Bodhi damaged in accident
 

... my 300D was damaged in a hit-and-run accident this afternoon.:( I was sitting in the right-hand turn lane at a red light on an off ramp onto a busy road, and out of nowhere someone pulled into the area between the turn lane and the cars waiting to go straight, then turned right into the side of my car pushed it into the shoulder as he floored it between me and the traffic. The two drivers behind me (who stopped to help me) said he went up on two wheels and they thought he was going to flip over. He just kept going along the shoulder, leaving pieces of his car on the road, and none of us saw his tag. The body damage wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it would be based on how the crash felt ... it's basically a large dent in the rear door, a smaller dent in the driver's door, and a whole lot of scrapes down the side. But that's not the worst part. After the officer came to take down a report, I went to drive it the rest of the way to work, since it only seemed cosmetic ... as soon as I made a turn, I realized something was massively off about the steering. It turned, but when I went to straighten the wheels, the steering wheel ended up about 45 degrees off kilter. Then it would go straight, but just felt "off" when I tried to turn right again (into a parking lot). It sort of felt like the steering wheel would lose touch with the wheels intermittantly. I did not see any obvious damage to tie rods or the drag link, but I haven't jacked it up yet. Maybe I can describe it better tomorrow. I filed the claim and had it towed to my house, then had to drive all the way back to work in my other car and work until 2 a.m., so I'm wiped out. And gutted. The body damage doesn't look serious at all to me, but I know it doesn't need to be serious to total a 25-year-old, 283,000-mile car. And whatever happened to the steering, I'm worried could be serious. I'm not sure if he actually hit my left wheel, or if the damage happened because my car was shoved sideways abruptly.
I don't really know how to deal with it from here ... the claims office has been helpful so far so I will call them in the morning (aka, 3.5 hours from now), but any tips would be appreciated. I don't know whether to try to have an adjuster come to the house or have the car taken to a shop. I don't think the steering or suspension damage can be properly assessed in my driveway. I don't want to get fleeced, but most of all I don't want to lose my car, and I want it to come back driving as smoothly as it was. As some of you know I've put a tremendous amount of work into this car, and have memories with it going back to when I was 5 years old.
Here are two not-very-helpful photos I took with my cellphone before the tow truck got there ... I can update with better ones later. As said, considering how violent and terrifying it felt, I'm surprised it wasn't a lot uglier.

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my sympathies mate .....:(

Sorry to hear of your misfortune. Maybe one of the pieces he left is his plate !

When my son was sideswiped in the 92, I started a thread re insurance issues that may be of some help: http://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/diesel-discussion/314266-son-accident%3B-some-quick-insurance-questions.html. From your description of the damage, it sounds likely (certain?) that the insurance company will total the car. If that's the case, what you would want to negotiate with them is a single transaction whereby you keep the car and get them to cut you a check for an amount (hopefully) close to what they would have given you had they hauled the car away....as though they total it, take it from you, and sell it back to you in one fell swoop.

Too bad the other guy didn't flip; that would have kept him from getting away! Your A and B pillars are probably fine. It is good you can simply replace the doors and fenders with undamaged one with the same original color and none will be the wiser (I've done this with my black 300D - changing the door wiring is a PITA). Its the lower control arm and shock/spring mounting points you must examine very carefully. The lower control arm and other suspension components should also be swapped out and then everything realigned - by a dealer only.

Really sorry to hear about this. I think it is every vintage / classic car owner's nightmare, being a victim of an accident that is totally out of our control. And to make matters worse, this guy took off.

Richard

Its kind of hard to tell from a cell phone picture but in photo #2 it looks like the front wheel is canted in quite a bit, maybe the perp hit the front wheel and bent the control arm? I know it doesn't take much of a change in front suspension geometry in a W124 for the car to feel really weird.

The damage looks very fixable but I'm guessing the insurance company will total it out, you should be able to buy it back for around 1/10th of the pay out.

Make sure the insurance company knows how much work you've put into the car and its overall condition - I'd print out all the thread you've done over the years here that detail all the work done to the car.

I agree it looks fixable but I guarantee they will try to total the car.

Sorry to hear about that. Sounds to me as if the steering coupler may be damaged or loose. Not a difficult repair. Have someone turn the wheel with the engine running while you look at the coupler which is just upstream of the steering box on the steering shaft.

Thanks for the input and kind words guys. The more I read and think, the more I think this will be totaled. :( I spoke with the claims representative today and he did say I'd have the option to retain the car even if it as totaled, but I'm concerned about how the salvage title will affect my ability to enjoy the car on a daily basis. My brother in law looked up the procedure in my state, and it looks like a fairly complex process ... which worries me that some t won't get crossed, or an i won't get dotted, and I will end up not being able to register it, or insure it.
The adjuster is scheduled to come to my house tomorrow (and it might be after I have to leave at 1:30) but the claims rep said it would expedite things if I picked a shop now and had it towed there for an estimate. Of course, I don't know how to pick a shop. State Farm has certified shops, and I know MB has its own certified shops. Should I try to take it to the MB-certified shop? Or just pick one of State Farm's near me? I want a shop that's going to do the work right.
I'm having a hard time explaining this to people, because I guess it sounds insane, but I would rather lose money than have the car declared a total loss. I don't want it to have a comprimised title that I can't register if I move to another state. And I certainly don't want to lose the car. It would devastate me.

Hmm.
AFTER you turned, the wheel felt "weird" ... unless there's rust, the control arms should be OK, but you could easily have bent a drag link, tie rod, or even popped a bushing from a control arm. I know your rear suspension is rebuilt, how's the front? with the wheels straight, you can have someone turn the steering wheel, while you look at the linkage to see what's bent or loose.
the damage looks minimal, shouldn't even require door skins. just some metal work. I doubt the insurance co will total it, but I'd not rule it out.
you could be lucky, the perp could have been running from the law, or something. sounds like an odd accident, MUST have been something the guy was running from...
or, since it was at such a late hour, perhaps he was drunk, and realized after he hit you, he had to run! either way, I wish you great luck fixing her up.
when My 87TD got mashed, I was crushed... and I am not a 1 owner like you...
We are ALL glad that YOU were not hurt!
keep us posted.



and get better pictures of the carnage on here!!!

PS, I will gladly donate some parts if it will help get Bodhi back on the road!!!

X2 for pictures - particularly for the steering problem.

Damn shame this happened but don't give up yet it ain't over 'till the fat lady sings.

what state?

There may be other forum members that have navigated the shoal waters of total loss titling laws in your state already, its certainly something thats been done though.

Ive owned at least 3 cars that were declared total insurance losses, it never affected my enjoyment of the car. Currently right now my work van has been paid out on twice by two different insurance companies by people hitting it in parking lots. :rolleyes:

Once totaled, once almost totaled, each time I received a nice check in the mail, and still haven't fixed any of the minor dents from these accidents.

Another option you have, which i don't know if its too late, but is not to declare it to insurance and drop the claim. Go buy a couple white doors, fix the steering, and be out a couple hundred bucks, vs affecting the cars title.

It's not problem driving total loss cars in CO. My 74 Olds was totaled twice during my ownership.