03-28-2016, 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!
03-31-2016, 03:06 AM
#1451
Senior Member
Those as****s are truly inconscionable.
I'm surprised the insurance companies aren't handing out billy bats to the homeless down there they same way they hand out laser guns to the state police everywhere. Effin hypocrites and vermin, the lot of them.
I told my mother once "you understand of course that it is mathematically impossible for insurance to ever be a good investment, right?"
I'm surprised the insurance companies aren't handing out billy bats to the homeless down there they same way they hand out laser guns to the state police everywhere. Effin hypocrites and vermin, the lot of them.
I told my mother once "you understand of course that it is mathematically impossible for insurance to ever be a good investment, right?"
03-31-2016, 07:54 AM
#1452
Junior Member
03-31-2016, 10:41 AM
#1453
MBWorld Fanatic!
Here's a true story that might provide some balance. This is when I worked for Progressive. I got assigned a dual fatality claim. The insured's live-in girlfriend and her teenage son (no relation) were struck by an uninsured driver and killed. The claims system flagged the file for additional verification since the policy was less than three weeks old. (It was actually three days old when the loss occurred.)
What was strange about the policy was that it was on a twenty year old Buick. No comp or collision coverage, but for some reason the guy had purchased $250,000/$500,000 Uninsured Motorist coverage. With two fatalities the exposure was $500,000, plus another $20,000 in PIP death benefits, so $520,000 all totaled.
Now since there was no coverage for the damage to the car, and the decedents were not in any way related to the insured, he was out of the picture as far as the $520,000. I tracked down his girlfriend's mom and established that she was next of kin for both her daughter and grandson and made arrangements to pay her the $520k.
Then I get a flag on the file because the $125 check the guy had written to bind the policy bounced. That's important, because the insurance company is not bound if they never received that binder payment. They have the option at that point to allow the insured to make the check good, or treat the policy as null and void and walk away. Progressive, having taken in at best $125 three days prior to incurring a half million dollar exposure, opted to let the insured make the check good and keep the policy in force.
So then the douchebag insured says no, he ain't gettin' nothin out of it so he's letting the policy lapse. Then he calls the grandma and tries to extort $50,000 from her, saying if she won't agree, no coverage at all.
So then I got ahold of corporate and suggested they make an exception and let Grandma make a $125 payment on her credit card on someone else's policy. Again, Progressive could have walked away from the exposure, but they didn't. I conference called her into the payment center, made sure they got the $125 posted, cleared the flags and paid her the $520,000.
I don't know how other carriers train their adjusters but we were taught to find the coverage, meaning find a way to pay the claim if in fact there is a way, and get creative if we need to. They'd much rather pay out a big loss they owed up front, then wait for someone they denied on a fatality to sue them and find the coverage themselves at trial.
03-31-2016, 10:54 AM
#1454
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Land of Political Criminals and Urban Shootings
Posts: 4,010
Received 477 Likes
on
364 Posts
2015 S550
03-31-2016, 10:57 AM
#1455
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
Nah, that was a preexisting condition 
I reread that aswell.
I enjoy story time with Mike. Keep em' comin'
I reread that aswell.I enjoy story time with Mike. Keep em' comin'
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; 03-31-2016 at 11:07 AM.
03-31-2016, 11:02 AM
#1456
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Land of Political Criminals and Urban Shootings
Posts: 4,010
Received 477 Likes
on
364 Posts
2015 S550
I believe that the more knowledgeable members of this board can tell you will absolute certainty that it a new condition as a result of reading your comments and participating in this thread.
Hey Mike....are there any clauses in health insurance policies that allow for treatment of lost brain capacity and rapid IQ decline due to reading stupid sh*t in an internet car forum?
Hey Mike....are there any clauses in health insurance policies that allow for treatment of lost brain capacity and rapid IQ decline due to reading stupid sh*t in an internet car forum?
03-31-2016, 12:55 PM
#1458
MBWorld Fanatic!
Join Date: Nov 2014
Location: Land of Political Criminals and Urban Shootings
Posts: 4,010
Received 477 Likes
on
364 Posts
2015 S550
Along with that breakdown is the TCU/ECU reset to wipe out the "memory" of driving habits and styles the same on the 221 as my car?
1.) Get into the car
2.) pull off the keyless go button, insert key and turn to position 2 (second click, do not start car. All dash lights will illuminate).
3.) depress gas pedal for 10 seconds.
4.) with gas pedal still depressed, turn key back to position 0.
5.) after key is turned back to zero THAN remove foot from gas pedal
6.) wait for 2 full minutes without opening any doors or touching anything. You will likely hear a faint click at some point.
7.) go test drive your car. The first few minutes will potentially feel a little jerky but you will likely notice no delay in immediate starting and feel like the car is MUCH more powerful. Spend 15 minutes driving in your "normal" driving style. Don't race the car unless you plan to drive that way all the time.
