I've got a donor car with perfect front sheet metal, only I'm in TN. I hate to see a pretty car like your's get parted out. If you were closer, I'd try to buy it from you!

Good luck.

Hate to see old Benz's parted out. So, here's my 2 cents. From the photo it looks like the damage is most likely just sheet metal above and in front of the wheel, as the bumper appears undamaged. Can't see if the door was damaged. Unless the Rodeo hit the front wheel, I would say there is no suspension or frame damage. Just depends on the condition of the rest of the car whether it is worth repairing: mechanical condition, interior, and the amount of rust. If it is at the top end in condition compared to other cars, and there is no frame or suspension damage, I'd get what you can from the insurance company and go ahead and fix it. And since you plan to keep it for a long time, you will know exactly what shape it is in when your done, and have taken the first steps to take care of some of the rust and other problems.

If it were mine, I'd buy a new front fender ($75 to $150 aftermarket plus shipping, or around $300 from the dealer), a new wheel well from the dealer (if damaged), and find the rest of the parts used, or replace with new as desired. Good, used, rust-free fenders and wheel well housings would be hard to find, but the good used parts for the rest should not be. This would also give you a chance to fix up some of the minor rust. I would also say $1500 is a little low, and would also say $2500 to $3000 after including parts, labor, paint, and misc would be more like it

As far as paint color, I had a body shop recently repair part of my car. It was a hard to match gold. He used an electronic paint color matching device to accurately mix the exact color based off the existing paint. Made several spot repairs for minor rust all over the car, and when he painted it, it matched perfectly. You'd be hard pressed to tell where it was repainted.

If you want a 300CD, why don't you buy it and get the other car fixed at your leisure or as money allows. Must worn you about the 300CD, the back seat has very little leg room, and is better suited for kids than adults for long trips.

Good luck!

Coupe or sedan??? First off . . . there is no more beautiful automobile on the streets today than a W123 coupe! There is just something very special about the graceful roofline. Heck, the whole car is graceful.

Now, I do not have a W123 coupe, but did own a W123 sedan for quite a few years. Currently, I own a W124 coupe. Before purchasing that particular car, I searched wide and far for a like condition W123 coupe. Alas, couldn't find one and purchased the W124 coupe. Am very happy with the choice. Even with its "modern" style, it doesn't match the classic lines of the W123 coupe.

As a comparison between the two, as stated previously, there is precious little rear seat leg room in the coupe. Okay for short trips where you will have to pull your front seats far forward, but for normal use, practically unuasable. Same for both W123 and W124 coupes.

The second thing you should be warned about concerns headroom. It really depends on how tall you are. If you are under six feet tall, you shouldn't have much problem with either the sedan or coupe. If you are over, expect to be cramped. There is just not as much headroom in the coupes. Part of the blame is because of the sun roofs, other blame is on the graceful roof lines of the coupes.

I partially solved my headroom problem by tying the springs of the seat bottom to the seat frame. That gave me about an additional inch of headroom without losing comfort. Still, I cannot sit as upright as I would like at times. My seat is in a permanant semi-recline position. In the mornings, when the horizontal position of sleep lengthens one's spine, I have to recline more. On the way home after work, where the weight of the body compressess the spine a bit, I can sit more upright.

Just be forwarned! It may not be a problem for you.

If headroom is not a problem, and you don't plan to haul people around very often, get the coupe. There is just a grace and awe to the coupes that the sedans don't have. The coupes will always be worth more than the sedans and more desirable. The W123 coupe is classy! The sedan just a classic, someday.

Oh! Don't place too much emphasis on a marginally shorter wheelbase being easier to park. About the only advantage of the shorter wheelbase is better handling, cornering, and ability to make tighter U-turns. You are still going to take the same amount of space when parking . . . in fact, you will probably take a little more because you will want to protect and "baby" your coupe. (I always take two parking spaces on the outer edges of parking lots. Get a lot of walking exercise that way as well as "protect" my car from inconsiderate adjacent parkers who could care less what their door hits when they open them.

Downside of coupes, as you have alluded to, is that parts (body and glass parts) are more expensive. Just the law of Supply and Demand at work, nothing more. Mechanical parts are the same, so those costs will be the same.

(Please forgive my misspellings. I sure wish there was a spell checker we could use before posting.)

DF,

You made the right choice. I just had my '84 wrecked like yours (not as bad), see link below for photos. To fix that properly would be $3-$4000 or possibly more. And what you would have? A car worth $3000 at most, due to the accident history. Very, very poor financial decision, assuming you don't have some irrational emotional attachment to the car (like it was your dad's first MB or something). To fix it cheap would still take $2000+ with all used parts. The inner wheel well is part of the unibody, it IS smashed, you'd need to cut out a donor section from another car and weld it to yours - then bolt on all the body panels. Plus, your radiator and AC condenser are toast... the AC plumbing is buried in all that carnage behind the headlamp. And the aux heater pump too. Trust me. Get another car, and keep that one for parts! If you need $$$, sell it for the powertrain (which has to be worth at least $750 if it runs good) and part out the rest. It simply IS NOT worth spending $4k to fix a car that will be worth $3k when you're done. You'll be far ahead of the game financially buying another one. 123's are plentiful and cheap right now.

