[ash_schwin]

Been a member of bimmerpost for 7 years now and joined when I first picked up an E92 M3 which ended up giving me terrible luck with all the major issues the car had and ended up dumping it 9 months after ownership. Since then, went through many other cars such as an Audi S5, Lexus GSF, and Porsche 991.2 911 which were all great experiences.

I had been hunting for the perfect spec G80 M3 6MT in Alpine White for over 6 months when all of a sudden came across a listing on Craigslist in Sacramento area (450 miles from me) as I reside in Southern California. Spoke with the owner and did my research on the car and was literally my dream spec M3.

2023 Alpine White with Fiona Red Full Extended Merino Interior
Laser Lights
Executive Package
Parking Assist
Ventilated Seats
CF Interior
Shadowline Headlights
Drive Recorder

The car was also rocking KW HAS and had Apex VS 5RS wheels in bronze finish.

After going through all the vehicle records, Carfax reports, full video / pics of the car, bought a one way flight to Sacramento. Seller ended up picking me up from the airport and was love at first sight when I saw the car. Went to my bank, wired the money, signed the paperwork, added the vehicle to my insurance, and I hit the road back down to SoCal.

What. an. AMAZING. MACHINE. Was blown away with all the tech, power, and most importantly, the manual transmission rowing my own gears for the first time in 7 years!

When I was finally 65 miles from home near Glendale on the 210 freeway, some random road object fell on the road and it all happened so fast when I heard a loud bang. My mind immediately went to panic mode and I found an immediate exit ramp from the freeway and as I was pulling off, I noticed the error messages on the screen with reduced engine power and low coolant. Unfortunately for me, it ended up being a busy intersection and I was trying to pull the car off the side of the road and car lost all power. I immediately jumped out of the car and looked at the front end and my heart sank to my stomach.

Full front end of bumper hit and radiator smashed in with coolant continuing to leak. I called my insurance provider and they were in disbelief and it triggered an automatic investigation on their end since the car was only added to the insurance policy 6 hours earlier

They couldn't send a tow truck since they still needed to verify I was the appropriate owner of the vehicle and to continue my bad luck, the spot where I was pulled over had low cell reception causing even further distress. Finally ended up calling AAA and getting the car towed to a local collision center where I then ended up paying for a $120 Uber ride back home.

Opened my garage door and saw the empty spot where my new G80 M3 was supposed to have been parked and went inside my house and poured myself a glass of scotch to dwell on my misery.

At this point, I will be waiting to see what the shop says after pulling the error codes and when they remove the bumper to further assess the internal damages. I am hoping that there is no internal engine damage as I probably should have shut off the engine sooner right after the incident hoping the high internal heat didn't cause further damage to the engine.

Will keep this thread updated with the outcome. In the meantime, I hope no one else runs into this type of bad luck!

[wasya152]

Hopefully, it's not too bad and quick turnaround for you. 🤞🤞🤞

[SwankPeRFection]

Pull the video off drive recorder ASAP. Hopefully it caught whatever happened.

[sdengineer]

Wow, that sounds horrible. Hope you get it all sorted soon. You will for sure. Just remember, that this is just a "thing" and it can be fixed/replaced.

[marashka]

Hope it gets sorted out quickly and you get your car fixed up and back to enjoy it.
I have been after a manual m4 for a long time and when I was finally able to find my perfect spec - in a similar manner traveled long distance to get it, wired the money and drove it home the next day. Can’t even imagine the frustration if this were to happen on my maiden voyage home.

[KevinGS]

This just makes me wanna cry, ash.

Keeping a good thought for you. Fingers crossed that it's an easy fix and not totaled because of a compromised engine.

And just a reminder: "Don't sweat the small stuff...and it's all small stuff."

Yes, even this, it's small stuff.

[dtronics]

I’m really sorry to hear about this. I had a very similar experience with a M4. I ordered the car and began to squirrel away parts while I waited for the car to be delivered.

