Let's hope the wrenches get nice and dusty: 2016 M3

[Beej]

Welp I got got.



Ran in for five minutes to feed my MIL's worthless cat and came out to that. Filed a hit and run police report but don't expect anything to come of it. Swung by the body shop that did a strictly okay job on the M5's bumper to get an idea of what we're looking at, and apparently the hit reached the impact beam and those are illegal to repair, so it'll be a new door and mirror housing, plus obviously blending to the front fender and rear door.

Granted I haven't had many body shop experiences in general, but I haven't had one that's left me 100% satisfied, so I'm trying to go into it with that mindset. I mean I appreciate the complexity of what they do, it's art, but at least one thing isn't gonna be the same as it came from the factory.

Delta V also recommended Concept Color so I swung by there as well. They ain't a typical body shop at all, and they had some cool projects going on (Delta V's e46 M wagon among them).  Honestly didn't see anything that looked like a standard insurance claim. Seamus was a super cool dude to show me around, but said he was 6 weeks out and gave me a brief history of the body shops of RVA. Turns out most of the talented folks are either at Burleighs or To a T, which Richmond BMW uses/recommends.

I've no idea on diminished value or if it's worth pursuing, so I'm all ears on that. Only thing one body shop said is that it's usually the responsibly party's insurance that pays that, and they don't exist in this case, so...we'll see I guess.

Car is currently at the dealer for a new dash, rattley lane departure warning, and a small exhaust rattle, so I'll tackle the door after that.

[*insertusernamehere*]

Can't just get a new door the same color?

[JustinG]

Hit me up if you want a quote from the shop my FIL manages, they did Ryan Herold's truck if you want an unbiased opinion.

Also heard good things about To A T.

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[ScottyB]

such bullshit. whoever hit a car that clean deserves a lifetime supply of gonorrhea.

given the metallic color i think the blend is a must, but at least its confined to that one door and they didn't get the seam, or B pillar.

sorry man...

[Apoc]

Can't just get a new door the same color?

Paint ages. It took three months to match my ducktail on the 911 to the body paint. They had to call in an adviser from PPG to figure out a way to match without having to blend other parts of the car. The paint on the body is <8 years old and is a factory Porsche color... and the color match still isn't exactly right when you look at it with polarized sunglasses on.

[Beej]

Hit me up if you want a quote from the shop my FIL manages, they did Ryan Herold's truck if you want an unbiased opinion.

Thanks man. Seamus dropped specific names about the other shops and spoke to their level of quality so I'll feel them out first and see how it goes.

Can't just get a new door the same color?

I mean I'm far from an expert but my understanding is the same as above, and the couple shops I just spoke to all mentioned it having to be done.  The few individual panels I've had painted separately never 100% matched what they mounted to.

I mean I'd obviously prefer factory paint wherever I can have it, but it's not really like this is a "paint meter better show perfect!" type of car.

[Senor_Taylor]

You don't deserve this BS. New cars are scary.

I wish it was a hope that you can figure out who did this.

[rherold9]

Buy dashcam. Your insurance rates will still go up but at least you get sweet vengeance on these shitty human beings.

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[Apoc]

I'm thinking this is covered on underinsured motorist, if you have it? It does in WA; I don't remember the law in VA. We carry replacement value, just in case the car gets totaled by someone with no insurance.

[Beej]

Buy dashcam. Your insurance rates will still go up but at least you get sweet vengeance on these shitty human beings.

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I had a talk about that with a friend the other day. If it was a factory option, I'd happily consider it...I just don't want to deal with running one (or more) wires, fuses, have some Chinese thing accidentally eat my $1500 battery, stuff like that. It ain't off the table though.

I'm thinking this is covered on underinsured motorist, if you have it? It does in WA; I don't remember the law in VA.  We carry replacement value, just in case the car gets totaled by someone with no insurance.

I actually increased a bunch of coverage at the same time I got the f80 and yeah, I do.  Easily enough coverage for this, but not enough to cover the whole car, so I guess I'll up again it at some point. Their 'read more':
"What is Uninsured Motorist Property Damage Coverage?
Uninsured Motorist Property Damage pays damages you are legally entitled to recover because of damage to your insured vehicle caused by uninsured or hit-and-run motorists.

You must carry this coverage at the same limit as your Property Damage liability coverage unless specifically requested at a lower limit in writing. Uninsured Motorist Property Damage does not cover the first $200.00 of damage to your vehicle as the result of any one accident. In choosing a limit, you will want to consider the highest value of any of your vehicles listed on your policy."

Brings down from $500 to $200, which I guess is decent. Good call.

[Scott]

Welp I got got.



Ran in for five minutes to feed my MIL's worthless cat and came out to that. Filed a hit and run police report but don't expect anything to come of it. Swung by the body shop that did a strictly okay job on the M5's bumper to get an idea of what we're looking at, and apparently the hit reached the impact beam and those are illegal to repair, so it'll be a new door and mirror housing, plus obviously blending to the front fender and rear door.



I've no idea on diminished value or if it's worth pursuing, so I'm all ears on that. Only thing one body shop said is that it's usually the responsibly party's insurance that pays that, and they don't exist in this case, so...we'll see I guess.

Diminished value is a non starter for a hit and run unless you can find the responsible party.  Insurance company's won't pay it for their own insured vehicles.  This car has enough value I would be going door to door to the neighbors to see if anyone has an video of it happening.   Your own insurance company won't do diminished value 

Regarding the repair, I would be looking at salvage yards for an OEM painted door before I got into replacing, blending, etc.  With that paint you won't be happy with the result from any body shop.

