W203 Accident..
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Joined: Oct 2011
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From: Great White North
CLS 500
W203 Accident..
My '04 C240 4Matic has been sitting dead in my garage for about 3 weeks now. I got it in January this year, it is my first car and I was extremely content with it. It hasn't caused me any problems as of yet, only minor issues that come along with any car I'd assume. Sure, it isn't quite as aggressive as it's competitors such as the e46, especially being the C240 which is somewhat known for it's slow acceleration. 
It all started when I was driving on a two-lane road in the city on a beautiful day
, when an old white GMC tried turning into my lane without shoulder-checking. The vehicle didn't touch mine, but I quickly reacted by moving away a bit in hopes that they would not continue completely.. stupid decision, I should have stayed put to be in the clear for the insurance companies.. unfortunately, my car hit the curb, my airbag deployed, and what is even more unfortunate was that the passenger airbag deployed, and broke the ENTIRE dashboard.. but wait! not only did this inconvenient design break the dashboard, the leather/vinyl insert that pops out for the passenger airbag just so happened to hit the windshield, also shattering it completely. 
Aside from that, 2 flat tires and one damaged rim. Luckily the body is practically untouched, the front bumper is roughed up on one side but it is barely noticeable and I may look into replacing it or getting it touched up in the future. I am not making an insurance claim as it will raise my rates tremendously, especially at my age. I figured that I would look for the parts from outside the country as I was just about to leave for a vacation in Lebanon a week from that time.
I have now been in Lebanon for two weeks. My uncle is a mechanic here, and the neighboring stores carry just about every Mercedes part you could ever imagine. Today, I found my dashboard, in practically mint condition(which was quoted by the stealership at appx. $2150) along with the passenger airbag(stealership quoted appx $1200), and the steering wheel airbag(stealership quoted at appx. $1200). I will be purchasing all of this for far less than the dealership's quoted prices, for just over $1100 including a pair of those eBay depot LED tail lights
.
I now only have a few more questions before I head back and try to get this fixed..
I have been wanting to upgrade my headlights from the 01-04s, and I saw that the parts shop has many different headlights, he has:
05-07 OEM clear headlights
BiXenons
01-04 fogged lens headlights - which is what I currently have.
He also has multiple sets of depot headlights. I would like to upgrade mine to a clear version, and I am wondering which would be best to go with?
I'm not sure if I'm willing to put in the amount of cash for a set of BIX, which are still quite pricey here from what I've collected, and I'm not sure what the real difference is between the depots and the OEM 05-07 for them to be double the price.
My next question is how much anybody would be able to estimate the repair for on the dashboard? I could do the rest of it myself, but the dashboard replacement looks like a hell of a mission for someone who doesn't know what they're doing.. The german mechanic that we usually go through said that he could do the repair, but didn't talk figures yet.
Updated with picture before the crash:
It all started when I was driving on a two-lane road in the city on a beautiful day
, when an old white GMC tried turning into my lane without shoulder-checking. The vehicle didn't touch mine, but I quickly reacted by moving away a bit in hopes that they would not continue completely.. stupid decision, I should have stayed put to be in the clear for the insurance companies.. unfortunately, my car hit the curb, my airbag deployed, and what is even more unfortunate was that the passenger airbag deployed, and broke the ENTIRE dashboard.. but wait! not only did this inconvenient design break the dashboard, the leather/vinyl insert that pops out for the passenger airbag just so happened to hit the windshield, also shattering it completely. Aside from that, 2 flat tires and one damaged rim. Luckily the body is practically untouched, the front bumper is roughed up on one side but it is barely noticeable and I may look into replacing it or getting it touched up in the future. I am not making an insurance claim as it will raise my rates tremendously, especially at my age. I figured that I would look for the parts from outside the country as I was just about to leave for a vacation in Lebanon a week from that time.
I have now been in Lebanon for two weeks. My uncle is a mechanic here, and the neighboring stores carry just about every Mercedes part you could ever imagine. Today, I found my dashboard, in practically mint condition(which was quoted by the stealership at appx. $2150) along with the passenger airbag(stealership quoted appx $1200), and the steering wheel airbag(stealership quoted at appx. $1200). I will be purchasing all of this for far less than the dealership's quoted prices, for just over $1100 including a pair of those eBay depot LED tail lights
.I now only have a few more questions before I head back and try to get this fixed..
I have been wanting to upgrade my headlights from the 01-04s, and I saw that the parts shop has many different headlights, he has:
05-07 OEM clear headlights
BiXenons
01-04 fogged lens headlights - which is what I currently have.
