1st Gen R53 Cooper S 2006 R53 Front End Damage - Totaled

Discussion in '1st Generation: 2002–06 R50, R53 & 2004–08 R52' started by west7, Aug 14, 2016.

  1. west7

    west7 Member

    Sep 17, 2011
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    My 2006 r53 6sp manual with 128k was recently hit head on and damaged the driver side front rail causing the shop and insurance to total out the vehicle. The question is: Is it worth buying back and fixing myself/having the shop fix? If not, thoughts on a 2013 Countryman S All4 as a semi family vehicle?( I have a toddler and an infant)....
     
  2. rkw

    rkw Well-Known Member

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    You need to provide more details about the extent of the damage. Is there a damage report? Pics would be helpful.
     
  3. west7

    west7 Member

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  4. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    The Countryman will be a great choice for a family with small kids.

    You'll love the accessibility of the back doors and the trunk will carry all that stuff you always need with you with small kids.

    The All4 drive is the icing on the cake, I know you guys get snow in winter like we do and you'll be amazed how the All4 goes in the snow.

    While that damage doesn't look all that bad, I'd take the money and not look back.
     
  5. west7

    west7 Member

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    [​IMG]

    The good side
     
  6. west7

    west7 Member

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    [​IMG]

    The bad side
     

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  7. west7

    west7 Member

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    I have greatly enjoyed this car over the last 5-6 years and even enjoyed wrenching on it. The question becomes whether or not to buy it back and replace the rail and other damaged components or not. The shop quoted around $8k for a proper repair.....
     
  8. west7

    west7 Member

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    2006 r53 front end damage totaled

    Or whether it's time to move on to a more family friendly vehicle or such...?
     
  9. west7

    west7 Member

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    Rkw, The damage report called for a new rail, hood, latch, hinges, core support, ect.....
     
  10. west7

    west7 Member

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    Minidave, valid points, we test drove one yesterday. It was quite spacious for a MINI. That said, it was an auto as they didn't have any manual all4s on the lot. The auto wasn't as horrid as most other modern crossover/small car I've driven....
     
  11. Felixy69

    Felixy69 New Member

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    I need parts, u parting out ?
     
  12. caseydog

    caseydog Well-Known Member

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    He would have to buy it back from the insurance company, or not accept the insurance money, and hope he could get enough for the parts on his own.

    My car is one year newer, and has 101K on the odometer. I'd probably negotiate the best the insurance settlement possible, and call it a day.

    If the accident were the other guys fault, my neck might start hurting, too. :devil:

    CD
     
  13. Dave.0

    Dave.0 Helix & RMW Powered
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    If it was me and I had the money I would keep it. A good R53 is getting harder and harder to find.

    Keep it if you can see not getting rid of it in a few years if not take the money and get into a new ride.
     
  14. clifforddward

    clifforddward Active Member

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    #14 clifforddward, Aug 15, 2016
    Last edited: Aug 15, 2016
    Taking the insurance payout for a totaled car is a separate transaction from the buy-back....you can take the money, then find out the buy back cost...likely to be less than $1,000. I once did this with a 1995 Maxima that was totaled due to low overall value and very minor collision....I bought back for $500, spent $300 in parts and about 50 hours of time and ended up with a great car for my son to drive for another 50k miles. Do remember if you do this the car will have a "salvage" title...fine to have and drive, but will lower the resale value...best reason to do this is you want the extra vehicle at a bargain price (in my case we needed another vehicle for my son anyway. It will take you time to repair the car yourself, so you'll need another ride....and all this assumes you have the skills and tools to do the work (except maybe farming out the paint)....from what I can see in the couple of photos it appears most everything broken is a bolt on part...most of which are available from junkyards. So a decent candidate if you have skills, time, and space.
     
  15. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    Yes but keeping it doesn't help his family situation, he has two kids both of whom are probably in car seats....and if you haven't tried bolting a kid in a car seat in the back of an R53....lets just say it can be a challenge!
     
  16. narvarr

    narvarr Active Member

    Nov 8, 2014
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    That looks like it could probably be fixed compared to my front end damage.
    [​IMG]
    As Dave said, good R53's are getting harder and harder to find. I looked at several that sold only hours after I saw them online.

    Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
     
  17. west7

    west7 Member

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    Do you think a frame shop could fix the driver side front rail reliably and safely? Then I could likely do the rest minus painting... How long will this car go reliably? This one has 128k miles on it..... It now has all new joints, shocks, tires, and single mass clutch conversion....?

    As Minidave said, it's not great for two small kids in car seats..... But if it's worth keeping then I would consider the buy back and look to get a better family vehicle separately...

    Narvarr: ouch. That looks pretty bad! Were you able to find a replacement r53?

    Clifforddward: if I own the car and have the title can I choose to
    Keep the title and not let it become a salvage title? (Not that I would sell it as I typically keep everything till its long wore out)
     
  18. narvarr

    narvarr Active Member

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    I found a replacement, but it took a couple months. Most of the low mileage cars get bought up pretty quick. I would have liked to buy back the car but the damage was too substantial to try and repair.

    Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk
     
  19. clifforddward

    clifforddward Active Member

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    These matters are regulated state by state, so your location may be different than me in North Carolina. If you do not take the Insurance claim then there is no total loss vehicle to salvage...but probably not worth it...your 06 probably has total loss value in the $7-9K range...I'd be surprised if salvage value buy back is more than $2k, perhaps much less. If you have already talked to your insurance company, then there is nothing to hide...might as well ask and know the real deal....let us know what you find out.
     
  20. west7

    west7 Member

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    Currently, its looking like a total loss value in the $7k range, with a buy back of around $1k..... Would likely be a salvage title at that point. Having a frame shop check out the damage and if safely repairable, I'll likely buy it back, have the frame shop do the structural repair and then I'll do the rest, minus paint.... Will keep you posted...
     

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