Russian Mechanic Repairs BMW X3 Wreck, Caved in Side Magically Disappears

The Russians probably love expensive German cars more than anybody else in the world, especially BMWs. I can understand why, as even something tall and heavy like an SUV comes with Bavaria's promise of fine handling.

Of course, that also implies that most Bimmers are driven with enthusiasm, so they get into crashes quite often. This white X3 appears to have been T-boned hard by another car, leaving its left side completely mangled.

In Germany, this would have been written off, but in Russia, there are plenty of mechanics willing to bend the chassis back into shape and putty everything until it's pretty.

You can tell that Arthur Tussik knows what he's doing. In fact, his whole YouTube channel is dedicated to repairs that at first glance seem impossible. The first thing he did was to cut a hole in the front door so that he can access the jammed lock. After that, he makes removing the doors looks as simple as pouring a glass of water.

This is where things start to get a little dodgy. A professional repair would require the skin for the side of the car to be replaced. But here, the mechanic pulls out the bent pillar using a tow winch. The warped floor is pushed back into shape using a wooden block and a hammer.

After that, it seems that he uses lasers to measure how much the chassis needs to be pulled out and adds a donor part. This is a great demonstration of what goes into the side of a vehicle and how it's bonded and welded in place. It's not completely shoddy work. But would you happy drive a car with rocker panels welded in place by... some guy? Will the airbags still work, or do you just man up and risk being killed?

Installing new doors from a donor car and pushing out the dents in the front fender are easy by comparison. But again, wouldn't a professional just use a fresh wing? It's not that expensive.

Looking at the headlight, we realize that this might be a wreck bought in the United States and shipped over to Russia.