The BMW UUC Digest Volume 2 : Issue 668 : "text" Format Messages in this Issue: Body Work Re: Body Work Re: Body Work Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 Re: Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 Re: Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 Re: Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 Re: Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 How bad is it... Re: How bad is it... Re: How bad is it... Re: [bmwuucdigest] digest(4 messages) Insurance policies (was: digest(4 messages)) Body Work, Continued <E34> Seatbelt Question
---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 22:04:32 -0400 From: David Hwang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Body Work Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Marc, Thanks for the recommendations. I have plenty of time on my hands. Obviously, base don the mileage and the fact that car is coming up on 2 years old, it gets driven at my convenience anyways. It's just a shame to miss some gorgeous weather days like today! I have heard good things about Wagonwerks. Does anyone know what the local customs are here in Maryland about whether or not I can specify who does and how the work gets done? This is all going to be covered by the other party's insurance and I'm anticipating a fight. The insurance company is State Farm, and I believe that they make you take the car to some evaluation place on Rockville Pike, make a determination there and offer to give you a check for a fraction of what it would cost to get the work done correctly. Has anyone else dealt with State Farm for a claim around here? David -- >Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 17:33:40 -0500 >From: "Marc Plante" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: [email protected] >Subject: Re: Body Work in DC area >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >David, for a car like that, take it to one of two places > >Autocrafters in Manassas, VA. Robert takes a little while cause he's a one man >shop, but he's a PERFECTIONIST and does great work. often returning the cars >finish to better than new when doing paint jobs. Does a lot of work on >exotics (ferraris). Did the famed work on Bamislayer when Duane Collie decided >to use his M3 as a deer hunting device, and he did indetectable work on my >wifes new 330i that was gouged down one side by a side-swiper. > >Wagonwerks on Route 1 down just south of National Airport. Again, outstanding >work that may take a while. > >Either of these shops will leave virtually no traces that anything ever >happened. I just hope you have rental coverage or a second car, since it will >prolly be a 2-3wk+ process. > > >Marc Plante >E36 M3/4 64k >Vienna, VA > > ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 22:43:56 -0400 From: "Bill Matthews" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Body Work Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> David, As always all disclaimers apply and YMMV but I have had State Farm Insurance off and on for over 30 years in a number of different states. I currently live in Delaware and have both had them pay off for accidents of my kids, had accidents to my cars where another State Farm insured was at fault and have had comprehensive claims. In every case they did not try to short pay and do a good job of paying to return the car to original condition. You can take your car to whatever shop you want to. They have shops that they are affiliated with that you can go to for one stop shopping. In my area I didn't like their shop. They sent an appraiser to evaluate the car at my home. I have a couple of shops I use depending on the car involved (Damn that sounds bad, 4 incidents in the last year only one of which I had a driver in my family at fault). My two shops are not part of the State Farm approved network or whatever they call it. In three of the cases, there was hidden damage uncovered after the car went in. In all cases the body shop worked it out with State Farm without me being involved. In every case only approved OEM parts were used. In one of my recent cases, my wife's 03 CLK320 had a large rock thrown through the back window. The original appraisal was $1800. By the time the car was fixed it was $3700. Once the car was in my chosen body shop I didn't have to get involved. The only bad experience I had was 8 years or so ago when I had a comp claim on what was then a fairly new Volvo. Passenger side window had been broken and some other damage from a car break in. SF wanted a local glass installer to do the window replacement with non-Volvo glass. I agreed to it. Because of subtle differences with the whole assembly and lack of expertise with the local I had the replacement window fall out in a week. I took the car back to my body man and told him to put the Volvo glass in and if he needed me to pay for it I would. He did, I didn't pay for it and I don't think he did either. My experience is State Farm is a straight shooter but the key here is that you are the aggrieved party and they have to make you whole. Don't accept anything less. Bill Matthews Hockessin DE 00 M Geeze Some Volvos Other cars > -----Original