When genius strikes - Page 2 - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

boneheaddoctor · #16 03-09-2006, 11:40 AM

They did say it rolled to the NEIGHBORS house and hit the truck , van or whatever...so it definately traveled more than 10 feet.

however I do wonder why there was not more damage to the minivan...after all crash standards are not the same for them and usually they don't fare as well as this one appears to based on the impact damage to the car. Also I bet that car weights as much if not more than that minivan...now this is just a wild gues without looking them up. I would think it would have pushed that minivan quite a bit...and odd you don't see drag or skid marks from the minivans rear tires if it was in fact in park....there are a few things about this picture that do not exactly add up.

dunl · #17 03-09-2006, 12:11 PM

Point #1: The car does have heavy damage on the rear end.

Point #2: The van does have the engine hood bent, as you can see by the crack where it would normally be closed tight.

Point #3: What benefit would you get by damaging your van also, just to think up a story like this?

Point #4: The car certainly looks like it was going fast than a "roll".

Point #5: There are no skid marks from the van's tires, leading me to believe it hasn't moved much, especially with a garage behind it.

Point #6: I'm thinking the structural strength of the car's trunk is less than the force needed to move the weight of the van.

My conclusion?: They backed up into the van.

Nate · #18 03-09-2006, 12:29 PM

look at that first picture... it looks like the beginning of a big hill if you follow the driveway... mabey instead of putting it in park, they went into nutral. Or the trans is screwed up too (no skid marks, and from the looks of it, it went a long ways)
or mabey they even put it in reverse? dunno... but they sure didnt use the parking brake.

Cheap parts car, with what looks to be a good interior, and great engine

~Nate

R Leo · #19 03-09-2006, 12:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by boneheaddoctor

you don't see drag or skid marks from the minivans rear tires if it was in fact in park....there are a few things about this picture that do not exactly add up.

I thought about the lack of tire marks and here's my guess: that's a front wheel drive minivan and because the impact was with the MB's bumper below the van's, it lofted the van upwards, minimizing tiremarks made by the front wheels and pivoting it on the left rear wheel (it looks to me like it is sitting sideways in the driveway) which was locked by the parking brake. The right rear probably displays the most movement.

A square hit on level ground by the MB would have definitely left skid marks on all four van tires.

Hatterasguy · #20 03-09-2006, 01:40 PM

Now here is a queston, why wasn't the MB in park?

Lets not even get into the e brake...

Ken300D · #21 03-09-2006, 03:55 PM

It doesn't happen very often, but "Park" can "fail".

If it happened more often, you'd see more accidents like this. But it can happen - don't trust Park on a hill.

Ken300D

pmari · #22 03-09-2006, 04:40 PM

From mercedes source.....

If the floor shifter in your Mercedes with automatic transmission feels loose or clunks when you shift it, I will warn you that you had better take care of it now! I have seen two instances where Mercedes owners have left their cars in park only to come back and discover they have rolled away (accidently come out of park). In one instance a nice 300CD coupe rolled down a hill and into a tree.

babymog · #23 03-09-2006, 04:51 PM

First, I don't know why one would pretend that this is what happened, unless there is something else involved (parents, alcohol, ??). Regardless, fake.

My oldest daughter backed her '85 4000quattro out of the driveway fast, smacked the right taillamp into the front of a parked Suburban (steel bumper, steel fascia). It missed the quattro bumper, quite similar to the "accident" in the photos. Took out the taillamps, bent the trunk lid slightly, buckled the 1/4 panel, did $3000 damage to the Suburban including the bumper, bumper backer, mounting brackets, sheet metal, light and grille. Lots of parts, I paid the bill. The quattro looks quite good in comparison even though it was taillamps vs 'burb bumper. Much less damage than on this M-B.

My Uncle ran into the back of my wife's Jetta, hit the bumper and rode over it hitting the taillamps, with a Ford E-150. Cracked the taillamp, messed the bumper fascia (Jetta), van had: bent bumper, broken headlamps and bezel, bent steel around grille, broken grille, bent fender, broken fender flare, RF door won't open. This was at a stopsign, about 10mph.

Offset hits like this is supposed to be create a mess. In both cases the front of one vehicle had damage similar to the rear of the other, in the case of the quattro/suburban it was exceptionally similar to the one possibly staged in these photos, even a mid-'80s German car. If this car had hit the minivan hard enough to do this much damage, it would be going lets guess 15mph or more, (I'd realistically guess more like 25 or more though, notice the bumper is shoved in also, a hard hit), simple physics puts the kinetic energy moving both vehicles backwards at roughly 7mph on impact, and the minivan would take several feet to stop at that speed on level ground, especially without a parking brake on, and even more if the front were lifted slightly, the differential on the minivan in park would allow one wheel to roll if the other were substantially unloaded/lifted.

Further, this would have done much more damage to the front of the van. I've seen those vans in fender-benders, they bend. The ground under the van would have lots of anti-freeze and transmission fluid on it, plastic from the grille and Mercedes taillamps, ... and just un-latching the hood so that it is elevated slightly (but still aligns perfectly) doesn't convince me. Van is backed in, nobody backs minivans in, driveway across the street curves, unlikely it would have made the curve, ...

I'll throw in a guess though, tailgator, road-rage, slammed on the brakes, got hit, left the scene, had to make up a story or spend time in jail, notice he wants to sell fast.

- Jeff Miller
190DT

R Leo · #24 03-09-2006, 05:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by babymog

I'll throw in a guess though, tailgator, road-rage, slammed on the brakes, got hit, left the scene, had to make up a story or spend time in jail, notice he wants to sell fast.

- Jeff Miller
190DT

Maybe...but, it seems like he would have hidden that license plate number.

babymog · #25 03-09-2006, 06:00 PM

... didn't say he is smart,

That kind of a hit and they wouldn't have ended up together, one through the fence the other ??

Don't know why, but IMO still fake.

- Jeff Miller
190DT

dunl · #26 03-09-2006, 07:14 PM

Quote:

First, I don't know why one would pretend that this is what happened, unless there is something else involved (parents, alcohol, ??).

How about pride, considering they probably backed into it? What sounds better, it rolled into something, or I didn't see the big freakin' minivan behind me when I backed up????

And as for minivan damage, someone wrote off our Plymouth Voyager with a Dodge Caravan, by hitting the back passenger side with their front driver's side. Surprisingly little damage to the front of their van, but they wrote it off too once they ditched it and ripped the comlete undercarriage off the bottom of it.

Could have been the minivan if they hit it in the right spot.....

Hit Man X · #27 03-10-2006, 04:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nuckingfuts

american nickle classifieds......$800 300sdl.....ft collins paper

sounds too good to be true!

#28 03-10-2006, 05:57 AM

The seller responded to my e-mail.

"Seems to be a popular opinion, all I can say is that the driveway is very steep, and the neighbors driveway is also steep, with the van being parked at the bottom of thier driveway, luckily they put in a 3 foot concrete wall in their new addition last month. or it would have gone right through the kitchen, the back end of the van has more damage than the front for some reason,
anyways someone bought the benz today, sorry,
tom"