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On Saturday some idiot in a landscaping truck rear ended my 8 year old daughter and I coming back from her tennis lesson. He hit me on a freeway off ramp. He tried to swerve to miss me at the last second and his right front hit my left rear. THEN HE TRIED TO RUN!!! Can't make this stuff up. Look at the truck below as I was taking pictures. Where did dummy think he was going? I followed him for about 1.5 miles with hundreds of opportunities for him to pull over. He never really sped away. But wouldn't pull over either. I was on the phone with 911 most of the time while following him. 911 finally told me to stop following him for safety reasons. So I broke it off. He then somehow realized he was in deep sh*t and stopped about a 1/4 mile up the road. CHP finally got to the scene and for unknown reasons did not arrest him. They said "it's very difficult to prove hit and run". Now, mind you, we were 1.5 miles away from the collision site. hmmm. The cop did email me a day later asking for the pics I took while following him. So maybe they will do something after the fact?? Maybe they later found out more about this loser and decided to pursue the hit and run? So I never spoke to the guy at all. I was able to see that he was a white dude in his 30's. That's all I know. I have no insurance info, nor do I know if he has insurance. I filed the claim with my insurance and will let them sort it out. Since it was a rear ender there is pretty much nothing for me to worry about. Accept for the damage to my once flawless car! AND, the headache of getting it repaired. AND driving a POS Enterprise rental for the nest 2 to 3 weeks! UGH. The world we live in. Initial estimates without hidden damage is a hair under $4k. Likely to rise to $5kish. A bunch of sensors are jacked up like lane assist and backup proximity sensors.
There is one silver lining in this cluster f**K: I worked out a sweet deal with the body shop, which is the collision center for my dealership, to have the entire front end sanded down, repainted, and re clear-coated. The only flaw on the car before was the rock chips in the front end. After I get this done, I intend to clear bra it and clear bra the ENTIRE hood as well. I will show pics when all is done.
BTW, I had to postpone my new tire install that was scheduled for today too.
Only $5k?? I expect this will be close to $8,000 when all said and done
sorry man I feel your pain; also glad the "chase" didn't get messy. People are selfish idiots and we share the road with many that have little or nothing to lose ... this will be covered by your insurance I'm guessing as that guy may be un or underinsured
Only $5k?? I expect this will be close to $8,000 when all said and done
sorry man I feel your pain; also glad the "chase" didn't get messy. People are selfish idiots and we share the road with many that have little or nothing to lose ... this will be covered by your insurance I'm guessing as that guy may be un or underinsured
how's your daughter?
Yeah, just got off the phone with Geico and they were actually quite pleasant. They are covering everything and already wrote me the initial check. Pretty sure supplemental check to follow. They said they will fully go after him to recover my deductible and their cost even if he has no insurance.
And yes. I should have mentioned that my daughter and I are fine. I actually did have a sore neck for about a day and a half. But I am just not one of those guys to work the injury angle. Feeling fairly normal today.
My daughter thought the whole thing was exciting! lol She was like: "get him daddy!" The CHP officer apparently had a daughter about the same age and was asking my daughter questions. He said "do you want to be a police officer when you grow up?" She smiled and said "no sir" I then cringed in fear she might say "nah, I have bigger plans" lol She is actually a bit of a piano prodigy and has already skipped a grade in school. Her mother used to perform internationally. We just submitted a recording for an audition to play at Carnegie Hall for the little one! Can you tell I'm pretty proud of her? lol
Oh man. Sorry it happened to you the second time in a E63. Glad everyone especially your 8 year are good. First thing first, as much as you love your E63s, trade it in for another before this shows up on carfax unless your insurance coverage cover diminishing value which will show up on something like this. Run, don’t walk away from. While this E63 is getting its fix, go car shopping fast. I’m speaking from experience. Best of luck and go to a chiropractor to have your neck looked at, either the other guys insurance will cover it or you need to sue the guy.
Glad you guys are ok and she seems like an exceptional young lady!
good question ... how fast will the claim end up on the VIN and thus carfax. Diminished value can take weeks or months ... finding a new car can take a while too .... if they source Benz dealership to program the sensors then that'll show up immediately on any Benz service transcript nationwide ... that happened with my 2014 brand new rear ended e550 4 matic; that car was bought back and Benz gave me full value for the car because they were done dealing with me but I should have also gone after diminished value
I appreciate your advice. However, I plan to keep this car for quite some time. I am very happy with her. There appears to be no structural damage. It is all basically cosmetic. The body shop said the quarter panel even looks good still. I just justified getting this newer E63 to the wife (that wasn't thrilled with the idea) due to the mechanical issues with the 2011. I figure by the time I am ready to unload this car, the difference in price will be negligible due to this incident.
