The official E36 OT Thread!!

Not the snowmobile... That was such a beautiful car...

Jen, any advice I can give has been said, but I have my all my fingers and toes crossed that everything works out your way and you're OK, both physically and mentally



My court date didnt go well... My attorney wasnt able to get me much, only a 1 point and 50 dollar fee reduction. It went from a 4 point "Unreasonable/Imprudent Speed" ticket to "Speeding 1-10 over" worth 3 points. Less than stellar news... Insuring 3 vehicles and needing to keep a clean record to get accepted into STEP pretty much says it all... Mostly the STEP part. My chances are greatly reduced, if I even have a chance at all now... Also, not only the increase in rates, I might have to sell the car itself because I wont be able to afford the insurance... I can hardly afford it now...
So I'm kind of (read: very) bummed... Well, maybe that wasnt meant to be, right? Welding is starting to look better and better...

So sorry to hear about your touring Jen. Hopefully the physical symptoms don't increase too much over the next couple days.

At least you were able to properly enjoy the snowmobile at mid Ohio. Damn acura drivers can't take that from you!

Originally Posted by jonesin

Saw this and couldn't help but think of Ken and DF.

That's hilarious!

STEP is so hard to get into.

Originally Posted by TechieTechie

Thanks guys. I don't think I realized how much I loved my little mobile until it was broken

Chad....thanks for the detailed info. VERY helpful. One more question, with whom do I open an injury claim? I called my insurance company to start the auto claim and I did tell them I was sore. Do I call the owner's insurance company for the medical???? Or do I call my own medical insurance company? I've never had this happen.

Hell, if it does get totalled, maybe I'll buy an auto and do an engine/6 speed swap...or maybe that e46M3 that Joey said we could fry an egg on

The more pressing question is do I delay my volunteer trip? Once I leave, I'm gone for at least a month with little to no cell reception. How long do these settlements take?

Welcome. I think it's documented what I did when I was rear ended in my E34 many moons ago, but it's basically the above. I actually spent the day before my appointment with the adjuster polishing and waxing the car, and I think it helped. I paid $2000 for the car and received $5700 from insurance, less $400 buyback, and then sold the car as is for $1800. Also sold the wheels for a good amount, and received $1200 for the BI claim. These things can absolutely work in your favor.

One thing I did was called the at-fault party's insurance and opened a property and BI claim with them, and then called my insurance and did the same. I let them both send adjusters and make me offers, and actually got a much better deal from the at-fault's than mine.

Remember, you were the one who was wronged, don't feel guilty for making the situation work to your favor.

Insurance claims vary wildly. For the situation above, it took over a month. I don't think AAA much cared for putting me up in a full size rental for that long either, which drove their offer. They were very easy to negotiate the price up. When I was hit in another car, much less severe, they sent an adjuster out within a week and he cut me a check on the spot. Both of them I held the BI claims open for over 12 months.

Originally Posted by dc_wright

I think MA is a no fault state so it's likely your PIP covers your medical up to a certain $$ amount. You file a a claim for any medical bills with your insurance company. If you declined any treatment at the accident scene you should go see you doctor first thing and get anything that doesn't feel 100% ok documented. The doctor may not find anything but you've established a medical record that will list your complaint if you need it at a later date. You send the bill for the exam and any following related costs to your insurance company for reimbursement. Keep in mind that anything you do that is indication of normal routine or activity over the next few days will work against you if any legal action is required.

Oh, dude.....that would suck. I've always thought that was such a sham and screws over the victim.

Originally Posted by TechieTechie

Thanks guys. I honestly didn't hurt when the accident happened...but it's beeen getting worse as the night goes on. Right side of Neck is sore, right shoulder blade area is sore, and my right hip are all sore. There was no way I was gonna brave a Boston ER, but Don, what you are saying makes sense. I will go into my doctor tomorrow.

I don't think I'll be able to leave Sunday. It was gonna be a tight squeeze anyways, but with now all the accident stuff, I don't think there is gonna be time :-(

Definitely pass on the trip, these things get worse over time. You don't want to be in the middle of nowhere when you need some Vicodin.

If it's just soft tissue you'll probably just get some really strong ibuprofen, but you can always request x-rays. General rule of thumb is you'll get reimbursed full cost for all medical expenses plus 3x for pain & suffering. I don't advocate getting a bunch of needless crap done, but don't be afraid to make sure you're well taken care of.

Before


After

Originally Posted by E36 Phantom

General rule of thumb is you'll get reimbursed full cost for all medical expenses plus 3x for pain & suffering.

This doesn't happen under no fault unless you are very seriously injured. Depending on the state there's a no fault exit threshold that can be in the $50K -$100K.

The concept of no fault sounds great, your insurance company takes care of you and then they deal with the other parties insurance to get reimbursed, but it rarely gets implemented that way. It winds up you against your insurance company battling it out. It's usually sold to the electorate as a rate reduction means but the rates never go down when its implemented.

Fortunately for you guys Chad CA is still a tort law state for insurance.

