Wow, that is a considerable amount of damage. You hit so hard that it knocked the steering wheel over to the wrong side of the car! (I just had to say that)

For me personally, I would have to really investigate this car thoroughly. In the picture that is taken from the front, it looks like the strut towers are not even, that the left one is slightly twisted. If this is truely the case, this car will have to be put on a frame machine and straightened. It is hard to tell from the pictures if this is true, but you might ask some more questions of your mechanic. Here where I am, I have a shop that does really good with this kind of thing, and I take it to them. I cannot do that kind of work. With this type of impact, there is always some hidden damage.

My advice to you would be to get multiple estimates, from different shops, the compare the damage that each one finds. This might give you a more complete picture of what this repair is going to involve. Ask a lot of questions.

Good luck, I hope you can bring this one back to life.

 

hahah nice one

Dealer told me that the spring strut assembly will need replacement so i assume that the tower itself is straight

I am really thinking of fixing the car at the dealer , when i went to their shop I saw that they have most of the equipment and knowledge needed. Also the 'warranty' of being able to take it back if the car is not 100% fixed makes me to trust them.

Hope that until next week i would have taken a decision

 

Decision done, car is in an independent repairman. The guy seems well organized with a clean shop and lots of customers. He is a man of his word until now, picked the car up within 20 minutes of making the deal with him and also made a very detailed list of what parts we need and which ones we should buy from a salvage car or from the dealer(if the price difference is less than 80$). He also found that the front right suspension spring is also broken (dealer didnt notice).
I have a warranty question for you. How much is my 3 year warranty affected ? if the speedometer breaks for example (independent from the crash) am I covered? if the front breaks break (which is around the impact point) am I covered? Also can they decline the free service deal ?

Thank you guys, you have been very supportive throughout this

 

Removed all the broken paneling today, and discovered that an s bumper looks the same with the justa but has different drilling for fitting . Took all day to mod it but i think the guys finally got it
Will post pics soon

 

Feel your pain on this - I lost a previous car to a similar situation.

I gotta ask - thinking of replacing some of the OEM for aftermarket?

That FMIC might be a good candidate!

 

Ive got a jasta so no intercooler for me All of the stuff is OEM as the dealer got everything in stock. We would also check on the springs if the OEM are not in stock I may check same aftermarket.

The replacement dash top (the leather part) came with some dents but as the dash came with a kit with the airbags i cannot take it back:( one of the dents is very visible though and buying another dash will set me back 350eur.

I know i promised pics but i wasn't able to go to the shop today

 

Hope this goes well for you.

 

So here we are,
2 months later and he is back

The interior is basically stock (yet)

(airbags replaced)
The dash has some marks on it as i bought it used saving me about 200dollars

any paste to soft up the lether and make the dent less visible?

The guys did an excellent job except fitting the boot. The right hand side has a gap about a finger thick, however it is fixable

I am posting some pictures of my new headlamps as i suppose that they are not original, if you guys can verify this it would be excellent . Also can someone measure the gap between the chrome ring and the headlamps? mine seems about a centimeter big

(sorry for being bluish forgot to change the white balance)

 

what was the final cost? Did you end up saving any money by not going to the dealer? Pics of the whole car would be good. Does it drive well?

 

So the dealer initially wanted 12.3k eur (16k $) then after negotiation they agreed to give me a discount on most of the part and dropped to about 9k eur (11k $). Taking it to the indepentend guy and sourcing the part from the dealer as they agreed on a pretty good discount cost me 6k eur (7.8k $). That's including labor. Airbags thought where bought as a kit from ebay (saved me about 300-400$) but i got the marks on the dash :(

Driving is the same as before, no noticeable changes get. Need to take it to rougher roads and see if the front suspension performs well.

Pics will be here soon, my baby needs to take a bath first

 

I also bought a 2003 R50 to fix up
I understand the Minis have some sort of shut off for the alt, starter etc. when in a crash -
parts I know I am replacing:
both Airbags
AB module
Drvr seatbelt tensioner
bumper carrier
bumper cover
pass hood latch/lock
belts and pulleys
pass fog light
bumper bracket
positive battery cable
think that's all.

And what's the k-Can systems?

Anyway are there any other electronic parts involved in the shut off thing?
Thanks

PS - my first mini - have rebuilt Cherokees, Escapes, Libertys, and full restorations on 2 classic Volvos and a VW Bug. So I do know mechanicals - just not the electronics.

 

If there is damage in the center add a fan a radiator and a condenser .
Passenger airbag means you will need a new dash (kinda expensive) and most importantly a blast channeling metal thingie (forgot how its called) which is placed between the dash and the airbag.
Possibly a washer bottle (if its in the same place as r56).
Also be sure to check the rim of the car as it may seem intact from the outside but the inside may have bend

For the shut off i dnt know what you mean. Mine did start the day after the crash when I took it to the shop

That's all i think
btw dont forget, while you are at the parts store buy lots of clips , you will need em :p

 

Radiator and condenser are fine - hood (argh!) and Headlight need replaced though. Mostly all the bumper carrier - that bracket and bumper cover. I just finished a 2003 Libby and the same damage - but also needed radiator and condenser - but no airbags were deployed - I even had to replace the radiator support. Mini airbags must be a lot more sensitive.