Whether or not he is at fault still remains a question for the court to
decide. I spoke to several cops who all told me different interpretations of
this particular accident which could lead either way. Basically it comes
down to the following:
- thou shalt not pass a vehicle on the left that indicates that he/she wants
to take a left turn - which puts me in the right
- thou shalt not turn left if a vehicle is already overtaking you - which he
was not but claims to be, which would put me at fault
At least I got a witness who can back up my story.

He is insured by the way, so that's a relief.

Anyway, my post was actually more a cry for help on the 'how bad is the
damage' part, not so much on how much it's going to cost me. Another thing I
would like to find out is how bad the car's shape will be after repairs.

I've had a Ford Escort before my beloved Beemer, and had an accident with
that as well (I was not at fault by the way) - although the car had been
repaired and came through all technical tests etc... it still did not feel
'safe' to drive anymore, knowing the damage that had been done. I'm not
talking about the psychological effect, but about little defects that I've
noticed about the car that it did not have before. For example: if I turned
the wheel entirely to the left (to park, for instance), I felt a tapping
while driving and heard a knocking sound from the left side of the car
although the steering etc... had been checked more than once. They never
came up with something other than "that's because of the accident".

Drive safe,

Princess Morgiah

Thanks for the reply, Steve. It's a 2003 E46 320d, and I just received the
news that the steering system was indeed hit.

They'll have a thorough look later this week and then I'll find out what
exactly is wrong with the car and what needs replacing.

I have a great deal of faith in my dealer so I'll expect my car to be 100%
a-ok within a few days/weeks.

Princess Morgiah