Lordy, I think I'm gonna push my darnest to get it repaired. KBB and Edmunds, even in excellent condition, have it valued at $7k. I don't think there is anyway I'll get back my money...it's very clearly documented what I have into this car within the last year (10k purchase + 4k in repairs). If the insurance doesn't give me enough, can I go after the driver in small claims court for the remainder of my investment? I'd hate to be petty, but I was not at fault.

I am really, really down today.

Originally Posted by drive by72

Not the snowmobile... That was such a beautiful car...

Jen, any advice I can give has been said, but I have my all my fingers and toes crossed that everything works out your way and you're OK, both physically and mentally



My court date didnt go well... My attorney wasnt able to get me much, only a 1 point and 50 dollar fee reduction. It went from a 4 point "Unreasonable/Imprudent Speed" ticket to "Speeding 1-10 over" worth 3 points. Less than stellar news... Insuring 3 vehicles and needing to keep a clean record to get accepted into STEP pretty much says it all... Mostly the STEP part. My chances are greatly reduced, if I even have a chance at all now... Also, not only the increase in rates, I might have to sell the car itself because I wont be able to afford the insurance... I can hardly afford it now...
So I'm kind of (read: very) bummed... Well, maybe that wasnt meant to be, right? Welding is starting to look better and better...

At least you're not going to college, then you would really be broke

Just kidding, though. If you can't afford insurance for the E36, then why not just take it off the policy and throw it under a tarp for the winter? It's not like it would be driven that much during the winter since you have the truck , and it'll give you time to work on stuff if need be.

And I thought you were barely driving it nowadays anyway?

Originally Posted by Shigeta

After

Nice dude! I wish you were on the east coast so that you could do some pics for me. I might be getting some nice photos you can edit, though

Originally Posted by TechieTechie

Lordy, I think I'm gonna push my darnest to get it repaired. KBB and Edmunds, even in excellent condition, have it valued at $7k. I don't think there is anyway I'll get back my money...it's very clearly documented what I have into this car within the last year (10k purchase + 4k in repairs). If the insurance doesn't give me enough, can I go after the driver in small claims court for the remainder of my investment? I'd hate to be petty, but I was not at fault.

I am really, really down today.

I know it sucks, but at least it wasn't your fault. I think Chad has given some great advice, and if you follow it, you should make out pretty well. It seems that insurance pays pretty good if you can convince them it was a valuable car. Make sure you list reasons on how the car is rare (5spd, rwd, *make up some other BS*). I'm sure Chad's car wasn't worth near $5700 on Edmunds and that's what he got for it.

And if it's gonna take more money than it's worth to make it pretty again, slap on some junkyard body parts and use the extra money to put some horsies under the hood and use it on the track.

Damn James, that's incredible work.

Originally Posted by dc_wright

This doesn't happen under no fault unless you are very seriously injured. Depending on the state there's a no fault exit threshold that can be in the $50K -$100K.

The concept of no fault sounds great, your insurance company takes care of you and then they deal with the other parties insurance to get reimbursed, but it rarely gets implemented that way. It winds up you against your insurance company battling it out. It's usually sold to the electorate as a rate reduction means but the rates never go down when its implemented.

Fortunately for you guys Chad CA is still a tort law state for insurance.

Hrm, really? They won't pay out reasonable pain and suffering? Even worse system than I thought.

The only thing I dislike about CA insurance law is the lack of diminished value reimbursement. Doesn't seem fair to be stuck taking a loss on value.

Oh, and they've had on the ballot the last couple elections to allow insurance to raise your rates by 1000/yr if you've had any breaks in coverage in 5 years for any reason, including selling your car and taking public transit. They're Billing it as a discount for drivers that are responsible to see their rates go down, yeah right will they happen. Biggest backers are insurance companies, of course.

Originally Posted by TechieTechie

Lordy, I think I'm gonna push my darnest to get it repaired. KBB and Edmunds, even in excellent condition, have it valued at $7k. I don't think there is anyway I'll get back my money...it's very clearly documented what I have into this car within the last year (10k purchase + 4k in repairs). If the insurance doesn't give me enough, can I go after the driver in small claims court for the remainder of my investment? I'd hate to be petty, but I was not at fault.

I am really, really down today.

It'll work out ok, more to come on my way to work.


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Shoulda bought an e30...

http://jalopnik.com/5950556/?post=53415502

Originally Posted by TechieTechie

Lordy, I think I'm gonna push my darnest to get it repaired. KBB and Edmunds, even in excellent condition, have it valued at $7k. I don't think there is anyway I'll get back my money...it's very clearly documented what I have into this car within the last year (10k purchase + 4k in repairs). If the insurance doesn't give me enough, can I go after the driver in small claims court for the remainder of my investment? I'd hate to be petty, but I was not at fault.

I am really, really down today.

Insurance secret - they don't go by blue book. They have proprietary programs that compile the most recent sales and give the most similar cars it thinks it can to base the price, just like real estate comps. So if people are paying a premium for the "highly desirable" Alpine over Sand manual RWD clean California no-rust car compared to Massachusetts black on grey autotragics, you can get more. You can actually ask for the comps and pick them apart, and ask them to consider comps you provide. Again, the adjuster just has to have comps to support his position, and if he can use yours of they're within reason and move the file, he will.