Once the car was delivered, it went immediately to PPF and then to a shop to have a bunch of parts (KW V3’s, AWE Switchpath, etc) installed.

I finally got the car home after all the work was done. It was a Friday night and my wife wanted a bottle of wine. I offered to go get it because I wanted to drive my car that I really hadn’t gotten to experience yet. On the way to the store, a tire/wheel flew off a truck and smashed the side of my car. I pulled off into a dimly lit parking lot and almost puked when I looked at my car.

I was able to drive it home and literally sat in my garage staring at the side of my car all night drinking. The car that I waited months for was ruined with under 100 miles on it, I was sick to my stomach.

I was without the car for a couple weeks but I went to an awesome body shop and it was fixed perfectly. Things like this can be fixed or replaced but it really sucks in the moment.

It sucks man. I’ve been there and I know the feeling. It will get fixed and you’ll be getting sideways in that car before you know it.

[yousefnjr]

Sucks man. I will also have a whiskey or three for your trouble. Hope you’re able to get this sorted soon. Cheers

[Berzerker]

There's coolant rads right behind where that hit happened.

Here's to hoping it's a single radiator replacement, bumper fix, and you're on your way. That absolutely sucks though.

Edit: yeah I would highly doubt any engine damage, I wouldn't worry about it.

[Forzanerazzurri]

That is brutal man sorry. That damage can be easily fixed and it'll look like new again. From your detail of the events I wouldn't worry at all about your engine either.

[Greer]

What exactly did you hit? This is scary to me because I just got off the 210 freeway in Glendale.

[IDKBRO]

Damn I’m gutted for you - I can’t figure out wtf did you hit

[M3PC]

That sucks but more importantly, you are OK. Cars can be fixed and because you reacted quickly, there is likely no engine damage due to any overheating. It will take some time but you'll get your dream M3 back. I was driving down to So Cal on I5 once and going up the grapevine, my engine temp started to rise as my coolant/radiator had a leak. I then lost all power and had to move over three lanes quickly to carry momentum and pull over to the shoulder. And I had my wife and one year old in the car too. And it was at night. Most importantly my family was OK and a flatbead finally came and picked us up. Hoping your repair goes quickly and smoothly.

[Game]

Heartbreaking. Hoping it all works out for the best.

[buckybadger]

Main thing is that you are ok.
Forget the car, it will be fixed or can be replaced in future.

[G MONEY]

Perfect time for an aftermarket bumper. You weren’t meant to have the factory gem that comes with the car

[Jax327]

I could only imagine how you are feeling. Hopefully it’s nothing major and you have the car back on the road soon!

[Weather Man]

Good luck, hope it resolves your way.

[LuvMyE92]

That does suck, congrats on the new car and best wishes for a speedy repair. As others noted, it's unlikely that you did any damage to the engine, so don't worry too much about that. There's always a trade-off between immediately pulling on to the shoulder and getting killed versus waiting for the next exit.

[Needsdecaf]

Ugh, that totally sucks. But if the engine didn't completely overeat it shouldn't be that bad of a fix. As others have said, take the opportunity to customize the front end and let this be the "it's not precious, it's just a car" moment that will allow you to enjoy it even more when you get it back!

Or, if the engine did overheat, you could take the insurance money and do a high HP built engine. Just saying

Good luck and hang in there!

[nosbocaj]

Jeez man, that's terrible. I can't imagine having this happen 65 miles into ownership. I would have been shattered too!

Like others have said, should just be a new radiator and front bumper. AW is super easy to match. I seriously doubt you did any damage to the car engine. Sounds like it shut itself down before that could happen.

Good luck, hope it's back on the road soon!

[Vectors2final]

It's gut-wrenching... but you came out on the other side to be able to post this.

The car probably wasn't on long enough to cause any issues with the head gaskets, etc. I didn't see any oil in your pictures, so that's an even better sign. They'll probably get you fixed right up, and it's a good time to get that grille mod done since they need to install a new bumper.