I almost lost a finger unloading a w114 from a trailer into a garage. The car wasn't running, but the brakes worked well enough, so I was going to just roll it off the trailer and into the garage with me in the driver's seat. I was alone, though, so I had to have the driver's door open in order to get a foot out and get the car moving. It was a narrow garage, and I took a mental note that I'd have to make sure to close the door as soon as I got the car moving or have it torn off as the car entered the garage.

Anyway, standing halfway in the car with the door open, I gave it a big push backwards. the car made it over the hump at the end of the trailer and started moving much faster than I'd anticipated. I jumped into the seat and held onto the door frame with my left hand, but neglected to close it. I was concentrating on keeping the steering straight, I think. Suddenly it was like a huge alarm went off in my brain, and I stabbed the brake pedal with both feet.

The car jerked to a stop just as my finger was pinned between the garage and the door frame. It hurt a bit and roughened the skin up a little, but neither finger nor car were damaged. I must have come maybe a tenth of a second from (at the very least) a broken finger, not to mention a mangled door.

To top it off, in the confusion I got the car crooked on the ramps. Once I recovered my wits, I tried to ease it the rest of the way down. Of course it immediately fell off the ramps, dropped a foot or so onto the driveway, and took off rolling towards the rear of the garage. I manged to wrestle it to a stop, again with no damage to me or the car. Very lucky that day considering all the stupid stuff I got away with. Next time I won't try something like that alone.

- dave

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1987 190d turbo, 5-spd conversion -- 146k
1973 280 -- back on the road with a euro m110
1980 300SD -- RIP - Sold for parts (lost battle with rust)