He also has multiple sets of depot headlights. I would like to upgrade mine to a clear version, and I am wondering which would be best to go with?
I'm not sure if I'm willing to put in the amount of cash for a set of BIX, which are still quite pricey here from what I've collected, and I'm not sure what the real difference is between the depots and the OEM 05-07 for them to be double the price.
My next question is how much anybody would be able to estimate the repair for on the dashboard? I could do the rest of it myself, but the dashboard replacement looks like a hell of a mission for someone who doesn't know what they're doing.. The german mechanic that we usually go through said that he could do the repair, but didn't talk figures yet.
Updated with picture before the crash:
Last edited by skeppa; Jul 10, 2012 at 04:24 AM.
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From: Great White North
CLS 500
On a side note, I watched a video on the disassembly of the entire dashboard found
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2019 G70 6MT & 2022 Ford Maverick XL
The design is what people call for these days. I agree it was a simpler time when the airbag cover was a separate piece, but the "in" thing today is not being able to see the airbag. Also an airbag that first hits the windshield is a safer design than a forward-facing airbag, especially for small people.
Not sure why the passenger one would deploy if the seat were empty, though.
Not sure why the passenger one would deploy if the seat were empty, though.
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 57
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From: Great White North
CLS 500
The design is what people call for these days. I agree it was a simpler time when the airbag cover was a separate piece, but the "in" thing today is not being able to see the airbag. Also an airbag that first hits the windshield is a safer design than a forward-facing airbag, especially for small people.
Not sure why the passenger one would deploy if the seat were empty, though.
Not sure why the passenger one would deploy if the seat were empty, though.
The passenger seat was not empty, but the impact was very minimal and the airbag did not touch either of our faces..
Last edited by skeppa; Jul 9, 2012 at 02:51 PM.
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Joined: Sep 2010
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From: Raleigh, NC
2005 C230K, 2019 Honda CR-V, '74 Lotus Europa
Sorry about your misfortune, but it sounds like you've gotten a good deal on replacement parts so that's a good start on getting your baby back on the road. I don't blame you about replacing a dash! I would think you could find a good indy to install your parts for you.
As for the headlights, the OEM Bixenon are the best but they are very expensive. In my opinion (and the opinion of others) the DEPO Bixenon are a reasonable substitute for the OEM and much cheaper. They would get my vote.
Keep us informed about how the rebuild effort goes. I know you're anxious to get your car back on the road. I don't think anybody on this forum would disagree that that's where it belongs!
As for the headlights, the OEM Bixenon are the best but they are very expensive. In my opinion (and the opinion of others) the DEPO Bixenon are a reasonable substitute for the OEM and much cheaper. They would get my vote.
Keep us informed about how the rebuild effort goes. I know you're anxious to get your car back on the road. I don't think anybody on this forum would disagree that that's where it belongs!
Thread Starter
Junior Member
Joined: Oct 2011
Posts: 57
Likes: 0
From: Great White North
CLS 500
Sorry about your misfortune, but it sounds like you've gotten a good deal on replacement parts so that's a good start on getting your baby back on the road. I don't blame you about replacing a dash! I would think you could find a good indy to install your parts for you.
As for the headlights, the OEM Bixenon are the best but they are very expensive. In my opinion (and the opinion of others) the DEPO Bixenon are a reasonable substitute for the OEM and much cheaper. They would get my vote.
Keep us informed about how the rebuild effort goes. I know you're anxious to get your car back on the road. I don't think anybody on this forum would disagree that that's where it belongs!
As for the headlights, the OEM Bixenon are the best but they are very expensive. In my opinion (and the opinion of others) the DEPO Bixenon are a reasonable substitute for the OEM and much cheaper. They would get my vote.
Keep us informed about how the rebuild effort goes. I know you're anxious to get your car back on the road. I don't think anybody on this forum would disagree that that's where it belongs!
I'll definitely let you guys know what happens, I don't know why I haven't posted a thread for my car but I'll post a pic here, and I'll also post some more pics of the car later on, in a thread. I've only done small mods thus far; 3-fin grille, hood emblem, clear side-marker lights, new carpets, and a few other things I can't remember off the top of my head.
Added a picture to the main thread.
(The car is not tinted, it looks like it under the lighting but I have yet to tint it whatsoever)
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MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Sep 2010
Posts: 1,434
Likes: 4
From: Raleigh, NC
2005 C230K, 2019 Honda CR-V, '74 Lotus Europa
DEPOs are available on ebay for a little less than US$400. If you can get a good set of OEM for US$600, that starts to make sense. You can't go wrong with either one.
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