A "GOOD" shop (dealer quality=high price) will probably charge more for the job than the car is worth. It is best to find a shop (or friend/mechanic) that will work with you (using your supplied parts) on the suspension rebuild if you CAN'T do it yourself. These are very DIY friendly cars, and there are many suspension rebuild threads on this forum. The only real way to get good value from these cars is to work on them yourself, or find a competent mechanic (Mercedes-Benz enthusiast) to do the work at a fraction of dealer/Euro auto shop cost.

Until someone without insurance rear ends you.

It's always great to hear from an expert. Tell me, does my insurance company have a record of not honoring its obligations?

No I don't, but they are great at attempting to sell more insurance than you need or will ever benefit from. Feel free to search here on how many threads give praise to insurance companies that pay a fair price on a thirty plus year old vehicle after a wreck, or anywhere near 17K.

Rollguy- agreed- I found a good "assembly line" body shop... and yes- I would buy the parts/bushing kits... just wondering- what I am looking at for hours-
roughly- to do all of that - bushings/mounts/ball joints- ALL at the same time to save - Labor $$$$

Lastly- does Thrust arm= lower control arm??? is it same thing??

I don't need to do a search to determine that you don't have a clue about my insurance policy.

E mail your insurance agent and ask to have a binding answer to the following questions in writing, on their letter head and sent by USPS.

1) What is the valuation of my car right now?

2) If my car should become damaged, at what % of value would it be considered a total loss and not be repaired?

3) If my car becomes a total loss for any reason, how much will the check written to me be?

What would compel a competent shop to do a job at break even or a loss? Losing profit from parts and cutting labor rates is no way to run a business.

First, I will need for you to send me, via certified mail, a copy or your insurance qualifications. On official letter head (sic), of course.

In any case, the agreed value of $17,150 is specified right on the declarations page.

The 211 chassis has what is called a "thrust arm", and it does the same thing that a "guide rod" does on a 123 chassis. I am not as familiar with a 126 chassis (your 300SD), so I don't know if it has a trust arm, guide rod, or something else. However, the suspension parts for a 126 are also available. As far as the hours involved, many shops charge "book time". A 5 hour job by the book may only take an expert tech only 3 hours, while a DIY guy might take 7 to do the same job. I have no idea how many hours your car will take to rebuild the suspension.

Wow, this and your previous rants in this thread prove that untreated diesel exhaust isn't toxic and also promotes good grammar.

You could have been more specific about what type of coverage you have. Some here have been caught out by thinking Stated Value and Agreed Value were interchangeable only to find that their Stated Value policy would not fully cover them.

For the benefit of others, here is a bit from https://www.hagerty.com/insurance/insurance-tips-and-resources/stated-value-vs-guaranteed-value

Of course I do not have any knowledge of "Your policy".. Relax I was just saying be careful and don't count on what your agent tells you. They are great at saying buy 17K in coverage then payout way less due to depreciation. Thats all end of story.

I didn't ask for insurance advice, so there was no need for me to be specific about anything. If YOU feel the need to provide unsolicited advice, maybe YOU find out what kind of coverage is involved.

Depreciation is not a factor in an agreed value contract.

240D Value
 

Wow, my '82 240D is worth maybe $3,500.00, I can't see it ever being worth more than that as I actually drive the darn thing, it drives very well indeed but is just a base model putt - putter, not even a sun roof nor power windows although the AC is ice cold.....

Sometimes I think jerkhoff rich folks diddle in the market and have no real idea what their vehicles are worth .