Take a busy highway at 4:45pm. Add a 17 year old beginner driver, driving a piece of sheit Ford Windstar (Panzer) sharing on the same piece of road with me and guess what you get? An unwanted conversation with an insurance agency and a trip to the body shop. It could have been worse had it not been for my quick thinking. This kid came barreling out of a parking lot from the right and I swerved left to avoid T-Boning this kid. He only sustained a broken turn signal while I got some pretty good size body damage. When they say "Built Ford Tough", they were serious!

Now the part of my life that gets wasted working with their insurance company. Oh joy. At least no one was hurt. Here are some pics:
My damage


His damage

 

i think one C7 rim is worth more then the windstar.
glad no ones hurt

 

LOL! Yeah, I'm glad no one got hurt either. I kind of feel sorry for the kid, but it was a good learning experience for him.

 

whats wrong with 17 year old beginner drivers?!?!?

 

No offense, just plain inexperienced behind the wheel. I was that way too when I was his age.

 

Oh my.. your beautiful benzo. I'd be PISSED if anything happened to our car.

Good thing no one got hurt...and that you had a digicam in handy!

 

I was pissed at first, but cool heads prevailed. I am just thankful he had insurance.

I meet with his adjuster tomorrow and will hopefully have her in the shop by next week. There is a local shop that specializes in BMW and Benz repairs called Berlies. The claims rep said they were on the expensive side and mentioned that their insurance company (Progressive) would only cover up to a specified hourly rate. Since Berlies was expensive, I may be footing some of the cost. I told her I will not be paying for any repairs period.

 

Sucks to be the victim of a learning experience. Glad no one was hurt.

 

I'm 16.... I may not be that experienced but atleast I have common sense. I think that in America it is waaaay to easy to get a drivers license. You don't even have to speak or read english... America should up the standards so **** like this doesn't happen. Maybe take some hints from Germany. It's killer to get a license there; a couple more ranks up and your practically a semi-pro driver. Sorry about the damage mbarrad, I apologize on behalf of all young, inexperienced drivers.

just my 2¢
Alex

 

I have to agree with this statement, went comparing America to the rest of the world, Europe + Asia, I also agree America makes obtaining driving privilege too easy. (Not saying that is good or bad, but just the way it is)

 

haha thats probably true

 

Dropped the car off this morning at a local Mercedes owned bodyshop called Continental Collision in Austin. They say they are one of 8 MB authorized bodyshops in the nation. Don't know if I really buy that.. They said they use Mercedes Benz paint and clearcoat just like they use at the factory. I should get it back on Friday if everything goes ok.

Anything I should pay attention to while inspecting the finished work?

 

First thing you need to check is if theyve buffed it out properly after theyve cut it, i got mine back with swirl marks all over the bonnet where they hadnt spent enough time on it, so i took it back in a very bad mood and they sorted it for me

plus, take it for a road test around thier parking lot if its big enough, check theres no rattles.

 

I can tell you are from the UK. Bonnet.... Do you use spanners too?
Just giving you some grief. All Coupe guys are cool in my book.

Sorry about the accident. What did the kid say? Was he not looking or something?

E

 

After a few minutes of my not so friendly verbal tirade, all the kid could say was "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry". This kid really felt like sheit because he knew and admitted fault. This kid's judgement was way off on this one, and this accident should have never happened with an experienced driver. He was paying attention, but mis-judged his intentions, the traffic speed and traffic environment.

It could have been much worse for him if I had called the local PD, but I know how he felt because I have been in his shoes before. Plus Texas has a new stupid points law now which will not only affect his driving record, but his dad's insurance as well. Chalk this up to a valuable learning experience for him.

I just hope that someone will be as nice when my son or daughter is in the same situation.

 

+1 for being a nice guy

if he hit you any harder, doesnt MB send the police? or is that only on the newer models?

 

"send the police" - LOL Kids...I live near three high schools. I fear the life of my benz everyday (every weekend for that matter). Glad your ok bro, and good luck.

 

after they're done with the repair, make sure to check that rear door. I had a similar situation with a Honda that basically side swiped my driver's side rear door, rim, and bumper. One thing that took a while for the MB collision shop was re-aligning the rear door after painting.

 

The door actually was lined up pretty good and sealed well before I dropped her off at the shop. I guess it all depends on how they do the repair if they remove the door or not. I'm no body expert, so I'll take all of your great suggestions to heart. Thanks.

I was told that I will get the car back on the 27th or a little before. I am in a Toyota Camary right now which is painfully underpowered for such a big car.

I miss my car.

 

lmfao...they do, if your car senses that its been in an accident (that or just the airbags) mercedes sends the police. some guy that got hit in an e55 had this convenience, he talked about it somewhere on the forum.

 

Well, got the car back a week ago and the shop did an awesome job! I can't tell that it was ever hit.

Which is why I am going to bring it back to them next week to repair the other side. Someone hit my wife this morning and will now have to start the process all over again! I am going to have the body shop paint a target on my car so that it'll be easier to hit.

I'll post pics later.

 

hit again? wow that's bad luck

 

Amen to that.

 

Nothing wrong with 17 year old beginner drivers. I have a problem with young kid drivers who thinks they are great drivers just because they can drive fast. When they get into an accident, they don't pay the bills, the parents do. I've seem too many fatal accidents caused by young inexperienced drivers drag racing at night.

Sorry, just my 2.

 

Here are pics of the new damage: