Sad Story About the Demise of My ZHP (But Good News too!)

[webster]

Never want to start one of these threads but here goes. On May 22 I was in a solo accident that totaled my ZHP coupe. It was a Sunday night coming back home around dusk, just starting to rain before a heavy thunderstorm. I exited my normal freeway exit and carried too much speed into the underpass U-turn, and on the slick roads the rear tires lost grip and the car hopped the curb and collided with one of the concrete support pillars under the overpass. This all happened so quickly I can't even explain it other than I was just going too fast. Bad driving....

To literally add injury to insult, the impact also resulted in a dislocated and fractured left hip which required significant reconstructive surgery and a 5 day hospital stay. I am recovering well, but it will still be another 6-8 weeks before I can begin to put weight on the leg. I have had to take a leave from work and go on short term disability. I won't be able to return to work until I am recovered enough to be able to walk and drive and climb stairs normally.

Needless to say all this has been a nightmare. I had my period of dwelling on the negativity in the hospital - laying in bed for 5 nights staring at the ceiling will afford you the time to get over the cesspool of guilt, anger, sadness, etc. now I'm looking forward to moving forward and staying positive.

Part of the moving on and staying positive bit was looking for a replacement car. At first I considered some other makes and models but never really felt any sort of enthusiasm about it. I knew in my heart I wanted back into a ZHP. But I didn't want to try to replace what I had just lost with the same thing. So I decided I wanted a sedan. The utility factor would be nice, and it would be a change of pace after the coupe for 6 years. So the hunt was on...

I contacted quite a number of sellers but the Oxford green/natural brown sedan stood out from the beginning. 1/5 produced with that color combo and 1/1 in production with a slick top. I must say, I was a bit reluctant at first given the mileage and relative lack of maintenance history, but the car passed a PPI with flying colors. The shop manager actually told me that if I didn't buy the car, he would (this is a BMW shop and he owns a Z4M among other older BMWs, so he's an enthusiast).

I was really interested in Zachs Imola up in Idaho but it was just too far too be practical. Ditto with Alan's lovely Oxford/sand ZHP in PA. One of the major kickers was that Simon (seller of the car I'm buying) is driving the car to my driveway. You can't beat that convenience.

I will start a thread for the car once I take ownership as already have a bunch of stuff planned from the get-go (Shark, CDV Delete, stainless lines, coolant system, power pulleys, wheels, some cosmetics) and will start a new maintenance thread to document the progress.

So if you made it this far, thanks for reading. This whole experience has reminded me that you never know what life will throw at you, so appreciate what you have and what is truly important.

(Link to Oxford/NB FS thread - http://www.zhpmafia.com/forums/showthread.php?20181-2004-BMW-330i-ZHP-Sedan-6MT-Oxford-Green-Natural-Brown)

[ZHPizza]

Wow.

1. Glad you're recovering physically. Whatever limited mobility you have now is leagues beyond what could have been.

2. Very glad you're recovering mentally. Sounds like you're focusing on the positives and moving forward. Huge step in the recovery process that the hospital can't exactly help you with. Good on you for getting there.

3. Sweet, sweet pickup with the OG/NB sedan. You're going to love how much easier it is to get in/out of the sedan, the improved visibility/driving position, and the utility that a rear door brings. Looks like it has fold down rears too!

[danewilson77]

So sorry to hear Webby.

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[Johnmadd]

Wow.

1. Glad you're recovering physically. Whatever limited mobility you have now is leagues beyond what could have been.

2. Very glad you're recovering mentally. Sounds like you're focusing on the positives and moving forward. Huge step in the recovery process that the hospital can't exactly help you with. Good on you for getting there.

3. Sweet, sweet pickup with the OG/NB sedan. You're going to love how much easier it is to get in/out of the sedan, the improved visibility/driving position, and the utility that a rear door brings. Looks like it has fold down rears too!

+1

[fredo]

Sorry to hear you are going thru this. Best wishes for a speedy recovery.
And I can't wait for your comments after the Oxford ZHP arrives ! :thumbsup

[zhpnsnv]

Great pick up with the OG ZHP!


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[webster]

I should also recount the experience I had with State Farm and the appraisal/valuation. At first they offered me the standard "by the book" value of $7500. When I told them that was unacceptable based on mileage, condition, maintenance and mods they came back at $8600. Luckily I have an appraisal clause in my SF policy that allows me to hire an independent appraiser, and have them work with a SF appraiser and come to a mutually agreeable figure.

well long story short, it took me a couple weeks of hounding the shade tree appraiser I found, but they ended up giving me $16k for the car. I sent both appraisers a list of mods (totaling over $10k spent) as well as maintenance ($20k) I had performed on the car during ownership.

Side note: the SF appraiser was actually a third party company and the guy I talked to was very cool. He told me that basically after depreciation you can generally expect to recover 30-40% of the cost of mods spent on a car. So the $10k I spent yielded roughly an additional $3-4K onto the value. He said for maintenance it is not so black and white, but generally you get a much smaller percentage back. Neither of them wanted any actual receipts which I thought was kind of weird.

Another thing I did was send them listings of all the high priced ZHPs all over the country (avoiding geographic price bias) which I think helped. Ultimately my appraiser had my value range from $15.5k-19k which I thought was pretty high. Obviously I was happy with the final number.

