mercedesbenzs55

I bought it also for the experience. Good and bad. I'm going to have more sentimental value and a connection to this car after this experience. You cant buy those bonding experiences.

Current Cash Breakdown:
Car $10348
Transport $1550
Fee:$100
Key:$350
Taillights:$380
Reinforcement:$245
Bumper Cover:$240
x3 Sensors: $180
Fluid changes:$50
x2 1/4 panel dent removal:

dildil

OR YOUR GOING TO HATE IT FOREVER unless u have crazy cash and don't mind throwing money down the drain if so can u buy me new tires lol 255 35 20

mercedesbenzs55

Salvage Title is meaningless to me as I don't place to sell it until well after its terminate depreciation. By the time its about $5000 someone will pay me $4500 for the salvage title vs.clean.

Ya sure, over the decade I'll loose $10k. But what about most of the fellas on here that are paying on loans that their upside down in?

My car also has 77k miles, not the 100k+ that is expected of that year according to KBB.com.

I don't have much money, sorry man. If I had the money you think I do, I wouldn't be asking for donations.

dildil

So u have abt 12.5k in this car when it was delivered to if im correct more like 13k with key ... can u tell me y u didn't buy 1 for 15k that was ready to go ? Do u know what happens at auctions? How many people test drive the cars and how many of them steal parts that they need for thiers on the lot ? Not to mention how they leave sunroof and windows open and it rains that night

77k miles means nothing if it was not taken care of i rather buy a car with 140k or even150k but 1 that was well cared for and at around 60 to 80k mile mark is when factory warranty has been up and most people get the service estimates by the service rep that they have to pay for from pocket and most people either trade or sell it.

This is a sclass we are dealer with not some lexus or acura that are easy to fix, you car may have issues with it but u may never know until you drive a non wrecked one even to a point each strut has adjustable height and all which could be off coz of that.

mercedesbenzs55

Nearly 12k after I order the key. The oil and other fluids were fresh in the case so it led me to believe it was cared for.

No one is allowed to drive this car because this is an insurance auction, not for the public.

Though theft does happen, no one stole any parts off this particular car(besides my key).

The trunk was not able to fully close but was closed enough to hold a seal.

dildil

I wish you luck i think by now you already know it was a bad move .... so its too late smart thing would be to dump it to someone else but if u want to keep putting thousands in a car n its going to be worth less then what u paid for it without the repairs on the 1st day that you legally drive it thats just crazy and what makes you think this car wont give you issues that other 07 09 cars had like ur command may die, transmission plate failure which even if you try to fix your self its not cheap and most of the stuff on this car at some point yoy will need the dealer thats just how they make em now

mercedesbenzs55

I haven't yet started the car. How is it a bad move again?

beboy

guys give him a break, whats the point of all the (-) talk? it was his call, his money, and if he made a mistake, lets support him to fix it with whatever knowledge we have in a (+) tone; decision and damage is already done so no need to look @the rear view mirror.

Cheers and good luck

Dollos

Ya, whats with the negetive talk heh...
The guy made a decision, it wasnt yours, he is kind enough to share with the rest of us in case in the future we come accross something like this... Seems like people just wanna force there mindset down anyones throat...

jesydney

thot I just made that same point on pg 15.

amazing how "water goes over ducks back" sometimes.

KitMaddox

I.. Definitely supporting this guy! Following this thread since day 1. I'm no owner of a Mercedes yet. I had experienced paying a 48K SUV which was not my choice. The dealerships had screwed me multiple times. I paid surcharges to my car insurance unknowingly my car was a salvaged which I bought BTW from a reputable dealership here in our area. Anyhow, I am interested how this dude will be able to this Mercedes on a budget, maybe I may ended up doing the same thing versus being stuck led on a 5 or 6 year car loan. I may never know I'm paying surcharge again later on unknowingly after 2 years since Carfax may have poor updates on their reports. LOL

Quadcammer

sigh.

The kid is receiving good advice (laser straightening), but doesn't want to listen. I think thats the issue. It seems like he avoided major crumpling in the back, so do it right, bring it to someone who can straighten the unibody properly. That will pay dividends on the back end when everything fits together and you don't need to mallet absolutely everything into place.

If you are as committed as you say to this car, then why not spend the $2k to have the car professionally straightened?

DaveW68

If you want to learn how to properly fix a wrecked Benz on a realistic budget.....and do it right, then head on over to this thread:

https://mbworld.org/forums/c63-amg-w...-facelift.html

BenzS55, while a very nice young man, is completely naive about this project. Many of his comments border on the absurd, which is why this thread has so many posts and has caught the attention of one of the mods who has posted the story on the front page to bring in more viewers and comments. I'm mostly here for the humor now, because the OP's vision of his car and repairs is pure humor. He gave up on listening to reason and common sense a long time ago. So until he gets it through his thick skull that nobody purposely damaged his car, and that a rubber mallet....and now the idea of tying his car to a tree to straighten it (ROFLOL!!!) is not going to make his car right, then the buffoonery is going to continue.

Mike5215

Ok well some good news. I stopped by my buddy Brad's shop (MB certified collision center) and showed him the first pics. He says the structural damage is likely limited to the rear body panel and some minor distortion to the trunk floor. He also described exactly what the reinforcement and absorbers were going to look like just by seeing the quarters (in and bent down).

The car needs a pull to bring that rear panel back, and the ideal pull point is on the damaged reinforcement bar so put that bad bar back on for now. Then the panel needs to be worked hammer and dolly to get it perfect as far as alignment and position, primed and painted to prevent corrosion.

