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I'm curious to get the opinion of other MB owners. I got into an accident in my 2019 C300 Cabriolet. I got ran off the road and smashed the left corner of my car into a light pole. The first estimate is at $15,000 for parts and labor. The teardown hasn't begun yet, but the mechanic at my local Mercedes collision center says it's likely a total. Insurance estimated the car's market value at $40,800 so it needs another $13k in damages to be considered a total loss.
What do you guys think? It took a pretty nasty hit and it's hard to imagine that the car will ever be the same again.
I have worked in this industry for a long time and 15K sounds about right, air bags are not out, so it was a low speed collision, you have to look at it as what needs replacing
Bonnet, Headlight, fender, front bar cover some suspension stuff, maybe a rad support panel a few other misc bits and pieces, not a lot really, looks a lot worse than it is.
It all looks to be bolt on stuff so its a relatively easy repair, no rail damage by the look, pretty hard to tell by pictures but I would definitely say its a repairer all day long.
Good repairer will have this looking like it never happened, i see a lot worse being repaired daily.
That's the outcome I'm hoping for. The customer sales rep said the estimate will probably double once the shop does the teardown and submits their supplement, and that would put me into the total loss threshold.
I have worked in this industry for a long time and 15K sounds about right, air bags are not out, so it was a low speed collision, you have to look at it as what needs replacing
Bonnet, Headlight, fender, front bar cover some suspension stuff, maybe a rad support panel a few other misc bits and pieces, not a lot really, looks a lot worse than it is.
It all looks to be bolt on stuff so its a relatively easy repair, no rail damage by the look, pretty hard to tell by pictures but I would definitely say its a repairer all day long.
Good repairer will have this looking like it never happened, i see a lot worse being repaired daily.
The adjustor only accounted for the obvious damages. The insurance company said he didn't leave any notes other than "take to body shop for further inspection". The steering wheel airbag and knee airbag went out. The back of the car has some dents, scraped paint, and a piece of the fender torn off, but it's nothing compared to the front. It is hard to tell from pics, but the mechanic said he thinks the frame is probably bent.
The adjustor only accounted for the obvious damages. The insurance company said he didn't leave any notes other than "take to body shop for further inspection". The steering wheel airbag and knee airbag went out. The back of the car has some dents, scraped paint, and a piece of the fender torn off, but it's nothing compared to the front. It is hard to tell from pics, but the mechanic said he thinks the frame is probably bent.
Airbags out and bent chassis makes a big difference, it adds to the bill quite a bit, seat belts go when the airbag goes, so you are looking at Steering wheel airbag, Knee airbag, Dashboard, Airbag module, Both front seat belts and whatever they broke when they deployed, then the labour to fit and code to the car, that alone could be $7000+ just there, plus the supplementary parts and repair list could take it to $10,000+ on top of the $15,000 to repair.
Will they write it off @ $25,000?, with a market value of $40,000, it will depend on the salvage value.
If they can get $10,000 for the wreck they might just knock it on the head, they will look at it as a $30,000 loss, but they know that you are not going to have problems attributed to the crash that they have to fix later for example, tyre wear, rattles, leaks, unseen mechanical etc.
I dont know what percentage they work on, but I generally look at 65-70% of the market value will put it over the edge.
Airbags out and bent chassis makes a big difference, it adds to the bill quite a bit, seat belts go when the airbag goes, so you are looking at Steering wheel airbag, Knee airbag, Dashboard, Airbag module, Both front seat belts and whatever they broke when they deployed, then the labour to fit and code to the car, that alone could be $7000+ just there, plus the supplementary parts and repair list could take it to $10,000+ on top of the $15,000 to repair.
Will they write it off @ $25,000?, with a market value of $40,000, it will depend on the salvage value.
If they can get $10,000 for the wreck they might just knock it on the head, they will look at it as a $30,000 loss, but they know that you are not going to have problems attributed to the crash that they have to fix later for example, tyre wear, rattles, leaks, unseen mechanical etc.
I dont know what percentage they work on, but I generally look at 65-70% of the market value will put it over the edge.
Thank you so much for your response! Body shop completed teardown today and the damages are at $43,000. The frame is bent, there's lots of suspension damage, the engine needs to be dropped, etc. Now I wait for State Farm to look over the supplement and send an adjustor out, but in any case, it looks like I'm way over the total loss threshold which is 70% in my state.
