PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum - View Single Post

Lance Allison · #1 01-07-2015, 12:34 PM

Hello. I recently had the privilege of talking with a Forum friend about his experiences with creating custom programming ECM tunings and what not to make our German automobiles "better". I decided against purchasing the equipment and software licenses, mostly because the limited market here wouldn't produce a strong enough return in $$ to warrant the cost of getting started.

I was also considering purchasing a car he had been working on for quite awhile as a project/hobby. It's a 2007 S600. The history of the car shows 2 past owners, local to DuPage County (near Chicago), mileage of 90k appears correct, and has a branded/salvage title. It's been properly (whatever that means) repaired/rebuilt by a shop well respected in the area. Damage extent and location were not disclosed but enough to total the car 2 or 3 years ago.

We were to meet in person to discuss the tuning opportunity and to give me a chance to go over this S600 up close and personal. Weather has been poor in the area, but he started down to my house anyway. About half way here, he was in an 8 car chain reaction accident and banged up the car nicely. The front end and passenger side fender and doors were damaged. Most of the driver's side and rear of the car look untouched in pix. The damage LOOKS to be just sheet metal and trim pieces.

Apparently the body repair estimate is around $7k plus any electronics repairs/replacements/programming that would be needed. I'm guessing with the location and extent of the damage, there will still be repairs other than just paint and body. Also assuming such repairs might be restricted to dealer shops only. As I mentioned earlier, it looks like sheet metal damage, but these things are so stocked full of electronics, sensors, etc especially in the front end. At this time, I haven't been given the status of the car's airbags. If they are gone, that's likely the nail in the coffin for me.

So with that said, is this car too complex and fragile to survive 2 moderately damaging collisions and still be reasonably dependable? It would not be a daily driver...more like a fun project. I'm not so concerned with the initial purchase price, but rather with the potential expense of unforseen repairs resulting from the 2nd crash. I'm in central Illinois where parts can be a problem if you want them in a hurry. In my past experience, the closest dealer's parts department isn't the greatest and almost always charged more than list prices.

I've had my share of cars over the years, but my experience with MB has been strictly diesels W123/124/126/140. Pretty certain this W221 is light years ahead of what I'm familiar with. I'm having one of those LEFT BRAIN vs RIGHT BRAIN conflicts on this one. Pull the trigger on it or let it burn and die in peace.

I have post-second-crash pictures but need to resize them before I can post.

Thanks in advance for any insight you can provide.