As to the D/CD question, I think it depends entirely if you want a 2 door or 4 door. Seriously. I'd also check out the W124 or W201 diesels, they are light years ahead of the 123 in engineering and ride quality, but will cost you a little more - may not be in your budget to upgrade chassis at this time.

Side note: If this were a 124, or other newer MB worth $6k or better, it probably would be worth fixing. Or at least seriously thinking about it. But you just can't justify it otherwise! 123 values have dropped to far. Here's photos of mine, SWMBO ran into somebody a month ago (d'oh). A used radiator & turn signal lens, and new headlight, got it back on the road for now. I plan to have her drive it most of this year and then sell the car as-is. Same deal, cost to repair would be way too much:

http://www.meimann.com/images/mercedes/84_300D/


HTH,

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

dave m

just went through your pics , wow if that was mine (knock on wood..) i think i woulda cried for a week ! and then gone and tried to repair it.

__________________
1984 300D Turbo - 231k....totalled 11/30/07 RIP

I sure wasn't happy, tell you whut! (to quote Hank Hill. ) But the cost to repair was above the reasonable value of the car, and since it's driveable, I have to leave it alone for now.


Below is a link to photos of my '87 that got whacked (not my fault) back in June 2003. This was a tougher call. Doesn't look too bad at first, but there was more damage than you think. The subframe was tweaked, engine mounts broke, frame twisted, etc... would have cost $5k+ to pull straight and have a tail clip welded on. And paint of course. If it didn't need a new head I might have thunk about it. But, I decided to take the payoff and keep the car for parts. The theory is to buy another 87 and swap over all my new parts & goodies (Sportline suspension, new carpets, leather door panels, wheels, 500E Euro lights, etc etc...)

http://www.meimann.com/images/mercedes/87_300D_white/wreck_june_2003/

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

Problem is the inner frame (inner fender arch) is bent. It has to go on a frame machine to get pulled straight. Then it needs to have a donor car cut up and a new inner fender frame section welded in. THEN, it needs new fender/hood/grille/AC/etc. No way you can fix this for $1500 unless you have almost free parts (or a whole parts car), and a relative in the body shop business. It's the labor that jacks the cost up. Parts are cheap, you're right, you can probably get a whole parts car with a straight front end as a donor for $500. Then it will take $2k labor to do the work, and another $1k+ for a full paint job. We're talking about fixing this PROPERLY for $4k, not a Rube Goldberg patch-up job...! You know, so the car goes down the road straight, doesn't pull or burn up tires, etc...

Important point: The 123 chassis, like most (all?) Mercedes from ~1980-up, are not body-on-frame design. They are unibody. You can't just unbolt wrinkled metal and bolt on straight stuff - it MUST go on a frame machine at a body shop! And that's where the cost skyrockets...

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

Thanks again to everyone who's weighed in with opinions on this topic. You've been very helpful.

Right now I'm playing a waiting game. I can't do anything until I see what the girl's insurance co. is going to offer me.

I had a depressing discussion with a local Mercedes-Benz dealer who does body work. He said, when it comes to ins. co. settlements, they don't care how well-maintained the car might be or how much money someone may have put into it. They determine a "street value figure" based on Kelly Blue Book/NADA, etc., with mileage and age of the vehicle the biggest factors. Which means I sense a reaming a'coming.

If anyone out there has been in this situation, please tell me how it went for you with the insurance company: did they lowball you? Were you able to fight their figures and come up with something more equitable?

Thanks!

Here's a close-up of the fender...

Attached Thumbnails

 

I'm going through this **right now** with my company (Allstate) on my collision policy, since it was my wife's fault. They don't give a rat's patoot about KBB or NADA. They use their own internal "vehicle value" process. In this case, it's a company called "ADP/Autosource". They pull "comparable" vehicles from local newspapers, dealer ads, etc. If not enough are found in your city/state, they will expand the search to neighboring states etc. Initially they tried to say my car was worth less than $3k. I tried to explain to the (arrogant jerk) adjuster about Mercedes diesels, that 225kmi isn't high, etc and a well-maintained one is worth double what the usual junkers are. He basically said that he believes that I believe I could get $4k for my car (pre-wreck), but he personally feels I am wrong about that. I pushed back some more and he grudgingly agreed to review more comparable vehicles, as I felt the one selected (~$3000) was not "comparable" but just average, and I have a stack of maintenance records with major repairs (complete new suspension, brakes, tires, etc in the last year) to back it up. Round #2 got the net offer up about $500 higher (comp vehicle value was $4100 but they adjusted mine down $400+ for no apparent reason!), which is much more reasonable but still not that great, after my $500 deductible and $360 salvage buyback (so I can keep the car). I think I'll be stuck there though, take what I can, and sell the car later this year to recoup a little more. Meanwhile my insurance premiums skyrocket.

