value of 1984 300SD after accident (long)

[ToddM300SD]

I was recently involved in a minor accident. The brakes faded as I came to a stop sign. Pedal was to the floor and no deceleration. As I was in an urban environment and had nowhere to pull over or let gravity slow me down, I made a split second decision to make a hard right turn at the intersection, sending the car up a steep hill and hopefully slowing it down enough to rub the curb and stop or put the car into park. I was traveling about 25 MPH.
Long story long, the car didn't make the turn. The driver's side wheel hit the opposing curb and was bent almost perpendicular to the car. The wheel is cracked, and the suspension pieces are bent. The car runs excellent and shifts well. 213K miles. Everything works except for AC and CC. There is surface rust, but no structural rust. Interior is 6/10 -- mostly just faded and dirty from 30 years of use. I can probably replace the suspension pieces, but I don't yet know if the steering box was damaged or if there is any collateral damage. The car has full comprehensive insurance with a $500 deductable. I haven't submitted a claim, yet.

Need some advice as to what is my best course of action. What is the car worth if it is totaled? Should I buy it back and part it out if totaled? Should I fix it. I would probably have to scour junk yards for the pieces and replace all the bushings with new. I'm not in love with this car, so having it be a total loss would not bother me, as long as I made some money on the deal. I paid $700 for the car in non-running condition. It just needed some TLC and a good wax job.

What do you gentlemen think is the right course of action, based on your own experiences? There is an image of the damage in my public profile album. Thanks.

Todd

[shertex]

From your description of the damage, it's hard to imagine the insurance company won't total it. If I were in your shoes and that's where things were headed, I would have them total it and buy it back as one transaction. You might get a bit less that way, but it streamlines the process.

[vstech]

+1

[Zacharias]

Well obviously things may not be the same in PA as here in eastern Canada, but I just want to point out that the strategy of putting a low-value car through as a claim -- one that will be marked as at-fault for you to boot -- would blow back on you in a big way here.

Most insurance companies around here will jack your premium for the next two or three years to claw back the claim.

Alternatively, if you do have a "free" claim available on your policy, do you really want to use it for this car?

[ToddM300SD]

I considered that point with the increased insurance premiums. I have not had an accident in 10 years, so my premiums are very low.

Back to my original question. What could this car be worth as-is? Estimates are fine. Is it effectively a parts car at this moment? I don't want to start the insurance process, only to end up with no parts/parts car and increased premiums. I have been screwed in this manner in the past -- with a running car that had a dent in the rear quarter panel and high mileage. There was nothing mechanically wrong with the car.

Keep the answers coming.

[Zacharias]

Originally Posted by ToddM300SD

Back to my original question. What could this car be worth as-is?

Best case, $500 on Craigslist as a non-driving parts car if the motor sounds good. People will try to offer $250.

A yard will pay somewhere between $150 and $250.

I agree with the suggestion to fix it. I looked at the pic and it doesn't look that bad.

[junqueyardjim]

Well I certainly hope it all works out for you. Yet I would not doubt that the Insurance Co. is going to say you have no claim. They will say that is not a "comp" claim. They will say, you have had a collision with a part of the roadway which you had no right to be on and they don't cover collision with curbs, banks, pot holes, ect. No other car was involved. I ran into that problem with our Jaguar where or when I hit an enormous pothole on I70 and broke two expensive wheels. I did over $1000.00 damage, had full coverage, they said, it was nice talking to you. Bye now!

[Tubularfab]

Doesn't sound like that bad to fix if it's just bolt on parts that are damaged. I'd be doing it myself and leave the insurance out of the equation...

[kerry]

I agree with the 'fix it yourself' approach. By the way, pumping the brakes when they went to the floor may have returned their function.

[rscurtis]

How do you suddenly lose all breaking with a dual circuit braking system? Is it possible that only half the system was working to begin with?

[kerry]

Originally Posted by rscurtis

How do you suddenly lose all breaking with a dual circuit braking system? Is it possible that only half the system was working to begin with?

Master cylinder fails.

[rscurtis]

Originally Posted by kerry

Master cylinder fails.

I don't buy that. You essentially have two master cylinders in tandem that are connected hydraulically. If the rear section fails, it becomes mechanically connected to the front section. If the front section fails, then the rear is doing all the braking. I suspect only half the master was working to begin with.

[ToddM300SD]

I can certainly replace the suspension pieces myself. The car is currently at my home and cannot be driven. I would have to tow it to a body shop for frame measurement. It's hard to tell, but it appears the attachment point for the lower control arm is bent in or buckled. I'd have to jack up the passenger side to compare. Also, the outer tie rod is bent in a "u" pattern. It's not pretty.

[vstech]

most of the front end parts are identical between 123 and 126 vehicles.
however, since you are looking, you might want to pull the spindle from a 86-91 126 and get the larger rotor/caliper for better braking in the future...

[97 SL320]

It is hard to tell if the suspension mounting points are bent from the pic but they are at least bumped. Look around for a frame measurement diagram, make a trammel gauge and start measuring.

At minimum the left lower a arm / ball joint / steering arm / tie rod and sleeve will be bent. The upper likely survived, cycle the shock and feel if it sticks / gets stiff in a spot, check the brake hoses for over extension. Steering box is probably OK, ( I'm guessing it didn't spin the steering wheel and break your wrists. ) The right side tie rod sleeve / steering arm needs to be inspected.

As for current value, it depends if these cars are at all common in your area. In a non Mercedes area it is scrap weight, in other areas ~ $ 500 to the right person that may or may not be needing parts at the moment.

As for being covered under insurance, the time to read your policy is before you have a claim. Buying insurance isn't a all inclusive action. You are buying insurance against _specific_ losses. If one isn't paying for a specific loss, they should not expect coverage.

Think of it this way, a person buys home owners insurance but declines the extra flood insurance because they feel flood waters will never go that high. A major storm occurs and the basement floods, they should not expect to covered since they declined specific coverage.

As for making a claim in this instance, don't. Filing a claim to recover damage over what amounts to a $ 1,500 car ( pre crash ) isn't a good idea. For that matter, keeping full coverage on a 30 year old daily driver in zoomer condition isn't cost effective. If you can at all afford to replace a car out of pocket, don't carry full coverage, especially for a car that has low value and is expensive to repair.

In 95 I bought my Mom a 91 Dodge Spirit and the insurance co was dumbfounded that I didn't have it on a bank loan or want anything above basic liability. If she crashed it I'd fix or get her another car, if someone else hit it and didn't run, they would fix it. She still has the car and never had any damage. The 99 Blazer I got last year for Mom and Dad just has liability. Also for the record, my very nice 97 SL 320 just has basic coverage as well.