So yesterday a woman hit my car while I was stopped at a light and she was uninsured. I have full coverage on my car and even rental reimbursement, but looking at the damage I think this is something that looks very manageable for me. I can remove and replace the light and bumper myself, but the dent at the rear quarter panel and right below the tail light is something I wouldn't know where to begin. Also the trunk is slightly raised, by not even an inch on that side. Can anyone provide any and all tips and resources for this? My goal is to fix this with as little cost as possible and have the woman that hit me cover the costs. Thanks guys, this is really important to me.

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1990 190E 3.0L

I hope you filed a police report so they can bust nuts for driving uninsured. These people are scum.

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CENSORED due to not family friendly words

The police were there literally less than a minute after it happened. According to the officer someone reported her erratic driving and they were already looking for her. I'm not concerned with her or what is going to happen to her at this time though, I just want to get my car repaired.

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1990 190E 3.0L

Is the quarter panel bent down or the trunk lid bent up, or both?

Is the bumper cover Ok and what about the side bumper trim?

The bumper cover has to be removed to determine the extent of the damage, there may be some under the cover as well. The back panel under the tailight can be pulled out only so much due to the corner being damaged, so it will have to be filled.

I donīt see this as a fix-it-yourself job unless you are a body man and a painter.

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Don't Chrome them; polish them

If it were my car, I'd take it to a professional body shop and ask for a professional WRITTEN estimate. If you ever go to sell the car, the buyer is going to pull a CARFAX and then start asking questions. Unless you can answer in the affirmative that you are a professional auto paint and body man, they may bolt.

x2, professional estimate, genuine parts only no aftermarket, and then use that + police report to take the uninsured cockroach to small claims court. whether you fix it yourself or have the shop do it is none of her business. unless your time is worthless, she owes you for parts plus labor at the market rate.

uninsured does not mean no obligation to pay. it means they are assuming *personal* liability to pay for damages. if the woman doesn't pay, that's what the courts are for. small claims court is very easy and convenient to use. the judge rules against her and she still doesn't pay up, they garnish her wages.

don't let this slide.

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1998 E300 turbodiesel

America's Rights and Freedoms Are Not The Enemy!

I plan on never selling the car so I'm not worried about that. I took it in to a shop today and got an estimate. I've tried to reach out to the woman that hit me, but no answer from her so I contacted my insurance company. After hearing what the guy was saying about pulling the dent and lining everything up, I realized that I could not do that. But I would just replace the rear bumper cover and tail light myself. Goal is to keep the cost as low as possible because being an owner of an older MB, whether it be a 126, 124, or 201, the cash value of these cars are likely less than a new car payment and so I want to avoid having it totaled.

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1990 190E 3.0L

Sounds like a plan. I'm thinking with all the wrecks going on, the paint and body business sounds lucrative. Talk about non-stop customers.

Insurance will total the car - don't involve them. Seriously. No point in anything but liability coverage on an old car.

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Prost!

That's what I was worried about, but I was able to get a quote from the body shop for only $715 to repair it. I told the shop that I would replace the light and bumper cover myself.

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1990 190E 3.0L

Didn't you have "non-insured motorist" coverage? With all the illegals in Kalifornia, that has to be the MAJOR part of your insurance policy especially since Brown makes it so easy for them to get a license.
Anziani

I have uninsured motorist, but as stated before, it doesn't matter. To most of us on the forum, we know the value of our older MB, but to an insurance company a car that is 15 or even 20 years old is only worth pocket change. So unless I can keep the cost of repairs down to a few hundred dollars, the car will be totaled as the actual cash value to an insurance company is next to nothing.

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1990 190E 3.0L

You are right on target, it doesn't take much to total our 190's. The trade in value of my one owner low mileage '93 is $654. And my '01 SLK230 isn't much better. At least I can get classic car insurance for my '71 Corvette for $40K agreed value coverage.

Good luck fixing your car.

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1993 190E 2.3
2001 SLK230
1971 LS5 (454) Corvette Convertible

Check your binder and pose questions to your broker. Some policies have a not to exceed value / the insurer decides what the car is worth at time of loss rather than a " If this car goes away I get $ 40 K ". Some on this site have been caught off guard by the former.

I did. They wanted to insure it for $50K, but I was comfortable with $40K. I've owned the car for 42 years.

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1993 190E 2.3
2001 SLK230
1971 LS5 (454) Corvette Convertible