Mar 28, 2016, 07:21 PM
Last edit by: IB Nolan
Table of Contents "S55's Endless Build Thread"
1. Car Forklifted Onto Delivery Truck Because Auction Had No Key
2. Finally Sees Car and Damage In Person on Delivery Truck
3. Videos of S-Class Forklifted Off Delivery Truck And Slid Into Garage
4. Additional Rear-End Damage Photos
5. Cost Breakdown For Vehicle and Parts as of 3/12/16
6. Key Arrives! First Start Up.
7. First Test Drive, Warning Lights Abound
8. Fixed Electrical Issues(?), Replaced Battery and Alternator
9. New Woodgrain Steering Wheel Installed
1. Car Forklifted Onto Delivery Truck Because Auction Had No Key
2. Finally Sees Car and Damage In Person on Delivery Truck
3. Videos of S-Class Forklifted Off Delivery Truck And Slid Into Garage
4. Additional Rear-End Damage Photos
5. Cost Breakdown For Vehicle and Parts as of 3/12/16
6. Key Arrives! First Start Up.
7. First Test Drive, Warning Lights Abound
8. Fixed Electrical Issues(?), Replaced Battery and Alternator
9. New Woodgrain Steering Wheel Installed
I finally bought it Fellas!
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
I hardly find it buying a car as an investment unless one has deep pockets to cover all the losses if anything goes wrong , you know depreciation is a big factor here .
Well, I like Mike's posts and his helps and tips as well.
I have my best wishes for you to be happy with your choice
Well, I like Mike's posts and his helps and tips as well.
I have my best wishes for you to be happy with your choice
Thank you Benz, the journey is made easier when people are pointing you in the right direction.
Mike is good people. He's just being fatherly because he's my dads age. I wish I knew some of the mistakes he had gone through to acquire his wisdom and experience. Mike, are you Jewish?
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; Mar 13, 2016 at 12:42 PM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Apr 2007
Posts: 1,489
Likes: 439
From: San Diego, CA
2024 EQE 500
Thank you for this thread, it has been an entertaining read, I follow it daily. None of us have any skin in this game, but many have given very good advice. Since you mentioned this may become a sentimental project, let me say this. You have a S class, the highest expression of the brand. Either treat her as a parts cart to help others and recoup cost, or fix her in an expensive but meaningful way to show your dedication. Don't worry about what others say, I just hope you do it right. Thanks for posting.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
Haha! I have a few old Jewish friends who speak very much like him. Even down to the style of humor. I would say mike is 48-58. Dave is over 45.
How far off am I?
I myself skipped my Baruch atah adonai's on fridays shabbat to check the fluids and batteries in my car.
How far off am I?
I myself skipped my Baruch atah adonai's on fridays shabbat to check the fluids and batteries in my car.
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; Mar 13, 2016 at 01:30 PM.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
Thank you for this thread, it has been an entertaining read, I follow it daily. None of us have any skin in this game, but many have given very good advice. Since you mentioned this may become a sentimental project, let me say this. You have a S class, the highest expression of the brand. Either treat her as a parts cart to help others and recoup cost, or fix her in an expensive but meaningful way to show your dedication. Don't worry about what others say, I just hope you do it right. Thanks for posting.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 7,653
Likes: 560
2016 C300
Originally Posted by mercedesbenzs55
Haha! I have a few old Jewish friends who speak very much like him. Even down to the style of humor. I would say mike is 48-58. Dave is over 45.
How far off am I?
How far off am I?
The interesting thing about Dad Wisdom though: we're almost always right. When I was your age I was as goofy as you. My dad used to say the problem with young people is that they oversimplify challenges and over-rationalize bad decisions.
That sound is a bell ringing. If you were my kid, married to a divorced mother of three, renting a house because his credit was too poor to buy a home, driving around with piles of wrapped dollar bills and posting pictures on Facebook, and spending $12,000 in cash to buy a wrecked Mercedes S Class so he could drive around like a big shot, we'd be having a very serious talk about how important it is to not be retarded.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
Pretty damn close. 54, and great grandparents on my mother's side were Russian Jews.
The interesting thing about Dad Wisdom though: we're almost always right. When I was your age I was as goofy as you. My dad used to say the problem with young people is that they oversimplify challenges and over-rationalize bad decisions.
