my 535i took out a minivan this AM.

["Doss Donaho" <ddonaho@xxxxxx>]

Do any of you have any exhaust system recommendations?

 I would like to replace the whole system, from the head to tailpipe.  I
would like a stainless system and coated headers, but that doesn't really
narrow the search down much so I'm looking to your collective wisdom.  I
would like to do all I can to improve performance and still keep it fairly
quiet and street legal.  It doesn't need to be as quiet as stock though.

Do any of you have any good or bad experience with particular manufacturers?
Can any of you recommend a good shop in Houston to do this kind of work and
possible a little body work on the bumper (I hope)?

Thanks for any help you can provide.


 Long Version:
The oncoming left turner, turned left right in front of the car ahead and
next to me. Apparently neither one was awake.  When they hit, the car next
to me was
pushed into my lane. I saw it happening, knew it was going to happen. I hit
the brakes really hard at first and then let off when I knew I was going to
be out of the way.
ABS pumped once or twice then I slowed to reasonable rate of deceleration.
The girl behind me was pretty far back, and I think should have had time to
stop, even in a lesser vehicle with lesser tires, but she didn't.  I had
time to focus on her face and judge that she wasn't stopping quick enough.
Roads were wet so I don't know when/if she locked them up.  I let off my
brakes before she hit.  On the Caravan, there wasn't much left of the grill,
one headlight, signals and the radiator and/or A/C coils  appeared to be
toast.  Bumper was munched, airbag deployed, etc, etc.  No injuries, but the
young lady driving the caravan was pretty dazed, and scared.
conservatively, I figure she was going 10-15 when we hit, but I could be
wrong. When I got out, I expected to see a crumpled trunk, no tail lights,
folded bumper, etc.
To my amazement, I had very little damage.  The bumper is very slightly
tilted down and possibly a MM or two inward.  Its not cracked or bent that I
could tell in the rain, barely off the road, with traffic whizzing by. The
only other damage was that the chrome tips of the exhaust had been hit and
pushed up the exhaust pipe and it is obvious that the exhaust system got
shoved forward hard.  Its apparently cracked near the front of the car.  Its
loud and needs replacement.  It was rusted and would probably have only
lasted another year or two before the accident.

I continue to be amazed at the quality and design of BMWs.  I was hesitant
about putting my newborn in it, not that I thought it was unsafe, just that
its so much smaller than the average full-sized truck based SUV here in
Houston.  This car has many attributes but its collision resistance was one
I really underestimated.  I was amazed when I bought a kit from the dealer
to rebuild the lock cylinders, I am amazed every time I take a corner on a
rough road, and now I'm amazed that it handled this minivan so well.  Just
incredibly cars, I will always consider them the best made. The new ones may
be expensive to fix, but a used BMW is about the best value on the road,
they hold up much better than their resale values, in my opinion.

Doss

------------------------------