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  #1  
Old 10-27-2016, 04:44 PM
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OTIS GOT HIT! Looking for some insurance and front end advice

Otis, my beloved 91 300D, got hit at an intersection this afternoon. Kid ran a red light...hit my right front wheel, fender, and bumper. Beyond the cosmetic damage, the car now pulls to the left.

So I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row before the adjuster comes out. Specifically, I'm curious to know what to look for by way of suspension damage that might be the cause of the car pulling to the left.

The kid's insurer is State Farm. So any advice on dealing with them much appreciated.

Thanks.

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
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19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
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  #2  
Old 10-27-2016, 06:57 PM
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Sorry to hear I can't really help but I know that right front fender with the vents is $$$$$.
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  #3  
Old 10-27-2016, 08:07 PM
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Location: Anacortes, WA
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Ugh, this sucks. Good luck with the insurance company. So frustrating that someone else's carelessness can cost so dearly, especially as the book value of your car is probably a lot less then the blood, sweat, and tears invested.
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  #4  
Old 10-27-2016, 08:37 PM
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The corners are designed to give, so the damage is likely confined to easily replaced stuff. With a front corner, look at the strut, the control arm and the tie rod. It's possible, but less likely, that the hub carrier has damage. And of course, the wheel. Fatal damage would be atwisted front frame, which may be hard to spot without getting it on the frame machine.
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  #5  
Old 10-27-2016, 09:08 PM
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Most likely you will have "frame" damage if hit in the suspension, can transfer to broken engine mount castings, other unexpected damage beneath. The tips of the frame extend to the front bumper, and quite possibly were impacted, ... if the hood was not touched maybe not. The air intake system is in that fender (not likely to find that used, only a 2.5t thing), as is the radiator's overflow tank.

The short answer is that the car is likely "totalled", meaning the cost to repair exceeds ~80% of the car's value. You will want to start documenting the car's value at this point.
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  #6  
Old 10-27-2016, 11:08 PM
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Thanks for the input. Thankfully I have a first rate auto body shop that's very reasonably priced. Taking it by tomorrow to see what he thinks. I'm determined to get it fixed right even if I have to pay something out of pocket. I wonder how pricey that could be.
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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife
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  #7  
Old 10-28-2016, 08:10 AM
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Here's a pic of the damage.
Attached Thumbnails
OTIS GOT HIT!  Looking for some insurance and front end advice-img_2917.jpg  
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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife
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  #8  
Old 10-28-2016, 09:35 AM
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Pulling one way after the accident may indeed be the bad news. Depends on what damage is found. Unfortunatly from the limited tin damage it does seem the other car primarily got the wheel.

Allstate may have improved their claim service but at one time they were pretty bad. Not that the majority of the others where all that great.
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  #9  
Old 10-28-2016, 09:58 AM
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Oddly, the pulling to the left seems to have corrected itself, which is weird.

My auto body guy looked at it this morning. He's estimating about $2,000 of damage. Says they won't total it. Wheel bearings definitely damaged.
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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife
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  #10  
Old 10-28-2016, 10:34 AM
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your W124.128

Hopefully your car can be saved. Have been looking at replacing my W124.128 with a 2005/2006 CDI but it means I have to sell the W124. Will probably not happing as too attached to the W124 for various reasons.
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  #11  
Old 10-28-2016, 11:51 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by shertex View Post
Otis, my beloved 91 300D, got hit at an intersection this afternoon. Kid ran a red light...hit my right front wheel, fender, and bumper. Beyond the cosmetic damage, the car now pulls to the left.

So I'm trying to get all my ducks in a row before the adjuster comes out. Specifically, I'm curious to know what to look for by way of suspension damage that might be the cause of the car pulling to the left.

The kid's insurer is State Farm. So any advice on dealing with them much appreciated.

Thanks.
So sorry to read this shertex.

Since State Farm, they are one of the worst about paying up: be prepared for at least a one year court case. (0 percent of the auto accidents in courts are State Farm and very few lawyers will go against them. At least blessed a minor and repairable accident.

Good luck, hope feel better soon, and hope this helps.
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  #12  
Old 10-29-2016, 07:47 AM
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Here's the odd thing I noticed this morning… It looks as though the entire front end of the car has been raised up.

It could be my imagination...but I'm pretty sure front and rear were even prior to the accident.

I lifted up front end and I can't see anything bent...springs look to be in good shape, etc... Confusing.
Attached Thumbnails
OTIS GOT HIT!  Looking for some insurance and front end advice-img_1581.jpg  
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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife

Last edited by shertex; 10-29-2016 at 08:04 AM.
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  #13  
Old 10-29-2016, 09:37 AM
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Despite the gloom and doom of other posters that the car is "totaled" , the damage appears minimal. It looks more like a parking lot oops vs a 90 MPH square hit.

The tire still holds air.

The bumper cover isn't torn.

The fender is intact.

In order to do any real damage, none of the above three would have been largely intact.

As for the puling and front high, frequently car owners aren't aware of certain preexisting conditions until something draws their attention to them or they are out of the car for a period of time.

Is the steering wheel still straight? If camber/ caster is altered, toe will also change as a result leading to an off center steering wheel.

It's surprisingly easy to alter alignment with a bump, and just as easy to bring it back with an adjustment.

Road surfaces play a large part in pulling. Roads are not flat and the crown is constantly trying to pull the car to the right, generally cars are set up to pull slightly to the left as a counter measure. Drive on a perfectly flat road and the car might pull left.
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  #14  
Old 10-29-2016, 10:32 AM
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If the front raises up moving forward, and settles back down when you back up, it's toed-in quite a bit.

Regarding totalled or not, this is a simple ratio of cost to repair to book value, repairs are expensive and a 25 year old car doesn't have much value in an adjuster's books. Many ooder cars are totalled by "fender benders".
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  #15  
Old 10-29-2016, 12:22 PM
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That's interesting, Jeff. I backed it up and, sure enough, the front went down! Drove around the block, pulled forward into driveway, and now level appears to be back to normal.

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14 E250 Bluetec "Sinclair", Palladium Silver on Black, 153k miles
06 E320 CDI "Rutherford", Black on Tan, 171k mi, Stage 1 tune, tuned TCU
91 300D "Otis", Smoke Silver, 142k mi, wastegate conversion

19 Honda CR-V EX 61k mi
Fourteen other MB's owned and sold
1961 Very Tolerant Wife
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