That sound is a bell ringing. If you were my kid, married to a divorced mother of three, renting a house because his credit was too poor to buy a home, driving around with piles of wrapped dollar bills and posting pictures on Facebook, and spending $12,000 in cash to buy a wrecked Mercedes S Class so he could drive around like a big shot, we'd be having a very serious talk about how important it is to not be retarded.
The interesting thing about Dad Wisdom though: we're almost always right. When I was your age I was as goofy as you. My dad used to say the problem with young people is that they oversimplify challenges and over-rationalize bad decisions.
That sound is a bell ringing. If you were my kid, married to a divorced mother of three, renting a house because his credit was too poor to buy a home, driving around with piles of wrapped dollar bills and posting pictures on Facebook, and spending $12,000 in cash to buy a wrecked Mercedes S Class so he could drive around like a big shot, we'd be having a very serious talk about how important it is to not be retarded.
Like I mentioned before, I have never had any social media. That picture is the first time its seen online. I took it quite a while ago.
For typical couple of our age, renting a home in a nice good area is just fine. I would rather have subpar credit and make decent money, than the other way around.
We are working on our credit, but as most know, these things take time. My wife and I have what it takes to save a large enough sum for a house.
As you said before Mike, "the way you repair this car will determine the way you will repair my future homes". So far my intuition and luck have been on my side(knock on wood grain).
I think it's a triumph of patience and determination to say you saved for every car you ever had, and bought outright in cash. Every one of those dollar bills you see in the picture I earn with hard, honest work and saved.
When my W221 is repaired, no one will know if it was ever hit or not, nor will they care to ask. All they will see is a beautiful, clean black on black S-class. Only my close family currently knows I have this car. Perhaps because I don't want anyone to know/see it in its wrecked state.
My dad used to say the problem with young people is that they oversimplify challenges and over-rationalize bad decisions.
Isn't it you did about the same "mistake" as I, but at 20 years older in age?
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; Mar 13, 2016 at 02:36 PM.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
I'll admit, part of me bought it so I can drive around like a big shot. The W221 is a Beautiful work of art, and I'll pay more for good art. Otherwise, I would only drive my near-luxury Acura(which too is a beautiful design inside and out).
For what reason did members of MBworld buy their car? Humble cars do the same trick of going from A-to-B.
When my car starts i'm going to slap on two tail lights and drive it around the block with my pinky up. As I drive by people are going to look at the rear and cringe.
For what reason did members of MBworld buy their car? Humble cars do the same trick of going from A-to-B.
When my car starts i'm going to slap on two tail lights and drive it around the block with my pinky up. As I drive by people are going to look at the rear and cringe.
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; Mar 13, 2016 at 03:43 PM.
MB World Stories
The Best of Mercedes & AMG
Manual Mercedes? 6 Times Sindelfingen Let Drivers Have All The Fun
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes SLR McLaren 722 S Is Extremely Rare Example Modified by McLaren
Verdad Gallardo
8 Classic Boxy Mercedes Designs That Have Aged Like Fine Wine
Verdad Gallardo
Flawlessly Restored Mercedes 190E Evo II Heads to Auction
Verdad Gallardo
Electric Mercedes C-Class Unveiled: 11 Things You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes EQS Gets A Major Update: Everything You Need to Know
Verdad Gallardo
5 Underrated Mercedes-Benz Models That Don't Get the Love They Deserve
Verdad Gallardo
Mercedes 300D Has Pushed Well Past 1 Million Miles and It Ain't Stopping
Verdad Gallardo
10 Most Reliable Mercedes-Benz Models You Can Buy Used
Verdad Gallardo
Member
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 179
Likes: 6
NA
Pretty damn close. 54, and great grandparents on my mother's side were Russian Jews.
The interesting thing about Dad Wisdom though: we're almost always right. When I was your age I was as goofy as you. My dad used to say the problem with young people is that they oversimplify challenges and over-rationalize bad decisions.
That sound is a bell ringing. If you were my kid, married to a divorced mother of three, renting a house because his credit was too poor to buy a home, driving around with piles of wrapped dollar bills and posting pictures on Facebook, and spending $12,000 in cash to buy a wrecked Mercedes S Class so he could drive around like a big shot, we'd be having a very serious talk about how important it is to not be retarded.
The interesting thing about Dad Wisdom though: we're almost always right. When I was your age I was as goofy as you. My dad used to say the problem with young people is that they oversimplify challenges and over-rationalize bad decisions.