S63,
Not sure what you meant by the "2nd time this happened" to me in an E63. Haven't been in any other accidents. Only mechanical issues with the previous E63 which has been sold btw to a new loving family! Got $31k for her.
I appreciate your advice. However, I plan to keep this car for quite some time. I am very happy with her. There appears to be no structural damage. It is all basically cosmetic. The body shop said the quarter panel even looks good still. I just justified getting this newer E63 to the wife (that wasn't thrilled with the idea) due to the mechanical issues with the 2011. I figure by the time I am ready to unload this car, the difference in price will be negligible due to this incident.
S63,
Not sure what you meant by the "2nd time this happened" to me in an E63. Haven't been in any other accidents. Only mechanical issues with the previous E63 which has been sold btw to a new loving family! Got $31k for her.
Sorry, I thought you had an accident with the first E63 because I read there was something wrong with the first one, my bad. Wish you the best of luck getting everything sorted out.
Vrodman,
Very sorry to read your story. I'm with you - a well sorted car that you know, with known history and maintenance, is better to keep if you are going to own it for a few years. The accident, esp when well documented with pictures of the actual damage etc, is not that big of a deterrent when selling unique cars like the E63. For run of the mill cars, sure.
Yeah, not that great of an idea to follow the truck.... Better to take pictures and then leave that be. With all the nutties out there, with LTC, you never know what will happen.
No damage is worth that danger to you and daughter.
Vrodman,
Very sorry to read your story. I'm with you - a well sorted car that you know, with known history and maintenance, is better to keep if you are going to own it for a few years. The accident, esp when well documented with pictures of the actual damage etc, is not that big of a deterrent when selling unique cars like the E63. For run of the mill cars, sure.
Yeah, not that great of an idea to follow the truck.... Better to take pictures and then leave that be. With all the nutties out there, with LTC, you never know what will happen.
No damage is worth that danger to you and daughter.
Thanks C for looking out. Yeah, when he reached a residential area unfamiliar to me, I was about to break it off anyway before the 911 operator told me to. I foresaw the possibility of him having his "homies" waiting for me. And just to be clear, It wasn't like a high speed movie car chase scene! I wasn't tailgating him or anything. In fact the dude never even broke the speed limit as far as I could tell (not sure that truck can speed even if he wants to. lol). He just wouldn't pull over. It was bizarre.
The way I look at it is a positive. Yes I have to deal with various headache logistics. But when I get her back in 2 to 3 weeks, she will be better off than before the accident since I will have a newly refinished entire front end in addition to the repairs in the rear.
Only $5k?? I expect this will be close to $8,000 when all said and done
sorry man I feel your pain; also glad the "chase" didn't get messy. People are selfish idiots and we share the road with many that have little or nothing to lose ... this will be covered by your insurance I'm guessing as that guy may be un or underinsured
how's your daughter?
Update,
MB Collision Center just called me and as you estimated Peter (funny I had told my wife the same thing after the accident) the damge was raised to $7,800 after they took everything apart.
MB Collision Center just called me and as you estimated Peter (funny I had told my wife the same thing after the accident) the damge was raised to $7,800 after they took everything apart.
good to know it'll get done the right way ... glad nothing more serious structurally
I read somewhere on this forum a while back the someone else was rear ended and the driver and or both driver and passenger side head rest poped out and needed to be reset. Did that happen to your after the accident?
I read somewhere on this forum a while back the someone else was rear ended and the driver and or both driver and passenger side head rest poped out and needed to be reset. Did that happen to your after the accident?
This would have happened if I were hit more in the middle of the rear where these sensors are located. Because I was hit more off to the corner, the whiplash mitigation was not deployed (the head rests popping out).
This would have happened if I were hit more in the middle of the rear where these sensors are located. Because I was hit more off to the corner, the whiplash mitigation was not deployed (the head rests popping out).
If I remembered correctly, the E63s has 3 sensors, 1 on each side to the bumper and 1 in the center of the bumper and they serve as back up and impact sensors. If I’m right and you where hit on the driver’s side number arear, should the impact sensor on that side set off the head rest? Just curious.
If I remembered correctly, the E63s has 3 sensors, 1 on each side to the bumper and 1 in the center of the bumper and they serve as back up and impact sensors. If I’m right and you where hit on the driver’s side number arear, should the impact sensor on that side set off the head rest? Just curious.
I got you the best answer I could from the MB tech shown below. Basically it sounds they are mechanically triggered within the headset and not triggered by peripheral sensors. Here is his reply to my question on your behalf:
"On the headrests yes I believe the impact was too far off to the side to trigger the headrests. They are mechanical and do not have a rear sensor. They are simply trigger by the amount of force from behind. I have had customer with kids simply kick the rear of the seat and set them off. They also just simply snap back in to place to reset. Hopefully that helps."
