i dont know why i am concerned or if i even am concerned about carfax, this is just the first car i have purchased by myself and i have never had to sell one of my cars before and was concerned that if later on down the road a carfax report on a minor dent like this might give a potential buyer the idea that my car got in some sort of big accident or something and kill the resale value unjustly..... thaths all

 

You have insurance for a reason, why not use it?

This should fall under uninsured motorist, with State Farm it's a standard $250.00 deductible and you are at ZERO fault, at least in Maryland, you WILL NOT see your rates go up.

Did you get a police report? ALWAYS get a police report.

 

Not at all. If for some reason this incident end up on the carfax report they will specify the king of accident the car was involved in which in your case is something minor but of course is expensibe because is a Benz. BTW how much are you paying for your premium? I have AllState and pay +/- 400 for a 6 month premium with 1000 deducible....... Esurance really sucks just want to compare prices

 

i pay right about $480 every 6 months for a $200-$300 deductible, perfect driving record

 

I'm around 100 a month for my C350 with a 500 deducible with State Farm, I can find it cheaper but my Motorcycle with state farm is dirt cheap, so it's a trade off.

26 and single.

 

Your first mistake was getting your priorities backwards. You should have filed a report in the jurisdiction where the damage occurred before going home.

Your first step now, after finding out who your dealer uses for bodywork, is to get an estimate, maybe two. Then, call your insurance company and report the damage which you are required to do by your contract. Even if you decide to pay out of pocket. Your policy will show your collision deductible. This is a collision claim, not comprehensive. If you have uninsured motorist coverage (required in my state) that may reduce your deductible, personal experience here.

As to the parts, I seriously doubt that kinked dent will be fixable and neither dent is a Dent Wizard candidate. And I've used them 4-5 times.

The taillight damage requires a new assembly. The lens is not available as a spare part. Since your posts say your car is "full loaded", the light is an LED unit and dealer retail is around $300 each.

As to the VIN label on the trunk lid, it CAN be removed with care and installed on the new part. I have removed them with a heat gun and a razor blade but they are easy to damage. The new trunk lid will have a different label (non-VIN) identifying it as a replacement part and that is something that will be looked for at trade-in time.

Your company will likely want to see the car and do their own lowball estimate and will press you to take their check and sign a release which closes the book. They may say they will "work" with the body shop but what that can mean is that their adjuster will tell the shop that the job is not only worth what they have decided to pay but that any reluctance to cave in to their demands may have an effect on future business. That means corner-cutting. Or requiring you to come up with the difference.

The adjuster's job is to keep claims costs down and he doesn't give a damn about you or your car. And don't hand over any money until the job is 100% complete to your satisfaction.

If later on you decide to trade the car in, the dealer may ask you to sign a document affirming that the car is accident damage free, so if the repair is detectable, it will cost you in trade in value.

This is not a DIY project and I'll bet the cost will be $2000 or more. When repairing a Mercedes, it's always more.

 

There's no reason for your insurance company to cut you a check unless you ask them to give you money, in that case its out of their hands.

Get the estimates at 2 shops and from that point go to the shop of choice (once your insurance company agrees its ok,) then have the shop deal directly with your insurance company. I repeat DO NOT take a check from your insurance company. I've never got a quote for a repair that didn't turn into a high bill after they removed parts to only find more damage deeper in. At that point your shop will contact your insurance company directly asking for more money, they'll show them why and then they'll get the money.

Another nice thing, at least here, uninsured motorist insurance covers a rental car so you might get a free rental out of the deal.

Even if the repair shop has the money, if they turn out a bad job, you can refuse to take the car and have them fix the issue before you take it back. I had an Audi A4 and I took it to a USAA recommended shop, I refused the car THREE times. it had runs in the paint every time. Not only did they redo the car, but I also kept the rental car ZERO cost to me.

P.S since you didn't get a police report, if your insurance company wants to play hard ball they might argue with you on how it happened, whos to say you didn't back into something?

 

I would love to pay that. Mine is 1800.00 a year 500.00 Deductable clean except the little Sh*t that tried to blackmail me. BTW I'm 49 own my house and am married with a kid (17).

 

i appreciate the detailed info RLE, you sure know your stuff, as always....

$300 for the lamp eh? + a whole new trunk and getting it painted, OUCH....looks like i will have to go with a claim on this one.... i am hoping they shouldn't raise my rates since it was the result of vandalism or hit and run, but u never know with these shoddy insurance companies how they will file it... not to confident about esurance after google'ing "esurance reviews"

do they have to use genuine mercedes parts??? I have a feeling they will be reluctant to replace the whole trunk and paint it and also replace the whole left led tail light assembly for just a small crack.. in order to keep costs down...

sucks how people who file claims always have to stress about getting the job done right and not getting screwed on corner cutting... just the nature of the adjusters job i guess...

 

When my family added my 350 to the policy, it went up $600 something for 6 months with a $500 deductible. We are a family of 4 and one of us has a point.

 

i am going back to file a police report this weekend... it actually happened in santa barbara county, a few hours from LA area... i parallel parked it on a busy street during the day with free parking and left it overnight while staying the night... i didnt even notice till i got back home and parked in the driveway in front of the garage and was walking around the vehicle to the front door!!