That sound is a bell ringing. If you were my kid, married to a divorced mother of three, renting a house because his credit was too poor to buy a home, driving around with piles of wrapped dollar bills and posting pictures on Facebook, and spending $12,000 in cash to buy a wrecked Mercedes S Class so he could drive around like a big shot, we'd be having a very serious talk about how important it is to not be retarded.
and btw Benz55, good thing you were able to speak to the previous owner and they told you the car was well maintained, so you shouldn't be expecting any major engine problems when you get the key, assuming the previous owner was been truthful.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 7,653
Likes: 560
2016 C300
Originally Posted by mercedesbenzs55
Lol! I knew you had it in you!
Like I mentioned before, I have never had any social media. That picture is the first time its seen online. I took it quite a while ago.
For typical couple of our age, renting a home in a nice good area is just fine. I would rather have subpar credit and make decent money, than the other way around.
We are working on our credit, but as most know, these things take time. My wife and I have what it takes to save a large enough sum for a house.
As you said before Mike, "the way you repair this car will determine the way you will repair my future homes". So far my intuition and luck have been on my side(knock on wood grain).
I think it's a triumph of patience and determination to say you saved for every car you ever had, and bought outright in cash. Every one of those dollar bills you see in the picture I earn with hard, honest work and saved.
When my W221 is repaired, no one will know if it was ever hit or not, nor will they care to ask. All they will see is a beautiful, clean black on black S-class. Only my close family currently knows I have this car. Perhaps because I don't want anyone to know/see it in its wrecked state.Didn't you do just that in your late 40's by buying a w220 and without a warranty? I figured so, because you and Dave sing the praises of warranty coverage like a church choir.
Isn't it you did about the same "mistake" as I, but at 20 years older in age?
Like I mentioned before, I have never had any social media. That picture is the first time its seen online. I took it quite a while ago.
For typical couple of our age, renting a home in a nice good area is just fine. I would rather have subpar credit and make decent money, than the other way around.
We are working on our credit, but as most know, these things take time. My wife and I have what it takes to save a large enough sum for a house.
As you said before Mike, "the way you repair this car will determine the way you will repair my future homes". So far my intuition and luck have been on my side(knock on wood grain).
I think it's a triumph of patience and determination to say you saved for every car you ever had, and bought outright in cash. Every one of those dollar bills you see in the picture I earn with hard, honest work and saved.
When my W221 is repaired, no one will know if it was ever hit or not, nor will they care to ask. All they will see is a beautiful, clean black on black S-class. Only my close family currently knows I have this car. Perhaps because I don't want anyone to know/see it in its wrecked state.
Didn't you do just that in your late 40's by buying a w220 and without a warranty? I figured so, because you and Dave sing the praises of warranty coverage like a church choir.Isn't it you did about the same "mistake" as I, but at 20 years older in age?
I paid $24,000 for plus 4k for a third party warranty. (Still miss that car but the warranty renewal was $8000 for two years so it had to go.)
Current car was a $58,000 CPO, plus $4400 for the extended CPO warranty. I hung onto the first one after 100k miles when the warranty expired and had to eat a tranny a month later. The following 220 I dumped before the warranty expired, and the 221 will go before CPO expires.
Wisdom is not conferred simply by aging. It's an ongoing process. Some people learn from their mistakes and some unfortunately never do. They just become older people with the same crappy judgment, making the same immature decisions with the same obvious bad outcomes. They eventually can no longer blame it on youth. Then they become bitter f-ups and blame everyone else.
I also never made any reference to you fixing houses. So what job exactly pays you entirely in one dollar bills? Are you a Chippendale?
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
Oops, I read it wrong then.
-------------------------------
Post #181 -
Early onset dementia?
I preordered 17.7k from the Fed in $1 bills for that take that pic. If it came to it, I could become a chippendale.
Powerful.
-------------------------------
Post #181 -
This I guarantee you: He'll be every bit as successful as a real estate investor and rental property income tycoon as he will be restoring a wrecked Mercedes. Guys like you and I, with our pathetic
"experience" and "training", in real estate and collision repair respectively, cannot hope to occupy the realm of Benz55's free thinking or even fathom the idea that such a realm exists, mindless drones that we are.
"experience" and "training", in real estate and collision repair respectively, cannot hope to occupy the realm of Benz55's free thinking or even fathom the idea that such a realm exists, mindless drones that we are.
I preordered 17.7k from the Fed in $1 bills for that take that pic. If it came to it, I could become a chippendale.