On Saturday some idiot in a landscaping truck rear ended my 8 year old daughter and I coming back from her tennis lesson. He hit me on a freeway off ramp. He tried to swerve to miss me at the last second and his right front hit my left rear. THEN HE TRIED TO RUN!!! Can't make this stuff up. Look at the truck below as I was taking pictures. Where did dummy think he was going? I followed him for about 1.5 miles with hundreds of opportunities for him to pull over. He never really sped away. But wouldn't pull over either. I was on the phone with 911 most of the time while following him. 911 finally told me to stop following him for safety reasons. So I broke it off. He then somehow realized he was in deep sh*t and stopped about a 1/4 mile up the road. CHP finally got to the scene and for unknown reasons did not arrest him. They said "it's very difficult to prove hit and run". Now, mind you, we were 1.5 miles away from the collision site. hmmm. The cop did email me a day later asking for the pics I took while following him. So maybe they will do something after the fact?? Maybe they later found out more about this loser and decided to pursue the hit and run? So I never spoke to the guy at all. I was able to see that he was a white dude in his 30's. That's all I know. I have no insurance info, nor do I know if he has insurance. I filed the claim with my insurance and will let them sort it out. Since it was a rear ender there is pretty much nothing for me to worry about. Accept for the damage to my once flawless car! AND, the headache of getting it repaired. AND driving a POS Enterprise rental for the nest 2 to 3 weeks! UGH. The world we live in. Initial estimates without hidden damage is a hair under $4k. Likely to rise to $5kish. A bunch of sensors are jacked up like lane assist and backup proximity sensors.
There is one silver lining in this cluster f**K: I worked out a sweet deal with the body shop, which is the collision center for my dealership, to have the entire front end sanded down, repainted, and re clear-coated. The only flaw on the car before was the rock chips in the front end. After I get this done, I intend to clear bra it and clear bra the ENTIRE hood as well. I will show pics when all is done.
BTW, I had to postpone my new tire install that was scheduled for today too.
Here are the pics:
K - that sucks, but most importantly am GLAD you and your daughter are OK and nothing hostile came of the chase
What was the cop's response to why he didnt ticket the driver for (at minimum) the accident, but also hit & run?
have your dealership bodyshop do the repair and it will be good as new -- push hard on geico if they nickel and dime you, your car was pristine and they need to ensure it returns to that condition
FYI - i've had an Xpel clear bra covering on my entire hood, front fenders and its awesome protection. i should have done my mirror backs, rear bumper and doors but didnt and i have a couple small bumper spots and couple small door dings that drive me nuts. but you will love the clear bra (Xpel or 3M which ever you choose) as it keeps everything protected and looking great
K - that sucks, but most importantly am GLAD you and your daughter are OK and nothing hostile came of the chase
What was the cop's response to why he didnt ticket the driver for (at minimum) the accident, but also hit & run?
have your dealership bodyshop do the repair and it will be good as new -- push hard on geico if they nickel and dime you, your car was pristine and they need to ensure it returns to that condition
FYI - i've had an Xpel clear bra covering on my entire hood, front fenders and its awesome protection. i should have done my mirror backs, rear bumper and doors but didnt and i have a couple small bumper spots and couple small door dings that drive me nuts. but you will love the clear bra (Xpel or 3M which ever you choose) as it keeps everything protected and looking great
Hi J,
Yeah, actually Geico has been great! They just called me again today to tell me they ran his license plate and found that his truck is insured by AAA. So that makes things a bit more simple. Geico tried initially to write up an aftermarket tail light assembly and then my MB collision center told them basically "HELL NO" ! We will not put an AM part on a car of this nature. Geico quickly gave in.
Thanks for the clear bra info. I actually had the 3M film put on my 2011 all the way around. It was awesome. The only thing I didn't like was the that they only went back about 18 inches on the hood. This time I will be having the entire hood wrapped per yours and others recommendation. She should look pretty sweet when done. I also just instructed them to replace all 3 of the plastic black mesh screens/grills in the lower grill with new ones. That was only about an additional $200. I would have replaced the upper center main one too but I have custom work and holes cut in it for the ALP laser jamming sensors. If it looks too dull after everything is done I will figure out a way to maybe spray it with new paint. Not sure yet.
Yeah, actually Geico has been great! They just called me again today to tell me they ran his license plate and found that his truck is insured by AAA. So that makes things a bit more simple. Geico tried initially to write up an aftermarket tail light assembly and then my MB collision center told them basically "HELL NO" ! We will not put an AM part on a car of this nature. Geico quickly gave in.
Thanks for the clear bra info. I actually had the 3M film put on my 2011 all the way around. It was awesome. The only thing I didn't like was the that they only went back about 18 inches on the hood. This time I will be having the entire hood wrapped per yours and others recommendation. She should look pretty sweet when done. I also just instructed them to replace all 3 of the plastic black mesh screens/grills in the lower grill with new ones. That was only about an additional $200. I would have replaced the upper center main one too but I have custom work and holes cut in it for the ALP laser jamming sensors. If it looks too dull after everything is done I will figure out a way to maybe spray it with new paint. Not sure yet.
