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  #1  
Old 06-24-2002, 03:32 PM
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C43 -- Disaster

Bad News -- Bad Luck

To Simplify Matter's I'm reposting this as a new thread with my original post and the two responses by C43AMG and Techbike below:

Well, to update my C43 experience. I picked the 1999 C43 AMG from Benz this Friday at 4:50 pm. They had changed all the fluides, brakes, etc and hired a fanatic to detail it inside and out including the engine; they put new Conti's on it. It was beautiful -- very tasteful, shiny black exterior, all black leather seats, dark burl walnut trim, brand new Alpine/MB fiber optics cd changer, and 8 speaker Bose audio system (seperates up front)(two midrange rear doors and two subwoofer rear deck). It sounded as good or better than my full alpine MB Quart competition (sperates) system with a Kenwood EQ in my former 300E.

I drove it out of the NY dealer's psyched. I was off to pick up my girlfriend up in CT. Exactly one hour later eastbound on I-84, 2 miles from the CT border with NY, driving in bumper to bumper traffic at 10 to 20 miles per hour, a red, 2000, Dodge Stratus plowed into my rear at about 40 mph. The impact totaled his front end and so crumpled the rear of my trunk that the spare could not be wedged out nor could the trunk be closed. The impact also pushed the driver's side rear wheel forward about 2 inches and pushed the S.S. exhaust into that rear wheel. After the impact, the car started fine, but would not shift into Drive; it would only shift into neutral.

So I had it flat bedded to the autobody shop that my local benz dealer uses and the Benz dealer said he would visit the shop on Monday and organize the repairs.

Clearly, the other guy is at fault -- cops said so and all -- but he comes from PA and has Prudential Insurance. Thankfully, no one was physically injured in the least.

Any advice, thoughts or commisseration would be greatly appreciated. My main concerns are: 1) if the driver's side rear wheel is pushed forward two inches, is the frame necessarily bent? or is it just that half of the rear suspension that needs to be replaced? and 2) given that the transmission wouldn't shift into drive, only neutral, does this mean that the rear differential or, worse, that the transmission is seriously damaged?

If the accident were just cosmetic, the car looks ok and could be fixed perfectly in no time. But with the above, I am concerned, and without my C43 for at least 3 weeks and forced to drive a Plymoth, Alero (to the Hamptons no less) -- the horror ...

Thanks,
Marc
C43 AMG (for 1 hour)

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06-23-2002 09:21 AM


techbike
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Registered: Mar 2002
Location: LI, New York
Posts: 40
Bummer!
Marc, sorry to hear about your accident. Glad nobody was hurt. Your neck must've hurt...
IMHO, if the insurance company will do it, I'd ask for a total. When you get hit like that and the trunk crumples, you'll need a pretty good and competent body shop with the right frame alignment jigs to make sure it runs straight. When they do the estimate, make sure replacement costs are for dealer-new parts, not refurbished like tranny, diff. case, axles, fuel tank assys., etc. When they add it up, it may be better for them to get you a new car. What does YOUR insurance co. say? You should be handling this through them, then let the insurance adjusters work it out between themselves.
Man, makes me stop being too anal about door dings. I really feel bad about your car...just don't compromise.



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06-24-2002 05:48 AM

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c43amg
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Location: Charlotte, NC
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Marc: Wow -- what a disaster and disappointment!

I would concur with techbike as to (a) get your insurance involved and make sure you have no fault attaching to you (get the highway patrol report ASAP) -- you may nonetheless end up with an insurance hike, and (b) insist that the dealer give you the part numbers and full retail prices for the OEM AMG parts -- the AMG exhaust and transmission alone will be substantial -- and use this as ammunition in the fight to have the car totaled -- no matter how good the body shop, it may well never be the same if there is frame damage and any resale will be adversely affected.

Prepare for a battle with respect to getting your full value, esp for the Starmark expense (the fact that you just bought the car and have an indubitable purchase price amount will be helpful) -- see http://www.peachparts.com/shopfor...threadid=28398.

Hopefully you won't need your three years of law school in this matter, but treat it like you would a client case and leave nothing to chance. You should let everyone know at the opening that you are an attorney experienced in bringing these sort of actions and will not hesitate to do so if you don't get full satisfaction.