Thank you so much for your response! Body shop completed teardown today and the damages are at $43,000. The frame is bent, there's lots of suspension damage, the engine needs to be dropped, etc. Now I wait for State Farm to look over the supplement and send an adjustor out, but in any case, it looks like I'm way over the total loss threshold which is 70% in my state.
FYI: I wasn't driving like an *******, I was just casually coming up the road into a turning lane and this older man in a Honda Pilot wasn't paying attention and ran right into the right passenger side of my car. I bought this car last Wednesday with the feeling that someone on the road was going to ruin my chances of even keeping this car on the road long enough, before I got into an accident. Happened with my last Benz. I'm just curious if you all think the damage on this will be fixable, or will they claim my car as totaled? The amount of frustration I'm feeling is immense, this was my absolute dream car and I really don't want to have to go through the process of having to get another car if my insurance ends up totaling this. Here are some pictures, just so you can gauge the damage. I know by all means that these aren't cheap cars, so I wanted to know if the parts required to repair the damage will end up being more than the vehicle's current market value. Car currently has 38,000 US miles.
I would buy it as a used car. The car is still driveable and drives just as it did when I first purchased, just has some damage on the right side due to the guy side-swiping it. My plan is to keep this car for the rest of my life, never want to sell it. But otherwise, yes, I would buy it used. I know the value will drop too, but as long as I can still keep it, that doesn’t matter to me.
My BMW e92 was hit in a very similar manner a few years back. It looked a lot like your pics - everything between the front and rear wheels was damaged. Only difference was my passenger door glass was also shattered. The estimate was just shy of totaled, but I convinced my insurance company to total it anyway. I knew the car would never be the same.
What year was your M3? This is my 2014 W204 C63.. I pray they don’t total this, searching for this car was the hardest part. I just bought it after having my last Benz totaled - I was without a car for 7 months. I don’t know how much emphasis I can put on the fact that this is my dream car. It is so near and dear to me and I would do anything to keep it. I hope that totaling this car isn’t in the realm of choices. I just pray that the damages can be repaired.
FYI: I wasn't driving like an *******, I was just casually coming up the road into a turning lane and this older man in a Honda Pilot wasn't paying attention and ran right into the right passenger side of my car. I bought this car last Wednesday with the feeling that someone on the road was going to ruin my chances of even keeping this car on the road long enough, before I got into an accident. Happened with my last Benz. I'm just curious if you all think the damage on this will be fixable, or will they claim my car as totaled? The amount of frustration I'm feeling is immense, this was my absolute dream car and I really don't want to have to go through the process of having to get another car if my insurance ends up totaling this. Here are some pictures, just so you can gauge the damage. I know by all means that these aren't cheap cars, so I wanted to know if the parts required to repair the damage will end up being more than the vehicle's current market value. Car currently has 38,000 US miles.
Everything is fixable. The question is - at what cost? Time for an insurance estimate and decision.
From what I can see in the pictures its a fender, door shell, mirror, 1/4 panel and rear wheel, these cars dont need much to bend the rear suspension or cradle, If the rear suspension checks out ok and they do a repair of the 1/4 panel and not replace, it is a repair job all day long, if the rear suspension is damaged and they quote it as a 1/4 replacement, I would have to say that its more than likely to be a write off, so on that id say its finished.
What year was your M3? This is my 2014 W204 C63.. I pray they don’t total this, searching for this car was the hardest part. I just bought it after having my last Benz totaled - I was without a car for 7 months. I don’t know how much emphasis I can put on the fact that this is my dream car. It is so near and dear to me and I would do anything to keep it. I hope that totaling this car isn’t in the realm of choices. I just pray that the damages can be repaired.
My BMW was a 2011 and I loved it as well, but when I thought about the squeaks, rattles, leaks, etc., that were likely to crop up after the repair, I was happy for the payoff. Please note, though, that the original appraisal did not total my car; I implored my insurance company to write it off, and fortunately for me, they agreed to my wishes (which is why I continue to do business with them).
I would buy it as a used car. The car is still driveable and drives just as it did when I first purchased, just has some damage on the right side due to the guy side-swiping it. My plan is to keep this car for the rest of my life, never want to sell it. But otherwise, yes, I would buy it used. I know the value will drop too, but as long as I can still keep it, that doesn’t matter to me.
SOrry I was posting to toward the Original thread starter.... Did not notice your stuff piggy backed onto the thread...
TO quote Monty Python group - Yours is JUST A SCRATCH
01-16-2020, 02:03 AM
