[cmyk]

Last Wednesday my car was severely damaged in a freak hail storm. (If you haven't seen the carnage yet, pictures are posted in this thread: http://www.e90post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=705347 )

I assumed the car would be totaled but instead insurance is replacing pretty much every body panel, except for the bumpers and back quarter panels (bumpers had no damage, and rear panels need minor PDR work). I'm getting an initial check for around $9,000, but will probably end up with more along the lines of $12-13,000 to work with, according to my shop.

I was originally planning on keeping the exterior of the car relatively stock (minus a few minor things like wheels, grill and shadowline), but now that the resale value of my car has tanked due to the extensive repairs and hail damage, I figure I might as well go full retard and use some of the insurance money to have a bit of fun with the parts that are being replaced.

So, here's where I need some opinions. I am thinking about ordering a CF M3 hood and CSL trunk lid for starters. I considered just doing an LCI conversion instead, but that would require going out of pocket for lights and bumpers, which I'm not sure I'd like to do right now (between house and both cars I have some major deductibles to pay right now so I'd like to keep the car budget limited to what insurance is already replacing, and then maybe add some more things down the road).

Here is my car in his pre-damaged state:



More photos available in My Garage.

The whole car will need to be re-painted as well. I'm thinking about wrapping the car after this, since even the best aftermarket paint never looks as good as factory.

SO....I'm taking suggestions. What would you do? Help me spend my money

[mapleridge]

Never go full retard.

Here are my suggestions depending on what you can fit:

LCI Hood
LCI m3 rep front
Carbon Fiber hood ala Vac motorsports
M3 Mirrors
Matte White or Black or Silver Paint
LCI tail Conversion
OEM V1 CF Performance Spoiler

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by mapleridge

Never go full retard.

Thanks for getting my Tropic Thunder reference

And yeah, I do kind of want to go matte black, but I'm thinking a wrap might be better.

Here's the hood I'm probably getting, along with this trunk, although I'm worried the combination of these 2 might be a little much. I saw some photos of a car with both of these not too long ago, but can't find the link now.

Also on the list (for later on, after car funds are no longer depleted) I'll be switching the wheels out for 359Ms, 19x9 front / 19x10 rear.

[N0OS3]

i agree with mapleridge's suggestions... looks legit... did your headlights get damaged too? if so, maybe go for LCI Xenons as a replacement as well...

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by N0OS3

i agree with mapleridge's suggestions... looks legit... did your headlights get damaged too? if so, maybe go for LCI Xenons as a replacement as well...

Nope, headlights and taillights were untouched Kinda disappointed as I would have loved to get rid of those ambers. OSS is still on the wishlist for later on.

[mapleridge]

9-12g's is a lot of money. Do you just have that as a budget and get to fit in whatever you want. You don't have to do the LCI lights right away as the pre lci fits the exact same. I would definitely do the conversion. You could get a cheap stock lci bumper for a few hundred and let that be the only out of pocket. I went into the local dealership and saw a frozen silver m3. The matte colors are so sweet. I would definitely paint matte white or black.

Go crazy and document the whole thing.

[Shahdog]

Bmw body shops charge arm and leg

But their work is really really good in terms of paint

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by mapleridge

9-12g's is a lot of money. Do you just have that as a budget and get to fit in whatever you want. You don't have to do the LCI lights right away as the pre lci fits the exact same. I would definitely do the conversion. You could get a cheap stock lci bumper for a few hundred and let that be the only out of pocket. I went into the local dealership and saw a frozen silver m3. The matte colors are so sweet. I would definitely paint matte white or black.

Go crazy and document the whole thing.

I am seriously considering painting matte black. I love the look of matte white but I've had a few matte white items (laptop cases, for example) and they always end up discolored and grungy-looking over time (especially from fingerprints, dust, etc, no matter how clean you try to keep it). I imagine matte white paint would do the same thing, unless anyone has personal experience otherwise. For now I am strongly considering matte black, though. My husband's Challenger was also damaged and will need to be repainted, and he is going matte black.

I didn't know that you could keep the pre-lci lights. That's good to know. I've already ordered my hood, though, and was planning on going with an M3-rep front bumper, too. If the hood ends up not being my taste I will swap it out and do the lci conversion instead.

And no, I don't have $12,000 cash sitting around for mods. If I did I would have said "screw the hail damage" and gone single turbo lol (j/k). I'm working with a very good body shop and we're replacing some of the parts listed on the estimate with aftermarket. I'm trying to keep costs relatively even with what the estimate lists so I'm not out of pocket too much. I'll add more on to the car (like the front bumper) in the coming months. The car will likely be in the shop for 2+ months so I have some time to acquire more goodies during that time.

I tend to over-plan things so I'm trying to come up with a road map of sorts, so my mods don't end up looking tacky and pieced together. I have a feeling I will end up going through a few parts until I find the winning combo.

