Car is nice except for the damage that you see. Absolutely rust free. Should I just give up on it and look for another........It's a Euro with manual ac (works!), etc

Insurance is writing the check and I am keeping the car.....

Photo's attached......

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Eric Boyles
1980 450SL

Sorry.....here they are.......

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Eric Boyles
1980 450SL

last ones.....

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Eric Boyles
1980 450SL

Depends on what the definition of "worth" is (have I heard something like that before?)

In economic terms--figure what you'd buy instead, cost to repair vs. insurance check, do the math.

In emotional terms--Man, you've got a rust-free Euro with manual air, small bumpers, etc. If you're as attached to it as I'd be, you'd kick in a couple thousand if necessary to supplement the insurance check and take it to the best shop you can find, and consider it cheap....

What's the estimate like to do the work?

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Craig Bethune

'97 SL500, 40th anniversary edition

'04 Olds Bravada (SWMBO's)
'06 Lexus ES330
'89 560SL (sold)


SL--Anything else is just a Mercedes.
(Kudos to whoever said it first)

I dont know anything about SLs but, "a Euro manual", I'm guessing would be a nice ride and a shame not to save, espically if you like the car and its not rusty , save her. You wont find another very easy.

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1985 Euro 240D 5 spd 140K
1979 240D 5 spd, 40K on engine rebuild
1994 Dodge/Cummins, 5 spd, 121K
1964 Allice Chalmers D15 tractor
2014 Kubota L3800 tractor
1964 VW bug

"Lifes too short to drive a boring car"

What happened, whats the estimate, and whats the damage?

Is the estimate including new or used parts???

I'd keep it untill I can fix it, give it a nice paintjob and fix any minor stuff thats wrong with it...

~Nate

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95 Honda Shadow ACE 1100.
1999 Plymouth Neon Expresso. 2.4 swap, 10.5 to 1 comp, big cams. Autocross time attack vehicle!
2012 Escape, 'hunter" (5 sp 4cyl)

Just to clarify, the tranny is automatic, the AC has the manual slides and not the troublesom auto controls from the US. I had a body shop guy coming to look at it today but it has been raining hard all day.

Also, here is the thread from the accident......my 17 yr old daughter was driving...Yikes! A Expedition rode up on top of it (kind of).

17 yr old daughter wrecks 1980-450SL

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Eric Boyles
1980 450SL

If it were mine, I'd take the insurance and fix it. Appears that you'll need left front fender, hood, grill, bumper, etc.... Check the sub-frame..... From your photos it doesn't appear that the left front tire has moved but you won't know until you get under it. Good luck and keep us posted about your decision.

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Roc

'74 350SLC (Euro) (For Sale)
'01 CLK55
'02 Jaguar XK8
'04 E320 Wagon
'89 Ferrari Mondial T Coupe
'57 Volvo PV-444 (Vintage Racer in build) (For Sale)
'80 Mazda RX7 Enduro Race Car (For Sale)

Hi there,
First, my condolances to your daughter! I'll bet she is still having nightmares! I have a '79 that I truly like, and if it had the same damage I would fix it for sure. The only difficult thing will be to find the new straight parts. If you can get the chassis and body service manual it shows the procedures for replacing all the affected parts - it looks like nothing from the front wall rearward was affected, just the pieces forward. There is a 450SL on Ebay right now in Florida that is basically a parts car, has all the pieces you would need. The guy started to restore it, so it's in pieces and undriveable (You'd need an enclosed trailer to haul the pieces, I think), but might be a good investment for you. Last night it was only in the $1400 range.

Regards,
Richard Wooldridge
'82 300D/4.3L V6/T700R4
'79 450SL
'75 280C

If it were mine I'd fix it. But, you do need to know the extent of any undercarrriage damage; straightening can be expensive. Also, did the motor mounts break in the accident? If you had comprehensive insurace, this makes a huge difference. I'd pull the grill/bumper and quarter panel before making a decision. I'm glad your daughter came out of it okay. This may be an indication of the toughness of your MB. I was in something like this in a Chev S-10, which drove the engine into the passenger compartment and me through the windshield.

Hi again,
Here's the item number for that '77 450 SL I mentioned:

Item # 4607286763

Right now it's sitting at $1330.00

Regards,
Richard Wooldridge

1984 300d Turbo 136k
Replace The Parts From A Used Mercedes, And Have It Painted, I Had
A Good Paint Work With Clear Coat For $400.00 Watch For Low Price Ad. One Day And Over Night To Dry, This On A 1984 Olds What The Insurance Co, Do On Repairs If Its Ok With The Job They Will Call First, Good Engine, No Rust Keep The Car.

That's a great car...I'd fix it. We had an old '82 MB 250 (Euro) that was in a bad accident. We fixed and kept it for another 10 years until the engine finally went, and it was definitely worth it.

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Pete
'97 E320
'96 Saab 9000 CS ("AMG Eater")
'96 Saab 900 SE ("Backup")

http://home.arcor.de/madollie/avatar/saab.gif

Car is probably not hurt bad; looks bad because cosmetics are involved. I vote to repair it. It's a better car than most of the new ones.

Jeez, sorry to read about it.......We conversed over a year ago several times, me under another name..don't ask!

I sold my 80 450SL and got off the legal hook but miss the car......but not the fuel economy! If I should ever have another it would have to be a six cylinder.

Can you update to let us know what you ended up doing?