mercedesbenzs55

That site has a 72 hour approval period. My Paypal is Anuka_x@hotmail.com.

amgm5s8

Did you try contacting the previous owner?

You have all his info including phone #. just try area codes 718, 631, 212 or 516

I would start there and asking history on car and if he'd send you the extra key if he still has.

Worth a shot!

mercedesbenzs55

Mike, I'm not ignoring anyone's input. I'm getting everyones advice and weighing my options as the project proceeds.

My Dad is also advising me not to use a tree. I wouldn't be driving forward with it tied on. I would use a ratchet system like this one.


I could use the towing ring attachment and hook it to a rope and a tree up front, then put the lip out with the ratchet on the back.

xpl0sive

you're not actually seriously considering pulling the frame/unibody yourself? I can almost guarantee you, the car will end up in worse shape than when you started if you do it yourself. Look for a reasonable body shop in your area, take the car there and ask them to pull it. End of story.

mercedesbenzs55

Called the previous owner. He only had the one key.

He played with me after I told him the story of the stolen key. Told me the engine didn't work, thats why it was totaled(I had a face of panic). lol

He said that he didn't have any issues with the car. That he took good care of it. He asked me about how it came to be in Washington, what I bought it for, ect. He said it was his favorite car, but he likes his new Maserati better.

Wants to see pics of the final result.

Mike5215

You said you had a friend with a shop and a frame rack. Was that not the case? After speaking with Brad, I think if you had a shop do the pull, repair and refinish the rear panel and repair and refinish the quarters and hand it back to you to put back together you'd be looking at around $5k. Maybe less but I think that's a safe guess.

That's about as good as it gets I'm afraid. You're not going to be able to do the pull yourself, or the exterior sheet metal repair or refinishing.

To recap: You started out thinking this would be a paintless repair involving a bumper and tail lights and costing around $1000. None of that turned out to be true.

Now that the car is torn down, the structural damage exposed and you have the opinions of several members, a licensed adjuster, and the owner of a certified MB collision center, it's time to deal with the actual reality.

To me, you dodged a bullet on the frame rails and the car is repairable but you're going to have to up the budget a little and do it right.

RCPDesigns

You gotta listen to Mike. I restore cars and I'm pretty good with bodywork. I've got a collection of a dozen hammers and twice that number of dollies. It took me at least a year just to get the basics down. You can't do this. I know it seems like you can. I've been there. I've thought that same thing. It is much more difficult than it appears. If you pull too hard or in the wrong direction you will stretch the panels. Stretched metal is a nightmare as it can be difficult to shrink it back. If you stretch or shrink the wrong part of the panel it will cause trouble elsewhere in the panel. You could spend hours fixing one area while also creating problems in another area. Don't even get me started on paint... black paint at that. You can't respray it. You don't have the computer to match the paint, nor the paint, nor the downdraft booth, nor the supplies/equipment nor the skills. It isn't your fault. You're not a MB body shop.
You've got a chance to turn a near disaster into a great car and a great story. All you need to do is find a body shop that will work with you. Have them do the pull. Have them do the body work and paint. You put it back together. You'll save a bunch of money, gain some experience and have one hell of a story to tell. Do otherwise and you're going to be the poster child for what NOT to do. There's a lot of people gathered here to watch you fail, don't let them get the chance. Do it right and enjoy the fame.

DaveW68

The dude is from Brooklyn, right? And now he's gone from an S-class to a Maserati? The first thing I'd say about it is that you're likely buying into another fantasy. New York City cars are often the most abused cars in the entire country. They run through potholes on an almost daily basis, hit curbs, bumper taps while parking, etc. The Airmatic suspension, if still alive, is likely on its last leg. The car likely has very few highway miles on it....at least in the time that he owned the car. Judging by the receipts, it looks like he never went to the dealer for repairs (not necessarily bad), and only tires and brakes were done (a pad slap....yuck!). To me, it appears he did the bare minimum to keep the car road worthy until he got rear ended. Once you do get the body fixed, plan on a minimum of $5k per year for repairs and maintenance....although that number could go far north of that figure.

If you're really considering having a W221 S-class as your family truckster, you should consider dumping that thing and buy a lower mileage good one in the $22-28k range where you can get a good warranty at a reasonable cost. It will cost you several thousands less over a 5 year period, even with the extra cost of the car and warranty. A used S-class is not for the faint of heart. Only 33k miles on mine and over $11k in warranty repairs in just the last 16 months....which doesn't even include other items such as brakes, tires, batteries, oil changes, etc. The car is a ball-breaker without a warranty....and that's on a car that has been fully serviced since day one at MB dealers where I have a full stack of service records an inch thick. If there was only 1 very good thing that I've learned from this and the BMW M5 board I used to be a part of: DO NOT OWN THESE CARS WITHOUT WARRANTY COVERAGE!!! Unless you have such a big stash of cash that it doesn't matter any way (usually the first owners of these cars).

I know that this thread is dedicated to your hysterical experience (or inexperience) of repairing an S-class on an unrealistic budget, but you need to look at where you will be once the car is made road worthy again. It isn't likely going to be pretty at your mileage.

