What a difference a day (and a new resonator) makes.

[cybarracuda]

Well, opted for a new Ansa replacement resonator over the factory set up. I was close to getting the Boysen OEM bolt on, but since the car had the rear muffler replaced less than 2 years ago, I figured I'd just go for the Ansa. The muffler guy charged me a total of $285 for parts, labor, and tax. That was about $120 less than another quote I had and over $200 less than had I have gone factory.
The good news is that the car feels much stronger, perhaps due to the increased backpressure. The bad news is that I can't take advantage of it's newfound power because my trans is bad, stopping me from shifting smartly. The other bad news is that I visited the body shop next door to the muffler guy to find out about what it would cost to repair the front end where the bumper shock got slammed. He said that it might cost in the thousands to fix! Ouch! Perhaps I should've had the body shop look at it first?!!! Oh well, at least it's driveable now, without waking the dead from the hole in the resonator.
Does anyone out there know anyone in the So. Cal. area who specializes in such body work? I'm getting further into the hole on this thing. If it wasn't for the necessary body work, I'd be pretty happy with my situation with the car. Oh well.....

[dasMafia]

body work, done right, is never cheap..... ever.

cheap body work is crappy body work, figure 10-20% is materials, the remainder is labor... and for the good shops, those guys have been at it for YEARS and earn every penny.

[cybarracuda]

Wiith some cars, crappy work is all that is called for. My example is a toss-up at this point. I was just hoping for something under $1,000, excluding paint. My bubble was burst earlier today before you posted your response.
I just took the car for a little ride and it's starting to come along. I might just drive it until I find another with lower mileage and no heavy bodywork required . Or perhaps I'll become attached enough to it (I had my 533i from 1989 to 2004) to sink thousands of dollars of bodywork into it? Time will tell. Cheers.
'cuda

[dasMafia]

if cheap work is what you want... you need to know someone... most shops won't do it because it doesn't really pay, and they don't like having imperfect work out with their name on it.

ask around, someone might know someone who knows someone.

that's how we approach this type of issue... we like to do COMPLETE WORK.

my card reads (well, ONE of my cards... I've got more things going than I can manage right now):

J.E. Kester
Business Development/Marketing
KR Performance and Restorations