engine and drivetrain 1971 bmw2002 value

[Blaze]

I have a gorgeous 1971 2002. Well... had. I got into an accident last night and it's totalled. (someone ran a red light and slammed into me). I LOVE my car. I'm completely heartbroken and I want to try to fix it. But I need the insurance company to give me a check for the full value of the car. I know they're going to low-ball me and I wanted to ask anyone out there if they know the proper value (and know if there's a way I can prove it). It was in great shape. Not perfect but there have only been 3 owners and I've taken great care of it. The interior is in great shape. Everything in the interior is original. Black. A little bit of a tear in the driver's seat. Everything on the interior works... lights, panel, etc. The car is red but the paint job is pretty bad. I just had the rear fixed from a rear-ending accident. Everything was rechromed. Rust was taken care of and it was repainted. The front end is a little dented. All chrome strips on the car are intact. The engine is in great shape. It's a 1972 engine. 198,000 miles.

the accident... the engine was not damaged. The trunk was flattened. I'd need a new rear-end. Muffler and gas tank are fine. right rear wheel axle is broken. cracked right front turn-signal light and slightly dented on right front from accident.

any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[maikelm11]

Post some pics of the car but I think the best thing you can do is to buy a new shell..

Maikel

[ScottNC]

Start checking anywhere 2002's are listed for sale (this site, roadfly, ebay, Roundel) and find cars similar to yours and print out copies of the ads. This will give you some ammunition for the insurance guys as to what these are selling for and may enlighten them as to it's worth. To them your 2002 is just an 'old car' with little value.

Good luck.

[Paul7002]

Paint, re-chroming, rust repair/body work, etc.

not to sound pessimistic, but you've admitted the paint is bad and the interior sounds a bit worn. Even in good shape, 198K is a lot miles for an original un-rebuilt motor. I'm guessing its the original tranny too. It's also previously smacked in the rear. Sounds like it would have been worth $2000 - $4000K pre-wreck, although the value of our cars has been going up lately so maybe I Am pessimistic

Sorry for your loss. Haopefully the insurance man will be kind and you can find a good body for the the transplant.

[dubois]

sorry, looks like you are going to have to work hard to get top dollar for your car - it is unfair. This subject has been discussed several times before. I searched and found:

I hope this helps,

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,265453/highlight,accident+insurance/

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,232444/highlight,totalled+insurance/

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,225227/highlight,totalled+insurance/

http://www.bmw2002faq.com/component/option,com_forum/Itemid,57/page,viewtopic/t,134573/highlight,total+insurance/

[quinnfiske]

If you follow this board, and others, you know that you have the car everyone is looking for. That is a California Roundy. The lack of rust is worth something in real dollars. Maybe you should consider parting out all those clean fenders, doors etc.

[Blaze]

thank you so much for this.

does anyone know where I can find an appraiser? I'm thinking this might be money well spent to get what Blaze (that's my car's name) is worth.

It breaks my heart to think he'll end up in a salvage yard but if, god forbid, he does I'm going to part him out and no one else.

Or if anyone knows of anyone who would buy him from me and rebuild him, let me know because it would ease my mind if I knew he was going to a collector who will fix him up and drive him.

[TobyB]

2002's are not modern cars.

As such, they can sometimes sustain what LOOKS like huge amounts of damage

and be repaired pretty easily. Something that would cost upwards of 10k on

an Accord can really be 2-3k of labor and $500 worth of secondhand clip.

So don't give up too easily... and good luck.

t

[Blaze]

my shop said they found a back end of a scrapped 1971 2002 that they can use. But the labor is outrageous. They estimate about $5000. A friend is looking into storing it and fixing it. Everyone (family and friends) think I'm crazy for trying to save this car. They understand I'm upset. But they don't really understand. Any chance I can get the money out of the guy who hit me? I'm guessing legally, no.

