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1986 Light Ivory R107 560SL & 2024 W206 Starling Blue C300 4MATIC AMG-Line, Exclusive Trim
After two weeks, already hit hard...
Well, just over two weeks after I picked up the car I was rear ended pretty hard. The plates for the car didn’t even arrive yet. Long story short, there was a red light ahead and I was kind of slowing down to it and the guy behind me was going much faster and not paying attention and bam. He was doing about 25 mph faster than I was. He took responsibility for the accident of course, but man this just sucks. It happened last Tuesday but I waited until everything was cleared up with insurance to post about it.
The car did really well, I had a front seat passenger with me and the front seat belts blew and locked up, so did the rears weirdly, but Mercedes said that was normal. After the accident I got a call from the Mercedes sos services asking if I was ok and if the cops or paramedics needed to come out, that was a nice touch.
Looks like I’ll need a new bumper, taillight, “diffuser”, repair the trunk and the bent quarter, plus new seatbelts all around. Car was drivable after the accident obviously, but just drove it and parked it because of the blown seatbelts. Everyone involved in the accident was fine. It wasn’t a massive crash but it wasn’t a fender bender.
1986 Light Ivory R107 560SL & 2024 W206 Starling Blue C300 4MATIC AMG-Line, Exclusive Trim
Originally Posted by Andy74
Thank God everybody is ok. What do you mean by blown seat belts?
Pretty much the seatbelts have like some explosive or something that goes off and tugs you into the seat and locks them and as you go forward they extend. So when you stop you have this fully extended seatbelt that won’t retract. And in the rear seats where no one was sitting, the seatbelts yanked themselves into the seat to the point that I can’t even fit my finger between the seat and the belt it’s so tight. I wish I had pictures to show what I mean but the cars already in the shop. It’s kind of like hitting that lock in the seatbelt when you pull it out all the way, the only difference is it won’t go back in and you get safety restraint system faults.
1986 Light Ivory R107 560SL & 2024 W206 Starling Blue C300 4MATIC AMG-Line, Exclusive Trim
I guess I do have a picture, it’s not the greatest, but you can see the seatbelt is just hanging out on the seat and the belt isn’t buckled in it’s just laying on the seat.
Stinks about the accident, glad you are ok. Did you take it to a Mercedes dealer or their recommended shop for repair? Make sure they use OEM parts. I was rear ended last October, got my car fixed in December then rear ended a couple of weeks later. Both times it was just the rear bumper cover that was damaged but I had to fight with the insurance company both times to get an OEM bumper cover. Hope the repair goes well.
Usually here if seatbelts are deployed in a car and it has frame damage they total them, looking at your pictures the kink in your 1/4 panel could indicate the possibility of frame damage, just by the tear in the bumper cover you can see it was a decent hit as these bumpers take a good knock and dont tear up
Just incase they repair your car, check your seats where the seatbelts have pulled tight, as I have had 2 cars that the rear seatbelts have deployed in and the seatbelt dragging over the leather so fast it had caused marks in the leather, they needed retrimming or replacing, the seatbelt also cut the fabric on the rear pillar trim where it pulled tight.
Also had 1 front seatbelt that caused the lower centre pillar trim to snap the lugs off the trim and it would not clip back in properly, also was replaced.
With any rear ender, check for water leaks in the boot area
1986 Light Ivory R107 560SL & 2024 W206 Starling Blue C300 4MATIC AMG-Line, Exclusive Trim
Originally Posted by mikec35
Stinks about the accident, glad you are ok. Did you take it to a Mercedes dealer or their recommended shop for repair? Make sure they use OEM parts. I was rear ended last October, got my car fixed in December then rear ended a couple of weeks later. Both times it was just the rear bumper cover that was damaged but I had to fight with the insurance company both times to get an OEM bumper cover. Hope the repair goes well.
The car is going to their recommended shop, we’ve used them before they do very good work. I should be getting oem parts, thanks for the heads up on that one, I’ll definitely make sure.
1986 Light Ivory R107 560SL & 2024 W206 Starling Blue C300 4MATIC AMG-Line, Exclusive Trim
Originally Posted by prktkljokr
Usually here if seatbelts are deployed in a car and it has frame damage they total them, looking at your pictures the kink in your 1/4 panel could indicate the possibility of frame damage, just by the tear in the bumper cover you can see it was a decent hit as these bumpers take a good knock and dont tear up
Just incase they repair your car, check your seats where the seatbelts have pulled tight, as I have had 2 cars that the rear seatbelts have deployed in and the seatbelt dragging over the leather so fast it had caused marks in the leather, they needed retrimming or replacing, the seatbelt also cut the fabric on the rear pillar trim where it pulled tight.
Also had 1 front seatbelt that caused the lower centre pillar trim to snap the lugs off the trim and it would not clip back in properly, also was replaced.
With any rear ender, check for water leaks in the boot area
The body shop said they wouldn’t be surprised if there is frame damage, they said they’d know more on Tuesday. The hole in the bumper is big enough to see the crash bar and it looks like it missed it, but the body shop thinks it was actually pushed to the side and created frame damage.
As for the rear seatbelts the buckle is so tight into the bolster that it’s probably going to leave a dent in it, I’ll also definitely look to see if there are marks as well. I forgot to mention that the rear seat belts pulled my rear headliner down and broke the plastic piece that goes around the seatbelt where it pokes through the headliner.
