6foot3inaC

Five weeks after I got it ... rear-ended ... about 5-15 miles an hour (no idea) ... guy admitted fault at scene, I had two clients in the car as witnesses ...

Other info: my head rests "broke" forward

Everyone seems to be okay at the moment, I have some neck pain. Let's see how that goes.

Haven't spoken to body shop yet ... how much is this going to cost him? Chances of frame damage?

Try to give it to me straight without scaring me one way or the other, please. Thanks!

anticsd

get his info down name plates etc... get the police report...

For damages your looking at $2000 around if they replace that bumper... Take it to a certified collision benz dealer, so it doesn't void your electronics warranty if some electronics are damaged..
Also the head rests for driver and passengers are considered airbags.. I didn't notice when mine deployed when I was rear ended till the SA pointed it out.

6foot3inaC

Hi ... thanks for the info ...

Got his name, insurance, etc. There were witnesses to his admission of fault. In D.C. police don't make a report unless someone is hurt. I'm not worried about him admitting/not admitting at this point - I have pictures and witnesses.

I'm going to take it to the dealership's body shop which is DEFINITELY a certified Benz shop ... you think there's going to be frame damage? Do the head rests need to be replaced?

Thanks!

envyxc350

Looks like you'll only need a new rear bumper and to have it installed and painted. I'd say a little under 2,000. Also the headrest do adjust forward and backward so I don't see how it can break.

6foot3inaC

I would LOVE for you to be right. They "break" open in that they separate and you can see the insides.

itsLoonie

I doubt there is gonna be frame damage. Here's a pic of my damage about a year ago.




First initial estimate was about $2,000 I think. After they took off the bumper and what not, they estimate another $3000 putting it to a total of $5,000. Good thing is there was NO frame damage. Hopefully that helps.

6foot3inaC

It does. Thanks so much!

I'll let you all know what happens.

Gashde

Can you show us a picture of the head rest, just an idea on how much its tilted?? = )

xXHotelCrazyXx

+1, hope your ok in in a few days with your neck pain

6foot3inaC

Hey - it's not actually the tilt that is different - it's that the leather and plastic parts detach and there are some spring loaded mechanisms inside ... apparently, the car is designed to deploy these to protect your neck.

Thank you very much for your concern about my neck pain - I've been in a worse accident and recovered well and I appreciate your kind wishes.

wnunez89

yea there shouldnt be any frame damage from a hit at 15mph. new bumper, paint, and labor probably around $2000 at a benz dealership. and they headrest act like an airbag, they crack open on impact happened to me after my ex backed the car into a huge rock.

Sportstick

There is no frame. These vehicles, as most non-truck vehicles, are unitized bodies. There is a floor pan, which will require assessment and measurement to determine the repair required, if it is involved.

Carsy

The head rests should reset ie be able to be pushed back into their frames.

There may be some reference in your manual.

RLE

You had some good advice but there is one more thing. Ask the body shop estimator if there will be any problem matching the paint. His answer will be predictable. This question is just to pin them down so that if there should be a match problem (not likely) then you have them in a corner and they will have to make it perfect if you are not satisfied.

And keep the rental car until then.

Be sure not to sign anything without reading and understanding every word first because you don't want to release the other insurance company until your possible medical claim is completely resolved.

encoder

The headrests, of course, are anti-whiplash.

How about the seatbelt pretensioners? Any clue if they fired? Or do they only fire on an airbag deploy?

IGB

Agreed...

I'll disagree with the $2000 estimates, simply because replacing and painting the bumper cover by itself, should be less that $2000. However, assuming the impact happened at a speed closer to 15mph than at 5mph, I suspect the absorbers, as well as the the impact bar (and associated hardware) will also have to be replaced. Add in mechanical labor hours/paint labor hours and it'll probably put it at closer to $3000, (maybe more if the headrests must be replaced).

But really, what difference will it make how much? I'd be more concerned with paint/color match, OEM parts, and the insurers can duke it out on all other issues.

And even more important than all of the above, is that you and your passengers are all alright... Hope the soreness and pain will dissipate soon.

6foot3inaC

Hey everyone,

Thanks for all of your help! His insurance paid the claim and my dealership's body shop charged $2,057 for the bumper cover, plastic piece below the bumper, impact bar and alloy tailpipe to be fixed with OEM parts. There was no serious damage or frame damage. The headrests popped right back into place.