[TimNC]

I'd take a little different angle...I'd play up the fact that all you REALLY want is money to fix the car back to the way it was before the accident. I'd still have the appraisals and "for sale" ads to go along with two mechanical estimates and two paint & body estimates as documentation to support your argument. Also make sure your insurance agent is in the know (see "mediation" below). Do all of this before you speak to the "at fault" insurance company. When you finally do make contact with the insurance company you will be speaking to the lowest level claims adjuster. DO NOT accept what they offer (unless they give you what you want, which will not happen). Play up the "please just repair my car". Be presistent, be polite....but do not accept their offer. You will be told the decision is out of their hands..book value, blah, blah. This is what they are trained to do and probably all they are really authorized to offer. Ask to speak to THE person that can make the final decision. Again, be presistent & polite, but insist. When you finally do get to speak to the right person, start all over again. In the end if you are still being stone walled, tell them, OK, you will be willing to accept enough money to buy one of the cars in your "FS ads" (have something picked out that is as good or better than you car was and that will work for you). If still being stoned walled, tell them you will just have to get the correct amount of money from your own insurance company and that your insurance company will then have to go to mediation with the "at fault" ins. co. This is the last thing the "at fault" company wants to happen. This is how it actually played out for me with my son's 1988 E30 that was hit by a grandmother, totally her fault...we finally got $7500 and got the car repaired to better than pre-crash condition.

ALSO - be aware that you may be owed towing fees, storage fees while waiting to be repaired, etc. You mey be entitled to rental car adjustment even if you drive your "other" car. Discuss with your personal insurance agent.

Good luck!

Good luck

[Biscuit3]

I had a similar thing happen to me almost 3 years ago. A guy ran a red light, smashed into me pretty hard, spun me around a couple of times, etc. Lucky for me, he hit the side where the gas tank isn't! I'd like to think that if I was in any other car, the damage to it and me, would have been much worse. But the guy couldn't have hit a better spot - where the spare tire is, so he pretty much crushed my car as much as it would go, and then bounced back.

His car ended up catching on fire about 15 mins later, so yeah, he got what he deserved, especially after lying to the insurance company we both belonged to, but that's another story.

I took my car to body shops where my insurance company suggested I go. Nobody wanted to touch it and since insurance claimed that neither was at fault, I would be paying for repairs anyway. The damage wasn't all that bad. The bumper was a little tangled and useless, the rear trailing arm was bent (still is, but not as bad), and the wheel rubbed on the left end a little.

In the end, and I dunno if this is what you are going to do or have even considered, but after two months of waiting, we actually took Karl to a "backyard" guy to get fixed. I was quoted to the value of $3,500 for repairs or a write off, where as the guy who fixed my car, who was licensed and worked for someone, but likes to do "projects" outside of work, fixed Karl for $1,200 and took two weeks. The only problem I've had with the repairs since is that the bondo on the area below the bumper on the left hand side has gone all cracked ONCE, but I got that professionally repaired when Karl got the respray, so it's all good now.

In the end, don't limit your options. If the damage in your eyes, isn't all the bad, there will always be someone out there willing to fix your car.

[Blaze]

wow. you're so lucky. And I'm so glad you and Karl are ok.

my damage unfortunately, is a million times worse. The trunk is a pancake.

I'm going to look into having it fixed outside of my expensive body shop. And I wouldn't mind that wait at all. The trouble is finding storage for it. I'm working on that, though. It's really too bad you're in Australia. I'd love recommendations on backyward shops in the san francisco area.

anyone else know?

[Blaze]

Thank you, Tim! I'm glad to hear it worked out in the end for you. Would you mind resending the attachments? They didn't come through.

Unfortunately, it's not quite a battle between insurance companies since mine and his are the same (AAA). So I'm not sure I can use the same leverage you did. The other problem is, I hate to say it, negotiating on cars with an insurance adjustor is inherently easier for a man. They gain more respect and authority immediately. My battle will be harder, but I'll do it. I feel that car saved me from injury so I want to do all that I can to save it.

Thank you, thank you for your advice.

[Jaycen_PNW2002]

I would add either NADA or Sports Car Market magazine car value guides (whichever is higher at the time), good pictures of your car and a list of maintenance to the car.

When my tii was totaled a few years back I was able to bump the initial offer price of $7500 up to over 11K (the NADA high book value at the time). I think the photo, I included with my valuation packet, of my bent steering wheel helped secure the higher value.

[Blaze]

Thank you! The sports car market auction was helpful. NADA doesn't seem to go back as far as 1971. Unless I'm doing something wrong.