spnslc

I hoped to never make one of these posts, but I bumped into one of those cement blocks as I pulled into a parking space with my SL. I scratched the front bumper under my license plate. There is even a little ding in the crease, which makes things worse. The "love of my life" is only two months old and I am so devastated. My cute female MB saleswoman (I am female, too) tried to console me and she told me that every SL owner (and most other MB owners, including her own MB) hits these parking blocks and that it will just happen again. She suggested that I just let it go, but she knows me and knows how much I love my car, so "we" are going to figure out some kind of fix i.e. body shop, detailing. I am taking my car in tomorrow to show her and the MB detailer person.

Is there anyone else on this forum who has done this and how have you fixed it? How much is a new bumper for the SL? I can't stand that my car is not perfect.

boylston

Sorry to hear about your car. My 2 month old SL also had a problem last week. The valet at the Ritz-Carlton drove over a curb, blew a tire and damaged the wheel. It was towed off yesterday to the MB dealer. I am sick about it- to top it off, having some wonderful weather finally and can't go for a ride with the top down.

Good luck with your fix.

spnslc

I understand completely about not being able to go out now that the weather is great. Talk about adding insult to injury. When these cars are damaged like this, it is tough. I hope the repairs go quickly in both our cases. I go crazy unless I can take my car out every day, ESPECIALLY when the weather is warm. It is like an addiction for me.

I know "dents and dings" are part of the deal, but I didn't think it would happen this soon. Good luck with your car. I hope it is a quick fix and you are back on the road, with the top down, very soon!

JackStraw

If you ever hear the car scraping the underside again, stop, raise the car, and proceed. If it is still not high enough to clear, my salesman recommends inserting a CD jewel box between the lip of the front air dam and the concrete before proceeding. Don't know if this works, never had to try it.

spnslc

Great idea.

Talk about live and learn. The only reason I pull so far forward in a parking space is so I don't get hit from behind, from someone pulling out of a space behind me. I am damned both ways.

jmrdmd

Mine happened in my OWN parking lot! 2500.00 worth of damage! I didn't hear it scrape when I pulled in, but when I backed out I tore the whole air dam! Now I don't ever get close to them! I hate those things!!
Jan

prsmith777

I did this on my Sl500 several times. Thank god it wasnt too bad.

I ordered Parktronic on the next SL55 coming soon.

Did you have Parktronic? Did anyone have Parktronic? Does it help prevent this mishap? I read alot awhile back and most people said it was good but not perfect when it comes to these cement blocks. I figure its worth it for the expense in the long run.

jmf003

Yes, Parktronic on mine and, no, it didn't warn about the concrete parking barrier that snagged my bumper. Now I stop a mile--okay a couple of feet--short of every barrier.

elbowyeish

No, the parktronic doesn't detect the parking blocks which are on the ground. It only detects things pretty much straight in front of the parktronic sensors. I usually raise my park before i park or just stay clear of those things all together. I scratched the entire bottom of my front bumper the first week I got my R230 and I have parktronic! It didn't scratch at all when I was parking but only when I was backing out to leave.

AnotherSL

Even with Parktronic I scraped under the chin spoiler of my previous SL several times. I even had 2 different colors of paint plus several gouges under there where I had rubbed.

I finally taught myself to judge the distance to the cement log by pulling up (not too close), getting out while leaving the engine running and looking, getting back in a pulling up a little more until I was less than a foot from the log. Then I would sit in the driver's seat for a little while and memorize where the nose is.

After doing that a few times I haven't driven over one of those damned logs since. I know, doing this is a big hassle, but it beats tearing up the front of your car!

