Repair advice 3200

[howie]

Hi all I have now returned to Australia and whilst the prices in the UK have fallen to levels that make me jealous unfortunatley things are not the same here, which forces me to look for other options.

Attached is a picture of a damaged '01 3200GT which is going to Auction here next week. The damage looks reasonably minimal (drivers side quarter panel) but it was enough for the insurance company to right it off on an economic basis.

I was wondering if anyone knew of any potential problems with damage in this area, some of the things I thought of are:

• Are there any major electronics in this area?
• Will this panel be able to be panel beated or will it require replacement - what would be involved in that? Is the panel aluminium?
• What is the availability of parts?

These are still getting $AUS65,000 plus here (55,000kms/35,000miles), which on the current exchange rate is nearly 40,000 pounds OUCH!

On recent experience I expect this car will sell at auction somewhere in the region of $20,000 and once fixed would not be worth anymore than $40,000 or so as it will be listed as a repaired write-off.

So the question I have to answer is can I fix it for 20K or less?

Any help, advice, questions and warnings welcome.

Thanks
Glenn

 

[conaero]

Glenn, first off, yes, all the electrics are shoved up inside that wing. It should be fairly easy to check though. This is also where the batter sits.

Although it looks bad, its pretty much contained to the one panel, what would concern me is what its done the the rear wheel and subframe. The wheel looks very wrong.

The insurance companies these days are very quick to right things off and looking at the badge was probably enough.

If you quick you could get this and its even the right colour for £600:

ww.eurospares.co.uk/partsListing.asp?M=3&Mo=698&A=2&B=41517&S=&ID4=1699203

I would have though 20k AUD should be easy acheivable plus the above panel will come with all the inner metal work too.

 

[rs48635]

Buy that right now! The rear light units new used to be about £600 (or was it £800?). Imagine fix would be less than 20k

Someone like loz might know about pulling that panel. Looks like more than one impact point so might not be so neat.

Did the door escpape?
Is the inner door area sound - the door shut panels and sill are structural. Did the floor stay intact? Any creas will eaken the whole thing. Assumimg the glass stauys intact thgen chassi could still be sound.

Rear wheel is mis-aligned

Assume
new rear wishbone
maybe
driveshaft
smashed/relay fuse panel
battery
possible
Differntial damage

 

[conaero]

The description says that the rear boomerang on the Eurospares panel is cracked, so thats why they are bunging it in for free.

 

[nigw]

Matt's picture makes it look like some kind of repair kit!

It's a slightly odd deformation of the metal....not quite a rear end smack and not quite a sideways hit. Rear wheel is well off, so definitely assume full rear suspension and subframe.

 

[lozcb]

Definately a rear quarter needed , side skirt, probably a bumper(fixings knackered) rear off/sdie suspension and new wheel min, electrics wise on a 3200 im not sure what goes on in that wing but the 4200 has the battery and ecu a host of relays and fuses and ( the Audtorium Amp tho this may not apply to the 3200 ) do the homework , parts wise readily available here in the uk so no problem with bits , just do the maths and use a good body repair guy , done it twice myself with a 4200 and a Gransport so its not rocket science goodluck with the project , if you need any help or advice where to get parts and the cheapest prices feel free to ask , i would ask that you post a few picks along the way if you get it and start it


regards loz

 

[howie]

Thanks for all the comments guys.

That's good news about the parts because I certainly would not get them here. I guess Eurospares would ship them via container (sea) to me out here in the new world if I did a bulk order and organised it for them. That panel looks good value, they can take the rear screen and tail light off the existing car as all that looks good.

The main problem for me is that these cars rarely come up and when they do they are in Sydney and this one is no exception, which as I am in Melbourne makes it hard to check and of course I tried ringing the auction house and they know nothing and wont get off their Chairs and go and have a look (that's Sydney for you).

It is strange looking damage though isn't it. It sort of looks like it was a side on accident rather than T Bone which hopefully means it was a fairly low force impact.

Like you say its the rear axle and sill/frame damage that is the worry. I guess what it goes for determines the risk. I am pretty sure a lot of the normal auction salvage repair guys will also be scared off by the badge and trying to sell such a rare car, the hassle of finding parts and of course the outlay so I can only hope there will be little interest. A2002 BMW 735Li (worth about $40K) sold yesterday for $8000 with less damage than the Masser. I can but hope.

I think you are right about the insurance companies though, I saw a Spyder for sale a while ago and the only repair required was the door skin, and they had written it off!

On the repairs my mate fixes quite a lot of damaged cars but if he thinks its out of his league I a have another friend who is an ex Aston repairer and is used to working with Aluminum (which I assume this is). There is also an English Ferrari mechanic around the corner that's seems quite good for the mechanicals.

Well we shall see what it sells for.

Thanks again
Glenn

 

[lozcb]

As a ball park figure that repair in the UK would cost around £2500 labour only ,Used parts I would allow another £2500 to be on the safe side plus your shipping£1k so £6K should see it all done and dusted

regards loz

 

[howie]

Thanks Loz

If I could get it done for near that ($AUS10,000) I would be stoked! Labour is a bit more expensive here so I reckon $3000 for Panel work and allow another $3k for the mechanical work and the $6000 (3500 pounds) for parts as you suggest still I would be very happy spending $12,000 on the repairs then I have about another $4000 in inspection fees, (welcome to Australia), buying fees, transport and the like.