Message----- > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of David Hwang > Sent: Sunday, May 22, 2005 10:05 PM > To: [email protected] > Subject: [UUC] Body Work > > Marc, > > Thanks for the recommendations. I have plenty of time on my hands. > Obviously, base don the mileage and the fact that car is > coming up on 2 years old, it gets driven at my convenience > anyways. It's just a shame to miss some gorgeous weather > days like today! > > I have heard good things about Wagonwerks. > > Does anyone know what the local customs are here in Maryland > about whether or not I can specify who does and how the work > gets done? This is all going to be covered by the other > party's insurance and I'm anticipating a fight. The > insurance company is State Farm, and I believe that they make > you take the car to some evaluation place on Rockville Pike, > make a determination there and offer to give you a check for > a fraction of what it would cost to get the work done correctly. > > Has anyone else dealt with State Farm for a claim around here? > > David > -- > > > > >Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 17:33:40 -0500 > >From: "Marc Plante" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >To: [email protected] > >Subject: Re: Body Work in DC area > >Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > > > >David, for a car like that, take it to one of two places > > > >Autocrafters in Manassas, VA. Robert takes a little while > cause he's a one man shop, but he's a PERFECTIONIST and does > great work. often returning the cars finish to better than > new when doing paint jobs. Does a lot of work on exotics > (ferraris). Did the famed work on Bamislayer when Duane > Collie decided to use his M3 as a deer hunting device, and he > did indetectable work on my wifes new 330i that was gouged > down one side by a side-swiper. > > > >Wagonwerks on Route 1 down just south of National Airport. > Again, outstanding work that may take a while. > > > >Either of these shops will leave virtually no traces that > anything ever happened. I just hope you have rental coverage > or a second car, since it will prolly be a 2-3wk+ process. > > > > > >Marc Plante > >E36 M3/4 64k > >Vienna, VA > > > > > Search the > ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > > ______________________________________________________________ > ____________ > In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of > the BMW CCA. > > UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the > Ultimate Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! > 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com > ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 10:10:35 -0400 From: "Steve Stoner" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Body Work Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Just my two cents worth with a recent parking lot bump. Called Insurance company (allstate), and scheduled an appointment for the appriser. He noted the damage, wrote up an estimate and cut me a check less the deductable. He then gave me a list of ALLSTATE approved body shops. It wasn't necessary to choose one of these, but by doing so, should the shop find any additional damage or get in deeper than the estimate (almost always the case), they already had pre-approval to fix it--ie, no ongoing negotiation by me with the insurer. This was across the potomac in virginia though. Allstate then negotiated with the offenders insurance company to recover the cost of repairs. I was pleased with the overall experiece. Your insurance company should be explaining all this to you up front in terms of what the process is and how it will work. If not ask. Steve Stoner ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 09:16:20 -0500 From: "Ivan Demkovitch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Folks, I'm getting ready to replace catalytic converter on my 540. Have couple questions. Did anybody have good expierence with Carsound/Magnaflow converters? I'm thinking to let Midas or Meineke cut old one out and weld new one in... I know Oxy Sensors need to be taken out to make sure they do not get damaged. What is the pattern for cat's failure? Do they usually go in pairs or replacing one side will be good enough as long as another one good... ? TIA Ivan ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 10:35:20 -0400 From: "Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> 1) Magnaflow cats work very well. We have been using them in some project cars for at least two years with no problems. 