What to do with my almost drivable z3 after a "total loss"

Last week I got in a collision with my z3. It was front end damage to the drivers side and crunched the hood, bumper and radiator. Given the age of the car and its Bavarian heritage it was deemed a total loss.

** update with numbers  $5k outright or $3800 and keep it  **

Here's my quandary. What do I do with the money? Do I fix the car and make it a more track focused car now that the street car resale value is turned into a cash payment from the at fault parties insurance company? or do I take this as an easy out to buy a new dual duty car, maybe something more in line with things that are competitive at a national level e30, miata, e46 330?

This was my HPDE car, but I hadn't done much other than maintenance items and some safety (roll bar). I will have the option of buying the car back from the insurance company and trying to fix it myself if I so choose. The damage was to the hood, front bumper and radiator. These could be replaced and if I go full TT car then I could do a passable job myself and use the extra money for things like a proper race seat and a custom harness bar etc. There's not much support for a 4 cyl z3 in the racing world nor is there much of a competitive place to run it in NASA. 

I could put the payment into a parts car to get a hood, headlight, radiator and bumper then with the leftover money I would buy the FIA seat I need/want and some other racy stuff. 

I don't have a tow vehicle or trailer so the $4-5k I get won't completely change my track life. I hope to move into W2W racing in the coming years, but I'll need a tow vehicle and trailer to get a caged car to and from the track. 

My other thought was that if my ultimate goal is to race something like a spec miata, e30, or e46 then should I get into one of those so I can start getting used to their idiosyncrasies. 

Just having fun running through scenarios, but I wanted to see if any of y'all have a different way of looking at the situation. I'll hopefully have numbers later in the week to do some calculations about whether keeping it and fixing it is feasible. 

This is the front with the hood up. The bumper is crunched and there are a few metal bits bent. I don't know if that pillar above and in front of the radiator is replaceable without welding (which I don't know how to do).

What does it take in the eyes of your state to get the title so that you can put the car back on the road?

Here in Ohio it is cheap at $50 but that brings a big value to the next owner who may want it on the road (or yourself later.)  

Damn that sucks. I can only say I had a comparable occurrence with my Miata a year or so back. Didn't total it though.

I took the check, fixed it with a junkyard fender/door, then used the left over $ to snag a hard top/ tire fund.

Granted I had just started HPDE so figured a miata was a good platform to continue. I only have street parking and no truck/trailer.

Do you feel a strong attraction to a W2W group in your area? Wouldn't be a bad time to make the jump to something you hope to run in down the road.

If not, fix it, run the hell out of it till you get tired of it and have room for a truck/trailer.

Could you get a decent 6cyl Z3 and just transfer your roll bar and whatever other bits are better and then part the 4cyl? 

I have eyed a few 6 cyl z3 around and the roll bar would transfer.

I would have more power for HPDE, but still wouldn't have a W2W class. Which will be fine for the next few years.

I'm a NASA member so that's my plan to race with them.

I have a possible answer for you.  

My 2000 BMW Z3 Coupe automatic with 213,000 miles in fair condition (Needs paint work (bad clear coat), non-working sunroof, needs Air /Oil separator system, and seats worn. 

I don't think a Z3 is going to be nationally competitive in any class ... especially not a 4-banger ... and definitely not if you've got just $4-5k to play with. 

When it comes to w2w racing, I think you have two basic approaches: head vs. heart. 

The smart choice is to see what class has the biggest fields in your area, then pick whatever car is competitive in that class. Try to buy a car that's already been built to save yourself the money and hassle of building it up yourself. 

The more emotional choice is to start with a car you love, then try to find a class to race it in where you won't be completely embarrassed. It's expensive, slow, and frustrating. You have to get used to the idea that you'll be a back-marker. I went this route with my 190E 2.3-16 race car. It's fun, but makes no sense at all. 

Anyway, if you love the Z3 then stick with it and try to make it work. Otherwise, it's probably better to take the money and run. Put it into a car that's going to be race-ready from the get go.

LanEvo said:

I don't think a Z3 is going to be nationally competitive in any class ... especially not a 4-banger ... and definitely not if you've got just $4-5k to play with

It's probably better to take the money and run.

