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A killer deal...and a killer scratch. New owner checking in.
Hi everyone,
Happy/angry owner of a new C63S here. Let me start with the happy first.
I've been dailying an E46 M3 for some time now (Jet Black over Cinnamon, 6-speed). But with child #3 on the way, the time had come for me to get something more practical. Naturally I decided to buy a C63S. Spent months looking around on the used scene, found a few that I liked but nothing perfect. Seemed to me there were lots of demo/dealer-owned cars that had questionable early lives. Combined with the fact that I was looking for performance exhaust (mandatory) and night package (highly desirable), it meant my pool was pretty shallow.
Then one day in my searches, I found a leftover 2017 at a dealership in Iowa listed at $69,995 (MSRP of just under $84k). I was originally planning to spend around $60k, but the prospect of getting a new car for not THAT much more was pretty tantalizing. Yadda yadda yadda with calls and negotiation and whatnot and I got what I think is a killer deal: I paid the asking price of $69,995, but had them ship the car in covered transport at their expense (probably a $1,500 value). Full specs: 2017 C63S sedan, black on black/grey. Carbon fiber trim, premium 3 package, performance exhaust, illuminated star (going to unplug that one today LOL), panorama roof, night package, AMG performance seats. Took delivery of the car yesterday and even managed to squeeze it in my admittedly only 1.5 car garage with the M3 (this is temporary since the M is for sale, but I wanted to keep them both covered up).
So yesterday was a good day, until...it happened. I have an exceptionally narrow driveway with a stone wall on one side and a steep hill, at the bottom of which is my garage (which requires a 90 degree right turn to get in). It's pretty cramped since my wife parks her car at the end of the driveway and I park in the garage, so it takes a delicate maneuver just to get it out down there. Then to complicate things, my neighbor tends to park directly behind my driveway, making that turn similarly difficult to execute. Going for a drive last night so I hopped in and had successfully extracted the C63 from the garage past the M3 and my wife's car and made it up the driveway. But when I got up there I was so focused on not hitting the neighbor's car behind me that I cut the turn too early and CRUUUNCH. You guessed it: I scraped the living hell out of the front left of the car. You can see what I mean in the picture.
Since I'm very much a DIY-er, my first instinct here is to buy filler myself and fill/sand/repaint on my own. That said, I recognize that I'm not an expert. Anyone have ideas on what it might cost to get this patched and repainted? I don't want to go to a generic body shop and have them "match" the paint, so I'm hesitant to go that route, but I worry that a dealer will charge me $1k or something. Any insight would be appreciated.
Congrats on the purchase and sorry about the scratch. How high is your deductible? Doubt your premium will go up if you go that route but check with your insurance first. This is usually not something you would diy unless you work at a body shop and has all the equipments. Don't tell me you are thinking about hand brushing the paint.
DIY? Um, no. Hard pass. Like already mentioned, pay your deductible and go through insurance. There are plenty of reputable body shops that can repaint it with the factory color.
I think my deductible is $500, but I'm hesitant to go that route because I don't want it showing up on a future Carfax report or whatever. If I have to pony up a big chunk to get it fixed, I suppose I'll suck it up, but was hoping someone could surprise me and tell me I could get it patched and painted with MB paint for $500 or something.
I would just pay out of pocket and have it fixed properly by a body shop. I doubt that's more than $500 in damage anyway since a new bumper isn't needed.
In Australia we have a company called SCHMICK that provide a 5 year unlimited access to scratch, dents, stone chips, alloy gutter rash and leather tear repairs with a $50 repair once a member.
This would cost me $50 to have it repaired.
Maybe try and locate a local scratch and dent guy...
There's no way you'll get this looking clean again as a DIY unless you're experienced with auto body and paint. If you were experienced with auto body and paint you wouldn't be asking the question in the 1st place.
The bumper needs: sanding and fill, more sanding, primer, more sanding, multiple paint applications, and clear coat.
This is going to cost at least $500 to do it right. Most quotes will probably fall between $500-800. Good paint shops have no problem matching paint.
2018 C63s Estate, 2017 gla 45 [Sold] 2017 smart 44 brabus sport [for the Mrs]
Awesome car ! it looks amazing. sorry about the scratch. it doesnt look that terrible. a respray of only the bumper shouldnt be pricey at an independent. thats the route i'd go . given it is a bumper which is easily replaceable anyhow i'd keep the repair costs down even if the repair job isnt flawless.
in the uk some a-hole neighbour went on a scratching rampage and keyed all of our cars. at the time i only had 2 panels scratched on my gla 45. merc quote was a laughable gbp2k! this included taking panels off and colour matching by respraying the bumpers too looool . anyhow, my wife scratched 1 door panel on her smart forfour brabus (1 year old car)...after her annual service we got a courtesy quote in the mail...£2k lol from the same dealer that quoted on my gla.
03-23-2018, 10:28 AM
Spent months looking around on the used scene, found a few that I liked but nothing perfect. Seemed to me there were lots of demo/dealer-owned cars that had questionable early lives. Combined with the fact that I was looking for performance exhaust (mandatory) and night package (highly desirable), it meant my pool was pretty shallow.
