Cat C/D repairables.....

M

MonsterZ4

Member
 Chester
Hi folks.
i am a former Z4 owner who used to post on here regularly, until i sold my car last summer. (it was the bright Yellow coupe)
I have had a roller coaster 6 months, which have cost me a few quid, otherwise i would be buying a Z4 coupe again as I miss it so much. Anyway, long story short, i have seen an Z4 M coupe for sale which is subject to a Cat D 9 (I think) insurance claim. I have spoken to the seller, a dealer, who informed me that the car had been stolen, and as a result, there is some damage to the car, but it is very much repairable.
The car is an '08 coupe in Black with 12,000 miles in the clock. Very highly specced, one keeper, full history, basically mint before it was nicked. It has suffered the following:
-Rear smashed screen
-Panel damage to r/h/s rear wing
-Steering wheel and dash air bags deployed
-4x flat tyres (stinger used i think)
-Suspension wise, i think a lower wishbone needs replacing too.

The car is for sale at £13950, which seems steep, considering, even once repaired, it will never have the same market value.
What do you think would be a fair price for the car, and does anyone have any experience of buying a car like this as a project?

I hope someone can give some advice on this.

Regards

Mark
 
i would be very weary as it only has the facelift front bumper and bonnet on it. it may have the M interior and wheels but i would be careful
 
If you mean the one discussed previously, see here: http://www.z4-forum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=17463&p=252801#p252801
 
But that one was repaired, whilst the OP is talking dealer with unrepaired car?
 
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/BMW-Z4-M-COUPE-08-08-REG-LIGHT-DAMAGED-SALVAGE-DRIVES_W0QQitemZ180480651615QQcmdZViewItemQQptZAutomobiles_UK?hash=item2a057c315f

this one?
 
It's definetly an M though right... unless he's converted to M quad exhaust and stuck an M engine in it?

08 M coupes are around 23-24k, so if you can buy and fix that for around 15k then that's not too bad. You'd probably need to get the car for around 11k-12k? I would check why the bumper and bonnet are not M ones though!
 
I just wouldnt touch it. all the signs are there.

why would anyone in their right mind downgrade from an m bumper and bonnet to a standard one unless it has been a cheap fix in the past?
 
I was going to say that looks like a Non-M offset on these rear wheels, then I saw/ remembered the rear end damage :rofl:

!BoRW34!BWk~$(KGrHqQOKiIEu,YCfrdJBLm5tDFvyQ~~_12.jpg
 
First of all before saying all this, I've got to say I'd shy away from buying a Cat C/D car because I'm a tad risk-averse.

As long as you do your research thoroughly, and if you're not an accomplished mechanic then get a friend or 3rd party professional to check it over first then don't see a problem buying one. A Cat C/D basically means it's been written off purely on value by the insurer's. Depending on the age and worth of the car, that might be almost no damage. A decent respray would cost more than some old cars.

Having suspension damage to the wishbone, you've got to ask whether it's been clobbered off a kerb or something and therefore susceptible to further problems (power steering rack etc would have taken a beating for example). Sounds like you think it's been in a police chase, in which case you've got to consider has it taken a good thrashing that could've damaged it, or would it have taken a good thrashing that would be no worse than if you took it for a Sunday drive or a track day if you're into them. Could be hiding a clutch that's now been given a considerably hard time.

Problem is in a car like that you could get a bargain that requires only a wee bit of work to return to former glory, but you could also get something that's a wreck.

Research research research! Draw up a list of jobs & parts it needs, work out costs in money and your time or labour for jobs you don't do yourself and then decide whether to decide if to commit the money!

BTW I like black, but a bright yellow coupe would've looked fantastic :thumbsup:
 
Rudd_2002 said:
I just wouldnt touch it. all the signs are there.

why would anyone in their right mind downgrade from an m bumper and bonnet to a standard one unless it has been a cheap fix in the past?
Click to expand...

Someone who hasn't got a clue what he's fixing....I've seen it done before (wrong nose on the wrong car) but the issue here is when ordering the bits, a genuine BMW Parts department would have asked for the VIN to quote for the right parts (if only to cover their own back)...so perhaps these are second hand buys? What else has he cut corners on? What parts have been replaced that you can't see, and are they Z4M spec? Suspension, brakes, hubs, carriers, etc etc? Plus you've got that drivers side rear wing - which is not going to be a cheap fix....I'd avoid personally.
 
As already stated, that looks a mess, for all the reasons already mentioned (incorrect panels, strange offset on the rear).

It says straight to me that someone already had a go at fixing the damage, and gave up. Why? Also, with half a repair already done - what was the REAL damage to the car, and what did it look like to start with.

Sorry. That might be a deal if you happened to have another donor Z4M lying around with damage to other components so you could make a "best car" out of both - or if these cars were 10-a-penny so that you could pick up some good 2nd hand/"broken" parts etc, but otherwise I'd say you're asking for a lot of hassle and expense. I wouldn't pay more than £8k at a push if trying to put a price on it. At least you could probably break it for that if you stripped the big sale items (engine, diff, gearbox, interior, good panels etc).
 
Worth asking about the 1200 service I wonder! :D

Also what is 'BMW Blue Black'....and how exactly would it have cost £55k new? Fully loaded you couldn't touch £50k IIRC. Minor points of course but they illustrate the seller knows nothing about the car, it's just another piece of salvage...and with so many good ones out there at the moment for little money, it would need to be comically cheap to take a risk IMO.
 
i reckon its been hit on the front end too as the airbags have deployed and the the bumper and bonnet dont match an m.makes me wonder if they are trying to cover up some hefty damage underneath. :o.turn round,walk away and try not to laugh at the seller :lol:
 
Interesting in that I looked at the photos first then read the posts and comments and finally saw Bigcoose's post at the end and that fitted with my immediate reaction.

This cars taken a hefty front impact (else the steering wheel airbag would not have gone off). It's then had a new bonnet and nose fitted and now moving it on. Of course speculation but I can see no other reson why a 2008 car would have lower model parts on it and so little superficial damage but aribags deployed (stingers slow cars gently)

For extra assurance it's wrong among all the wrecks he's selling he happens to list an OS facelift clear lens headlight - How co-incidental NOT !!!!

.. and I don't like where it's stored. A farm with a transporter, barns and workshops. Smacks of dodgy repairs and not the company that purchased it first as salvage.

For sure there are some Cat D to buy and fix up. Older car where cost of a hire car and a few parts exceeds the 60- 75% value rule, but on a £20,000 car with common parts. Some loss adjuster had to see a £10,000-£15,000 repair bill and car hire bill

EDIT - Had a long conference call to endure so did some Ebay searching - add to this 3 negative Ebay feedback for hidden Cat D car, undeclared damage, wrong model description, etc. 2 cars and a Jetski

This is a comical walk away deal....
 
Surprised no ones noticed, the Inlet manifold looks damaged too, that would worry me a lot, assume it's something to do with the bonnet being off.
edit: I missed a page of this thread :oops:

How was it damaged, has it been crashed? Agreed though - all the signs are there.

I had a puncture recently and getting it repaired has stuck in my mind that it's not quite 100% when I'm doing silly speeds..

Even if you got that repaired at significant expense at a dealer, you'd still have the fear factor that it wasn't perfect.

I'd probably be happier getting a £10k 3.0 than fixing that one up.

Sad really.. it will go to someone :thumbsdown:
 
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