Red Marko

Well,
Usually I don't do that (almost never).
It was one of those 2 minutes moment in Manhattan. Quick out for coffee and in to work.
Not this time...






Like Forrest Gump says - ***** happens.
Not a biggie. Not this time.
Funny part comes later. I went to authorized (by Mercedes Benz) body shop, aluminum work, high end spray booths, etc and I've got detailed estimate.

My jaw dropped - over $5,100. For this?
I wonder what my insurance company reaction will be

Ouch!

How often do you guys park on the street and riks it ???

s600ed

Wow....that sucks!! At that cost might as well just go with new Lorinser bumper and panels instead...what part of the car is aluminum?

Red Marko

The fender.
BTW, could you elaborate on Lorinser? I have no idea about it. Is it too showy?

s600ed

The Lorinser fenders does command more attention (its the ones with the faux air-vent cutouts behind the wheel arch) but since the OEM fenders are aluminum, going aftermarket will only add more weight to the car (something to think about)

WSH

Markopolo, sorry to see this outcome

When I lived/worked in Manhattan would tip (generously) pkg garage guys at garages nr office/dining that I frequented to reduce odds of such scuffs, but NYC has a deep-seated anti-car, 3rd World/EU culture where wealthy people are accustomed to dings/scuffs on their $150K+ cars (or on the crappy blk/blk S550s in which most wealthy are driven around)

Left NYC yrs ago; in SF or BevHills, park daily in front of usual restaurants (and generously tip) and my cars have been ding/blemish-free....CA has a far more car-oriented culture than Manhattan (at any price) w/spacious garages at office/home and spacious valet pkg in front of key restaurants (and many more fast fwys and fun mtn twisties)

Any car nut will be miserable in NYC region...that's why so many have migrated to SF or Beverly Hills to enjoy their cars daily

JohnH4260

Man... makes my heart ache. Sorry to hear of the mishap. Almost like someone would intentionally try and cut it close, and after scraping your front fender, say "What the hey... he's got money, no biggie."

trumpet1

That is horrible. Any way a surveillance camera might have been "live" when this happened?

As far as the cost of repair, that seems about right especially since it looks like 3 pieces will need replacement, the designo paint and all.
Headlight, front fender and bumper.
Truly a disgrace that something like this happens, however, this would be a good time to consider the Lorinser setup. Very unlikely someone with the designo edition would also have the Lorinser mods.

hdtv22

One thing to consider is that since you will be replacing and not painting the front fender/bumper, your car is now worth less at resale versus just a repaint - When you go and make the insurance claim, you might want to consider claiming depreciated something or another, I don't remember the exact name but it's basically when your car is hit in an accident, it is worth less at resale, so they have to compensate you for that in addition to repairs.

Red Marko

I do the same thing. For over a year, because of overtipping, I avoided any dings.
But one (me) never learns. 2 minutes of quick coffee equals one week or more of driving a rental.

Reevaluating the whole little mishap and the angle of the cut, I'm sure now , that someone intentionally cut it close.
Manhattan, melting pot of ....a lot of stuff.

I'm sure plenty of cameras on E72nd. & 3rd.Ave.
But who do I go to? Not that I will even try.
The cost is what it is (just surprising). Headlamp - $1,950.
Auto body helper's comment: "I could buy a used Honda for that". And he is right

I will certainly replace the fender/bumper. The reason, if I decide to sell the car and somebody measures the thickness of the paint/repaint, I think I'll loose.
BTW, thank you for pointing out insurance/resale issue. I'll inquire about that.

AsianML

Looks like the headlight was hit too, but it looks like a light scratch.

trumpet1

This gives a new meaning to "STAR-BUCKS". (Mercedes "STAR" + a lot of $BUCKS).

Anyway, I hope you get it fixed in due time and please keep us informed. This has to be very frustrating. Puts a drag in life for sure.

Red Marko

Mercedes "STAR" + a lot of $BUCKS
That is funny .