One thing on the clear bra. I have a full front done with Suntek Ultra on my car and my installer recommended Suntek film over Xpel on darker colors. He uses both and charges the same amount, but he says that the Suntek film looks better on darker colored cars. He does all of the cars at the Ferrari dealership near him and is highly reputable. Let me dig up his exact quote and I'll post it below. Just wanted to pass along the info he gave me.
"SunTek is prettier on a darker color like that. Xpel is a little bit tougher of a film. I typically use the Xpel on light cars as it resists discoloring slightly better, and I use the SunTek on dark cars as it is much more forgiving and leaves less distortion in the adhesive. Feel free to call me and I will be happy to explain the benefits of each. You don’t have to make a final decision on film until the morning you drop off."
Oh, and the photo in my avatar is when my car was finished in his shop.
2016 E63 AMG-S, 2007 FERRARI 430, 2001 JEEP WRANGLER 60TH ANNI. EDITION SOLD 2011 E550 4matic
Originally Posted by Vrodman
Hey Guys,
On Saturday some idiot in a landscaping truck rear ended my 8 year old daughter and I coming back from her tennis lesson. He hit me on a freeway off ramp. He tried to swerve to miss me at the last second and his right front hit my left rear. THEN HE TRIED TO RUN!!! Can't make this stuff up. Look at the truck below as I was taking pictures. Where did dummy think he was going? I followed him for about 1.5 miles with hundreds of opportunities for him to pull over. He never really sped away. But wouldn't pull over either. I was on the phone with 911 most of the time while following him. 911 finally told me to stop following him for safety reasons. So I broke it off. He then somehow realized he was in deep sh*t and stopped about a 1/4 mile up the road. CHP finally got to the scene and for unknown reasons did not arrest him. They said "it's very difficult to prove hit and run". Now, mind you, we were 1.5 miles away from the collision site. hmmm. The cop did email me a day later asking for the pics I took while following him. So maybe they will do something after the fact?? Maybe they later found out more about this loser and decided to pursue the hit and run? So I never spoke to the guy at all. I was able to see that he was a white dude in his 30's. That's all I know. I have no insurance info, nor do I know if he has insurance. I filed the claim with my insurance and will let them sort it out. Since it was a rear ender there is pretty much nothing for me to worry about. Accept for the damage to my once flawless car! AND, the headache of getting it repaired. AND driving a POS Enterprise rental for the nest 2 to 3 weeks! UGH. The world we live in. Initial estimates without hidden damage is a hair under $4k. Likely to rise to $5kish. A bunch of sensors are jacked up like lane assist and backup proximity sensors.
There is one silver lining in this cluster f**K: I worked out a sweet deal with the body shop, which is the collision center for my dealership, to have the entire front end sanded down, repainted, and re clear-coated. The only flaw on the car before was the rock chips in the front end. After I get this done, I intend to clear bra it and clear bra the ENTIRE hood as well. I will show pics when all is done.
BTW, I had to postpone my new tire install that was scheduled for today too.
One thing on the clear bra. I have a full front done with Suntek Ultra on my car and my installer recommended Suntek film over Xpel on darker colors. He uses both and charges the same amount, but he says that the Suntek film looks better on darker colored cars. He does all of the cars at the Ferrari dealership near him and is highly reputable. Let me dig up his exact quote and I'll post it below. Just wanted to pass along the info he gave me.
"SunTek is prettier on a darker color like that. Xpel is a little bit tougher of a film. I typically use the Xpel on light cars as it resists discoloring slightly better, and I use the SunTek on dark cars as it is much more forgiving and leaves less distortion in the adhesive. Feel free to call me and I will be happy to explain the benefits of each. You don’t have to make a final decision on film until the morning you drop off."
Oh, and the photo in my avatar is when my car was finished in his shop.
Looks like I will be going with Suntek too (some day when I actually get my car back. UGH) I was quoted $1500 to basically do the entire front clip (everything north of windshield), door edges and handles, mirror backs, and top of rear bumper where stuff loaded into the trunk can scratch paint. The installer that I have used before said the Suntek is his best film. It also has the hydrophobic properties as a result of ceramic impregnation. So very soon after I get the car back from the engine fix this is getting done. I will also have my 2 front door windows tinted darker than the factory night trim to match the rear windows in darkness. It might be illegal. But nobody gets pulled over out here for this. $90/window worst case to do after a fix-it ticket.
Here are the pics I was sent of the rear end repairs. Looks decent in pics. Hopefully when I finally see it in person it does too. Here are pics of before and after for comparison:
10-09-2018, 01:10 PM
