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Re: Bent cars

>	Maybe I'm being anal-compulsive, but I'd like to reiterate that
>comment I made to the fellow considering repairing his wrecked '82 320i.
>
>	BENT BMWs SUCK...

Granted you have to be careful,  but fixing a wreck can work out fine.
I totaled my 325 at the track.  I bought it back from the ins. co. and
fixed it for <$5000 total (counting salvage, etc), when it would have
cost me about double that to replace it.  The car is straight, and
equally serious in this part of the country, the rust proofing is
sound.
The only problem I've run into is that there was a slight
misallignment when we assembled the pieces that didn't seem to affect
the straightness of the car, but it concentrated the forces at one
point by the sunroof, so that over the last few years of racing (stiff
suspension and r-compound tires) the car has started to flex such that
the RF and LR corners are slightly further off the ground than the LF
and RR corners (~3/4 inch total).  That has a barely noticable effect
on handling (I can feel it, my wife can't).  I'm convinced that in
street driving with the stock suspension, the problem would never have
appeared.  This winter I'm going to have the car bent back straight
and reinforce (sp?) that spot, but that's only because I'm a
perfectionist. 

My  point is, a major repair like that can be done properly.  You have
to find a shop that wants to do good work, and keep an eye on them.
It's more like a restoration than a repair.

Buying a car that has had a major repair like that is definitly a crap
shot.  But if you have a car you care a lot about, you can fix it right.

rick
'87 325es, built 9/86, rebuilt 5->9/90