2) Midas or Meineke? You're a brave man. 3) Make sure the shop disconnects the battery before welding on the car. 4) Usually one cat goes, and the other follows within 10K miles. Replace cats in pairs, particularly if they are not from the same manufacturer. - Rob ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ivan Demkovitch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 10:16 AM Subject: [UUC] Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 > Folks, > > I'm getting ready to replace catalytic converter on my 540. > > Have couple questions. > Did anybody have good expierence with Carsound/Magnaflow converters? I'm > thinking to let Midas or Meineke cut old one out and weld new one in... > > I know Oxy Sensors need to be taken out to make sure they do not get > damaged. > > What is the pattern for cat's failure? Do they usually go in pairs or > replacing one side will be good enough as long as another one good... ? > > TIA > Ivan ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 09:43:49 -0500 From: "Ivan Demkovitch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >2) Midas or Meineke? You're a brave man. :) Well... I gues I don't have choice. Indy shop where I take my car wouldn't weld... Actually, I think I will look up some specialized muffler shop Another question.. Magnaflow and Carsound are the same thing. Why do I choose Magnaflow over Carsound? What "polish" finish does for extra $20/each ? Thanks! ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 14:19:45 -0400 From: "Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Ivan Demkovitch" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: [UUC] Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 > Another question.. Magnaflow and Carsound are the same thing. > Why do I choose Magnaflow over Carsound? What "polish" finish does for extra > $20/each ? Carsound is a big Magnaflow distributor. The polished version looks very nice when you flip your car over. - Rob ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 11:50:03 -0700 (PDT) From: Andre Yew <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Catalytic converter for v8 540, 740 Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> On Mon, 23 May 2005, Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks wrote: > Carsound is a big Magnaflow distributor. The polished version looks very > nice when you flip your car over. You might also confuse those of us who are told to keep the shiny side up ... --Andre ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 22 May 2005 21:26:50 -0700 From: Mark Gold <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: How bad is it... Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> How bad is it to drive with the ABS light on? I was coming home this morning when the ABS light came on on my '91 318ic. When I got home, I checked the brake fluid level and it looked OK and there were no burned out fuses, but I didn't check anything else. Later when I started up the car (did not drive it, just started it up), the light was out. I'm hoping it was "Fritz" the electrical gremlin playing tricks on me. If it does come back on I have a few questions... 1. What should I be looking for as culprits? 2. Is it safe to drive with the ABS light on? (remember this is an E30, not some newfangled E46 or E90). Sincerely, Mark Gold Sacramento Chapter BMWCCA 916-852-6533 (home) 916-743-7153 (cell) [EMAIL PROTECTED] ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 01:05:43 -0400 From: Rob Levinson * UUC Motorwerks <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Re: How bad is it... Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> All that light means is that the ABS system has been deactivated because the system detected a fault. It's not hurting anything on the car, and people have been driving non-ABS cars for many years without major consequence. Usual culprits include bad ABS sensors, metal particles magnetized to the ABS rings or sensors, or even rings that have rusted so badly that the teeth are no longer as thick or prominent as they once were. - Rob On May 23, 2005, at 12:26 AM, Mark Gold wrote: > How bad is it to drive with the ABS light on? I was coming home this > morning when the ABS light came on on my '91 318ic. When I got home, > I checked the brake fluid level and it looked OK and there were no > burned out fuses, but I didn't check anything else. Later when I > started up the car (did not drive it, just started it up), the light > was out. I'm hoping it was "Fritz" the electrical gremlin playing > tricks on me. If it does come back on I have a few questions... > > 1. What should I be looking for as culprits? > > 2. Is it safe to drive with the ABS light on? (remember this is an > E30, not some newfangled E46 or E90). ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 09:07:29 -0400 From: "Gary Derian" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]>, "Mark Gold" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Subject: Re: How bad is it... Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> No worse than driving a non ABS car. If the light stays off after the car starts, but comes on when you start driving, that usually means a sensor is bad or as Rob mentioned, a sensor ring is full or junk. Gary Derian > How bad is it to drive with the ABS light on? I was coming home this > morning when the ABS light came on on my '91 318ic. When I got home, I > checked the brake fluid level and it looked OK and there were no burned > out fuses, but I didn't check anything else. Later when I started up the > car (did not drive it, just started it up), the light was out. I'm hoping > it was "Fritz" the electrical gremlin playing tricks on me. If it does > come back on I have a few questions... > > 1. What should I be looking for as culprits? > > 2. Is it safe to drive with the ABS light