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jesus!! so sorry to read this! WTF is wrong with people?? I don't think you'll ever know the real reason this turd rear ended you...the sun??? What a crap excuse!!
I don't blame the guy. I remember pulling onto the road that morning and thinking "jesus christ what is the deal with the sun today?". He obviously should have pulled over and wiped down the inside of his windshield if he couldn't see. He's 80, probably not on his phone, just not great vision to start out with, plus the glare, plus the film inside the windshield. Destroyed his brand new truck as well as my brand new car.
Surprisingly I have no discomfort this morning at all. I guess the construction of the seat and the explosively fast seat belt tensioning did its job. I have some back issues and a recent surgery so hats off to the little C.
The car has to be rebuilt on a thing called a Cellete bench that's basically a huge jig MB requires for a certified structural unibody repair. More accurate than the typical laser measured unibody rack (which itself is very accurate). The hard part on a 205 in the rear is that the skin is aluminum and the inner structure is steel. Aluminum cannot be welded to steel, so the pieces are mated at the factory using glue, and the shop now has to use glue as well. Also, while steel can be heated and reworked in large sections, aluminum has to be heated and worked in tiny little increments.
Seems fine, but I can't open the trunk to check. It'll probably have to come out if the trunk floor needs work. My audio shop will send a tech to my body shop to pull/reinstall if necessary.
Well, I'm viewing it as an opportunity to do some exterior mods. She'll emerge from the shop having undergone a mild metamorphosis, mostly paid for by the other fella's insurance. When life gives you lemons, I say "f--k these lemons".
So.... as a former adjuster... do you claim diminished value loss?
Originally Posted by Mike5215
Not on a lease. Sadly.
That's the beauty of leasing. I will never own a daily driver again.
Big accident? Insurance fixes it and return it when done and lease another one.
I had plenty of "owned" cars and insurance will never pay diminished value unless you haggle hard.
Mike, with that kind of damage, you may want to make sure to check the frame out, may not be just cosmetic and may get you a new 2017. Don't know if the Xterra's front bumper actually lines up with the C.
There's a tell tale crease at the base of the sail panel on the right quarter that indicates some minor structural unibody involvement. The shop will actually pull and rebuild the rear on a special Mercedes rig that forces all of the tolerances back to spec. I'll get some pics along the way.
Had this been a front end hit, with the potential for mechanical and suspension involvement I'd be much less optimistic, but knowing the shop as well as I do I'm not sweating this hit at all. Obviously the car will never be the same in my mind but since I'm just renting it...whatever.
Ever since a surgeon f'd up and destroyed the nerves to my ****** last year it takes a lot to upset me. This car thing is more an inconvenience and a minor disappointment. Shoving a tube up my shlong when I want to pee was a WAY harder thing to get past.
Preliminary estimate (based on the visual damage, pending a shop tear-down and a fat supplement) is $6,000. We'll probably be closer to $10,000 when all is said and done.
So I waited three months to get it built, and drove it for six months before it got hammered.
So I waited three months to get it built, and drove it for six months before it got hammered.
Yeah that sux! I feel for you. Then again, there's getting hammered and "GETTING HAMMERED!". This happened here over the weekend (down-under in Melbourne).... self inflicted mind you; couple of 20yr olds who obviously had more money than sense.
Well it's at the shop. Happy to discover it was in the hands of a tech who just completed a Mercedes collision training in Ohio specific to the W205. MB is requiring its certified shops to get specialized training as the new gen of cars has a unique hybrid aluminum/steel unibody structure. We'll see...
Well it's at the shop..........MB is requiring its certified shops to get specialized training as the new gen of cars has a unique hybrid aluminum/steel unibody structure. We'll see...
****** notwithstanding, you've a great attitude (plus you're not too sore). Things seem to be looking up lad. I just wish the old guy had used more Windex ( brand new truck/off-gassing of vinyl/interior materials is big time).
Plus he probably left his sunglasses in the bar........(j/k: a bit of humor here)
Well I drove the car to the shop (it's been parked waiting for the appraisal) and it still drives beautifully. Especially compared to the MKZ tub I'm driving now. Not much to recommend in the Ford but...
The stock audio system absolutely destroys the Burmester, and honestly with a little tuning I think I could improve on the MKZ beyond my Focal/Audison set up. Ford built a better listening environment with full sets of good sounding speakers, plenty of power and CarPlay to boot.
Also, Ford's integration of LCD screens into the gauge cluster uses screen resolutions that are phenomenally high. Even small font text is brilliantly smooth and clear. Sadly, they don't make much use of it. A couple of menus and sub menus for stupid stuff you don't care about but it looks sharp as hell.
The seats are a good bit more comfortable, with more generous padding and very supple, glove soft leather.
The rest of the car is a train wreck. Somehow Ford designed a suspension that simultaneously is sloppy, floaty and loose from a handling standpoint while being stiff and uncomfortable from a ride standpoint.
Interior design is this cobbled together mess of various faux finishes, hard plastics, strange gaps, and odd proportions. Also, the row of buttons down the entire left bezel of the center console as a transmission control just looks goofy.
The front of the car has an upscale Bentleyish vibe that's handsome. Then the ***-end turns into a mullet.
speaking of stereo, i have a loaded 2017 E-class as a service loaner now and the burmester actually doesn't sound as good in that car as it does in the C. Otherwise, the car is great, doesn't really feel underpowered, the 9-speed gearbox is an absolute peach, takes some real easy cruising for it to shift into 9th gear though. the car is dark blue over oyster colored mb-tex. I love the ambient lighting too, as well as the huge nav screen. car is so smooth, MUCH more supple than my C with non-runflats, and it doesn't even have air. The new software def has a learning curve, all the menus are in different places. anyways - Good job Mercedes!
When you enable that pink lighting, is there a chrome pole that comes out of the centre console, along with the display asking whether you want a massage?
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