Khan28

So yesterday when I was going to work I was waiting to turn right at a red light and got hit from behind by a woman. We met earlier today and she agreed to give me $300 cash for "repairs" as I figured the bumper would have to be repainted. She was apologetic and very compliant and I do appreciate things like that hence why I didn't bother reporting the light collision and we only exchanged insurance info as a precautionary measure at the scene.

I do have a question regarding the bumper however. I heard that even if there's no real physical damage that there are internal parts that are only good for 1 hit. Is that true and should I get the bumper removed for inspection? I just ended up using a bottle of Meguiar's polishing compound and elbow grease and managed to remove pretty much all of the paint that transferred from the license plate and bracket from her car onto my bumper. I attached some pics and I apologize for the dirty exterior as winter has been kicking our a$$es here.

samaritrey

If she only hit you hard enough to do paint transfer and no cracks or push anything out of alignment I wouldn't worry about it. Most of the frame work and stuff is a little higher than that if I remember correctly.
That bumper looks great I am impressed at how good it looks now.

Khan28

Ooo alright. I've never been hit before so I guess it seemed harder than it was. It made me jump but of course it could have been far worse. That Meguiar's Ultimate Compound is great and I used it when I bought the car in 2013 to get rid of some scuffs here and there. I also used it to buff the headlight lenses and the lenses on the side mirrors and it took off the faded bit with ease.

Ugggh I'm so embarrassed at how dirty the car looks I decided to post up a pic of how it looks during the spring, summer and most of the fall.

samaritrey

You car is clean compared to mine right now. Was out visiting my mom the other day and her driveway was all mud so it looks like I took my w211 mud bogging.

RCPDesigns

The foam that is 'one time only' is indeed above that area. In addition to that... I don't think the foam would have been damaged by that love tap.

Khan28

Alright sounds good. Oh samaritrey I remember talking to you about some transmission shifting issues last year. I ended up getting the transmission conductor plate changed along with the connector back in November and that solved my intermittent clunk I would get. Too bad I paid to have the transmission fluid changed in August at the cost of $420 and that didn't solve the issues and had to pay $975 to have the plate replaced just a few months later lol. At least that issue is solved and by next year I'll start looking into potential suspension component repairs even though everything for the most part feels solid and there are no clunks.

SunnyRayToronto

You have to keep in mind,... usually it cost about $500 just to paint a bumper,... and then another $500 if you need a new bumper,.... and that`s not even for a Mercedes!

I think you let her off really easy,.... so was she that pretty???

You should have got a quote from a body shop first,... actually 3,... and then present her the highest quote. Seriously. The issue is once you accept payment for repairs,... you can`t go back and ask for more if later on you find that it`ll cost you more than you got from her.

Khan28

Well I considered quite a few things:

-There was no real physical damage to the bumper like cracks or splits. Had that type of damage been present I would have required a new bumper with the appropriate paint job to match the car. At that point I would have reported it to the collision center and unless she wanted to pay upfront for the costs then we'd go through insurance.

-We were in a 20 or so car lineup for a few minutes so even though it was weird how she could have hit me I knew she wasn't texting and driving. You can always spot them with their head down or when you honk on them from time to time their heads pop up like a gopher coming out of a hole. I'm always looking around and I am aware of the drivers around me. It seems nowadays we're not just driving ourselves but we also have to be anticipating others.

-She was apologetic and not that fake kind either, I know those types of people. If she was being rude, trying to accuse me of being at fault and just being plain difficult I would have handled it different to make sure she got screwed over.

-I called her at lunch time and said that a body shop quoted me $300 (made up story). I wanted something out of this for my time and despite having the opportunity to milk for all it's worth I fear that karma would bite me in the a$$ at some point in the future for not being honest enough. Also, if I took it to a body shop for such minor work I'd be without a car for a few days and it's way too cold to be without a car right now.

-And finally it's a 9 year old W203 Benz, probably one of MB's most flawed and somewhat uninspired cars to come out of Stuttgart. I mean it feels solid and is a refined car but having had the pleasure of driving/riding in numerous Audis, BMWs and MBs in the past (W204 C300, W211 E500, W219 CLS550, W140 S420, GLK350, ML350 and R350) this car is entirely average for a Benz and the newer W204 is worlds better. The odd ding or dent doesn't bother me all that much.

BTW she was a cute filipino girl .