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Something you probably did not know about your C63
I work for Mercedes in one of their collision facilities and thought I'd share a interesting fact you probably didn't know about your car . If you have the Burnmester sound system the Subwoofers actually use your cars frame rails as a sub box .I've attached a picture of the left front frame rail (although this one is damaged ) and looking inside you can see the one of the acoustic baffles installed in the frame rail along w/ acoustic foam ...... The frame rail in the C class are easily damaged by impacts to the front corners as the ft reinforcement bar has extensions that attach the rebar and to the frame rail and once impacted hard they usually damage the frame rail and we need to remove this baffle to allow access to repair the frame rail where the mount collapsed.
Another thing about these cars is the shock towers are made of cast aluminum and they are not repairable no matter how minimal the damage is and must be replaced which is a big job requiring the engine and suspension to be removed out of the vehicle .If you are in a accident and a bodyshop says they are going to repair this do not allow this to happen . With cast aluminum you cannot tell if the part is fractured w/o some type of outside testing .The part can look undamaged to the naked eye but could have fractures which could mean you are driving down the road and hit a large pot hole or bump and it could break apart in the fractured areas .Never ever attempt to repair a cast alum part ...problem is a lot of bodyshops do not know this and do not have access to factory repair procedures ...they usually fly by the seat of their pants ......... and thats todays lesson !!
Last edited by C3504matic; 03-05-2018 at 11:11 PM.
Reason: spelling correction
and here is a photo after we changed a damaged cast alum apron / tower ..... the damage to the original part was minimal ,a small dent but as I said you cannot repair these parts . Note that Mercedes repair procedures require the use of rivets along with structural bonding adhesives and some welding .This isn't something you will see in most bodyshops but this is the Mercedes repair procedure . You can also see the vehicle is set up on jigs ( the light blue parts)on a bench which locate the exact position for the part ...no guessing here
Last edited by C3504matic; 03-05-2018 at 11:34 PM.
I bet Progressive will declare this car a total lost. They will not pay for a repair like this one.
That's actually a good thing. You don't want the car back after a serious repair like this because the hit on your Carfax will seriously lower your resale value.
If you're leasing the car, that ends up being the dealer's problem. However, if you bought/financed the car that ends up being your problem and then you're stuck selling the car for way below market value because everyone sees a $20,000 repair on the Carfax and won't touch your car with a 10ft pole!
03-05-2018, 10:18 PM
