Hello everyone. Unfortunately this past Saturday night, something caused a fire in the engine compartment (only) of my 1989 560 SL. The car was/is in great shape, 118K miles, and nothing other than all of the rubber and plastic components primarily on the passenger side of the engine were damaged.

I had planned on spending about $2000 to make other necessary repairs prior to this happening. Now, I do not know what to do. I don't work on it myself and if it is going to cost lots to fix, then it probably will not be worth it.

Should I junk it? What might it be worth? I would like to get as much out of it as I could so that I could look for another one.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Gary
gcreek@ccs.ua.edu

Do you have pictures of the damaged areas? Might help to know hat we're dealing with here.

All the same, sorry about the fire. The 107 chassis has always been one of my favorites.

MV

Yup, the last part of the sentence relegates the first part as no longer relevant.

I would get in touch with your insurance company, too, and see what they say. Fire damage isn't totally unfixable, but it can be a real pain.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

Be cautious about contacting the insurance. Insurance is a numbers game, and they will play it as such. Do a little research on the car and its value, as well as estimated costs of repair first so you know what you're up against. No matter how you might feel about the car, to them it is a 25 year old, that unless you have specifically insured it as a collectible or some such, is likely worth very little in their eyes, making it very easy to total for very little money. Even you yourself have said it needed $2000 worth of work...

MV

While my first post was in jest, this one is a bit more serious. Heat and fire damage to automotive wiring is problematic. You can't assume that the wire loom is okay just by visual cosmetic inspection, as extreme temperatures can affect the capacitance and other electrical capabilities of the wire and connectors in the immediate area. If not completely checked or replaced, a lifetime of electrical gremlins could await.

As an 89 it should have the upgraded front engine cradle. This alone would make it worth something as a parts car to another owner of an older 107 with a slight crack in their engine cradle.

If you wind up scrapping it out then you could expect offers in the area of $500 for the cradle alone.

Go online right now and do a search for your car for sale within a 200 miles radius. Print out all the ads with the date. That info might just be useful later to prove the value of your car.

Only if you have declared value or represented a pre-determined value to your car. Otherwise its fair market value period. You might be able to bark back and forth over a couple hundred bucks but don't assume for a minute that you are going to get classic value pricing unless it was stated up front.

__________________
BENZ THERE DONE THAThttp://www.peachparts.com/shopforum/...c/progress.gif
15 VW Passat TDI
00 E420
98 E300 DT
97 E420 Donor Car - NEED PARTS? PM ME!
97 S500
97 E300D
86 Holden Jackaroo Turbo D
86 300SDL
(o\|/o)