You will as a result notice a notable decrease in fuel economy during this learning time and while you enjoy the extra ponies.
This is free.... It requires no tools. Report back if it helps.
1.) Get into the car
2.) pull off the keyless go button, insert key and turn to position 2 (second click, do not start car. All dash lights will illuminate).
3.) depress gas pedal for 10 seconds.
4.) with gas pedal still depressed, turn key back to position 0.
5.) after key is turned back to zero THAN remove foot from gas pedal
6.) wait for 2 full minutes without opening any doors or touching anything. You will likely hear a faint click at some point.
7.) go test drive your car. The first few minutes will potentially feel a little jerky but you will likely notice no delay in immediate starting and feel like the car is MUCH more powerful. Spend 15 minutes driving in your "normal" driving style. Don't race the car unless you plan to drive that way all the time.
You will as a result notice a notable decrease in fuel economy during this learning time and while you enjoy the extra ponies.
This is free.... It requires no tools. Report back if it helps.
03-31-2016, 01:39 PM
#1461
MBWorld Fanatic!
Originally Posted by Luthian
Sweet!! 
Did you post the full list of options somewhere?
Did you post the full list of options somewhere?
AMG Sport
Pano
Lighting
Premium 1
Leather
Burmester
Multimedia
HUD
Air Balance
Rear Spoiler
AirMatic
Parking assist package
Driving Assist package
360 Camera
Power trunk
Great little car. Really enjoyable to drive.
Last edited by Mike5215; 03-31-2016 at 02:49 PM.
03-31-2016, 02:44 PM
#1462
MBWorld Fanatic!
Every single other company found ways to eff it up. Cut rate shops, forced to use substandard methods and materials in order to feed their family on the amount being paid for the repairs.
Can't speak to med claims... luckily I've never needed to make one.
03-31-2016, 04:50 PM
#1463
Member
Now that you've had some ownership time, how do you like the Burmester audio upgrade? It's got to be better than the base system.
03-31-2016, 04:54 PM
#1464
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
I called Ray Catena of Union, NJ and my local MB of Portland for a copy of my V.M.I.
Both took my email and said they will send it right out only for me to call 20 minutes later to have them tell me its an internal document. Odd, because the guy at the counter at MB of Portland was about to print i for me but I didn't have the VIN on me(becauese I drove the TL).
Both took my email and said they will send it right out only for me to call 20 minutes later to have them tell me its an internal document. Odd, because the guy at the counter at MB of Portland was about to print i for me but I didn't have the VIN on me(becauese I drove the TL).
03-31-2016, 05:11 PM
#1465
MBWorld Fanatic!
Originally Posted by MrRat
Now that you've had some ownership time, how do you like the Burmester audio upgrade? It's got to be better than the base system.
Really it's a very nice OEM system, but I have all that stuff that I pulled from the S just boxed up in the garage.
03-31-2016, 05:14 PM
#1466
MBWorld Fanatic!
Originally Posted by mercedesbenzs55
I called Ray Catena of Union, NJ and my local MB of Portland for a copy of my V.M.I.
Both took my email and said they will send it right out only for me to call 20 minutes later to have them tell me its an internal document. Odd, because the guy at the counter at MB of Portland was about to print i for me but I didn't have the VIN on me(becauese I drove the TL).
Both took my email and said they will send it right out only for me to call 20 minutes later to have them tell me its an internal document. Odd, because the guy at the counter at MB of Portland was about to print i for me but I didn't have the VIN on me(becauese I drove the TL).
03-31-2016, 05:42 PM
#1467
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
Called MBUSA and they said that for me to get the warranty service info, I have to request it in writing w/ proof of ownership.
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; 03-31-2016 at 05:46 PM.
03-31-2016, 08:20 PM
#1469
Senior Member
Just do this...drive your Acura TL to MB of Portland. Have the VIN number and find a service advisor. Tell him/her you are looking to buy the vehicle and want to check the service history with MB if it has any. They will print out the VMI and show it to you but they likely won't give you a copy. I have done this a each time I find a Mercedes for sale that I am interested in.
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mercedesbenzs55 (03-31-2016)
03-31-2016, 08:32 PM
#1470
Senior Member
Yeah, there's no such thing as a pre-existing condition here, since any active claim would still be covered by my prior insurance company. They were just managing risk. PIP claims are rife with outright fraud in South Florida. I guess they weren't taking any chances.
Here's a true story that might provide some balance. This is when I worked for Progressive. I got assigned a dual fatality claim. The insured's live-in girlfriend and her teenage son (no relation) were struck by an uninsured driver and killed. The claims system flagged the file for additional verification since the policy was less than three weeks old. (It was actually three days old when the loss occurred.)
