Mercedes safety to the rescue, once again. I was hit late last night by an 18 year-old girl who ran a red light because she was distracted by her cell phone. thankfully, neither her nor I were hurt. The car is a 1996 W210 E320 with almost 100K miles. I'm really hoping that the car is not totalled, but I figured I might as well brace myself for the worst, just in case. The car's book value is around 9-10K. The interior appears to have no damage, and the car is driveable, but a strong gasoline odor is present when the engine is running. Perhaps one of the fuel lines ruptured?

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I doubt it is totalled - you didn't even break the windows. Sorry you got hit.

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Thats reassuring to hear. Last year, someone did a hit-and-run on this car in a parking lot, resulting in what appeared to be minor damage to the bumper and grille. Unfortunately, that minor damage cost over $4K to repair, because of a number of broken parts up front, including the A/C condenser and all the radiator supports, radiator, etc. This accident looks much worse, so I'm a bit concerned. I take my car to the best bodyshop in town, which also specializes in Mercedes repair. Last time I was there, they were working on a new SL that had been in a rollover accident. The repair bill on that one was going to be about $50K or so

Wow,50k?
I used to work for Mauro Motors,in Hamden,Ct.(now they've moved to NorthHaven)as a towtruck driver for the body shop . This was atleast 10/12 years ago . Anyways , ,the things I saw them repair were amazing .Some the cars were half crushed , and really in rough shape . I remember them even fixing old 123 cars and stuff like that , for insurance jobs etc. You can look them up , under www.mauromotors.com , and click on body shop . That should be the correct address . See if you can call or email Paul over there and He'll be able to help by looking at pics alone . He's extremely knowledgeable . They also do a lot of restoration work as well . I highly recommend them , and there were always lots of out of state cars there being repaired . I remember going quite the distance , out of state to pick up cars , and bring them back , as well as deliver them to people's homes etc . I would guess you aren't totaled , based on what I know about them , and Paul's rep. etc. Though he fired me at the time due to them being very selfish and not wanting to let me go home early one day because I had a well planned vacation and constantly reminded them about it for three weeks ahead of time . After all that , I'd still only bring my cars to them for repairs and body work , ,because in my oppinion they are one of the best , probably in North America . Many of the guys there are lifers and actually worked in Mercedes facilities , on factory floors in Germany at some point or another . They demand top dollar , but I assure you they will make your car atleast as good as new . Talk to Paul and see what he says , it won't hurt . I missed your location , but that doesn't usually matter for them especially for insurance jobs , and Paul knows how to get insurance companies to pay for the transport as well . Well , good luck .

Sorry to hear of your accident. If it were mine, I would just drive it as long as the doors still work properly.

HOWEVER, I WOULD NOT DRIVE THAT CAR WITH THAT FUEL SMELL LINGERING AROUND IN THE ENGINE BAY/UNDER THE CAR (or wherever), until you get it checked out by a certified mechanic to find the source of the fumes.

Personally, I would not think a crash like that would rupture a fuel line, but I guess anything is possible.

Good luck to you.

Nabeel, a high end bodyshop will be able to determine quickly whether it's totaled or not. By all means get the gas leak fixed ASAP before you torch your car. No insurance company will want to pay for your negligence after the accident.

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Fred Hoelzle

Book value on a '96 with 100K vs. a T-Bone repair? Personally, I would only let the best shop I could find evaluate and fix it - if the cost leads to "totalled", I'd take the money. You can get anybody to do a good looking job, but one that also ensures no rust, rattles or reduction in crashworthiness is not always guaranteed.
You could take the couple of grand from the insurance and upgrade to a newer W210 - they're amazingly good deals if you like them.
Tom

I hope the girl that hit you is banned from driving. That could have been a pedestrian, cyclist, or motorcyclist she hit.

Thank you very much for all the imput guys. I'm definately not going to drive the vehicle dut to the possible fuel leak. I'll be having it towed to the best shop in town to determine the extent of the damage. I really hope it isn't totalled, because it would be such a waste - the drivetrain and interior are still perfect. Oh well, we'll see.

Glad your ok, looks like the safety cage did its job. I second the above advice if you are smelling gas don't drive it. Flat bed it to the body shop and send her insurance company the bill, its her fualt not yours.

Anyway looks like you need two new doors at least. Its the other damage that you can't see, thats where the money is going to be.

I'll wag $5k.

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I say not Totaled 2 doors are no more than $2000.

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1981 240D 32X.XXX km Totaled
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1993 300E 126.000 miles Totaled
1999 S320 76.000 miles


Will live forever.......

Only if you get used doors or Asian sheet metal will the steel alone be under $2K. Throw in a real paint job, (hopefully no B-pillar straightening, but at least checking), maybe a latch, or hinge or window regulator, a gas line, some dealer labor and profit and I think you're in the 4-5K range.

I agree that you can find someone to fix it at a lower price, but for me, I want a repair that's at the same level as if the accident never happened. If that costs too much then I want a different car.

As already mentioned it's the damage you can't see that is cause for concern. Your car will probably need to be put on a frame machine for a dimensional check to ensure that it's not banana-shaped. $5k seems like a realistic estimate for a first rate repair. An alignment is definitely required ... at least if it were my car.

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Fred Hoelzle

The B-Pillar sure did it's job! However, I'd bet that the car needs to be straightened, at least a little. Two doors, b-pillar work and some tweaking to get it all in line will not be cheap. I'll bet it might come close to writing off the car depending on what the ins co picks as a value.

Best of all, everyone is okay.

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John Shellenberg
1998 C230 "Black Betty" 240K

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Glad your o.k. and were able to drive home. Can't beat a Mercedes for safety.

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