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Marjorie Suddard
Marjorie Suddard General Manager
5/17/12 7:10 p.m.

Katie had a big biology final today, a several-hours-long IB test that she said went well. Which is cool, because this is for college credit as well as counting toward her IB diploma.

Unfortunately, she rolled her E30 into a Tahoe in a stop-and-go merge on the way home. A Tahoe with a trailer hitch.

The good news is that everyone's fine. Bad news is that her little Beemer is pretty well pranged. Oh, and it was a 2-part test, with the second half at 7:30 tomorrow morning.

Margie

Stealthtercel
Stealthtercel HalfDork
5/17/12 7:33 p.m.

Been there with kids and Unfortunate Events. Another of the many joys of parenthood (and kidhood) that they never seem to put in the books. It's tough: on the one hand, you can't credibly just shrug it off and tell them that "Stuff happens," but on the other hand, you know perfectly well that, yes, in fact, stuff happens.

I hope Katie is good at compartmentalizing, with biology in one brain file and BMWs somewhere else entirely.

Oh, and, for the record, it's inhumane to test anybody on anything at 7:30 in the morning, and you can tell her school I said so.

Marjorie Suddard
Marjorie Suddard General Manager
5/17/12 7:56 p.m.

Thanks. Agreed on all counts. Which is why I hugged her a lot... And told her she'd have to pay for the ticket. The car part we'll have to figure out. In the meantime, cue my favorite Paul Simon lyric: "Why am I soft in the middle / the rest of my life is so hard."

Actually, that's crap. I'm still blessed. (Her car, not so much.)

Margie

MG Bryan
MG Bryan SuperDork
5/17/12 8:23 p.m.

When I read: "rolled her E30", I was pretty worried about the direction this post was taking.

I'm glad all the important stuff is fine.

mad_machine
mad_machine GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
5/17/12 8:27 p.m.

yea.. cars can be fixed or replaced.. kids.. not so much

wlkelley3
wlkelley3 Dork
5/17/12 8:49 p.m.

Yeah, been there. My daughter has had her share of bad luck in cars. Got sideswiped and forced into the median, rolled 2 1/2 times. Hit & run because they weren't insured. Went on a date with a guy that rolled is over-turbo'ed Supra with her in the passenger seat, she had a back injury with that. Had someone rear-end her in the Miata and then drove off. Came out from shopping and found the right front fender of the Miata dented. And another rear end in the Miata, guy misjudged stopping distance. All this in 6 years. And she's the car person, likes autocrossing and wants to road race. SWMBO is quickly catching up in her 2010 Sonata. Had it about 9 months and someone takes off early from a stop sign and hits the Sonata behind the left rear wheel. SWMBO hits a curb twice damaging front spoiler. SWMBO backed into a parked SUV. And had another one today. Making a left turn, guy pulls forward and hits her damaging both doors on the drivers side and a hole in the rear passenger door. Guy tell cop she hit him but she said he started early and crossed the line on the road hitting her. Wife also had a passenger that agrees with wifes statement. Guy also admits it's his second accident at the same corner in 2 weeks and was in a hurry today. Bad timing though. I'm home next week but the week after I have a business trip and then come home and SWMBO and I are going to Cali for 2 weeks to visit family. I guess we'll be leaving the car in the body shop while we're on vacation.

Oh and good for Katie on her test. Car can be fixed/replaced and lesson learned.

EastCoastMojo
EastCoastMojo GRM+ Memberand UberDork
5/17/12 9:00 p.m.

I'm glad she is OK.

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard GRM+ Memberand SonDork
5/17/12 9:25 p.m.

So, does anybody around here have a clean E30 shell? I can see Katie eyeing mine in the garage, so I need to get her car back together ASAP!

Also, which direction would you guys go with this car if you were in our situation:

It's a ratty convertible E30 with a decent-ish interior. It doesn't need paint, but the paint isn't very good, either. It runs well enough, but needs little things like sensors here and there and a new muffler/cat. The radio is broken, the cluster is broken, the seats are torn badly. Everything has 150,000 miles on it, except the top and transmission, which came from a junkyard, so they might have less (or more). It's an automatic. The only new parts on the car are the tires and the window switches.

I worked at a body shop for two years, and I'd estimate $2000 in damage at full price with factory parts. It needs a hood. The core support is back a good 6-8 inches, with the radiator against the engine (though it isn't leaking coolant). The condenser is toast. The driver's fender is beyond repair, and the driver's door won't open because the fender has moved out 2-3 inches and back an inch, into the driver's door.

Normally, with a teenage girl this would mean buying the closest $500-$1,000 Civic/Camry/whatever, and selling what remains of the E30. However, she absolutely loves this car. At one point she rejected the offer of a new MINI instead of her E30. She's on a tight budget, though, so she can't really afford to take it down to the Body Werks and get it fixed right.

I'd pick up a clean shell with a blown motor for $500-$1000 and swap parts over, if it were me. Then again, I'm a little weird about repaired cars; I've seen what goes on in body shops.... I would never intentionally own a car that had ever had unibody damage, it just isn't possible to put it back the way it was.

The other option, that's within her budget, is spending some quality time with a slide hammer (and probably my truck in low range with some chain) and getting the car roughly straight again, then making it look okay with an aftermarket hood and fender. The gaps wouldn't be perfect, but I could get it to where it wasn't noticeable (unless you looked directly at the core support with the hood open).