You have more leverage because you were NOT at fault, the girl was. Her insurance company will be slightly more willing to reach an agreement, especially if you were injured and will have medical bills too. High NADA book is $4k, I'd shoot for that (your car looks pretty clean), plus sales tax, less salvage buyback.

I went through this 8 months ago on my 87 when I was not at fault. Tried through my company - same jerk adjuster, same lowball problem, even after an outside "appraiser" inspected it (I use that term very loosely - long story). They came up to NADA high book and no more, minus salvage value, NO sales tax. The at-fault party's adjuster, after equal amounts of haggling if not more, finally came up to NADA plus $500, plus sales tax, less salvage value. Overall that was a better deal by a good margin. In retrospect, it was less than I should have taken, because that car was in *much* better shape than my 123 and was worth more than I settled for, but I was tired of fighting.

But yes the dealer is 110% correct. You're in for a reaming. You only DON'T get reamed when you drive a pile of crap, like a $500 beater W123, and they offer you $2k which is 4x more than it's worth. Understand? Driving a well-maintained older car is enjoyable up to the point where it's wrecked, then you get SCREWED.

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

Update: Just got off the phone with the adjuster. I whined about the offset, which was -$395. Turns out that was because the "comp" car was a 1985 and mine is an 84. He said yeah, that was a little steep, and fiddled with the numbers again and got it up another $75, yippee. That was the final offer, next step would have been getting a formal appraisal at my expense, just not worth the time or cost. So I took it. Final agreed value was $3600, and my net was that minus collision deductible (varies based on your coverage) and minus salvage value (varies by company and location, but usually $250-$500).

Since you were NOT at fault, you won't have the collision deductible, only salvage value. And they should tack on sales tax on top of the vehicle value. Let's say you got the same agreed value at $3600, plus say 5% sales tax takes it up to $3780, minus salvage value. Let's call that $380, leaving you a net of $3400 cash and you keep the car. I bet when all is said & done, you'll end up with a final settlement between $3000-$3750 or so, I suspect you'll have a very hard time getting higher (after salvage buyback, etc). I also won't be too shocked if the initial offer is $3000 or less.

Keep us posted on what happens!

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

I still say fight 'em....This was NOT your fault.

I have an emotional attachment to my particular car, so when I was going thru this, I did not want a replacement, even if it theoretically could have been a "better" deal or a "better" car. I wanted MY car fixed.

The threat of long, drawn-out moderation and/or lawsuits often encourages them to settle for a higher amount. I don't feel that this threat would be out of line, since you were not at fault, their client was, and they are trying to give you the short end of the stick.

Mike

__________________
_____
1979 300 SD
350,000 miles
_____
1982 300D-gone---sold to a buddy
_____
1985 300TD
270,000 miles
_____
1994 E320
not my favorite, but the wife wanted it

www.myspace.com/mikemover
www.myspace.com/openskystudio
www.myspace.com/speedxband
www.myspace.com/openskyseparators
www.myspace.com/doubledrivemusic

Mike, that was my plan for my one remaining, unmolested 300D. Let us know how the appraisal process goes, what it costs, etc. Then see if you can get an insurance policy based on that amount!

__________________
Dave
Boise, ID
Check out my website photos, documents, and movies!

I can definitely share in the frustration.. About 2 months ago I was heading out for the day, so I pulled the car out of the garage and shined her up with some quick detailer, dressed the tires and trim and cleaned the windows. I jumped in the car and started down the driveway to the road. There are various parking spaces along my driveway for other condos in my complex, and theyre all located in between garages, so naturally you have to use caution in pulling out of any spots that are in between them. HOWEVER a girl late for class and in a hurry was NOT cautious and ended up backing into me at high speed while I drove down the driveway.
I got 3 estimates, ranging from $2500-$4500. Basically the driver side front and rear doors are going to be replaced and the paint blended into the front and rear fenders.
My insurance company at first decided to call my case a total loss, and had found the value of my car by comparing it to a 1984 300D with 228K miles for sale in my area for $2200. (my car has 157K and is most likely 100% nicer in every way). Reluctant to accept their offer for $1800 after my deductable, I ended up getting away with $3000 for the repairs and was able to keep my car.
Good luck to all who have to go through this painful process!
I lost my last 300D to the insurance company, and after regretting that I will never loose my current car to any outer force.

__________________
Nate

1995 E420
1992 BMW 525i
1984 300D Turbo sold
1993 Volvo 244 sold
1995 Volvo 944T R.I.P!


"The details are not details. They make the product."
-Charles Eames

www.cbs.nu

Dear Diesel Friends:

I'm looking at an '82 300CD and was wondering if the engine/trans from my wrecked 300D would transplant properly into a 300CD.

Any info would be appreciated.

All best,

DieselFitter