I don't know what the tort is like in your state, but typically when you accept an insurance settlement you waive your rights to pursue further legal action unless there was material information you were unaware of at the time of the settlement. You can decline the settlement and file suit, and the insurance company may give in if you aren't far apart. More likely you'll end up spending a bunch on an attorney and a lot of hassle in court fighting some pros that do it day in and day out. Hopefully you can recover legal fees otherwise it surely isn't worth it.....and make sure you find an attorney who is experienced at arguing cases, not just legal advice.

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Originally Posted by cj.surr

Shoulda bought an e30...

http://jalopnik.com/5950556/?post=53415502

that's hilarious two ways 1. because I'm da bess, and 2. because I just posted that to reddit

Since you two are responsible, please give me back the 3:50 I wasted watching that nonsense.

as joe would say... "trollololololol"

Well played, sir!

Well, BMW is introducing a new 4 series
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1...oupe-spy-shots

I'm just wondering what they're thinking by constantly adding more and more cars to their lineup? And to make it a 4 series?? Why not try to at least keep a little history intact?

Originally Posted by Ryan...

Well, BMW is introducing a new 4 series
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1...oupe-spy-shots

I'm just wondering what they're thinking by constantly adding more and more cars to their lineup? And to make it a 4 series?? Why not try to at least keep a little history intact?

at least there;s an E36 photobomb in there

Originally Posted by Ryan...

Well, BMW is introducing a new 4 series
http://www.motorauthority.com/news/1...oupe-spy-shots

I'm just wondering what they're thinking by constantly adding more and more cars to their lineup? And to make it a 4 series?? Why not try to at least keep a little history intact?

You didn't know that? They've been talking about it forever. The new 4-Series is just the 2-door version of the 3-Series, if that makes any sense (which it doesn't). Seems stupid to me, too. BMW is on a roll with stupid branding decisions, lately. Example: 4-door 6-Series...

Originally Posted by ZeGerman

You didn't know that? They've been talking about it forever. The new 4-Series is just the 2-door version of the 3-Series, if that makes any sense (which it doesn't). Seems stupid to me, too. BMW is on a roll with stupid branding decisions, lately. Example: 4-door 6-Series...

I've been outta the loop apparently... So, instead of just calling it a 3 series coupe, its now a 4 series? How the hell does that make sense to anybody?

I've actually seen the 6 series sedan, looks pretty sharp, but isn't that why we have the 5/7 series? Or maybe those lineups will be too clustered after they release the 9/10 series variants of those coupes

Originally Posted by Kdoherty

at least there;s an E36 photobomb in there

hellrot e36 ftw!

I don't mind the branding of the Gran Coupe, everyone has a 4 door "coupe" these days, and it was never etched in stone how many doors a coupe or sedan is allowed to have. Back in the '30s there were plenty of 2 door "sedans."

The 4-series just seems derivative of Audi's A4 and A5, but the reason they are doing it is create a bigger distinction in the consumer's mind and convice them to pay a higher premium on the 2 door. The only people its going to throw off are the enthusiasts, and they don't care about us because we are far from the majority of new car buyers.

BMW's justification for all these models is to diversify the brand for broader market appeal, and remain a standalone company, not turn into something like VAG, and they mention avoiding "dilution" of the brand. But if selling a sub-$40k crossover isn't brand dilution, I don't know wtf is.

Speaking of which, I saw my first X1 on the road the other day, still don't understand it. It looks roughly the same size of the X3, just uglier. Why bother developing a whole new model that's barely different than the one above it?

Originally Posted by Ryan...

I've been outta the loop apparently... So, instead of just calling it a 3 series coupe, its now a 4 series? How the hell does that make sense to anybody?

I've actually seen the 6 series sedan, looks pretty sharp, but isn't that why we have the 5/7 series? Or maybe those lineups will be too clustered after they release the 9/10 series variants of those coupes

There is a market for the Gran Coupe and BMW is late to the party. The CLS and A7 have been around for years and they actually sell pretty well. Its a full sized car with a full sized price, but more focused on the driver. Some people want a 760Li to be driven to work in. They pay $120k+ for all sorts of rear seat features and the cars are designed with that purpose in mind.

The Gran Coupe/A7/CLS is a car you buy to drive, and still fit your family and co-workers in, but since the man writing the check plans to be in the capitan's chair, they give up the rear seat headroom and crazy footroom in favor of style.

My personal theory is the 5-series GT was a last minute attempt to get something like that out there, but BMW missed the purpose of the car. Its not for the man buying a $50k sedan who wants more storage and functionality. Its for the man who wants a $100k car with less.

Speaking of Gran Coupe, BMW is also planning a 4 door 4 Series Gran Coupe according to Autoblog. They're also planning a 4series GT like the 5 GT, since that sold so well.

If that doesn't make you scream WTF, I don't know what does.

I like BMW less and less each day.

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I don't think that no matter what we think on the topic that its going to change no matter what.

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