured I'd borderline make a profit; parting the rest out might take months.

I was wondering if anyone was experienced enough to have a guess at how much a dent puller would cost for the quarter panel and a bodyshop to weld a replacement C pillar piece.

[driftwood258]

RenPug said:

Why dont you buy it back and then sell to somebody willing to break it instead. Might not make as much money as breaking it yourself but then you won't be putting the hours in to dismantle and post all the bits either.

If you're on Facebook join this group, theres a few BMW breakers on there plus plenty of other people who might be interested.

Did consider this - even going as far as asking a few eBay breakers I was trying to source my parts from if they'd like the entire vehicle - but I had no takers. I'll try the Facebook group though, thanks!

eezeh said:

Interior, dashboard, steering wheel, nav and alloys would surely bring more than 800 alone then you have the divetrain, engine, gearbox and diff which is where the money is surely?

I've never really had any reason to check this sort of stuff out in detail before, but given the high mileage of the vehicle is the market for the drivetrain, engine, gearbox, and diff really that healthy? If I was purchasing these parts myself, I'd want to ensure the donor had a few miles as possible on it.

Then there's also the matter of not having the tools or the expertise to take those latter bits out myself.

[driftwood258]

You don't think a mobile dent repairer could sort the quarter panel out?

If people are saying it'll cost 3k to put it right, and book value without a cat S designation is 4.5k, I think it's quite touch and go as to whether this could be done for any profit.

[driftwood258]

That last reply was to CharlieAlphaMike, if that wasn't clear.

martin mrt said:

If you do decide to get it back from the insurers I’d be interested in buying it as it is

Happy to discuss privately if that's a genuine offer. It's in my possession at the moment - more of a question of me letting them know if I accept their offer. Where in the country are you?