400E Carjacking Damage (Long)

My (new to me) 92 400E was involved in an attempted carkacking a couple of weeks ago. Some guy tried to open the passenger door as my wife was leaving our driveway. She had quick reflexes and floored it in reverse. This in turn almost took off the door when it hit the carport (too bad the S.O.B. wasn't between it and the door)(wife is fine but pissed off). Anyway he got away & I have a torn up MB. I just got it back from the shop and had a few questions. They replaced the door and front fender with new MB Parts. When you pull the door handle and let go you hear a resonate "sheet metal" sound which doesn't seem to be as bad on the drivers door. Is there some kind of damping material or coating on the inside of the door on this vehicle that was left out?
Also what kind of experiences have you had with insurance co.'s and paint after an accident? They painted the new door and fender and blended the hood. The car is white but you can tell which paint is new. Also the grey plastic trim along the bottom of the car is new on the 2 passenger doors. They don't quite match the old ones on the rest of the car. Body was in perfect shape except for 1 minor door ding before the accident. Will insurance co.'s usually pay to have the whole car painted and trim replaced?

Sorry for the long post.

Thanks in advance,
Alan & T. (now carrying firearms)

My car insurance companies (AAA, State Farm and USAA over the years) all maintained that they were obligated to pay until the car is "in the condition as prior to the damage". I held them to this a couple of times when I had to have the hood reshot (vandalism) and a door completely replaced (careless neighbor). Both times the paint and trim did not match and they had to do the hood three times before it matched well enough that I couldn't tell. YOu might want to complain/ask.

Insurance companies are in the business to MAKE MONEY! They do not care about the QUALITY of the work, as long as it LOOKS good on the outside.

I am currently fighting the body shop and insurance co for some repairs to a right-rear fender. The car is dark blue and the fender is sea-foam green with a half-assed coat of dark blue sort-of covering the green. The insurance guy looked at it and said it looked fine to him! Of course HE would say that. If they have to pay for it to be redone, THEY LOSE MONEY.

Best suggestion for you is go to the insurance company and stand on the table and jump up and down, screaming at the top of your lungs until they fix it to your satisfaction or lock you up in a padded cell.

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William
76 240D (W115) - 550K miles
78 300D (W123) - 200K+ miles

[ctaylor738]

From my experiences with State Farm, it sounds like you were treated fairly, especially if you got genuine new MB parts and good alignment between the door, fender, and hood. The door clunk is worth taking up with the shop.

Glad your wife is OK - count your blessings!

Chuck

Consider making a list of your concerns, putting them in a letter, then calling and following up with the agent.
Do the whole thing in a bloodless businesslike way. Focus on details. Never personalize anything. Signal that you respect what the insurance guys do for a living and you respect the process you have to go by. They are more comfortable with that approach. You will get a better deal. After all you want to get your car fixed not score debate points.
Good luck
Harvey

Go to ugetheard.com and complain you can contact the company trough them and it it will fill a offical complaint

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Dan Younes
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1985 euro 500sel 220k
1981 300sd 278k sold
1979 240d 298k sold
1983 300sd 272k sold
1989 chrysler 2.2l Turbo
Leabaron 130k
1996 C220(hopefully soon)