[TheGoodTheBadTheUgly]

Hey all,

I've been having a pretty conflicting month so far. Got into an accident at the beginning of the month, what a way to start the year! Tesla brake checked a pickup on the highway and it started a chain of rear ending. I didn't leave enough space with the car in front of me, given the colder conditions, and I recognize that I brought this upon myself. Shitty feeling but it is what it is. Airbags popped and I knew it was totaled, wasn't a big impact but it's a 2011.

I worked during college and bought this as my first car back in 2017. All my mechanical skills and knowledge I acquired by doing working myself on this car and spending time reading from all you knowledgeable folks on here. It deeply sucks especially since insurances will never be able to give me a price near what the car is really worth, but I need a vehicle to work and I have to make a decision.

I looked at 340i and other B58s, but I can't justify spending that much on a car right now, I need to get a house lmao.

Would you put a bit more money and transition to an F30 335i?

Would you buy another E90 N55 with the money provided since I know the platform? What about if I find high mileage one that is cheaper and use the remaining cash (and a bit more) to build the engine?

Another option would be to get an even older car and swap to the N54 engine but I am not much of a fan of going backwards with the car year especially with how Canadian weather takes a toll on them.

I am still unsure what to do and keep thinking about outcomes, but getting your opinions and just talking would help!

[StradaRedlands]

Originally Posted by TheGoodTheBadTheUgly

I am still unsure what to do and keep thinking about outcomes, but getting your opinions and just talking would help!

Sorry to read... sucks. Is putting it back together within your skillset? Airbags, belt tensioners, etc. are doable. Body panels & bumpers are pretty much bolt on. Just asking as you said it wasn't that big of an impact.

But if you need to replace it, I'd vote to stick with an E9x vehicle. That's just where I come from.

[Tambohamilton]

+1 for sticking with e9x. Fix it if you can and it makes financial sense.

You say you need a car for work, and you need a house... How about switching down to an N52 e9x, and plough the purchase and maintenance savings into the house fund? Added bonus that you won't need to stress about CEL bingo on the way to work every morning

[ptpending]

dont afraid, your car will sold on auction and may be even restored in europe or sakartvelo

[Suvorovo]

Originally Posted by Tambohamilton

+1 for sticking with e9x. Fix it if you can and it makes financial sense.

You say you need a car for work, and you need a house... How about switching down to an N52 e9x, and plough the purchase and maintenance savings into the house fund? Added bonus that you won't need to stress about CEL bingo on the way to work every morning

Don't downgrade to an n52. It's horribly slow compared to what you had. Although I did buy an n52 because it was cheap and easy to work on which I like.

[eljay]

Post some pictures and the folks here can give you an idea on the possibility of a rebuild and some ballpark costs.
It would have a rebuilt title, but if you don't have an itch to get a different car, you know the history of this one and may even come out ahead financially depending on the payout and buy back.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by Suvorovo

Don't downgrade to an n52. It's horribly slow compared to what you had. Although I did buy an n52 because it was cheap and easy to work on which I like.

I own n52-n54-n55, he wont miss that much the n55

Op need cash for a house, and don't want to leave the german cars.

Also, house means works, means car with more space.

I would go with a E91 6mt with 3 stage intake, full exhaust and aggressive tune for a near 280bhp. You can find a really nice one under 8-9k$, and some less desirable around 5-6k$, and I saw few poping time to time near his area.

Even my stock n52, it moves pretty well comparing with other cars on the road.


Canadian weather is not what's scare me, it's the fcktards with worn out 4 seasons and rust buckets.
This is why this year I was rushed to find a winter beater, since I figured out the hassle was less risky to smash one of my 3 cars, yes now I have 3 'summers' lol


2nd option would be to find the exact same car, clean, stock, and put back the mods.

[E93Seattle (Racerbruce)]

yes - post some pics of the deceased and perhaps this group can offer direction re buying the car back and restoring it to its former glory.

[TheGoodTheBadTheUgly]

Thanks all for the answers! Might not look like much but makes me feel better for sure!

StradaRedlands eljay Tambohamilton Since I contacted the insurances I started with an approach to let them know I wanted the car back. I have fought them and they simply don't allow me to get my hands on it even if it's going to have a rebuilt title and all. I have a bunch of parts from FCP Euro and I was wondering if I could switch those with the stock ones I still have and keep them, but again they are being real pains to deal with.