Wisdom is not conferred simply by aging. It's an ongoing process. Some people learn from their mistakes and some unfortunately never do. They just become older people with the same crappy judgment, making the same immature decisions with the same obvious bad outcomes. They eventually can no longer blame it on youth. Then they become bitter f-ups and blame everyone else.
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; Mar 13, 2016 at 04:22 PM.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
So I could do goofy things with it like take that picture. I have 3 tailored Armani(Black label) suits, but I had never seen a picture of anyone with a suit of money before(literally speaking).
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; Mar 13, 2016 at 04:32 PM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 7,653
Likes: 560
2016 C300
Originally Posted by mercedesbenzs55
So I could do goofy things with it like take that picture.
Obviously there's the real risk of theft, or worse. Plus in most jurisdictions cops can and do seize cash like that and keep it even if no charges are ever filed.
It seems reckless, you would agree? Or am I missing part of the story?
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
I'm thinking of getting paintless auto repair done, due to there being no compromise the paint.
This way I can get the dents quarter panel dents repaired cheap.
This way I can get the dents quarter panel dents repaired cheap.
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; Mar 13, 2016 at 07:43 PM.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 4,242
Likes: 628
From: Chicago burbs
2015 S550
That's for door dings, not bent quarter panels. Your car will need extensive body work, including bondo, primer, & paint. And you need to hope and pray that those panels can be saved after the pull. Otherwise it will get a lot pricier if new panels need to be patched in.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 7,653
Likes: 560
2016 C300
Yeah, by the numbers those quarters both need to be replaced. The general rule is anything over 33% of the panel's surface area would call for replacement.
The problem is, once they've hand worked the dent out they have to use body filler to both level and then blend the repair area into the panel. That can swell the size of the original repair by 100%. You don't want a panel that is essentially all filler.
On those quarters I'd wait to see how they react to the pull. Replacing the quarters would be astronomical. Double digit labor hours, paint hours and of course the cost of the new quarters themselves.
That's why State Farm totaled the car without a tear down. The quarters alone did it. The 33% rule doesn't mean the quarter can't be fixed, just that the likelihood of it looking unacceptable to the owner if repaired is high.
State Farm, if it's using an affiliate shop, has to guarantee the workmanship. They're not going to slather up two quarters with bondo on an S Class and then deal with an irate owner, who's expecting the car to look like it did before the accident.
In Benz55's case, he can take that risk because the repair only needs to look good to him. It depends on how much time, patience and craftsmanship the guy doing the pull, hand work and paint work is willing to put into it. For $400, it doesn't sound like much. We'll have to wait and see.
The problem is, once they've hand worked the dent out they have to use body filler to both level and then blend the repair area into the panel. That can swell the size of the original repair by 100%. You don't want a panel that is essentially all filler.
On those quarters I'd wait to see how they react to the pull. Replacing the quarters would be astronomical. Double digit labor hours, paint hours and of course the cost of the new quarters themselves.
That's why State Farm totaled the car without a tear down. The quarters alone did it. The 33% rule doesn't mean the quarter can't be fixed, just that the likelihood of it looking unacceptable to the owner if repaired is high.
State Farm, if it's using an affiliate shop, has to guarantee the workmanship. They're not going to slather up two quarters with bondo on an S Class and then deal with an irate owner, who's expecting the car to look like it did before the accident.
In Benz55's case, he can take that risk because the repair only needs to look good to him. It depends on how much time, patience and craftsmanship the guy doing the pull, hand work and paint work is willing to put into it. For $400, it doesn't sound like much. We'll have to wait and see.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
That's for door dings, not bent quarter panels. Your car will need extensive body work, including bondo, primer, & paint. And you need to hope and pray that those panels can be saved after the pull. Otherwise it will get a lot pricier if new panels need to be patched in.
http://www.affordabledentrepair.com/pictures.html
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: May 2008
Posts: 7,653
Likes: 560
2016 C300
Originally Posted by mercedesbenzs55
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
Ok, Tuesday i'll get a 20 day temp. plate to get a quote for the pull at Vlad's auto body. Provided the car runs and drives. Maybe they can do the work the same week. The guy that does his unibody pulls is experienced.
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Nov 2014
Posts: 4,242
Likes: 628
From: Chicago burbs
2015 S550
If they can get the car in right away, I'd be a little nervous. Most body shops need at least a couple of weeks of lead time for scheduling...if they're any good.
Thread Starter
MBWorld Fanatic!
Joined: Dec 2015
Posts: 1,381
Likes: 32
Acura TL 2008 - Acura MDX 2012