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by Shahdog

Bmw body shops charge arm and leg

But their work is really really good in terms of paint

I'm not taking it to BMW. The shop I'm working with does mostly exotics. They are also certified with some of the nearby dealerships like Audi and Lexus, but a majority of their business comes from Ferrari, Maserati, etc.

They are right down the street from COBB, so they also do all of their cars, and COBB is who referred me to them. So far I've been impressed with them. I'll be sure to document everything as much as they'll allow (stalking my car after-hours and such with a paparazzi lens...)

[mapleridge]

Originally Posted by cmyk

I am seriously considering painting matte black. I love the look of matte white but I've had a few matte white items (laptop cases, for example) and they always end up discolored and grungy-looking over time (especially from fingerprints, dust, etc, no matter how clean you try to keep it). I imagine matte white paint would do the same thing, unless anyone has personal experience otherwise. For now I am strongly considering matte black, though. My husband's Challenger was also damaged and will need to be repainted, and he is going matte black.

I didn't know that you could keep the pre-lci lights. That's good to know. I've already ordered my hood, though, and was planning on going with an M3-rep front bumper, too. If the hood ends up not being my taste I will swap it out and do the lci conversion instead.

And no, I don't have $12,000 cash sitting around for mods. If I did I would have said "screw the hail damage" and gone single turbo lol (j/k). I'm working with a very good body shop and we're replacing some of the parts listed on the estimate with aftermarket. I'm trying to keep costs relatively even with what the estimate lists so I'm not out of pocket too much. I'll add more on to the car (like the front bumper) in the coming months. The car will likely be in the shop for 2+ months so I have some time to acquire more goodies during that time.

I tend to over-plan things so I'm trying to come up with a road map of sorts, so my mods don't end up looking tacky and pieced together. I have a feeling I will end up going through a few parts until I find the winning combo.

The only problem with the CF hoods, unless you go Vorsteiner is the fitment. I had a carbon8 one and I couldn't stand it, so I got rid of it. The gaps in the front and sides plus the wavyness of the CF, turned me off. That's why I say LCI and OEM whenever possible. OEM m3 front end conversion would work. You could probably source a bumper for even cheaper than aftermarket replicas. I would just fill the m3 vents so it doesn't look too obvious.

[TxBeem]

Hey. My car will be in the same shop as yours. If its the one by the Mercedes Dealership. But I'm am getting some hail damage repair and LCI rear conversion. If you are there ask for Anthony and he will show you. Oh, my car won't be there till 7/2. And hopefully they wont put the LCI trunk/bumper on your car by mistake

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by TxBeem

Hey. My car will be in the same shop as yours. If its the one by the Mercedes Dealership. But I'm am getting some hail damage repair and LCI rear conversion. If you are there ask for Anthony and he will show you. Oh, my car won't be there till 7/2. And hopefully they wont put the LCI trunk/bumper on your car by mistake

Yeah, Trade Secret in Plano They are ordering all the parts tomorrow (minus the hood and trunk that I ordered already) and it'll go in to start surgery within the next week or so. The best-case scenario they gave me was having the car back in early August.

I think I am going to have them paint it BSM instead of JB and then do a matte clear wrap (like this: http://www.6speedonline.com/forums/b...tin-guard.html). When I was there today they said they could do BMW frozen black, but I'm worried about imperfections showing up in the finish since it's not a sealed paint booth like they have at the factory (pieces of dust and pollen and stuff are bound to show up, and matte paint would not hide that).

[cmyk]

Originally Posted by mapleridge

The only problem with the CF hoods, unless you go Vorsteiner is the fitment. I had a carbon8 one and I couldn't stand it, so I got rid of it. The gaps in the front and sides plus the wavyness of the CF, turned me off. That's why I say LCI and OEM whenever possible. OEM m3 front end conversion would work. You could probably source a bumper for even cheaper than aftermarket replicas. I would just fill the m3 vents so it doesn't look too obvious.

Agreed, I have heard that fitment is very hit-or-miss on the non-Vorsteiner hoods. I got mine from a forum member here, and from the photos I saw the fitment looked good. So we'll see. I'm painting it, so the weave pattern doesn't matter much to me.

After all this I will probably end up just doing an LCI conversion down the road anyway. I just wanted to try this out and see if I like it first, because, hell, it was free from the insurance company

[Shahdog]

Originally Posted by cmyk

I'm not taking it to BMW. The shop I'm working with does mostly exotics. They are also certified with some of the nearby dealerships like Audi and Lexus, but a majority of their business comes from Ferrari, Maserati, etc.

They are right down the street from COBB, so they also do all of their cars, and COBB is who referred me to them. So far I've been impressed with them. I'll be sure to document everything as much as they'll allow (stalking my car after-hours and such with a paparazzi lens...)

Paparazzi lens .. Lol