I personally doubt it will get totaled even with frame damage because the damage doesn’t look too extensive.
I guess I do have a picture, it’s not the greatest, but you can see the seatbelt is just hanging out on the seat and the belt isn’t buckled in it’s just laying on the seat.
Thank you for your elaboration. Very interesting indeed. Sadly I dont have this important safety feature on my 2015 model.
I personally doubt it will get totaled even with frame damage because the damage doesn’t look too extensive.
You might be surprised, just the seatbelt work alone is big $$, I have not purchased a seatbelt for a W205, but I have purchased others and 1 seatbelt can be $2000 or more, when you have to replace them all it adds up, then labour on top, extra unseen bits and pieces, they will also replace the airbag module, they are close to $2000, they also have to send it to a dealer for recoding and a system check once the seatbelt system has been repaired, on top of that there will be the actual repair of the damage to the car, the insurance company usually weigh up whether there will be any ongoing issues that they might have to cover later on down the track, I know it only looks like a small amount of damage but the seatbelts might tip it over the economic point.
Like you stated the hood lining was pulled down and the plastic trim broken, what else was damaged when all this went off?, I would be at a guess the parts bill alone to be close to $15000.
1986 Light Ivory R107 560SL & 2024 W206 Starling Blue C300 4MATIC AMG-Line, Exclusive Trim
Originally Posted by prktkljokr
You might be surprised, just the seatbelt work alone is big $$, I have not purchased a seatbelt for a W205, but I have purchased others and 1 seatbelt can be $2000 or more, when you have to replace them all it adds up, then labour on top, extra unseen bits and pieces, they will also replace the airbag module, they are close to $2000, they also have to send it to a dealer for recoding and a system check once the seatbelt system has been repaired, on top of that there will be the actual repair of the damage to the car, the insurance company usually weigh up whether there will be any ongoing issues that they might have to cover later on down the track, I know it only looks like a small amount of damage but the seatbelts might tip it over the economic point.
Like you stated the hood lining was pulled down and the plastic trim broken, what else was damaged when all this went off?, I would be at a guess the parts bill alone to be close to $15000.
I am aware of how much the seatbelts are and all the problems it creates. It was the first thing that hit me when I saw all the blown belts, but the I still doubt it’ll be totaled. If the car is worth 37000 accident free, with 15k in damage before repairs it should still put it in a good spot to not get totaled. Personally I hope it doesn’t because I know I won’t be able to find one in this spec again.
Based off what is visible in body panels, it isn’t too bad; new bumper, new taillight, pull out the quarter and the trunk dent. What’s concerning is if there’s frame damage, if there’s some minor frame damage I think I’m still safe with it being not written off, but if it’s pretty extensive that’s when it will probably push it over the ledge.
Talking with the body shop tomorrow, fingers crossed there’s no frame damage, or very little.
Not trying to upset you, and we are only speculating here, but based on your cars market value and that most insurance companies total cars at a 50 - 60% market value of the car, your cars insurance repair value is $22,200, if the parts come to $15,000 or more, it only leaves you with $7200 to fix the damage, I know that you and me could fix it for way less, but as a insurer they have to guarantee all repairs, so thats why insurance prices are much higher .
Insurance companies use the 50 - 60% of market value on most late model cars, as the salvage price they will get for the wreck is a lot higher and people will pay good money for the wreck, also it being what we call a 3rd party claim, your insurer will not care if your car is totalled as the cost is covered by the other insurance company, so sometimes its better for them to wash their hands of it by cutting you a cheque.
I hope for your sake that the damage is minor to the frame or non existent and the repair comes in under the insurers level to total it.
Good luck
Last edited by prktkljokr; Jan 25, 2021 at 09:55 PM.
1986 Light Ivory R107 560SL & 2024 W206 Starling Blue C300 4MATIC AMG-Line, Exclusive Trim
Originally Posted by prktkljokr
Not trying to upset you, and we are only speculating here, but based on your cars market value and that most insurance companies total cars at a 50 - 60% market value of the car, your cars insurance repair value is $22,200, if the parts come to $15,000 or more, it only leaves you with $7200 to fix the damage, I know that you and me could fix it for way less, but as a insurer they have to guarantee all repairs, so thats why insurance prices are much higher .
Insurance companies use the 50 - 60% of market value on most late model cars, as the salvage price they will get for the wreck is a lot higher and people will pay good money for the wreck, also it being what we call a 3rd party claim, your insurer will not care if your car is totalled as the cost is covered by the other insurance company, so sometimes its better for them to wash their hands of it by cutting you a cheque.
I hope for your sake that the damage is minor to the frame or non existent and the repair comes in under the insurers level to total it.
Good luck
You’re not upsetting me, I’m just hopeful lol. Having looked at the car after the accident as far as body wise goes it’s not that bad, probably why I’m hopeful, hidden damage is what will probably kill it. I guess we will find out, but this thread is giving me more of a reality dose, which is what I kind of needed, having not really been in this situation for an accident this large.
1986 Light Ivory R107 560SL & 2024 W206 Starling Blue C300 4MATIC AMG-Line, Exclusive Trim
Also I just figured they totaled cars at 75% value, probably also why I’m so hopeful, but if they do usually total them out within the 50-60% range, that does change the story a bit.
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