Tambohamilton oVeRdOsE. I thought about this and looked at the market. For a difference of around 4k, I think I would stick with the turbocharged engines. Perhaps that's just me being annoying and petty but I feel like since I know how to take care of the more troublesome engine so might as well just get with it. Another thing is I think with xHP and xDelete I can uninstall the tunes from my totaled car and reuse them on another E90 335i xDrive. Maybe I am just clinging too much on whatever I can keep...

My next step with this car was to take the engine out and do a nice big single turbo build. By nice I mean I wanted to build the engine properly and just learn how to do all of that process. It was something I was serious about and budgeting for in parallel to normal life objectives lol. I was thinking of maybe getting a N55 in rougher condition and use that saved money to get back to that objective.

oVeRdOsE. I live in Gatineau right next to Ottawa where winter specific tires are not mandatory by law so I completely understand what you are saying. It's a night and day difference between the drivers here any moment it starts to snow a bit.

We can't see much from the pictures because it was like -25 C when the accident happened and I didn't want to start prying out the hood on the side of the highway in that weather but from what I could tell: bumper, driver side headlight, radiator, one crash bar support might have looked bent, airbags.

Anyways, thanks all for pitching in, really makes a difference for me!

[bimmermech123]

Upon looking at the pictures, even if you got possession of the car from insurance and taking into account the buyback costs, the car most certainly has to go to a body shop to get the frame and subframe checked for straightness and cracks which is not cheap. My advice, if you get the car back from insurance, part the car out and you will have a decent amount of funds to fuel your next build. It will take time, but may be worth it.

[TheGoodTheBadTheUgly]

Originally Posted by bimmermech123

Upon looking at the pictures, even if you got possession of the car from insurance and taking into account the buyback costs, the car most certainly has to go to a body shop to get the frame and subframe checked for straightness and cracks which is not cheap. My advice, if you get the car back from insurance, part the car out and you will have a decent amount of funds to fuel your next build. It will take time, but may be worth it.

Agreed, I wanted the car to part it out or use it as spare parts for another N55s but insurance really doesn't allow me to have it -_-

[marvinstockman]

Talk to the body shops and tell them you want the 90% solution, not perfect but good enough! The insurance company will total your car, and you buy it back from them.

You can also bargain on the price they offer you. Ask for 20% more, and maybe you'll get 10 to 15%!

If you haven't signed over the car to the insurance, the car belongs to you. I also don't see any reason why the insurance company won't work with you.

You can also call the Province insurance commission and ask what your rights are!

[oVeRdOsE.]

if you want to stay with autotragic and N55, the F25 LCI could be a real nice choice.
The ZF8 is fast, M pack is not rare, and those are going for quite cheap.

Mine is carbonschwarz metallic with the orange interior , m pack and it's more a wagon than a SUV, at the end its a 3 series based.
And if you can get your parts back, some will surely fit.


-25°C this year?! you guys got way colder temp !

[fastboatster]

I'd say go either with another n55 e9x or an x1 35i. Knowing what I know now, if going e9x route, I'd get a later build date e9x n55 car without n54-style hpfp.
Can't comment on the f-series 335i or an f25 x3, you'll need to test drive those. As for the n52, I don't feel like it's lacking in power, at least when equipped with 6mt. 6mt sedans are still obtainable but forget about 6mt e91s, these are not worth the money imo.

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by fastboatster

I'd say go either with another n55 e9x or an x1 35i. Knowing what I know now, if going e9x route, I'd get a later build date e9x n55 car without n54-style hpfp.
Can't comment on the f-series 335i or an f25 x3, you'll need to test drive those. As for the n52, I don't feel like it's lacking in power, at least when equipped with 6mt. 6mt sedans are still obtainable but forget about 6mt e91s, these are not worth the money imo.

right, n52 you don't ''feel'' any lack of power, because the car is very well balanced.
However, it's not fast.
My audi stage 2 on meth, 270bhp/305tq feels slower than my stock N52 (both manual) , but the audi is clearly faster.

If my choice was limited to a stock n54/n55 VS a modded N52 (3 stage intake, full exhaust, intake and tune), Ill take N52 all day. Simpler, more reliable, parts are cheap.
But the moment you mod the turbo version, damn it's more interresting

to the question F25 VS E90 N55, those are very very similar powertrain wise and handling. A lot of same parts. Even the interior is similar. It's a small update.

