Just a little background info.. I have a 2011 E350 4matic P2 that I purchased in December of 2013. The car is in mint condition with not even a scratch on her..

Anyway, I was parked in one of the stalls at my local fire department because I am the project manager for the renovation work being done. One of the Chiefs was responding to a call that came in and on his way out, he backed into my rear passenger door. It looks like only the door was hit but I am not a collision expert. The FD had no problem taking care of all the costs for the repair, the rental if needed, the whole 9..


My question is, is it better to take the car to an MB dealer to get appraised and have the work done by them (if they even do collision work?) or do I take it to my friends's dads collision shop (he does very good work, and I am not just saying that because he is my friend)?

I have never needed any bodywork done on my MB before and not sure if MB needs special attention? I would like all OEM parts however.

 

That sucks. I had a similar dent albeit bigger that happened when my nephew slammed his motorcycle handle bars into my car. Took it to a local paintless dent removal guy and 2 hours and $220 dollars later I can't tell anything happened. Hopefully the scratches buff out as that will be the giveaway to the mishap. A good PDR shop will fix the dent and buff it out for you.

 

Forgot to suggest you do what you can to avoid having an insurance claim for such a small issue. You are bound to lose in the long run if that pops up on a carfax report as an accident. Even when dented on a body crease, a good PDR shop will smooth that out without having to resort to paint or body work.

 

I see a new door panel in your future, black is the easiest to match ... Go with an mb authorized repair shop

 

Sorry to see that , if you go thru dealer and if this could be dropped as an accident record then you will loose some money in your car's resale value .
You can try other repair shops ( it always pays to man up when you decide to flip your car ,I mean covering up is not something that is to be proud of ) but if they don't know what they are doing it could be worse than a carfax report in the end .You know there are machine that measures color thickness
Based on the damage it seems not a big deal but regardless of extend of the damage it downs to someone who is doing your repair .

 

Sorry to see that happen to anyone.

 

I agree with the paintless dent repair recommendation. I have used PDR several times on a prior car and the repairs were flawless. My only question in your case is that the dent spans a crease in the door that could make the repair a little trickier. I would at least make the PDR shop my first stop. If you have to go to def con 2, you may want to demand a new door skin to avoid any Bondo and the associated diminution in value.

Either way, this ugly situation will be a distant memory soon. Best of Luck!

 

Any decent repair shop should be able to take care of this. I have used the paintless repair guys in the past, but this may be outside of their capabilities. As long as you have good documented photos of the damage, there is minimal risk and devalue at resale, regardless if it shows up on CarFax.

 

IMO a more important quality for a body shop is a great reputation than dealer affiliation. In your case, that might be your friend's dad shop. But you need to consider if your perception of their reputation is objective and not just because this is your friend. Any body shop can get OEM parts.

 

thanks for all the insight everyone

 

take it to the best shop you know of in your area where they can make it look close to stock.