What was strange about the policy was that it was on a twenty year old Buick. No comp or collision coverage, but for some reason the guy had purchased $250,000/$500,000 Uninsured Motorist coverage. With two fatalities the exposure was $500,000, plus another $20,000 in PIP death benefits, so $520,000 all totaled.
Now since there was no coverage for the damage to the car, and the decedents were not in any way related to the insured, he was out of the picture as far as the $520,000. I tracked down his girlfriend's mom and established that she was next of kin for both her daughter and grandson and made arrangements to pay her the $520k.
Then I get a flag on the file because the $125 check the guy had written to bind the policy bounced. That's important, because the insurance company is not bound if they never received that binder payment. They have the option at that point to allow the insured to make the check good, or treat the policy as null and void and walk away. Progressive, having taken in at best $125 three days prior to incurring a half million dollar exposure, opted to let the insured make the check good and keep the policy in force.
So then the douchebag insured says no, he ain't gettin' nothin out of it so he's letting the policy lapse. Then he calls the grandma and tries to extort $50,000 from her, saying if she won't agree, no coverage at all.
So then I got ahold of corporate and suggested they make an exception and let Grandma make a $125 payment on her credit card on someone else's policy. Again, Progressive could have walked away from the exposure, but they didn't. I conference called her into the payment center, made sure they got the $125 posted, cleared the flags and paid her the $520,000.
I don't know how other carriers train their adjusters but we were taught to find the coverage, meaning find a way to pay the claim if in fact there is a way, and get creative if we need to. They'd much rather pay out a big loss they owed up front, then wait for someone they denied on a fatality to sue them and find the coverage themselves at trial.
Here's a true story that might provide some balance. This is when I worked for Progressive. I got assigned a dual fatality claim. The insured's live-in girlfriend and her teenage son (no relation) were struck by an uninsured driver and killed. The claims system flagged the file for additional verification since the policy was less than three weeks old. (It was actually three days old when the loss occurred.)
What was strange about the policy was that it was on a twenty year old Buick. No comp or collision coverage, but for some reason the guy had purchased $250,000/$500,000 Uninsured Motorist coverage. With two fatalities the exposure was $500,000, plus another $20,000 in PIP death benefits, so $520,000 all totaled.
Now since there was no coverage for the damage to the car, and the decedents were not in any way related to the insured, he was out of the picture as far as the $520,000. I tracked down his girlfriend's mom and established that she was next of kin for both her daughter and grandson and made arrangements to pay her the $520k.
Then I get a flag on the file because the $125 check the guy had written to bind the policy bounced. That's important, because the insurance company is not bound if they never received that binder payment. They have the option at that point to allow the insured to make the check good, or treat the policy as null and void and walk away. Progressive, having taken in at best $125 three days prior to incurring a half million dollar exposure, opted to let the insured make the check good and keep the policy in force.
So then the douchebag insured says no, he ain't gettin' nothin out of it so he's letting the policy lapse. Then he calls the grandma and tries to extort $50,000 from her, saying if she won't agree, no coverage at all.
So then I got ahold of corporate and suggested they make an exception and let Grandma make a $125 payment on her credit card on someone else's policy. Again, Progressive could have walked away from the exposure, but they didn't. I conference called her into the payment center, made sure they got the $125 posted, cleared the flags and paid her the $520,000.
I don't know how other carriers train their adjusters but we were taught to find the coverage, meaning find a way to pay the claim if in fact there is a way, and get creative if we need to. They'd much rather pay out a big loss they owed up front, then wait for someone they denied on a fatality to sue them and find the coverage themselves at trial.
Glad you took care of the Grandmother. F#ck the douche bag boyfriend for being such an *** hole. I had Progressive on my first S and they were pretty good. Probably because I never had a claim with them?!! They were really easy to deal even though everything was done on the phone. I'd consider them again, but I've been with State Farm for years now with no problems with claims in the past.
03-31-2016, 10:26 PM
#1472
Yeah, there's no such thing as a pre-existing condition here, since any active claim would still be covered by my prior insurance company. They were just managing risk. PIP claims are rife with outright fraud in South Florida. I guess they weren't taking any chances.
Here's a true story that might provide some balance. This is when I worked for Progressive. I got assigned a dual fatality claim. The insured's live-in girlfriend and her teenage son (no relation) were struck by an uninsured driver and killed. The claims system flagged the file for additional verification since the policy was less than three weeks old. (It was actually three days old when the loss occurred.)
What was strange about the policy was that it was on a twenty year old Buick. No comp or collision coverage, but for some reason the guy had purchased $250,000/$500,000 Uninsured Motorist coverage. With two fatalities the exposure was $500,000, plus another $20,000 in PIP death benefits, so $520,000 all totaled.