It isn't a track car or a show car, and she couldn't care less whether it is held together with chewing gum or brand new underneath, as long as it is shiny and the top goes down.

What would you do?

Rob_Mopar
Rob_Mopar Dork
5/17/12 9:29 p.m.

No, but I have your old seats in my basement if you need them back. I can bring them to Carlisle this weekend.

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard GRM+ Memberand SonDork
5/17/12 9:31 p.m.
Marjorie Suddard wrote: Bad news is that her little Beemer is pretty well pranged.

IT IS BIMMER!!!!! GRRRRRRR NOT BEEMER!!!!!

Tom Suddard
Tom Suddard GRM+ Memberand SonDork
5/17/12 9:31 p.m.

In reply to Rob_Mopar:

I'm good, but thanks anyway.

ansonivan
ansonivan Dork
5/17/12 10:48 p.m.
Tom Suddard wrote:
Marjorie Suddard wrote: Bad news is that her little Beemer is pretty well pranged.
IT IS BIMMER!!!!! GRRRRRRR NOT BEEMER!!!!!

Patio space reserved for non-family only?

ScottRA21
ScottRA21 Reader
5/17/12 11:22 p.m.
Tom Suddard wrote:
Marjorie Suddard wrote: Bad news is that her little Beemer is pretty well pranged.
IT IS BIMMER!!!!! GRRRRRRR NOT BEEMER!!!!!

Does it really matter?

fast_eddie_72
fast_eddie_72 SuperDork
5/17/12 11:46 p.m.

Hum. Kid wrecked BMW? Time to hit up craigslist. Search term = Tercel.

Does it snow where you live?

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/3007853962.html

Brett_Murphy
Brett_Murphy GRM+ Memberand Dork
5/17/12 11:59 p.m.

I'm glad she is alright. I had a few accidents when I was younger, stuff does happen.

Marjorie Suddard
Marjorie Suddard General Manager
5/18/12 12:10 a.m.
Tom Suddard wrote:
Marjorie Suddard wrote: Bad news is that her little Beemer is pretty well pranged.
IT IS BIMMER!!!!! GRRRRRRR NOT BEEMER!!!!!

Huh, yeah. I know that. Got sidetracked trying to fight autocorrect (it wanted "bummer," then hung up trying to force "oranges" for "pranged"). I think that's a tool of the devil, btw.

pres589
pres589 Dork
5/18/12 12:15 a.m.
ScottRA21 wrote: Does it really matter?

Good lord yes.

Jerry From LA
Jerry From LA Dork
5/18/12 1:13 a.m.

This one might be worth fixing because there's always someone out there willing to pay too much for a BMW so you'll probably get your money out of it. Especially if it's a convertible.

bludroptop
bludroptop SuperDork
5/18/12 5:38 a.m.

http://richmond.craigslist.org/cto/3017120259.html

Just posted on CL. Not exactly nearby, but otherwise fits the bill. Not mine, no affiliation.

Good luck with the test, Katie.

Curmudgeon
Curmudgeon MegaDork
5/18/12 5:47 a.m.

That last one looks like it would be worth a road trip.

I'm glad Katie's OK, and good luck with the biology final!

JoeyM
JoeyM SuperDork
5/18/12 5:57 a.m.
Marjorie Suddard wrote: Unfortunately, she rolled her E30 into a Tahoe in a stop-and-go merge on the way home. A Tahoe with a trailer hitch.

That sucks. Sorry about the car, but the important bit is that she's OK.

Tom Suddard wrote: The other option, that's within her budget, is spending some quality time with a slide hammer (and probably my truck in low range with some chain) and getting the car roughly straight again, then making it look okay with an aftermarket hood and fender. The gaps wouldn't be perfect, but I could get it to where it wasn't noticeable (unless you looked directly at the core support with the hood open).

Do this

fast_eddie_72 wrote: Hum. Kid wrecked BMW? Time to hit up craigslist. Search term = Tercel. Does it snow where you live? http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/3007853962.html

Daytona? You need to come visit FL more often.

szeis4cookie
szeis4cookie Reader
5/18/12 6:38 a.m.

Sorry to hear about the accident! bludroptop's CL link is local to me - let me know if I can help.

Duke
Duke PowerDork
5/18/12 7:16 a.m.

Pushed back 6 to 8 inches? I'd say it's better to find another shell. They are not that rare.

Sorry to hear about the accident. It wasn't as nice a car as even a ratty E30 ragtop, but my daughter had a nice straight little '98 Impreza wagon I had gotten for cheap and we had fixed up. She overshot a turnoff and tried to save it instead of just giving up and making a u-turn. Slid it into a phone pole guy wire... luckily not the pole itself. Still junked the car, though.

Glad to hear Katie's OK, which is of course the most important thing, by several orders of magnitude.

Giant Purple Snorklewacker
Giant Purple Snorklewacker UltimaDork
5/18/12 7:31 a.m.

This is the part where local spec E30 guys on the board start vying for your affections and asking if the power train is all in tact .

Salanis
Salanis PowerDork
5/18/12 7:35 a.m.
Giant Purple Snorklewacker wrote: This is the part where local spec E30 guys on the board start vying for your affections and asking if the power train is all in tact .

Considering how bad this could have gone, they had better use tact when they make their inquiries!

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