Thanks all for giving me the confidence to tackle this its all sounds doable and reasonable.

Now I just have to hope that no one else has the same idea and I can get it for a reasonable price.

Updates soon

 

[howie]

Sorry another question Loz do you think that panel can be repaired?

If not and I got the replacement quarter panel is cutting and removing the old one and welding on the new one a specialist skill?

Thanks again

 

[conaero]

Howie, that panel is too far gone to be repaired and will probably have structural damage to the inners wings C and B post. What has happened to that car is the same as what happens to all 3200s when they let go. The tail has stepped out and smacked into something.

You see it alot here, they spin and all the corners get knocked.

It seems an easy repair, so if the prices are that high in Aus, I would seriously give it a go. Most bodyshops will look at the badge and shy away, its only a car, and with the help of this forum, we can help you find all the parts you need.

You would be wise to contact David Askew also, he will do you a better price than Eurospares, but to be honest, the Eurospares panel is good value for money.

 

[bill]

What would worry me is the mounting points of the rear subframe. I think Matt u r right it's a tail out damage. As to what behind, had a look on mine and it's just the battery and various fuses and relays. The only hope is the impact on the wing has distorted the roof....Tough call with out seing it upclose mate

ps. Another way of looking at it is if it's unrepairable and you have a place to store it, you can sale the parts. So i guess it's value is the value of the parts in Aus

 

[howie]

Yes you are right I, if I get it at a realistic price, the more I look into it the more I am thinking that has to be under $15K I am sure I could recover the money by breaking it though that might take time. I would probably just put the whole thing back on ebay I doubt I would lose too much. I can only hope it was a pretty low force impact.

It is definately repairable, as it has already been assessed as a repairable write-off, if the frame was bent in anyway or the structure compromised it would be listed as a statutory write off and unable to be put back on the road. That of course does not mean that from an economic point of view its worth fixing - which is of course the call the insurance company made.

Its certainly a risk since I don't know the history of the car, and can't see it - not that would help me much to be honest.

I just had a horrible thought as well sometimes they don't have keys and I remember reading somewhere that to get a replacement RED key can be very expensive.

Maybe I should go the UK import route, costs $42K all up on a 13,000 pound purchase price.

Thanks
Howie

 

[howie]

AUCTION OUTCOME

Hi all just thought I would update you on the outcome.

My bidding on the side of caution in the range of $15-20K was dashed on about bid 3 as I hit the button on 20K.

My desire for the car soon overcame the numbers, with me saying things like its still cheap as I hit the button again at 21 then 22.

The next bid - not mine - appeared to be the winner as it was about to be knocked down at $22,500, as they lowered the next ask bid from 23 to 22,750 with me hitting the button whilst saying last one and put the computer to rest.

For a couple of seconds I thought I had it and had already starting worrying that I had paid to much.

Suddenly a new bidder and a few more bids it sold for $24,000.

Still not a bad price as long as there was nothing really nasty lurking waiting to be discovered.

Oh well apparently we will be able to import the 4200 later this year so I might save my pennies and do that.

Thanks for all your help

Howie

 

[lozcb]

Unlucky Howie , now you have been through the first stages of the learning curve , chalk it down to experience , that feeling of paying too much is normalrear quartersl for me even when you know you got it cheap so dont let that put you off again, worth researching some more parts prices from David Askews for future reference , rear quarters are relatively easy to cut and fit into place , most good body shops will do it as regular practice ,

I always as a matter of course just for safety implications hire the JIG plates and have it checked on a jig , around £250 here in the UK gives you peace of mind haven't had to have one tweaked yet , but then i always view the cars physically first


regards loz

 

[howie]

Yeah I was actually more worried about the suspension and any damage to the subframe as I have a good body shop and they have a jig etc so I wasn't too worried. For me it was about getting a decent price as besides the repair costs there are lots of fees you have to cover and resale is massively decreased. I just wanted to make sure I was covered price wise, at a 24K buy price it would have been close.

Thanks again for all your help. I will keep my eyes peeled for another but they come up very, very rarely here, first one I have seen.

Glenn

 

[urbanmaser]

errrrrrrrr metalic paint.........from experience any paintwork done to that side of the car will mean spraying over the roof and mirroring the same paint work on the opposite side of the car due to no natural finishing pointinto the roof. I would say that the repair costs could escalate to much higher if the car is going to be painted properly.

 

[howie]

Yes no doubt there could have been many nasty surprises it really needed to be bought under 20K I think so I am glad I left it. Alas I am now the owner of a $16,000 2002 BMW325Ci. Much cheaper but nowhere near as cool. It will have to do for now..

I hope I don't get kicked off the forum for owning a beamer, it wasn't my first choice but Audi's of the 2002 era are as rare as hens teeth here at the moment.

 

[lozcb]

Yes no doubt there could have been many nasty surprises it really needed to be bought under 20K I think so I am glad I left it. Alas I am now the owner of a $16,000 2002 BMW325Ci. Much cheaper but nowhere near as cool. It will have to do for now..

I hope I don't get kicked off the forum for owning a beamer, it wasn't my first choice but Audi's of the 2002 era are as rare as hens teeth here at the moment.

Lets just call it your second car for now Howie , were allowed to dream you know , if your persistant it will happen one day


regards loz