GripSpec

I know a fair amount about this problem. I was thinking of buying an E36 as my next car, and have done a great deal of research on them. E36's and E46's are known for their weak strut towers. The weak metal in the towers actually pushes up and deforms due during normal driving conditions ( bumps / potholes) making some of them very difficult to align. Sometimes you can even see signs of damage in the form of cracked paint and visible deformation in that area. I even read an article describing how the Turner Motorsports teams would weld pieces of metal together and bolt them to the towers to try to reinforce them. That said, you mentioned that you had a bent strut so this could be something completely different. One other fun fact is that the ONLY other manufacturer that has documented strut tower issues similar to this is mini cooper........mini = bmw...

Fabrik8

Re-read the thread again. It was an install problem, the strut top was not installed in the right direction.

blackout

Yeah as is usually the case with this car, this problem was directly attributed to the dumbass who works on it. Although I have heard of the strut tower issue, as well as the rear shock mounts causing a similar problem. This car suffers from neither. As I'm finding out, as much as I want to hate this car at times, its actually damn stout for being 14 years old and traveling more than half the distance to the moon...

SortaFlush

The best thing I can contribute, is to say bring it to a body shop and have them put it on a frame machine to see if anything is actually bent/broken or missing.

$150 for an alignment? We charge 75.50 for a 4wheel! and 20.60 for a pre-align, damn they are crazy.

Not only will bringing it to a body shop, confirm what repairs are needed, but also will tell you if the car is worth keeping. Best of luck, if you need a body shop recommendation shoot me a PM.

Cobra4B

I know you figured it out, but to answer your original question... no... you couldn't file a claim for damage that happened before you owned the car. When you purchase insurance you're buying coverage for a specific time period. While it's an intangible good, you are using it daily as time passes. To put it another way you're paying for the promise that the insurance company will come in and take care of everything (everything being the coverages you paid for).

Carfax purchases their data from car insurance companies and large auto-body chains. So, if an individual repairs a car out of pocket it will never show on any of the reports from the various data aggregation services. Top two are carfax and autocheck. My red Corvette has a clean carfax and clean autocheck but I'm pretty sure the rear bumper has been replaced and re-sprayed.

As far as allignment... if you're in hampton roads go see Rex Harris at Performance Tire and Wheel off of Volvo in the Greenbrier area. He's a member of the local Corvette club and has a Katch cammed C6Z. He has a nice little tire/wheel operation w/ the best of the best equipment. His prices to mount/balance a tire are a bit high, but last I checked he does full custom 4-wheel allignments for $90.

HTH,

Brian

Twelvz

...

why everyone I know who owned BMWs got out and/or is trying to get out.

blackout

Thanks for the input, I really do wish I was still in HR. I have been struggling just to find a reputable shop within a 45 minute drive of where I'm at in central Maryland.