Best,
Sammy

Scat01

Good to hear, glad it worked out well for you...Ok, so I am 6 foot even, my seat is all the way back and all the way down to give me room for legs to be comfy - how the hell do you sit in your car for long periods of time if your name is a reality?

jctevere

My guess is that your sitting back WAY too far (then where you are supposed to be sitting). I'm 5'8" and while a bit shorter than you, I used to sit far back, until I learned how unsafe it is and how your "supposed" to sit. I enjoy the driivng experience much better know. Watched a few mercedes-benz sponsored YouTube videos about ///AMG driving academy and they say that your wrists are supposed to be over the steering wheel when your sitting back in your chair, head agains headrest, and your knees bent. In emergency situations where a ton of brake power is needed, if your knees are already extended in your normal seating position, your "fu*ked". Look up the videos, there is about 7 episodes, how your supposed to be seated and situated is covered in the first. Pretty good view IMO.

Scat01

C'mon JC - I am not on a track haha...With the brakes in these cars I can stop on a dime with just ankle pressure on the pedal. Seriously, while daily driving I prefer to be stretched out and keep my hands on the bottom of the wheel, not 10 and 2 or 9 and 3. I do sit upright, dont want to give you the slouching/gangster image, and think it is impossible to have your legs totally straight in these cars..I do adjust up and in when I hit the backroads for some fun, but still cant imagine being 6'3" and sittiing "comfy" on a long drive...

Sportstick

Actually, jctevere makes a great point, completely independent of racing. The deployment path of the air bag is based on the assumption of hands at the typical position, so that arms are blown in a path radially out and away. Some significant injuries could be imagined if the bag forces an ulna and radius into your abdomen and/or chest, in addition to fracturing those arm bones, starting from a bottom-of-the-rim hand position. There is a lot of data about folks who casually drape their arms over the hub or use one hand to grab the 12 o'clock position of the rim having their hands blasted into their faces by an air bag, fracturing noses, eye orbit, hands, etc., which would likely have not occurred with proper position.

Also, just for normal evasive maneuvers on the street, the optimal leverage occurs at a position with arms slightly bent. The rule of thumb has been to stick your arms straight out to the windshield, adjust the seat until your wrist is over the rim, and then bend your arms slightly to back off and grab the rim. That should also provide a comfortable leg position, unless one has an unusual leg/arm length proportion. I am 6'2", and find this works very well in the C.

matthew121170

Ummm...
All vehicles have frames. All. The frame serves as the attachment points
for the front, side, and rear inner structures of the car. An example of a rear inner structure is a rear floor pan. Inner structures are thus named
as they cannot be seen b/c there is outer sheet metal, usually . You *can* see a rear floor pan; take up your trunk cover, or slide underneath the rear bumper of your car. See the un-clear coated sheet metal?
That's your floor pan. Your spare tire usually sits in it. BTW, see the
pole looking thingys that the rear bumper reinforcement is attached to? That's your rear frame horns. FRAME!!! After the inner structure is attached to the frame of the car, the uniside and other sheet metal is attached (if it is a uniside vehicle).

A uniside is exactly that: one piece of outer sheet metal that encompasses
the rear quarter panel, rockers, door openings, and rails. It is ONE piece, hence uniside.

Sportstick

Sorry, but your understanding is not correct. Some vehicles were body-on -frame (BOF), such as the Panther platform at Ford which gave rise to large rear wheel drive vehicles, and all current GM/Ford/Dodge pickup trucks. The vast majority of vehicles assembled, essentially all passenger cars, are unitized construction in which body components are welded together in the bodyshop of a plant in a process called "toy tab". This includes the rear valence panel to which bumper supports are attached.

BOF designs for cars were given up by most companies decades ago as being too heavy for optimal fuel economy and performance. Trucks continue to use BOF due to requirements for towing and hauling, with their high-capacity hitches attaching to the frame and not the body.

This may be a language issue, as there is no design or area of a vehicle called "uniside" ....you may mean "unitized", or some have called that design "unibody", but it is in distinction to body-on-frame. Your definition of "uniside" seems to be closest to what is called the "aperture", which is welded to inners and outers, floor pan, rear valence,and roof panels. The dash (not the instrument panel, the real dash, also called the firewall) and cowl and engine box with shotguns (not actual guns...things which look like tops of frames actually to absorb crush) are also welded assemblies. Front fenders are typically bolted on.

You can trust me on this after 25 years working in the auto industry for one of the big 3, and spending waaaay too many hours in the plants.

matthew121170

Duly noted, I stand corrected. Thanks.

jimmythegreek

after spending countless hours of my life in a body shop sportstick is 1000% percent correct. Next time you walk by a full size pickup truck look underneath, that is a frame with a body bolt on, we have a play on the unibody construction method with crumple zones. There is a frame which is just boxed into the floor panels and firewall and pillars. there is also a sub frame that attaches suspension and engine components. Thats kinda why adding strut bars makes such a big improvement, any kind of steel or alloy flexes, just like a steel panel or I beam or what have you