You might see if the dealer can get you another Starmarked '99 -- the only C43s currently on the Starmark National Inventory with under 50,000 miles are in Falmouth, Maine at Performance Motors for $41M with 36,000 miles; Ellisville, Missouri at Tri-Star for $43M with only 8,000; Bakersfield, California at M-B of Bakersfied for $40M with 29, 900; Portoland, Oregon at M-B of Portland for $45M with only 15,000. See http://www.mbusa.com/brand/containe...rmark/index.jsp

These may also be helpful in establishing value -- get a printout of each car from the M-B Starmark website (or have the dealer do it for you -- they may be able to do an easier search as the consumer is limited to 10 pages at a time and you can't just search by C43 but rather have to get all C class cars) -- I got these by playing around with separate search for different zip codes around the country.

Amother idea would be to see if the dealer would do you a favor and work with you to let you find a private sale and run it through the dealer to get the car Starmarked -- i.e., if you paid the dealer, say $5,000 or so for the turnaround (with no carrying cost or inventory issues for the dealer) everyone would come out ahead if you could find a car for $30,000 or so -- see Autotrader and do a search for a C43: The dealer run through would act as an enhanced inspection.


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Thanks
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MMCLaw@Optonline.net

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  #2  
Old 06-24-2002, 04:07 PM
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C43 Disaster -- Updated News

Hi all:

I went to visit my injured C43 at the body shop this afternoon.

The tech's there say, clearly, the frame is bent. That the uni-body crumpled the way it was suposed to. However, with computerized pulling equipment, they claim that they will bring the unibody ("frame") back to MB's original spec's and that they will only use genuine AMG parts ordered through the local MB Dealer who sold me the car in the first place. They say that they will remove all affected suspension parts, etc., trash them, and replace them with original AMG parts after they have pulled the uni-body back to original MB spec's. Additionally, they claim that neither the differential nor the transmission were damaged, because the force of the impact was absorbed by the rear driver's side crumple zone and that, when the rear suspension is so damaged and the rear wheel knocked out of position, that the transmission won't engage. They estimate 3 to 4 weeks to complete these repairs. Necessarily, this claim will include a new tire, one or two new rims, a stainless exhaust and a four wheel alignment.

I've spoken to Prudential, the insurance company representing the guy that rammed into me, and Prudential has accepted 100% of the liability for this accident, including my rental car for the month. Additionally, Prudential has notified my insurance company of its decision. As a result, my insurance company will close its file on this claim. (Why would it be better to handle this through my Ins. Co. [not as good as Prudential] if Prudential has accepted 100% liability?)

There seems to be two ways to proceed with this claim. 1) Force Prudential to get me a similar Starmarked 1999 AMG C43 with under 41,000 miles, or, (2) let them pay to fix my AMG and cut me a check equal to the amount that my AMG has been devalued as a result of this accident. I estimate $10,000.00 over and above the cost of the repairs. With about $10,000 worth of repairs, $20K will be less expensive than buying me another Starmarked C43, going for between $40K and $43K.

Any thoughts on what the "diminished value" of this C43 would be? Advice?

Thanks in advance
Marc
C43AMG (for 1 hour)
MMCLaw@Optonline.net

Last edited by Tump; 06-24-2002 at 06:07 PM.
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  #3  
Old 06-24-2002, 05:26 PM
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One other thing to bring up is additional compensation for your car's "diminished value".

Howard Clark has a national radio show on AM radio. I'm sure he's on in your part of the country. He gives consumer advice and is sort of a financial watchdog, shows you how to save money, how not to get ripped off, yada yada yada.

I've heard him talk about this a lot. The concept is that your car has been in a wreck, and even though it gets fixed, it's value will be forever de-valued because of the accident. When you try and sell the car, peopl will not be willing to pay you for its real value because it has an accident history.

You should be compensated for this loss of value, and the insurance industry term is "diminished value". Most people get ripped off because they are not even aware of the concept.
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  #4  
Old 06-25-2002, 05:46 PM
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See this for a '98 C43 [no difference from '99] with the more desirable two-tone interior, 52,000 miles plus Starmark (doesn't say for how long, however) offered for $27,500. May be an alternative for you if you get totalled -- take $8,000 and put it in your pocket and drive the '98.

http://forums.mbnz.org/forums/AMG202/vthread.asp?messid=1263
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  #5  
Old 06-25-2002, 09:46 PM
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My advice to you...

is to try to get them to get you a new car. Or, give you a cheque equal to the devaluation and then sell the car ASAP.

I really don't care what any body/frame shop claims, or how much their frame table cost , or how many lasers they put on it; once metal is bent, it's BENT.