I hope this info may prove useful.

[BMWCurves]

1. I'm glad to hear you're okay and on the road to recovery. A car is just an object, it can be replaced, but you can't be.
2. That Oxford Green ZHP looks gorgeous. Great car to have
3. That's a really impressive return on investment for our cars, honestly. I doubt a lot of people will have similar luck. Did you specifically opt for the appraisal clause or is that in State Farm's standard insurance contract?

[webster]

Thanks! I assume it's standard, I don't recall adding that to my policy.

[az3579]

I should also recount the experience I had with State Farm and the appraisal/valuation. At first they offered me the standard "by the book" value of $7500. When I told them that was unacceptable based on mileage, condition, maintenance and mods they came back at $8600. Luckily I have an appraisal clause in my SF policy that allows me to hire an independent appraiser, and have them work with a SF appraiser and come to a mutually agreeable figure.

well long story short, it took me a couple weeks of hounding the shade tree appraiser I found, but they ended up giving me $16k for the car. I sent both appraisers a list of mods (totaling over $10k spent) as well as maintenance ($20k) I had performed on the car during ownership.

Side note: the SF appraiser was actually a third party company and the guy I talked to was very cool. He told me that basically after depreciation you can generally expect to recover 30-40% of the cost of mods spent on a car. So the $10k I spent yielded roughly an additional $3-4K onto the value. He said for maintenance it is not so black and white, but generally you get a much smaller percentage back. Neither of them wanted any actual receipts which I thought was kind of weird.

Another thing I did was send them listings of all the high priced ZHPs all over the country (avoiding geographic price bias) which I think helped. Ultimately my appraiser had my value range from $15.5k-19k which I thought was pretty high. Obviously I was happy with the final number.

I hope this info may prove useful.


I just hope people reading this understand that this is one of those "how the hell is that possible" situations. Most people won't get anywhere near this amount no matter how much fighting they do. Hell, getting over $10k for the car is already incredibly impressive. Consider yourself extremely lucky!

[anandoc]

Really sorry to hear about the accident and the loss of your ZHP coupe. However, as others have pointed out here - the most important thing is that you are ok.

I wish you a very speedy recovery and I hope you start enjoying your new OG/NB ZHP sedan soon. You definitely have the right amount of doors now :)

[BMWM3186]

I just hope people reading this understand that this is one of those "how the hell is that possible" situations. Most people won't get anywhere near this amount no matter how much fighting they do. Hell, getting over $10k for the car is already incredibly impressive. Consider yourself extremely lucky!
Yep. Honestly their original offer is more than I would expect how many miles did it have?

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[slater]

wow wes, very very happy to hear that you are both recovering, and in a good mental space about it - it is SO easy to get down and out about things when stuff like that happens. for me, just stopping and being thankful for breathing and being alive is enough to be awe-struck on a daily basis.

also, and it pales in comparison to you actually being OK, i am stoked that you're getting that sweet OG/NB sedan! congrats! :cheers

[kayger12]

Sorry to hear about the car and your hip, but glad you found a great replacement ride and are on the mend!

[rguti153]

How many miles did u have on the car ? They gave u some good money for the car. I can just imagine the headache I'll get from State farm myself . 😡. Glad you found another zhp . By the way I'm the guy that bought ur old wheels

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[johnrando]

Wow. Echo what many have already said.

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[webster]

Thanks everyone. There were 92k miles on the car.

[AZBP2]

Sorry to hear about your accident and I wish you a speedy recovery. Godspeed.


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[RedAtom]

Congrats on the new ride and good luck with your recovery.

[fredo]

Any updates on delivery ?

[webster]

Any updates on delivery ?

Simon delivered the car a short while ago. Payment and paperwork taken care of and the car is officially mine! She looks good! I am pretty damn excited to get to work on her.

https://s8.postimg.org/dzv0xtd51/IMG_0658.jpg

https://s8.postimg.org/gso8hudhh/IMG_0666.jpg

https://s8.postimg.org/5rt3ctl8l/IMG_0655.jpg

[fredo]

Looks sharp. Congrats ! :roundel

[anandoc]

What an awesome way to celebrate 4th of July! Congrats!

[RBW]

Nice!

[JKO_ZHP]

Ouch...sorry for the loss & your hip but at least you walked away, and are now back in another ZHP it seems.

Are you still in possession of it though? And are you parting it out if you are?

[webster]

Ouch...sorry for the loss & your hip but at least you walked away, and are now back in another ZHP it seems.

Are you still in possession of it though? And are you parting it out if you are?

Thank you. I am not in possession. I found the salvage listing online but the auction was not open to the public. It has since been sold.

Due to the damage of the accident, there was not much on the car that could be parted out. Even the steering wheel (nearly new Coby wrap) was damaged from airbag deploying.

[rguti153]

Thank you. I am not in possession. I found the salvage listing online but the auction was not open to the public. It has since been sold.

Due to the damage of the accident, there was not much on the car that could be parted out. Even the steering wheel (nearly new Coby wrap) was damaged from airbag deploying.
Some guy on Facebook just posted ur car earlier today I. He was asking whose car it was .

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[rguti153]

Herehttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20170726/9c0b6f12236a8058ce3c552a4327677e.jpg

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[webster]

Thanks. Ill join the group.