W210 E300 Woes
 

So the other day me and my 1999 E300 managed to get off the road into a field. The full extent of the damage is unknown but i do know I will need new radiator, oil cooler, intercooler and lower control arm. I believe all or most of the oil was let out of the motor when the cooler broke. I tried turning the engine on for a mere second to see if it worked and yes it does. I guess my big question would be is it worth buying the parts for this car to fix? Due to a medical condition I was unconscious at the time and cannot recall going into the field nor what shut the engine off. Will this motor shut itself off if oil or coolant leaks out? I just do not want to spend 500+ and find out something else internal is ruined but my wife and I do not have an abundance of funds at the moment. Suggestions?

Please stop driving until you get your medical condition resolved.

Naturally, anyway what about the car? Is it possible to salvage or not the most prudent choice?

Yes to the first part, and the second part: it really depends on many factors, and is really a personal decision in the end. Money, time, confidence in the final outcome, condition of the rest of the car, availability of a replacement, joy in the challenge, just a few things off the top of my head.

Personally I would not, body work is beyond my current skill set and I'm too frugal to pay someone else when a replacement car isn't going to cost too much more than the repairs (or maybe even less).

Sorry to hear about your accident. Unfortunately, I agree its probably not worth the repairs given that these cars seem to go for 4-5k or less. Those parts plus labor will be not much less than that.

Sounds like it could be better to part the car out to part pay for the new car.

As far as the physical condition of the car, its fine, from the outside you cannot tell what happened. It bent the radiator frame, and broke the skirt of the bumper. Other than seeing the wheel looking out of whack because of the control arm there really is not and body damage. I would be doing all the work myself. If i was back in PA I feel there would be a better local market for parting out the car, but here in ME i am not sure. If i were to part it out what kind of money could I expect and where would be a good place to sell? My wife and I are really trying to not take any loans out and pay off what we have. If a nice w126 came along I would be more than willing to go with that.