Even if the affected pieces are replaced with new components, it will not be the same as before the accident. Cosmetically it may look fine, but with the level of damage you describe, you WILL find things wrong with the car down the road.

Some of these could be:
- leaking trunk seal no matter how many times it's replaced
- uneven tirewear on the left rear tire no matter how many times you have it checked.
- trunk lid not closing entirely properly
- etc. etc. etc.

These are things that may or may not happen. You could be VERY lucky and not suffer any of these after-effects, but if you do notice something not quite right, chances are that it will be something relatively small but nagging and it will grow in its ability to annoy you.

With the amount of damage you describes, one does not need a frame rack to know that it's been bent. as for your question re: the tranny, it's almost certainly damaged. Think about it this way, all that force was enough to move the drive axle. what it is connected too besides the rear subframe? the diff, the driveshaft, the tranny, and the engine. not to mention to the chassis at all of the mounting points.

A great deal of the force involved in the impact has been absorbed by the crumple zone. That's its purpose, but alot of residual energy has been transferred to all of these parts of the car. It's diminishing as you move further forward but nevertheless, it's still there.

Now, it may not have affected the engine negatively, but what about the motor mounts? or the transmission mount? the tranny is almost certainly damaged since the rear subframe, and hence the differential, moved forward somewhat. this would have pushed the driveshaft forward and into the tranny.

I'm going to re-interate my advice to you: get what you can out of the insurance comapny and sell the car.

If they truly could get a car 100% guaranteeable to factory specs and not have aftereffects, why do you think that cars that have been in accidents, never mind serious ones, are worth less?

Good luck, my friend.
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  #6  
Old 06-26-2002, 04:05 PM
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Further update

Dear Yen-Hsen Liem & C43AMG:

Today I hear your advice. No matter what, the car is totaled to me. Bummer.

Now I'll be a lawyer and force what I can out of Prudential -- either get them to get me a new C43 or pay me my total purchase price: paid one hour before the accident.

Already I'm having problems with Prudential. They just tried to send out an independant low-balling, crummy, adjuster. My auto body shop knows him and about his co. and refused to let him on their property. First things first, Prudential has until Friday by law to get an acceptable adjuster out there, otherwise, I'm told, the auto body shop can go ahead, fix the car, and send Prudential the bill.

The auto body shop told me that the total cost of repairs will be about $23,000.00. Once this figure hits Prudential along with my $10 to $15 thousand "diminished value" letter (with exhibits) it will certainly be in their best interest to total the car, pay me, or face costly litigation.

Thanks,
I'll keep you all posted on my saga and still appreciate any advice opinions or links helping to value my C43 or to propose other creative alternatives. Benz says that with a repair estimate of $23,000.00, the car is totaled and that a similar one would be at least $40,000.00 (I got a very good deal from them at $36,000). I'll get a letter from Benz to hit Prudential with.

Marc
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mmclaw@optonline.net
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  #7  
Old 06-26-2002, 04:10 PM
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Also, Yen-Hsen Liem:

I grew up in Vancouver, B.C., I'm heading there this September for my sister's wedding and maybe earlier to help buy her a house. Let's see if we can meet.
Marc
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Old 06-26-2002, 07:07 PM
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Marc,

Sure, no problem. Just email me when you get here.
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  #9  
Old 06-27-2002, 04:15 PM
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Call a lawyer and sue for injuries. For a golfball dent I got 3000, your rear end is gone and in court you will get at least 7k. The pics prove it. Go get a physical done at your physician. Does your shoulder and neck hurt? I bet it does, that means you are eligible for treatment. Prudential has to accept your medical fees because in court the judge will see the pics and will have to award you damages. There is no doubt in my mind that your car is devalued substantially. Seriously though, you should call an accident lawyer. My lawyer is the best, he makes sure I am completely happy with the settlement before litigation.
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Old 06-27-2002, 04:34 PM
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As a lawyer, I would advise not to respond to this unless you want your response read back to a jury. You WILL have to disclose this discussion in discovery . . .
Just looking out for you!
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  #11  
Old 06-27-2002, 09:44 PM
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Legal Advice

Thanks guys for the advice.

I am a lawyer. I am handling the case.

Seems to be ok so far. The insurance co. and I have decided to settle for full repairs plus an agreed upon "diminished value" check and compensation for the loss of my three year Starmark warranty (if lost), or fair market value for the car ($40 to $46),which ever makes more economic sense to each of us. The insurance co.'s adjuster will look at the car on Monday. Apparently, they are reluctant to litigate this matter -- they certainly know where I stand. I'll know next week how I will proceed.

