300sl didn't survive

My wife got into a bad accident in our 1991 300sl. Fortunately she sustained only minor injuries. However our car is totaled. The entire front end up to the doors is manageled around the engine. Both air bags and the roll bar deployed. The doctors and police told her she was in the best possible car for that type of accident.

We are going to buy another Mercedes.

Im thinking of a newer sl320. I there anything that I should be aware of in looking for this car? Thanks, this site has helped me in my repairing and maintaining the 300

[tecqboy]

Being in a car crash is an awful experience, but it's good to hear your wife is OK. Cars are replaceable, but loved ones are not. Sorry for the lose of the SL. They only minted about 2600 or so. I and I'd suspect others on this forum would be interested in knowing what the insurance company settlement on the vehicle is. I lost a very rare AMX a few years back and the insurance company only wanted to pay about half of what it was worth. Ultimately by using ads for similair cars in the "club" newsletter, I got them to nearly double their first offer. I then parted out what was left of the car and did OK finiancially. But I truly do mis that car. Good Luck. Tod

[vrsmith]

Thank God your wife will be OK.
As for the car, I would consider replacing it with another 300sl
over the 320sl. Drive some to be sure, but don't you think
that the newer one would be even more complicated. You
already know the 300sl which is a fabulous car anyway.
There are lots of really nice ones out there.

[Momo]

Reading various other posts suggests the following:

- The 320 uses less fuel than the 300.
- From 1992 onwards, all SLs have diagnostic computers, making some fault finding easier.
- Mid-1995 was when the major styling changes took place.

On the other hand, if there was no significant price difference between a 1996 320 and a 500, I know which I would choose.

Momo

[RickM]

I'm happy to hear your wife is fine.

My rule of thumb for Porsches and Mercedes is typically:

Buy the newest model you can afford.

Of course there are exceptions but probably not in this case.

the insurance company hires a third party appraiser who somehow determines a base price. the run a carfax and tried to find comps. they found three from the newspaper only one was a 1991. the first offer was $15,500. i gave the adjuster two comps i could find, one was 18k and the other was 20k. the adjuster did not see the cd stacker in the trunk. i gave him all of the receipts i had as i have been doing some work on the car, new fuel injectors, replaced the cover over the soft top, pictures of the wheels. he came back with an offer of $16,400. i took it.

i found there were very few 91 300 sl's for sale in our area. mine was in pretty good shape, i still had more work to do. it was a good price.

it just pays to do a little homework.

thanks to all who replied about my wife, she was touched.

[vrsmith]

Check out this thread:
1990 300 SL for sale

The guy is just North of LA. Could be worth a quick call!
Good luck.
(PS: I don't know the seller, just saw the post.)

[Marc-1]

Hi,
Happy to hear that you had a Benz for your wife to survive in. I have veiwed accidents where the car has rolled over and crashed at very high speeds....This is the whole (original) reason I bought mine. My son needs to be in a well made SAFE car. Benz has the answer. Nonetheless, I wish to respectfully ask if you have a drivers side visor that you wish to part with. Mine is Parchment in color. Also, and please excuse me if I touch the wrong subject, this particular car sold for $79,500 new!!! where did that THIEF from the insurance company come up with such an insult?? I have in writing the value that I WILL receive if my car were stolen or destroyed and I'm still WAY upset about the $30,000 that the THEIVES put as a value!! Insurance companies do like to quickly try to get 'you' to settle for something rediculous. That's what lawers and courts are for. Did you tell them that you were only going to pay them 20% of the premiums??

sorry i dont have any interior parts. i sold the winscreen, the cover and a headlight. i still have the wipers for the headlights. i bought my wife a e320, love that car also. i will buy another sl or possibly a clk convertible