W116 rear end dent

[alabbasi]

I have a lead on a cheap W116. The seller has informed me that the car was rear ended at one time. The damage appears to have caused a crease at both wheel arches (so I guess it got hit dead center).

I am looking for a beater car as I find myself racking up the mileage on my E420. Just as a wild guess, what kind of damage repair (cost estimate) would one expect to repair that kind of damage. I firgure it it bent the wheel arch it bent the trunk floor too.

[Mark DiSilvestro]

Based on the experience of a friend, whose '75 Fiat was hit in the right front corner and my research into a possible purchase of a '72 BMW Bavaria that had been hit in the rear, if you don't want to make the car cosmetically perfect, it may be possible to have a bodyshop just put it on a frame machine and have it pulled straight relatively cheaply.
The front of my friend's Fiat was bent sideways about two inches so that the front end had something of a diamond shape. Otherwise, the body was undamaged. I thought her car was totalled, but a local bodyshop pulled it straight for about $350.
The Bavaria's trunk was bent enough to pinch both rear doors but someone that worked at 'Wagonworks' at the time, quoted me around $600 just to pull it straight, without painting or any other repairs.
Keep in mind that this was several years ago. Today local bodyshops might be so loaded up with bread & butter collision repairs that they couldn't be bothered with a simple 'pull' job.

Happy Motoring, Mark