Bigdot

i have done this on my 129 before. but the one i ran over, had about 5 inches of rebar sticking up, and cracked my lower lip. i was so pissed off. but i got it fixed, made me think twice about lowering my car. but i did anyway


good luck!
mark

erichen

I had some damage within two weeks of getting mine too, a few times going in, and one bad one coming back out... didn't tear anything, thank god, but did scrape up the bottom. when I went under the car this time when my tuner had the car jacked up on four jacks to install the exterior lights, I had first clear view of all the damages I did to the front spoiler... ouch!
a few remedies:
1. I do this often, park backwards! can't go wrong, the back end is much higher.
2. like others, I park as far away from the cement block as possible
3. raise the car up when I park in unfamiliar territory and proceed slowly.
4. getting bigger wheels, after I got my 20" wheels and before I got the Carlsson lip, I was able to park without much feer... then the front spoiler lip came and back to the same cautions again.
5. install front facing cameras in the mesh grill! I wanted to do it but fetl bad about spending $$$ on that feature... on top of all the other crazy stuff I have done...

spnslc

LOL! I thought my concrete block was bad. I can just picture the rebar sticking out. That would be the pits. I am so sorry! It isn't funny. I actually shed tears tonight thinking about the damage on my new, perfect car. Those concrete blocks are murder! I have learned my lesson.

My repair process begins tomorrow with the paint guy at my MB dealer taking a look at it. In the whole range of "concrete block damage," I don't know how bad this damage really is. Maybe he can work miracles. Since the car is brand new, they should be able to match the paint. If not, then I will look into a new bumper. Ouch!

________________________
Sue’s 2006 SL500
European Delivery February 2006

spanky

From what I understand the bumper covers come primed and they will have to be painted. Am I wrong?

spnslc

MY MB saleswoman mentioned to me yesterday that it would be cheaper for me to buy a pre-painted bumper over one that is just primed. I took this to mean that I can buy them either way from the MB parts department. I haven't checked it out, yet, as I am going to check on repair possibilities first. I would guess that a bumper replacement would cost a couple thousand dollars.

jl88

You wouldn't believe how common this is for Mercedes, especially cars with AMG/sports package. When I walk through auto auctions and look at the lease turn-ins, many of the cars have bumper scrapes.

If it's just a scrape, a body shop can sand it down, fill it, and repaint. Price should be $300-400, depending on your city/location/relationship with shop.

If you somehow manage to rip the whole damn thing off.. well, get ready to pay a crap load. Your best bet is to find someone that is getting an aftermarket bumper and buy his stock one.

WOOCHOW

thanks for the heads up! I haven't yet had this unfortunate experience but I know the feeling well from when I had a Corvette. Luckily you couldn't see the scrapes and most of the lowest point on the spoiler was spring-loaded and would give way before causing major damage. I even remember an aftermarket kit in which you could have what looked like "roller-skate" wheels welded to a spot on the frame on either side. These would contact the obstacle first and ride up over the block. Too bad I haven't heard about them for an SL. Good luck in the future.

ph1958

My spouse always gives me a hard time but...I always back into parking spaces. Backing into the space allows me to avoid the dreaded concrete marker scrapes. Also, I thus avoid backing out into car traffic flow or pedestrian (especially, small children) traffic.

spnslc

Here's a photo of the front bumper damage on my SL. Ughh!

slm95@aol.com

You should get some type of glaze and most of that will buff out.

Scruffyone

Wifey only had her wagon a few days when she silently glided over a re bar post on a parking bloch. She didn't even hear it when it hooked behind the bumper. She sure heard it when she left! It caught and ripped a 3" tear on the bottom. A man next to her looked and sait that it was nothing. When I got home she was in tears. I managed to bend it back into place and it shown only a little.

LovinMercedes

Damn, that is a nice looking car you got there.

Love that color.

crb49

I think it's become almost a rite of passage for SL owners. I've left mine for a few months (isn't a glaring scrape) just to remind me to be more careful. I also do the backup thing.

Vik888

I heard its actually illegal in some cities/states to park backed up into a spot. Anyone ever seen this or had an experience with this?

crb49

News to me. Sometimes a lot will post it but I'm not sure how binding even that is .