Now since there was no coverage for the damage to the car, and the decedents were not in any way related to the insured, he was out of the picture as far as the $520,000. I tracked down his girlfriend's mom and established that she was next of kin for both her daughter and grandson and made arrangements to pay her the $520k.
Then I get a flag on the file because the $125 check the guy had written to bind the policy bounced. That's important, because the insurance company is not bound if they never received that binder payment. They have the option at that point to allow the insured to make the check good, or treat the policy as null and void and walk away. Progressive, having taken in at best $125 three days prior to incurring a half million dollar exposure, opted to let the insured make the check good and keep the policy in force.
So then the douchebag insured says no, he ain't gettin' nothin out of it so he's letting the policy lapse. Then he calls the grandma and tries to extort $50,000 from her, saying if she won't agree, no coverage at all.
So then I got ahold of corporate and suggested they make an exception and let Grandma make a $125 payment on her credit card on someone else's policy. Again, Progressive could have walked away from the exposure, but they didn't. I conference called her into the payment center, made sure they got the $125 posted, cleared the flags and paid her the $520,000.
I don't know how other carriers train their adjusters but we were taught to find the coverage, meaning find a way to pay the claim if in fact there is a way, and get creative if we need to. They'd much rather pay out a big loss they owed up front, then wait for someone they denied on a fatality to sue them and find the coverage themselves at trial.
Here's a true story that might provide some balance. This is when I worked for Progressive. I got assigned a dual fatality claim. The insured's live-in girlfriend and her teenage son (no relation) were struck by an uninsured driver and killed. The claims system flagged the file for additional verification since the policy was less than three weeks old. (It was actually three days old when the loss occurred.)
What was strange about the policy was that it was on a twenty year old Buick. No comp or collision coverage, but for some reason the guy had purchased $250,000/$500,000 Uninsured Motorist coverage. With two fatalities the exposure was $500,000, plus another $20,000 in PIP death benefits, so $520,000 all totaled.
Now since there was no coverage for the damage to the car, and the decedents were not in any way related to the insured, he was out of the picture as far as the $520,000. I tracked down his girlfriend's mom and established that she was next of kin for both her daughter and grandson and made arrangements to pay her the $520k.
Then I get a flag on the file because the $125 check the guy had written to bind the policy bounced. That's important, because the insurance company is not bound if they never received that binder payment. They have the option at that point to allow the insured to make the check good, or treat the policy as null and void and walk away. Progressive, having taken in at best $125 three days prior to incurring a half million dollar exposure, opted to let the insured make the check good and keep the policy in force.
So then the douchebag insured says no, he ain't gettin' nothin out of it so he's letting the policy lapse. Then he calls the grandma and tries to extort $50,000 from her, saying if she won't agree, no coverage at all.
So then I got ahold of corporate and suggested they make an exception and let Grandma make a $125 payment on her credit card on someone else's policy. Again, Progressive could have walked away from the exposure, but they didn't. I conference called her into the payment center, made sure they got the $125 posted, cleared the flags and paid her the $520,000.
I don't know how other carriers train their adjusters but we were taught to find the coverage, meaning find a way to pay the claim if in fact there is a way, and get creative if we need to. They'd much rather pay out a big loss they owed up front, then wait for someone they denied on a fatality to sue them and find the coverage themselves at trial.
03-31-2016, 11:20 PM
#1473
MBWorld Fanatic!
Thread Starter
Its all real unfortunately.Just do this...drive your Acura TL to MB of Portland. Have the VIN number and find a service advisor. Tell him/her you are looking to buy the vehicle and want to check the service history with MB if it has any. They will print out the VMI and show it to you but they likely won't give you a copy. I have done this a each time I find a Mercedes for sale that I am interested in.
Finally got that adhesive off the trunk and quarter panels.
Last edited by mercedesbenzs55; 03-31-2016 at 11:34 PM.
04-01-2016, 10:11 PM
#1475
You will spend literally 40 hours learning about keygens, licensing, black lists, laptops, COM port settings, SDFlash folders, offline programming, etc. to become proficient.
Once you get to that point, software is great. You'll run across the random German screen but it is damn easy to use.
With that said, you may be able to pull off an offline adaptive flash for the tranny if yours is a 7 speed. There were updates for that. There is no effing way I would attempt it. Start swapping CANBUS parts? That's a SCN thing that needs to communicate with the mothership.
Things you can't do:
Set tuner parameters for engine
Set MPH limiter to unlimited
Pick winning lotto numbers
What it will do is tell you the heating element is shot in your right mirror.
I really do wish the best of luck and hope it all turns out ok. I was your age once, and learning the sunk cost fallacy is often brutal.
For a couple hundred bucks for a scan you are helping the shop pay for the equipment. Their cost for the "official tools" are around 30K. Think of it like an MRI machine at the hospital. They gotta pay for it somehow. Life isn't a charity.