on? (remember this is an E30, > not some newfangled E46 or E90). > > > Sincerely, > > Mark Gold > Sacramento Chapter BMWCCA > 916-852-6533 (home) > 916-743-7153 (cell) > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > Search the ARCHIVES:http://www.mail-archive.com/[email protected] > > > __________________________________________________________________________ > In memory of Michel Potheau - friend, enthusiast, founder of the BMW CCA. > > UUC Motorwerks - BMW Performance Fine-tuning and home of the Ultimate > Short Shifter - accept no substitutes! > 908-874-9092 . http://www.uucmotorwerks.com ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 08:43:46 -0400 From: "Mitchell, Philip S" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: "'[email protected]'" <[email protected]> Subject: Re: [bmwuucdigest] digest(4 messages) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> David, I can also recommend Autocrafters in Manassas for impeccable BMW repairs. The previous owner took my E32 there when it required a front clip due to a wet weather accident and even after 160k miles the car looked PERFECT. People could not believe it was a 1988 model. You do have the right to pick the bodyshop and to specify that only OEM BMW parts be used. It is your car. Phil Mitchell Wheaton, Md ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sat, 21 May 2005 18:03:39 -0400 From: David Hwang <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Body Work Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sorry if this is a redundant question, but this is the first time this has happened to me in a long, long time and I'm somewhat ignorant of the processes at this point. My car was smacked by another person in a parking lot damaging the trunk lid, the rear clip, and the rear bumper. I think it was a pretty low-speed impact, but it was enough to put a huge wrinkle/buckle in the truck lid especially. I've contacted both involved insurance companies. I assume that the offending party's insurance company will take care of this since it was 100% their insured's fault. I also assume that they are going to try to get the cheapest fix available out there. Obviously, my goal is to get the best repair out there. I know that I can get good advice regarding reputable body shops that can take care of the repair either here or through BMWCCA members or other internet sites. Do I have the right to specify who repairs the car? Do I have to get a couple of estimates? Can I specify things like genuine BMW parts only? Will a body shop automatically check for more severe damage that I can see externally (i.e bent frame, etc.)? Can these parts be repaired? Or can I assume they will be replaced with new parts? The car is a pristine 2003 M5 with 5800 miles on it. It is a pampered car with a gaping wound. Any advice would be appreciated. I'm in Potomac, MD near Washington, D.C. Anyone have recommendations on where it should go to be repaired? Thanks, David Hwang ********* ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 13:04:53 -0400 From: Steven Schlossman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: [email protected] Subject: Insurance policies (was: digest(4 messages)) Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Quoting "Mitchell, Philip S" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>: > You do have the right to pick the bodyshop and to specify that only OEM BMW > parts be used. It is your car. That is no longer the case. You must read your policy. I pay a small extra premimum for OE parts. ...steven ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 11:09:50 -0400 From: "David Hwang" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: Body Work, Continued Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Just to keep the list updated, I checked with the Maryland Insurance Commission and they told me a couple of things. Apparently, in the state of Maryland, there is no obligation on the part of the insurance companies to offer original replacement parts. In fact, the insurance commission said there is not even an obligation to use new parts. Has anyone run into a problem with this before? She did say, however, that I should be able to pick who will do the repair, but insinuated that the insurance company may only pay what they consider to be a fair and reasonable price for the repair. David ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 23 May 2005 10:59:00 -0500 From: "Paul Craven" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Subject: <E34> Seatbelt Question Message-ID: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Hi all, In my recent quest to get my wife's 1995 525iT up to speed, I have noticed the front setbelats are very slow to retract. They work fine, just seem to want help retracting. Anything obvious to check that I am missing? Just a general clean and lube all that's needed? Just as a FYI, there have been several E34 540 six speeds on Ebay as of late. Item 4550358978 appears especially nice. No affiliation, just an apparently nice car I wish I could give a home to. Regards, Paul Craven 1993 325ic 1995 525iT ------------------------------ End of [bmwuucdigest] digest(15 messages) **********