DaveW68

Both rear panels were crushed. He's also looking at new mounts bumper, realigning the trunk lid, and likely a large host of other items. I don't think there's any way in hell, even if he helped with the labor and prep work, that he could get it done for anywhere near $5k. Just my opinion.

1bad540

u know friend of mine has a perfectly mint 07 s550 amg w 16k orig miles. Blk/blk sitting in his garage. Im almost 100% positive he'd take 22-25k for the car. It doesn't have a speck of dust on it.

DaveW68

Benzs55.....jump all over this before somebody else does!!! Dump your piece of sh*t now and buy this car. Then buy a good long warranty through one of your local credit unions. With those low miles, you can get a long warranty for dirt cheap. Opportunity is knocking!! Hell, you could probably finance it through the credit union for a very low rate, even though it's 9 years old. DO IT!!!!

Let your project be somebody else's nightmare.

Mike5215

The pull will reveal all. A lot of the crease in the quarters will come back out with the pull, and he'll know if the rear panel can be saved. If it can, I think $5,000 just to work and refinish the two quarters and rear panel and hand it back isn't way off. It depends on the market. In NYC $5k won't do it. Here with our going rates it probably would.

If the rear panel, after first being stretched and deformed in the accident and then stretched and deformed again in the pull, is too mangled and weakened to be salvaged, as Brad put it "he's in for a lot of fun". The real damage to that rear panel is below the level of the trunk floor. Impossible to know how severe until the measure and pull.

Jason B

Hard to follow this post, but did the car arrive yet?????

DaveW68

Where have you been? It arrived several pages back. It has become even more entertaining.

This thread has become like a bad car accident. You want to look away, but you just can't.

Mike5215

I think he said the 12k for the wreck cleaned him out of cash and he has poor credit. Too bad, because I think he'll end up around 20 all in anyway.

RCPDesigns

Yeah, that's too bad. He needs to let it sit in the garage and put away $750 a month. Get it fixed next year. Let time be your friend, not your enemy.

Drives550

I'm just really curious what Dave and Mike think about OP's prospects...

mercedesbenzs55

This sounds like an incredible deal!

Dave, I'm doing this project for the experience. Its the journey of buying something that is damaged, dirty and by the majority of people worthless... and making it whole again.

I care much more for people and material things that I have gone through a journey with. It becomes sentimental to me.
When you go out to a dealership you get hassled and tricked. You get the car then then you go show off to family, friends and the world this shiny toy you just got a loan on. Yes, there is buyers remorse with both routes. But with the route I chose, you build up to having a nice clean, running car. It takes the instant ego confusion of buying the luxury toy out of the equation, and I like that.

mercedesbenzs55

That is the way I'm going about it. This is my weekend car. The Acura TL is the daily driver.

I'm currently cleaning the interior. Its been kept quite well after you vacuum, wipe panels, and condition the leather.

Drives550

I had a 2000 740iL that cost me about 17k in 2 years, not including the price of the car. That was stupid. But it all worked out and I'm doin all right.

Some of the chatter around here, you'd think the OP is in a life-or-death situation. He's trying something; he's optimistic; he's holding his position; he may be right, he may be wrong; he may have overextended himself, or not.

But I do think he's being a helluva a sport in taking the flak in here. And I'm curious to see what comes of this. And, it sounds like he's enjoying the process. Best of luck I say. More power to him if this works out; I sincerely hope it does.

Mike5215

Exactly. Putz around with the stuff you can do now yourself and put away some cash to let a pro handle the stuff you can't.

mercedesbenzs55

I'll call my guy today and see approximately what it would cost me to have lip pulled and the quarters straightened. I'll be sending him pictures so he will only be able to give a rough estimate.

Ordered the rear bumper today.
I only have the key to order and then its onto saving for the body work, the costliest part.

DaveW68

You have quite the journey ahead of you my friend. I just hope you are able to come up with the $30k or more (on top of what you've spent so far) to fix and maintain this car over the next few years. Because realistically, that's what you're looking at. So you'll likely be dishing out over $40k on this dilapidated car that you're about to take a long and expensive voyage with.

For me, I'd rather the sentimental aspects of my life be reserved for things I do with my family, not a highly depreciated item, that even after spending over $40k in a few years, will likely be worth less than $10k at that time. But whatever floats your boat I guess. It will certainly be a learning experience, and a journey that I bet you'll never take again after this one is over. Or at least I hope you'd be smart enough not to purposely step into a pile of sh*t a second time around.

mercedesbenzs55

Dave,

Don't Hate, Celebrate!

(Say it like a jingle)

Mike5215

Although the top part of the rear panel (what you're calling the lip) is out of spec, the heaviest damage will be on the bottom half where it got stoved in and pushed the bottom of the quarters in. It'll be hard to estimate the other repairs until the pull is done. A typical pull would allow two hours for the car to be set up on the rack itself and measured, and I'd put 6 hours time for the pull itself. So figure 8 hours x the going body labor rate. May need a couple hours additional.