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  #1  
Old 06-01-2010, 03:57 PM
Mechanical Hyphochondriac
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Ocala, FL
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Neighbor's Tree + my 300D project =

So my neighbors had one tree fall down on their house a couple weeks ago. It was not very large so my brother and I helped them out and cut it up and hauled some of it over to our place for the smoker...win/win. Well the were concerned about a couple other trees so they decided to have them removed. Unfortunately in the process, a large limb hit my project 300D N/A. It had a nearly perfectly straight body until this event. Apparently a rope broke or something.

Anyhow...the owner of the Tree removal business is going to pay me cash if we can work it out. Apparently his insurance deductible is $1,000 so he would rather cash me since he thinks it will be less than $1,000. I took some pictures in to a local reputable shop and they quoted $1,012.50, and that was assuming the trunk did not need a repaint. After rinsing the car off the damage does not seem as bad as I originally thought. I have $1,000 into the car at this point and it needs an interior and about $500 in engine parts to get it solid. It was a great example to sell later with great original body an paint...not so much now so I may pop the dent out myself and drive it and put the cash into restoring the mechanical parts.

Any thoughts?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J34pBv5Zy9o









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1987 300TDT - 195,000 (Original #14 head)
1993 190E 2.3 - 105,000
1981 300D - 250,000

Last edited by jonbobshinigin; 06-02-2010 at 08:43 AM.
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  #2  
Old 06-01-2010, 04:10 PM
rrgrassi's Avatar
mmmmmm Diesel...
 
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Location: Royse City Tx
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If you are going to keep the car, I would go ahead and get it fixed.
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  #3  
Old 06-01-2010, 05:02 PM
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Join Date: Jun 2010
Location: Sacramento
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If I was in your situation I would get the $1000 cash from the tree removal man. Then pop it out yourself and see how bad it looks after some pounding on it. If it isn't too bad, just drive it and use the extra cash to get it running 100%. If it still looks bad, then you've got 1000 bucks to spend on getting it fixed. Sucks that tree had to mess up your straight looking Mercedes :[
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  #4  
Old 06-01-2010, 05:05 PM
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Yeah, take the $1000 and then try your hand at collision repair!
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  #5  
Old 06-01-2010, 05:10 PM
Vice President of Snark
 
Join Date: Nov 2009
Location: Austin, TX
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Does your rear windshield gasket need to be replaced?

I bet you could gain access to that just by pulling the headliner open while the glass is out...
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  #6  
Old 06-01-2010, 05:25 PM
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I am surprised that the tree cutting company is so careless. They should have asked you to move the cars first. Now it happened and you need to get whatever you are entitled to, if it costs more than $1k, so be it. I would keep the cash and fix up the car mechanically. If it runs like a champ then spend extra money to do the cosmetic, like body work.
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  #7  
Old 06-01-2010, 06:50 PM
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1987 w124 300D
 
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Location: Edmonton, Canada
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Why pussy foot around? You didn't ask for this hit. It's not an act of god. He's at fault. The tree company should be fully bonded, if not he's got a bigger reason to pay you out cash. Any which way get this repair done right and get the paint and get his insurance to pay, or get him to pay the actual repair of place of your choosing. Doesn't matter if the car is running or not. Get it towed.
More than $1000 estimate (that you got) means you have to report vehicle damage where I live. So first, report the damage to the cops so you have the report in hand, you're the victim here. Get the incident documented and captured, then you have a good starting point.

You're lucky in a way this is not between you and your neighbor. A hired tree company is between you two so no matter what you can continue to be friendly neighbors. That would have been worth going the extra mile, etc. to maintain neighborly relations. But not for a careless tree removal company.

If you didn't like your neighbor, or the tree company goes bankrupt, you could actually make a case for neighbor's home insurance to pay you for the mishap. For damages occurring from his property. You'd have a case.
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  #8  
Old 06-01-2010, 08:33 PM
Fold on dotted line
 
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Location: SE Mich
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Quote:
Originally Posted by scottmcphee View Post
Why pussy foot around? You didn't ask for this hit. It's not an act of god. He's at fault. The tree company should be fully bonded, if not he's got a bigger reason to pay you out cash. Any which way get this repair done right and get the paint and get his insurance to pay, or get him to pay the actual repair of place of your choosing. Doesn't matter if the car is running or not. Get it towed.
More than $1000 estimate (that you got) means you have to report vehicle damage where I live. So first, report the damage to the cops so you have the report in hand, you're the victim here. Get the incident documented and captured, then you have a good starting point.

You're lucky in a way this is not between you and your neighbor. A hired tree company is between you two so no matter what you can continue to be friendly neighbors. That would have been worth going the extra mile, etc. to maintain neighborly relations. But not for a careless tree removal company.

If you didn't like your neighbor, or the tree company goes bankrupt, you could actually make a case for neighbor's home insurance to pay you for the mishap. For damages occurring from his property. You'd have a case.

Well said!

