Hit a deer....need some help on parts

[nuc1]

So yeah that sucked. Had about 3 seconds to jump on the brakes as it ran out of the woods and juked left/right and then tried to play Sants's reinder in front of the car. But the little fucker missed both front fenders, the bumper (has scratches now from hooves), the windshield and (the best part) no airbags deployed. Drove the car home and have now torn it apart. Everything between the headlights (including both headlights) is trashed. Radiator got pushed back into water pump / water pump pulley and mangled the Spal fan but missed my 12 year old BW CF intake by 1/2 inch. Verified the frame rails are straight (about 10 times lol). All and all, I consider myself extremely lucky. Anyways, looking for current recommendations for the following parts (as in, which manufacturer is the one to get).

Hood
Radiator support
Driver / pass side bixenon headlights
Kidney grills
Water pump
Water pump pulley
Radiator support (sides of rad)
Radiator (research says Modine is the way to go)
AC condenser
Power steering cooler
Power steering lines to/from cooler
Crank pulley (small dent from radiator tapping it)

Things not trashed by deer but original equipment or need to be replaced due to wear
Coolant expansion tank
Clutch

Any help is appreciated.
Mike

[ugaexploder]

I have a feeling most people on this forum is going to tell you to go OE with most items on the list. I don't have enough experience or knowledge on the platform to really give meaningful advice but below are the choices I made on my purchases so far or who I would go with

Hood - find used? or maybe splurge on the Karb cf hood?
Radiator support - probably OE, although how bad could off brand be here?
Driver / pass side bixenon headlights - find used for pretty cheap with all tabs and send them off to Lightwerkz
Kidney grills - i like OE here
Water pump - big thread on this forum about going OE because the impeller on the OE is preferred?
Water pump pulley - idk
Radiator support (sides of rad) - idk
Radiator (research says Modine is the way to go) - idk
AC condenser - i went with denso via rockauto i believe
Power steering cooler - idk
Power steering lines to/from cooler - i think rein is okay, not sure
Crank pulley (small dent from radiator tapping it) - idk

Things not trashed by deer but original equipment or need to be replaced due to wear
Coolant expansion tank - OE?
Clutch - idk

also, sorry to hear about the deer. when i was 16 some guy in a truck hit a doe in front of me and waved me down to help him move the deer off the street. huge mistake...wasn't dead and it started kicking when i grabbed its hind legs. felt like every tendon tearing apart in my arms as it was freaking out. welp, won't do that again.

[9kracing]

OP is why I always inspect cars thoroughly and never trust the carfax.

[sbay]

Most of the body parts I’d probably find a part-out nearby and just pick and pull. Might be able to swing a PS cooler and AC condenser from a part-out car too. Water pump & pulley, power steering lines, radiator, and expansion tank, I would go OE. Also, I would see if you can get away without changing the crank pulley depending on how bad the damage is.

[nuc1]

OP is why I always inspect cars thoroughly and never trust the carfax.

Insurance claim already made and about 200 pictures taken of car for any potential future sale. Plus I’m not a scumbag. Any input on the original question?

Mike

[Slideways]

Most of the body parts I’d probably find a part-out nearby and just pick and pull. Might be able to swing a PS cooler and AC condenser from a part-out car too. Water pump & pulley, power steering lines, radiator, and expansion tank, I would go OE. Also, I would see if you can get away without changing the crank pulley depending on how bad the damage is.

^ This. A part-out should get you most of the parts and you can probably go new on some of the maintenance items.

[Nate047]

If this happened to me, I would strongly consider buying a convertible or a rear ended car to part out. If you have the space and some time, you could get everything you need for your repairs, and probably come up on the rest pretty decently if you do it right.

[Kcalhoun27]

Im on vacation at the moment but i have all the factory pulleys and belt in my parts bin. I can mail them to you for the shipping cost, if you want

[bmwfnatic]

Definity take the guy above me up on his offer for the pulleys, those are expensive when bought new.

Radiator should be NRF now, they no longer come Modine labeled but supposedly from the same company.

Hood and radiator support shouldn't be that hard to find used.

For the headlights the left side is 'different' for the M3, but you can also buy them from a normal E46 if you move over the module and the longer M3 wiring (assuming that is still in good shape).
That should be a bit cheaper compared to getting 'M3' headlights.

Kidneys just get them new from BMW.

Water pump from BMW, the aftermarket ones suck.

[bigjae46]

The front radiator support can be hard to find and the last time I checked used parts seemed kind of ridiculous.

If it was a track car I can make a carbon part. Won't well for a street car. Unfortunately, I made the mold from a modified part so its missing the part where the headlight support screws into.

[nuc1]

Im on vacation at the moment but i have all the factory pulleys and belt in my parts bin. I can mail them to you for the shipping cost, if you want

PM sent. Much appreciated.

Mike

[Cronenberged]

Depending on milage I would refresh known maintenance items with new stuff and find parts for the rest.

[nuc1]

Depending on milage I would refresh known maintenance items with new stuff and find parts for the rest.

This is where I'm headed. I've owned the car for 20 years and don't see selling it anytime soon. 137k on the car and about 25k of that since it stopped being a daily drive in 2012.

Mike

[nuc1]

Definity take the guy above me up on his offer for the pulleys, those are expensive when bought new.

Radiator should be NRF now, they no longer come Modine labeled but supposedly from the same company.

Hood and radiator support shouldn't be that hard to find used.

For the headlights the left side is 'different' for the M3, but you can also buy them from a normal E46 if you move over the module and the longer M3 wiring (assuming that is still in good shape).
That should be a bit cheaper compared to getting 'M3' headlights.

Kidneys just get them new from BMW.

Water pump from BMW, the aftermarket ones suck.

So far hardest to find is a good condition used hood that isn't 8 hours away. Thanks for the info on the headlights - have to look into that.

Mike

[s54brendan]

So yeah that sucked. Had about 3 seconds to jump on the brakes as it ran out of the woods and juked left/right and then tried to play Sants's reinder in front of the car. But the little fucker missed both front fenders, the bumper (has scratches now from hooves), the windshield and (the best part) no airbags deployed. Drove the car home and have now torn it apart. Everything between the headlights (including both headlights) is trashed. Radiator got pushed back into water pump / water pump pulley and mangled the Spal fan but missed my 12 year old BW CF intake by 1/2 inch. Verified the frame rails are straight (about 10 times lol). All and all, I consider myself extremely lucky. Anyways, looking for current recommendations for the following parts (as in, which manufacturer is the one to get).

Hood
Radiator support
Driver / pass side bixenon headlights
Kidney grills
Water pump
Water pump pulley
Radiator support (sides of rad)
Radiator (research says Modine is the way to go)
AC condenser
Power steering cooler
Power steering lines to/from cooler
Crank pulley (small dent from radiator tapping it)

Things not trashed by deer but original equipment or need to be replaced due to wear
Coolant expansion tank
Clutch

Any help is appreciated.
Mike

I'm parting out an Interlagos coupe in CT and have some of the parts you're looking for if interested.