Here's the latest on my car repair. The first picture is the rear axle assembly (part number 223-460-14-04) that's on order, but hard to find. . The other pics are the progress being made on the suspension.

My advisor told me they are still hoping to have it ready by June 30th, but that date may slip. He said the repairs on my car are BY FAR the most complex in the shop now. There is still considerable bodywork to be completed, and ironically, the suspension work, while progressing nicely, is stalled while the rear axle steering arm is being located and shipped to Atlanta.



Rear Axle steering assembly that needs to be replaced.

Coming along nicely

Side view

What's been replaced so far.

 

Glad to see it coming along.
Hopefully they fix it like new!

Make sure to ask for the alignment printout after the repair.
Lots of times after suspension/chassis repairs, the alignment and/or steering wheel is out of whack.
Look for steering wheel angle and whether it tracks straight.

 

Latest update: I stopped by today to find that my car has moved to the paint booth, so I wasn't able to get any updated pics. The suspension work has been completed including the rear axle steering. Painting will take the better part of this week, then the car goes to the area where they put everything back together. Then it goes to the local Mercedes dealership to have the sensors calibrated and to bring the car back whole. They are estimating I'll get the car back the week after the July 4th holiday.

 

That'll mark almost 2 months to get it fixed.
I'd pull whatever new parts they put on the car (wheels for example) and put it on your '23 Olive Green before selling

 

accidents happen!! Don’t worry. Mercedes guarantees their work for lifetime of the vehicle.
so problems which arise later will be taken care by them.
unfortunately I’ve had frontal damage worth $40000. The car came back better than new.
so nothing to worry about.

 

He's already bought a replacement for the car

 

As Steve @SW20S mentioned, I did buy a slightly newer W223 a week ago to replace my 2022 Cirrus Silver S580. My new-to-me Olive 2023 model has the options I wish I had gotten on my silver one, but didn't know I wanted until I drove the '22 model for a couple of years. On my silver S the Exclusive Nappa Leather was deleted by Mercedes when they built the car. I had the 3D Burmester audio system with the sub in the trunk in my 2018 E63, but didn't think I would miss it that much. That was wrong. The 3D audio on my 22 S was good, but it wasn't quite up to the sound quality of the other car. My 2023 model has the 4D audio, and oh my gosh - it alone was worth the price of the newer car. The list goes on and on, but you get my drift.

In a different post I referred to my 22 model as having the look of a "Honda Civic" because of the deletion of the Exclusive Nappa Leather. That pissed off the MB gods enough that within a few days of saying that, a 19-year-old kid fell asleep on I-285 and plowed into the back of me starting this whole ordeal. I then wrote in yet another post asking if anyone owned or had seen an Olive S and what did they think? Several of you chimed in and over the course of a week, one literally dropped in my back yard. I was on the fence for what seemed like an eternity, but in actuality, was just over a week, I decided to pull the trigger and buy the newer one. Now that I've been in the Olive one for a week, I haven't looked back. The stress of having my car in the shop evaporated, and I'm in a car now that ticks every last box of features I came to want when in the other car.

I do my best to find silver linings when I can. The one good thing that came out of the accident is I get a far nicer car and have learned valuable lessons along the way.

 

I did the same thing with a Lexus one time, I got a low package LS460 and then 2 years later traded it in on a high package LS460L. That feeling of finally having what you wanted the previous car to be is a good feeling!

I actually think the MB Gods answered your needs LOL

 

I’ve learned the hard way to get what you want the first time around. If you’re not satisfied it will nag at you which in my case results in my purchasing what what I originally wanted, usually at some additional expense.

 

Yeah, figured there was no way they were doing it within the timeline initially described. Mine was significantly less work, needed parts that are going to be commonly used in repairs, and took 98 total days. It's why I'd recommend folks take a gander at their insurance for rental coverage in case they get hit by an uninsured motorist; it's fairly low spend to get more, and if they find that number inadequate, up it to wherever they feel it should be.

I had read about the possibility of being underinsured in this regard, and upped mine from 30, to 50. I've been meaning to up it again, but if it wasn't for procrastination, I wouldn't be getting anything done lately. Guess it goes with being retired? lol In any event, the shop that did the work told me 50 was reasonable for larger volume sellers, and would often work with German stuff, but it was far more crapshooty with cars like ours, with lowish volume.

 

Agree on the rental reimbursement for sure!

 

I called Geico and increased mine from $20 / day to the max they offer of $50 / day. Only increased my premium $20 dollars over six months. Didn't even think to do that before this accident, but a small price to pay if this happens again.

 

4D Burmester is a must-have option for my next S Class.

 

We were also concerned about how you will like E-ABC as well, I am glad that is working well for you.

 

The E-ABC is amazing! It's one of those features that I didn't know about until I got it on this car. The ride quality of this car over my 22 S is night and day. It truly is amazing technology. It'll be sunshine and Skittles until it goes out the first time as mentioned by others in this thread; then I'll be singing a different tune. And others in this forum will have every right to say, "I told you so". To head that off, I purchased two years of CPO warranty on top of the already-included 4-year warranty, so I'm covered until 2030. I doubt I'll keep the car that long, but if I do, then I'll be covered. If I trade before then, the warranty is transferable to my next Mercedes or refundable if I go with another brand.

 

I can't imagine how much better the EABC could get from the standard Airmatic which already rides superbly.
It's probably best that I don't try it out because I think I'll want one once I get a ride.
Glad you're enjoying the new, fully loaded S.

 

You're a stone's throw from Atlanta - If you're ever up this way, hit me up and we'll go for a ride.

 

I appreciate your kindness! I'm actually planning on spending the weekend in ATL.

That being said, I think it's a terrible idea for me because not only the EABC, but you have 2 other options I really wanted in my car: 4D Burmester & Walnut wood trim with Silver lines
I know for a fact that I'll be miserable not having those options lol
Ignorance is bliss they say.

 

I totally understand. If you change your mind, let me know. Enjoy your weekend trip to Atlanta. Avoid every road in Atlanta if you don't want a blowout! - Just Kidding - somewhat.

 

Roads in Atlanta isn't too bad compared to the snowbelt.
But yeah, I know what area to watch out for bad potholes so hopefully I'll survive lol
I'm on 20" wheels now so it should be better protected than your 21"s
When I get my 21"s, I'll be putting on the S63 sizes (255/40/21, 285/35/21) to have more side wall.

 

A laugh out loud statement right there, and I do mean that literally, rather than figuratively. Fortunately, the coffee I had just sipped had gone down, preventing my laptop from suffering the indignity of what might have become a spit out the coffee moment.

 

Interesting that you're as happy as you are with the eABC, even on the 21s when Streamliner was so unhappy with his on 19s.

 

The jury has always been out in my mind; it has to be the least owned option on this forum. I also never found a sample on the ground when I was buying, and I wasn't going to drop that kind of ching without trying it, to improve a ride I already thought was superb. Always willing to go one up, but at 6k plus, I need(ed) a little something to go on.

 

Perhaps they fixed the initial issues with the e-ABC or maybe the type of roads being driven on is different.

 

You mean free driving assist aka bounce mode : ) but that is only on the SUVs I think.