That makes sense for sure. I need to decide how I'll get the most track time. HPDE in my street car or buying a track car and finding a way to tow it to the track.

Spitsix said:

I have a possible answer for you.  

My 2000 BMW Z3 Coupe automatic with 213,000 miles in fair condition.

That is an awesome idea but I'm kinda set on a manual.

I added pictures to the OP above so y'all can get an idea about what an undertaking repairs might be. Depending on the cost to buy back someone could get it for a challenge car.

The benefit of just taking the money is that I can add to it over time and I'm not pressured into a project right away.

Take the cheque, buy a already built race car and let the Z3 go.

You are going to spend way more building a car than $5K.

it's a good thing you are a little too far away from me. I like 4 cylinder Z3s, Boston Grün is also a great colour for them

Updated with numbers.

They valued the car at $5k and the post car wreck at $1k plus tax would come out to $1200 for a salvage z3.

In reply to Durty :

Are you happy with that valuation of $5k?  I ask because this can be a negotiable number but to negotiate you will need proof that you can not buy the same car for that price.  That proof can be gained by searching CL and Autotrader, etc.  Seek out asking prices for a VERY similar car in condition and mileage.   

John Welsh said:

In reply to Durty :

Are you happy with that valuation of $5k?  I ask because this can be a negotiable number.

Yes it felt reasonable to me. It's pretty much what I had in mind for any time I thought about selling it.

I'm an HPDE-only guy with no racing ambitions.  Based on my limited personal experience and extensive observation of others, towing to the track is a PITA.  My main track is close enough to home for a free AAA Platinum tow, so that's my plan B for getting home after a breakdown.

I am getting near the end of a long running project to convert an E36 chassis with a blown motor into a stripped and caged V8 HPDE car with aftermarket suspension, etc.  This undertaking has been all about the car building experience, not the driving.  It has taken a really long time working on it, and many track days getting it sorted.  Fortunately I have other good cars to HPDE in while this is going on.

If it were me I would start looking for somebody else's HPDE toy car, registered and road legal, and use the money towards that.  Unless I was really within two years of going off on a racing tangent.  I would buy another racer's car, and get one with an established record of finishing a race weekend more or less ready to go for the next race weekend.

In reply to JBasham :

After decades of driving to the track, then driving to the track towing a small tire trailer, I finally bit the bullet and bought a trailer last year.

So much nicer to set the car up in my garage (race tires/brake pads etc) and toss it on the trailer.  All I do know is back off the trailer, check the tire pressures and its good to go.  Plus if something happens I don't have to call AAA and wait for them to show up.

Then when I get home, I can put the street tires/brake pads on at my leisure, using my lift, vs jack/jack stands and the pit pavement.

In reply to docwyte :

I hear you.   But you don't just back it off the trailer at the track.  First you spend an hour hitching your trailer up at home, loading the car on the trailer and crawling around underneath it strapping it down, then you crawl around underneath it to unstrap it at the track before you back it off.  

It's this rigmarole that wore me out.  I'm somewhat happier just packing my car since I leave track pads on it all the time, the dry tires fit vertically 4-across in my back seat, and the wet tires (i.e., 300 treadwear summer street tires) stay on the hubs for the drive there and back.

If I could use a full-size enclosed trailer and leave it loaded, that might tip the balance.  But thanks to the county I can't keep that at my house, and storage options are $750 a year 45 minutes away.

I have tried flat-towing the E36 a couple times now and that is somewhat less of a hassle than trailering, if I need more stuff than fits in the car.  The tow bar hooks up quick.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/Xi8iUnnry6U

?

Grizz I think we have a winner!

To get a salvage title in NC apparently I only have to pass inspection. So that means new headlight and mirror, and addressing the secondary air system which was a problem before the wreck. 

-durty

Buy it back and does an LSxx fit in a Z3?

In reply to noddaz :

Yes I've seen one or two LS engines in z3s.

Think I saw one 4 banger Z3 that had a 4 cylinder GM Ecotec turbo stuck in it.  Anything up to 500 bhp available there, but they might not let you run in some classes?

Weird, I barely ever see anybody with a 4 cylinder Z3, I thought almost all of them had inline sixes. If it was a 6 cylinder Z3 I'd say it's worth saving...