He said most of the creases in the quarters will come back out with the pull on the rear panel, and then they need to be worked with a hammer and dolly, filled and refinished. Cosmetically that's the most labor intensive and expensive aspect to get them looking right.

If the rear panel is too badly compromised and it needs a new one (doubtful from the pics) he said walk away. But in his opinion the car probably wasn't a total loss.

RichM

I know you have spoken to the dealer about getting a new key. You need to make sure and get clear answers on if the car needs to be present at the time you receive the key. Back in the day, dealer would give you the key without the car being present. Now, MBUSA requires the car to be present so the dealer can "synchronize" the key to the car. Both of my local Texas dealers abide by this policy, but my dealer in Michigan did not the last time I bought a key from them. I know many who have had to have their cars towed to the dealership for key delivery.

DaveW68

Now you're giving his idea of tying it to a tree to pull it straight and the rubber mallet more steam....which isn't going to end well. He's fully intent on not spending the money to get the car on a rack to pull it straight since that will blow his $1000 budget.

So you're saying that the frame rails weren't damaged enough to warrant replacement of the damaged sections? Or do they need to get it on the rack in order to make that determination?

KitMaddox

I had that done a couple of times with my Explorer and my Galant. Towed it to the dealership.

tifosiv122

"This project is not live."

I think you need to turn it on or something...

Erik

shak

Oh boy, this was fun to read.

OP, do yourself a favor, have a professional repair your car and sell it ASAP, even at a loss. W221 is one of the most expensive MB models to maintain, and one with most issues, especially when getting a used model with no maintenance history. This is a money pit.

DaveW68

This has been mentioned several times, but keeps falling on deaf ears. If you read through the entire thead, you'll be amused by all of the irony. SMH

Mike5215

Surprisingly yes. (Well, "yes" but forget the $1,000 budget...which I think is already gone). What Brad said (and he showed me a C Class that had the same hit but that was torn down and had been pulled) was this:

The impact was in and down versus "square" on the rear bumper. Had it been square, the force would have been transmitted, as designed, from the reinforcement bar and rear absorbers directly thru the rear rails. (The absorbers mount on the rear panel where it meets the rails)

Instead, because the rear panel connects directly to the quarters at each end, when the underside of the rear panel was driven in and down it pushed the quarters forward, and they buckled at their weakest point.

Is this a repair a lay person can do with a rubber mallet? Absolutely not. In fact, he's already making mistakes because he's inexperienced. (Removing the rear reinforcement bar, because its the ideal part to attach the chains to and pull, basically pulling the damage out the same way it came in).

The quarters each need hours of skilled body labor after the pull to deal with the stretched metal and obvious distortions. Black is absolutely unforgiving. Even the slightest deformity will be magnified.

On a retail level, my $10k estimate is probably not far off. If Benz55 was a broadly experienced body tech in frame work, sheetmetal work, and paint work with access to a professionally equipped shop, sheetmetal tools, a laser frame rack and a downdraft paint booth he could obviously save enough in labor to tilt the car from "total" to "repairable".

Unfortunately, he's not, and he's already bumping up against the limits of his inexperience. Removing damaged bolt on parts is not difficult, but what he's left with now needs a professional hand.

He needs to remount the bumper bar, get the car on a rack to be measured and pulled, and then he's out of his depth as far as the additional work goes. Per Brad, the pull will both take damage out, and reveal how much hand work is going to be required to complete the repair. By "complete the repair", Brad means a level of repair quality that would satisfy an S Class owner. His shop in our town IS the Mercedes collision shop. Unbeknownst to customers, cars dropped off or towed to the dealer for collision work get spun back around and flatbedded to Brad, and he drops the finished cars off at the dealer for customer pick up. I've known him for twenty years, and he has a phenomenal eye. His father owned a shop and a lot of what I learned as an adjuster in a practical sense was from him.

This is not something you pull by chaining the car to a tree and driving forward. The pull has to apply counterforce precisely in the opposite direction the original force was applied. Otherwise you'll just create new damage. That requires a laser rack and an experienced operator.

Maybe Benz55's buddy will let him work on the car at his shop and mentor him to whatever extent his inexperienced labor will help cut costs (sanding, masking, remounting parts, etc.) but getting the rear panel worked back to factory dimensions and perfectly true so everything attached to it (and pretty much everything back there attaches to it...it's a major structural piece) hangs correctly, and working the quarters back so they're perfect, and priming, painting and clearcoating them to match, none of that is DIY for the average guy, regardless of how sunny the attitude.

Guberot

Thanks OP for posting his adventure (good or bad). I've read through the whole thread this morning (time that I'll never get back), but I did learn some things. And entertaining also.
I do admired Mike for his long and informative responses. Keep it up Mike and Benz55.

dildil

I think he is liking all the attention his thread is getting, there are people here giving him the good bitter advice and then there's others who want to learn at someone else's expense and get a laugh out of it, i thought the purpose of the forums was to get help

Mike5215

Agree. He really wants to be a part of the S Class community and I think he approached this as the most cost effective way to get there. It either smacks of desperation or is a testament to his self confidence. I like the kid but I'm in the "desperation" camp at this point.

The purpose of this particular forum is to discuss penises, warranties and Cooper tires, in that order. Then, if we have time, mockery and derision. Usually, we have plenty of time.

While this thread may not be of any help to the OP (and he tends to ignore any input or advice that deviates from the fantasy) there is a lot of good info for other people who may be considering the same enterprise.

mercedesbenzs55

they told me I need ID and proof of ownership. So title should work. They week run the VIN and have it the day shipped from Texas.