Times like these are frustrating. Especially, because it could be easily avoided. My wife keeps telling me - stop drinking coffee
To tell you the truth, that's the first car I wash and wax after 30 years. I like to look at the lines, a bit of exercise and relaxation time to boot is the ticket. (Wife laughing and snapping pics.)
I baby the car but also drive a lot. The car for me, not the vice-versa approach.
So frustration is coming out of my ears.

vonbeeler

Marco,
In addition to people realizing that the front has been repainted this will also show up on CARFAX and AUTOCHECK as "front damage reported" IF you run this through your insurance. Your insurance reports to these agencies.

I found this out just a couple weeks ago. I was going to put my car on Ebay a couple weeks back to gage the market. I listed the car with a clean carfax. Afterwords I thought I would run a CARFAX just to see what it said. I was stunned to find that it said there was an accident reported and all it said was "rear damage reported" . We all know this will make most buyers run for the hills. I had forgotten about a parking lot bump that scratched my rear bumper. I insisted it go to an Authorized MB repair facility for the correct fix of a complete bumper repaint. The guy that bumped me put it through his insurance for just a bit over $1000. I notified Carfax that they needed to delete the report or add detail of how minor it was. I sent them a copy of the repair bill and they immediately added it to the report. Its still a big negative but at least less so.

If you have a high deductible you should consider the likely issue of having this reported before submitting to insurance.

Sorry to see. Really unfortunate especially since we (most)take such great care of these cars. The last thing we need are headaches and MORE depreciation.

vonbeeler

P.S just make sure you keep the photos to show the next owner how minor the damge was.

Jan AMG

That's expensive. My friend's AM Vantage V8 got worse damage and the price was around $4,000 USD.

transferred

I don;t like lorisnser personally....go with the AMG front airdam from the 63/65 cars...it'll be a big improvement and maybe a blessing in disguise

chokaay

Sounds about right if you went through the dealer. Some idiot bumped one of my new 2009 E350's (only about 628 miles on it) in California freeway traffic and left 2 license plate screw impressions in the bumper. Going through insurance to take care of the damage and the cost to uninstall, sand/buff it out/repair it, repaint it, and reinstall the bumper is $1391.

Red Marko

You are correct, the the headlight in not cracked, the mounting bracket behind is.

Lets see what the adjustor says
Pictures, of course I'll keep. Afterall, it's a minor damage. Certainly, I don't want CARFAX to blow it out of proportions.

I looked at Lorinser, it's not my cup of tea. AMG is an consideration, but a distant one. I think, I'll go back to the original.

Vantage = CL ?..."Me say nothing" (I'm biased here) hahaha

Sorry to hear about your damage. These things happen every day. It's annoying but really a minor stuff.
Just a piece of machinery.
Sophisticated one... but just a machinery.

trumpet1

Even though I was trying to make a "funny" out of the situation, I really am deeply saddened and angry, in fact, by your misfortune. You seem to be taking it better than I would have. These things are like rolling artwork to me and I feel really bad that this has happened to you. P.S. Don't stop the coffee drinking. We all need a lift early in the morning (holding a MB coffee cup in my hand as I type this!)

trumpet1

Not only that, just show the potential buyer this forum and the pictures right here (along with the whole story).

trumpet1

Right now, that's the best way to look at it.

MBZFAN55

Marko - Don't feel too bad about parking on the street, as the other day I was on a parking lot, sitting in my CL as a trash truck clipped a tree, causing a 10' long branch to fall on my car. The "ripple dent" just above the gas filler door is $1375 to repair.

MR.J

wow man that really sucks ..

rent a hummer and do the same to other people ..

( just dont park next to me)

AustinGuy

marko - man that's nasty I feel for ya. I'd go into a tizzy if that happened to me.

The good thing is that it looks like it's only on 1 panel, so they should only need to repaint that one panel. I guess it's going to cost you more than you'd care for.

My advice: don't skimp on the body work. Spend the $$$ and get it done through MB.

BTW - post some pics when you get a chance.

AustinGuy

oops ! Strike that - looks like it's the front bumper AND the fender panel

Sorry - looks like a bigger paint job.