A truck stomps on the brakes in front of me, nowhere to go in heavy traffic, the only option was to apply the brakes hard, collided with the rear bumper of a 2000 Chevy Silverado. No one was hurt, thank God, the truck is 100% mint, my hood has a minor buckle, left front fender pushed out. There is coolant leaking. The appraiser said $2300 worth of damage, but the body shop (one of the best in Atlanta) said $7000 in damage. Will need new hood, grille, fenders, bumper cover, auxiliary fans, main fan and clutch, core support, ac condenser, radiator, water pump, drive belt assembly, air intake ducting. The insurance company then agreed to pay for all repairs! This is a 97 e420 with 190k on the clock, it may have been in mint condition before the collision, and yes, it gets Zainoe'd with a diaper every 2 weeks, but what is it worth? Probably $7000. I am happy that the insurance company decided to rebuild the car, but they must be using New Math. The body shop technician said I would have a brand new car from the windshield forward (except the engine) and most of my high-wear components will have been replaced.

 

....the Depo!.....what happened to the HIDed-Depo !?

 

i bet every bodyshop owner in this country is a multi-millionaire with a private jet and 10 Ferraris. it's amazing how much they charge for their work

 

the 7g and run!!!!
Really.Get the ins to give you the check for 7000,if a lot of good parts,i.e. wheels lights anything you modded are worth it to you,tell them you will buy the car for its salvage value,$500.Take what you want,part out the rest,buy a newer 320 or 430 with 80k miles for 9-10G.
remember next time and i hope there isn't a next time,stomp on those brakes,they wont lock up thats what the abs is for.........

"GOT DEDUCTIBLE?"

 

Raymond! The Depo units made it without even a scuff, the contact point was the center of the grill. The body shop owner asked about them, he said he did not recall projection xenon until the W211...

 

I briefly looked at 2000-02 E430s, not one of them was cosmetically as nice as my 97. The service manager at my local MB dealer always comments on the condition of this car. I paid cash for it, and my daily driver is a newer, larger car, so I would much rather have this car as a backup than to take the $7000. I could never buy an E this nice for 7k. Especially not one with a brand-new front clip.

 

could find another 420 with lower miles for not much more then the 7k plus what you pick up from the sale parting out.Just good paint to match the car and be 2 stage mercedes quality would cost 4k and labor and all those parts?I can promise you are not going to be happy.Plenty of mint,under 80000 mile cars out on the market for under 10G.

 

I finally figured out how to upload images directly from my iPhone, but it will not allow me to resize the image......



The good folks at the MB collision center tell me it will be September 25 before it is done, they will also do some paintless ding removal I had been putting off for a while.