[TheGoodTheBadTheUgly]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

if you want to stay with autotragic and N55, the F25 LCI could be a real nice choice.
The ZF8 is fast, M pack is not rare, and those are going for quite cheap.

Mine is carbonschwarz metallic with the orange interior , m pack and it's more a wagon than a SUV, at the end its a 3 series based.
And if you can get your parts back, some will surely fit.


-25°C this year?! you guys got way colder temp !

Yeah for some reason we always manage to stay a bit colder every winter, quite weird.

I did think about a F25 or a X1 with 35i. How is the steering and the overall feel of the car? It would be bulkier than the 3 series but is it still enjoyable?

I am tending to try to find a decent N55 and running it back. If I can save xHP and xDelete at least I would have that. I would need to buy again the MHD flasher license for that car, and the bolt-ons but I would probably not go for an expensive ETS FMIC since years have shown that VRSF ones are a better price/quality product in my opinion.

I keep on sending examples of the same cars to try to raise the appraisal but insurances are being a pain. They want the car to be exactly the same model and year and in the same province. 2 doors won't work, RWD won't work. They are basically basing their estimation on 2 cars in my whoke province, which are not as well maintained and equiped as mine. So I am actively inching them to give me more and bargain, but they don't want me to touch anything of my previous car.

I bought my car when it had 90k km and everhthing was documented. I realise I won't find such a car with low mileage and complete history so I was wondering what kind of tests you guys would do before buying a high mileage car.

I was going to check for the common oil leaking seals, scan with ISTA and do compression test if they allow me.

[M-technik-3]

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2054611

Higher mileage n54 that looks decent. But DC and your Canada.

[TheGoodTheBadTheUgly]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2054611

Higher mileage n54 that looks decent. But DC and your Canada.

Thanks for looking out! It's pretty damn clean but as you said in DC so I would have to bring it, safety it and then also it isn't xDrive unfortunately!

Thanks nonetheless!

[oVeRdOsE.]

the appeal of a N55 E90 is the manual version.

Now if you want an auto, like I said, the F25 has the same engine, with the ZF8, and very similar suspension. Put some H&R, and it's a touring car. nothing is built to do offroad.

My beater is a Cayenne, so a real SUV, and when I jump in my F25, the F25 really feels like a car. I dont have a drop, but some 275 continental DWS06 on 19''.

You will have way more ease to find a real fully loaded than a E90. with mpack, navi, sport pack, real leather, comfort access, higher sound system (I have the 16 speakers one) , optional colors, heated steering wheel, etc.
In bonus : pano roof, motorized hatch.

With 20'' and some coils, looks dope, and wagon style



here's mine

[oVeRdOsE.]

Originally Posted by M-technik-3

https://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2054611

Higher mileage n54 that looks decent. But DC and your Canada.

glad to find mine a year ago.

E90 2009 335xi 6mt, mpack and fully loaded (CIC, comfort, individual sound, leather, compass, garage door, executive trim), 115k KM, no winter. 7k$ cad...

I still pinchin myself.

andddddddd I butchered it. Took the drive train to swap in my E91.

This has been said, OP I have a E90 chassis, still registered, no rust, top shape. No dent. Swap project ?

Before :


After :

[mattanderson]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

I would go with a E91 6mt with 3 stage intake, full exhaust and aggressive tune for a near 280bhp. You can find a really nice one under 8-9k$, and some less desirable around 5-6k$, and I saw few poping time to time near his area.

E91 6mt for $5k? Really nice ones for < $9k?

Seems optimistic.

[whyzee125]

Originally Posted by oVeRdOsE.

glad to find mine a year ago.

E90 2009 335xi 6mt, mpack and fully loaded (CIC, comfort, individual sound, leather, compass, garage door, executive trim), 115k KM, no winter. 7k$ cad...

I still pinchin myself.

andddddddd I butchered it. Took the drive train to swap in my E91.

This has been said, OP I have a E90 chassis, still registered, no rust, top shape. No dent. Swap project ?

Before :


After :

I like this idea! Buy that mint shell OP and put your drivetrain in it!

Don't go F30 335, E90 is a better car for less money. 340 B58 definitely changes things but like you said, expensive.