 

Chances are they'll replace it, labor to fix a crap one and risk of it not being right = money, if anything they will search for a wrecked C class and replace your trunk with a used one. If they find one they'll get you a new one.

Request they use genuine MB parts and they should, at some spot on the trunk it should have a sticker or a stamp in the metal saying MB I know every body part on my Acura did.

 

man... sorry to hear that! those dents look nasty... hey, things could of been worst so as long as u still got yourself and your ride, u still good.. hope everything work out and much $$ saved as possible... unlike most of the members on here, i live in country so anything around here is small with not too many people......just deer and rodents.hehehehhe

 

thanks for the kind words man, i appreciate it

 

Why are you paying so much???? I'm guessing because your son.

 

Keep in mind that this is a new model car and not some old banger and there are not a lot of unbent used body parts available, anyway. And the labor time to repair the damaged lid (if possible) will be considerable which will offset the cost of a new one considerably.

There is one thing that I always do and I know it pays off. When your insurance adjuster or the body shop estimator examines the damage, be sure the car is immaculately clean, inside and out, wheels and all. This will make a much bigger impression than you might think and puts those people on notice that the car must be returned to pre-accident condition

That's what I have always done before any dealer service appointment on all my cars, year after year, and while they think I'm nuts I know they take better care of the car than the average customer's. I also know that the techs appreciate a clean engine compartment.

 

great tip on bringing in the car in immaculate condition, I will be sure to give it a good detail tomorrow before i bring it in monday morning... it totally makes sense and i believe they will know i mean business and that i will not take any sub par efforts....

Esurance wants me to bring in the car to one of their "approved shops" in the area close to where i live.... i know i am not obligated to get it fixed there, so i will go get an estimate from the closest dealer as well, to see what they say and how they compare....

anybody have any experience with "approved" shops that insurers recommend right off the bat? are these "approved" shops usually the ones with the tight relationship with the insurer that will keep costs down and cut corners???

 

I do not recomend those approved shops at all!!!!!! It is exactly as you described. I had a bad experience with one approved shop and the only reason I took my car there was because my insurance told me that I would get lifetime warranty for as long as I keep the car (which I sold a couple of months after because I did not feel safe driving that car anymore). They had car from all kinds in their shop and I ended up taking my car 3 times to get it fixed.

I would suggest asking your MB dealer for a bodyshop specialize in Benz or any authorize one of that king.

 

The shop I used for the Audi was an USAA recommended shop, I rejected the car 3 times due to major paint flaws.

With my Acura, I used the Geico recommended shop, and they did VERY good work, so much that I used the shop once again for a unrelated problem. I've also told many people about the good work they've done.

Bottom line, all shops do insurance work that makes up most of their work load. different companies recommend different shops, not because they're a cheaper shop, but they tend to work out deals if they get a lot of business from them.

the idea of doing a 2nd estimate is to see if the 1st one is in check, the shop my Acura used, turns out my 2nd estimate was cheaper then the 1st one given by geico.

google the shops name, ask for pictures of their work or to see any fresh work that was just done.

Just like anything in life, you need to decide for yourself on what place to use. it is YOUR choice.

 

awesome tips jeffie, i appreciate it... i will take it to my local dealer first before i go to their "approved" shop

 

Sorry about your car... This may also be the time to shop for a new insurance company. I dont' work for USAA but I personally use them and they've been pretty good to me. I was in an accident (not my fault, I was rear-ended) a year ago and my premium didn't go up.

 

Daughter and she doesn't drive yet, neither does my wife. Just part of the expense of living on LI.

 

I'm with State Farm due to motorcycle rates, they've been very good to me, my agent is right down the street from where I work so we have a pretty good relationship, very helpful over the last 6 years or so of me being with them.

I HATE geico due to their motorcycle rate BS, them screwing me with a quote, and the fact that they spend so much money on TV ads rather then pay their employees more or offer lower rates.

However, geico did put my car into a good shop for paint work when one of their customers hit my car. So at least they picked a good painting place.

I've head good things about USAA (my family is military) but they still can't touch state farm for motorcycle prices. Plus the local shop they sent me too was total crap.

 

Totally sucks. Will need new trunk lid.

Barbers Auto Recycling USA-AL(Ardmore) 1-800-632-2091 has a white one - should be able to get is for $500 max (possibly with shipping) and bolt right on.

For tail light check out car-part.com - does not say if LED but selling for $100-$200

I would not run through ins for $800.

 

So if in my case when I had someone hit my car and leave, I paid the uninsured deductible that cost $250.00, got a new bumper cover, new tail light, and a rental car.

sounds a lot cheap then $800.00 even more so when its not an at fault claim

What sucks with used parts, (I've used them in the past on other cars with out full coverage insurance) rarely are they 100%. Best case, the trunk will need to be buffed out to remove minor scratches or scuffs, worse case, it might need minor paint work, and when that happens, it ends up being a better idea to paint the whole thing. Even if it is perfect you still need to worry about the paint matching. yes its the same paint code but chances are its not a perfect match, white is one of the hardest colors to match correctly.

if no insurance, Id buy a used trunk and install it, its a no brainer. I just don't understand why so many people will pay 1000, 1200, 1400, 1600 bucks a year on insurance, then will never use it when they have a legit reason to.