I notice many of our members are very nice and accommodating and there are people who take advantage of that. THIS IS ONE OF THEM!

This is a simple quid pro quo-- his job is to make it right, NOT NEGOTIATE FOR MINIMUM DAMAGE OUT OF HIS POCKET.

YOU HAVE BEEN WRONGED!

Make him make good on his error.
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  #9  
Old 06-01-2010, 08:50 PM
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Boils down to a simple question :

Who caused the damage to your car ?

THEY are 100% responsible to make it right be it 1K or 10K.
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  #10  
Old 06-01-2010, 09:29 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by strelnik View Post
Well said!

I notice many of our members are very nice and accommodating and there are people who take advantage of that. THIS IS ONE OF THEM!

This is a simple quid pro quo-- his job is to make it right, NOT NEGOTIATE FOR MINIMUM DAMAGE OUT OF HIS POCKET.

YOU HAVE BEEN WRONGED!

Make him make good on his error.
Amen to this.

Just let it go through his insurance, so that your car is fixed regardless of the cost.
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  #11  
Old 06-01-2010, 09:59 PM
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Location: Middle TN
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Get another estimate & get your money. You want whatever it takes to repair up to the value of the car. You shouldn't have to pay for his stupidity. You will end up paying in time but not cash because you have to go through the hassle of the repair only to get back to where you were before his screw up.

To be nice, give him the option of paying cash & keeping the claim off his record. Don't let this drag on. If you can't work it out & get paid the cash say by this Friday, let him know that you will file a claim with his carrier by Tuesday at 8:30AM. Deductible matters not to you. You didn't select the policy or it's terms. You only want to be made whole - not gain (AND not lose.)

edit: insurance companies live by their contracts. But insurance or lack of it is not your problem. Getting paid is.
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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.
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  #12  
Old 06-01-2010, 10:17 PM
Mechanical Hyphochondriac
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Ocala, FL
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The guy showed up today to look at it with me after the tree was removed. I had also given the car a good rinse so that we could properly asses the damage. It seems that it is all on the roof itself.

The guy was super reasonable and accepted total responsibility for the incident. He was straightforward and said there was a slight nick in the rope. I told him I did not want to do anything until I received another quote or have the people come out and actually look at it. He told me to get a written quote and that he would take care of it.

It appears that I could remove the headliner and push it out myself but there are two good sized ripples/creases in it. Then perhaps I could find a paintless dent repair guy. The paint does not seem to be terribly marred up either. I am optimistic. Then I can put the extra money into a water pump and radiator and maybe interior and get this baby on the road!

Unfortunately this certainly does not help its resell value so that is a downer but I am okay with keeping the car so that works. I will take a video of it with my iphone tomorrow and post it!

P.S. - Pierre Hadary has threatened me if I do not get it repaired correctly...so that is something to keep in mind!!
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1987 300TDT - 195,000 (Original #14 head)
1993 190E 2.3 - 105,000
1981 300D - 250,000
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  #13  
Old 06-02-2010, 12:16 AM
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Join Date: Feb 2010
Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 27
Ok, Thats a giant dent and will cost WAAAAY more than a grand to fix. I worked at a body shop writing estimates for a couple years and thats $4K easy. Looks to me like he essentially totaled your car. The right way to fix that is to section a new roof panel in. Glass out, headliner out, cut,cut ,weld weld, paint, paint etc...

You way want him to go through INS, get it totaled, then buy it back from the INS on the cheep and have a bunch of cash to fix it up with.


I dont know just a suggestion! Good Luck!!
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  #14  
Old 06-02-2010, 08:38 AM
Mechanical Hyphochondriac
 
Join Date: Sep 2009
Location: Ocala, FL
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Youtube video added to original post.
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1987 300TDT - 195,000 (Original #14 head)
1993 190E 2.3 - 105,000
1981 300D - 250,000
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  #15  
Old 06-02-2010, 09:48 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jonbobshinigin View Post
The guy was super reasonable and accepted total responsibility for the incident. I told him I did not want to do anything until I received another quote. He told me to get a written quote and that he would take care of it.

It appears that I could remove the headliner and push it out myself but there are two good sized ripples/creases in it. Then perhaps I could find a paintless dent repair guy.

Unfortunately this certainly does not help its resell value so that is a downer but I am okay with keeping the car so that works.
The guy accepts responsibility so:
1. Let him decide to file with his carrier or not. All you want is to be made whole. Whole = original car value - repair or what it is worth now + a little for your trouble.
2. Do check with the paintless guy. It looks too creased to me but perhaps someone that is good can fix it. That is not something you want to learn on if you want it fixed. You will make more of a mess than you have now. Buy a damaged hood if you want to learn (or hit a Honda hood with a hammer)

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85SD 240K & stopped counting painted, putting bac together. 84SD 180,000. sold to a neighbor and member here but I forget his handle. The 84 is much improved from when I had it. 85TD beginning to repair to DD status. Lots of stuff to do.
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