Marc
99 C43 AMG (for 1 hour)
mmclaw@
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  #12  
Old 06-27-2002, 09:48 PM
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Please keep us posted as you work through this problem.

Wish you the best of luck.
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Old 07-01-2002, 01:35 AM
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Tump,

Having gone through a recent sequence of events not as drastic as yours, I found that insurance companies total a car when the repair costs reach 75% to 80% of the book value of the car.

That would make your car a "total" by their accounting methods at $27k to $32k, depending on the value they use and the percentage range. In any case you are getting close enough to make it easy for them to decide to avoid fixing it. By the time the job is done they will expect a 20% growth (the estimate from the body shop is always low and adders as more damage is uncovered run the cost of a major accident like yours up significantly), which will get them to the total value before considering your diminished value argument.

Good luck, and don't believe them when they tell you the differential, axles and transmission are as good as they were before the event. None of that equipment is intended to see axial loads or shock impulses like yours has experienced. Jim
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Old 07-17-2002, 10:40 AM
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I've just read your woeful story: how absolutely galling for you. And I am worrying about a door ding (obviously deliberate) in the 996 I am driving for a week! You have my utmost sympathy.

I am reluctant to say that no matter how well repaired, your car will never be the same again, but I feel I must. You will always be hyper-sensitive to any flaw; and believe me, you will attribute any flaw you find to the accident. This will drive you nuts. Even if there is no flaw, you will imagine there are thousands.

I had a pretty serious accident in a SLK230 about three years ago (my fault, nobody else involved, spun on a wet bend and hit a tree--what an idiot). The frame (chassis?) was bent. The car was repaired by a bodyshop which is often awarded "Best UK Bodyshop" status by no less than Porsche. These guys are miracle workers. But the car was not the same, and they accept that they can only repair and not make new. Needless to say, six months later we traded the car against a new one.

As regards your personal injuries, I too am an attorney (or Barrister in the UK), and I am utterly cynical about whiplash injuries. I am fed up with acting for people who have had a stiff neck (at most) for a week or two, and winning 2-3k for them. There is and never has been anything wrong with these greedy people. In the two crashes I have had, I suffered no injury; but then on both occasions it was my fault! If you're genuinely injured, then claim; if not, don't.

Anyway, best of luck with your car and the subsequent wrangling with the various insurance companies.
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  #15  
Old 07-17-2002, 05:41 PM
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Update on C43 Disaster

JJRodger:

Thank you so much for all your sympathies, I truely appreciate it. Needless to say, I am devastated but, life is life. In any case, I know, feel and understand that my C43 will never be the same -- despite its lengthy stay at the Benz approved, authorized and oft used auto-body shop. It's the best and most expensive shop in the area (Bedford Hills, NY) and is staffed by factory trained MB technicians, etc.

Regarding medical claims: my shoulder hurt for two weeks. But after a couple of really good massages administered by my fiancee, the pain subsided. I don't believe that I will make a medical claim.


Update:

The good news is that the insurance company is taking my "diminished value" claim very seriously. They have admitted twice over the phone that they will pay me for my AMG's diminished value and have their attorneys looking into NY Law on the subject (its neither specifically provided for nor outlawed by statute -- by common law it's an accepted settlement/trial issue). I could have saved their attorneys lots of research time and offered to do so, however, I doubt that they will take me up on my offer. The repairs are being delayed because the insurance co. also wants to send out one of their senior (corporate?) adjusters to analyze the damage to my car.

If, after all their analysis they opt to pay for the repairs necessary to restore my car and then cut me a check for its diminished value (I doubt that I'll accept less than $20,000.00), I'll pay off my MB note, drive the car a bit and then trade it in or sell it for something better. If not, the local Benz dealer claims that he has found another Black '99 C43 with low miles that will be available for the ins. co. to purchase for me in one or two months.

One local dealer estimated that the value of my '99 C43 AMG (Starmarked, under 40K) has been diminished by $23,000.00 as a result of this accident. I would, however, very much appreciate any specific help that any members of this forum could give me in coming up with a firm, provable amount that the value of my C43 has been diminished (If desired, feel free to contact me at my private email address). The fair market value of my car in its pre-accident condition is between $39,000.00 and $43,000.00.


Thanks -- I'll keep you posted!

Marc
99C43 (for 1 hour)
mmclaw@optonline.net

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