[JPolen01]

How many m3s came in this color? I'm thinking very few. Finding a a donor car is going to be extremely hard.

You need too find a body shop that specializes in exotics. I follow one on Instagram, JB Bodyworks, but they are out of NY. Maybe they can refer one in your area.

[*insertusernamehere*]

Jeeeez, i guess special paint does come at a special cost. Hopefully the right place can do it once and do it right.

[Beej]

Man you guys are bumming me out.

Swung by the dealers and BMW uses To a T while the Porsche guys use Burleighs, both of which were recommended by Seamus over at Concept Color.  I get my Geico appraisal on Wednesday and move on from there.

I'd imagine the closest exotic place is up in Nova and that's probably too much of a pain. The stuff I saw at Concept Color was more custom/restoration than a job like this, but if he's confident and within a reasonable range of the insurance payout, I'll consider making up the difference and waiting however long it takes. If I get a good feeling from the high end "regular" shops, I'll go that route.

Got the car back after dash replacement and I've gotta say I'm impressed. If anything, there are fewer rattles than before. There are a couple marks in the leather that you can tell are from putting the cluster back in, but they're not bad enough to complain about. Lane departure thing is now silent and vibrates better.

How many m3s came in this color? I'm thinking very few.

Thank you for subscribing to f80 facts!

There were 425 Sakhir Orange cars in the US, with an additional 535 in Sakhir Orange 2 - there is apparently some debate as to whether they're exactly the same, but BMW at least changed where they sourced the paint in 2017, and they have different color codes. I mean if I could go to a yard and find a door for a few hundred, I'd happily give it a shot, I just don't even know where to begin on that.

Other tidbits I came across (all f80 sedans in US): 82% have CF roofs, 72% are DCT, 205 have my interior, and after the Competition package came out in 2016, 58% of cars were spec'd with it.

[JPolen01]

Essentially what I figured. Finding a donor door in that color in a salvage yard near you is going to be next to impossible.

[Beej]

Zero interesting changes/mods. Door still isn't fixed, changed the oil under the cleanest BMW I've been under in ages (thanks electric steering!) and waited 5 months of PS4S's being on backorder before getting standard BMW "star" PSS's put on the rear. Definitely more grip with the old tires being a little dry rotted.



But I did my first autox in a couple years and felt like typing. Just a practice event but you get wayy more wheel time so those are basically all I do anymore. Rain was a great power equalizer and oversteer enabler, and it was awesome. The f80 definitely needs more management than the e46 but man, it's a weapon. I did the first couple runs in "M Dynamic Mode" (there's stability control on, MDM, and off). I only really felt it cutting in when I was getting a little too sideways. I turned it off on the next run and man modern DSC is more nuanced than I thought. I lost a couple seconds on the next run just keeping the thing straight - turns out MDM was doing a lot more than I thought it was. It only took a run or two to get a feel for things, and after that I just had a blast. There was one hairpin/turnaround that begged for power oversteer on the way out, and it really felt like the best way to get the power down. I had a couple 10mph->top-ish of 2nd doritos that felt Chris-Harris-like with smooth exits, a couple ugly ones, a tankslapper, and one spin.

I chatted a little with the worker running start and realized how much someone with more experience would help as a coach. I've always just done what I felt was fastest and done okay, but I feel like I've plateaued for awhile now. He talked about chopping distance vs maintaining speed, he could tell where my eyes were while I was driving away from him 100yds away, and asked what kind of differential the new M cars had due to how he saw my car behave. It's just another level I guess when you get to nationally competitive stuff. I'd love to have a coaching from time to time on stuff like that.

But on that note, I've simply gotta get out more than once every couple years.

Also, everyone but the hot dog guy wore masks. Impressive.

[davej]

mmmmm 'rona dogs.
I had a blast in our trip to the pizza place in that thing, and a blast in the e46 at Verona. We should, you know, combine the experiences sometime. I can only imagine how stupid the grin was on your face sliding out of there. Do all those fancy 360 cameras give you the option to record? can it be like your own hover drone footage of your laps?

Very key number placement. Didn't you plunger out the dent some yourself? Did anything ever come from that hit and run or are you stuck eating the repairs or running it through your insurance?

[ScottyB]

that car is just painfully beautiful.

love that you're still giving it a workout here and there. also really interesting about the MDM feature and what appears to be some real strategy put into how it manipulates the car. truly amazing what modern TC systems are now - more of a performance augmentation than just a wheelspin nanny.

[Beej]

Thanks, Scotty!

mmmmm 'rona dogs.
I had a blast in our trip to the pizza place in that thing, and a blast in the e46 at Verona. We should, you know, combine the experiences sometime. I can only imagine how stupid the grin was on your face sliding out of there. Do all those fancy 360 cameras give you the option to record? can it be like your own hover drone footage of your laps?

Very key number placement. Didn't you plunger out the dent some yourself? Did anything ever come from that hit and run or are you stuck eating the repairs or running it through your insurance?

I'm game as long as some sort of AMG trade is in play!

The cameras are pretty obviously 1.0 for BMW - helpful for parking, but not much else. I did suction cup my phone for a couple laps but it was either a shitty mount or I did it wrong, way too shaky to show how dope me and the car are.

Yep the dent is much better after the Toilet Plunger Fix, not quite as embarrassing to drive around. But I've gotta admit it's been nice to have a shitty side to park near laypeople when there's no clear parking spot available - I'll miss that. I'm still running it through insurance, the $200 under-insured deductible beats the $2800 repair. I'm gonna try and schedule that soon, so I can finally use the e39 while the f80 is in the shop and then sell it.