At a stop light, taxi driver in front of me decided to back up. He dented the center rib of my grill and bent the bumper behind the license plate. No major damage. Bumper is going to be replaced anyway. The grill, however, was perfect. Capitol Policewoman took the report. Because taxi driver was on duty, she had to file a report. Took like 45 minutes!

I can get a copy of the report in 7 days. I have State Farm and don't know who the taxi driver has.

The guy was a real jerk and suggested the dent was already in the grill.

What is my next move?

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2009 E320 Bluetec 117,000
1995 E300D 306,000 Sold
1996 Ford Taurus LX 130,000 Sold
1985 300TD Still 225,000 Sold
2016 Ford Fusion 24,900

Sorry to hear that. I doubt you'll to many nice taxi drivers.

Do you have any pics? Did it happen to your W123 or the E300D?

__________________
1985 300TD Turbo Euro-wagon
1979 280CE 225,200 miles
1985 300D Turbo 264,000 miles
1976 240D 190,000 miles
1979 300TD 220,000

GONE but not forgotten
1976 300D 195,300 miles
1983 300D Turbo 175,000 miles

http://i42.photobucket.com/albums/e3...e485-1-2-1.jpg

Is there a Taxi and Limo commission in DC? In NYC there is and if you complain to them, they can make life hell for the taxi driver.

Once you get the police report you should check out the possibility of ruining this jerk's life...

This is one of the many reasons my car does not venture inside the frakking beltway!

__________________
"I have no convictions ... I blow with the wind, and the prevailing wind happens to be from Vichy"

Current
Monika '74 450 SL
BrownHilda '79 280SL
FoxyCleopatra '99 Chevy Suburban
Scarlett 2014 Jeep Cherokee
Krystal 2004 Volvo S60
Gone
'74 Jeep CJ5
'97 Jeep ZJ Laredo
Rudolf ‘86 300SDL
Bruno '81 300SD
Fritzi '84 BMW
'92 Subaru
'96 Impala SS
'71 Buick GS conv
'67 GTO conv
'63 Corvair conv
'57 Nomad

Happened to the 95. No pics. There is a dent in the center vertical rib and it's no longer flush with the top horizontal piece. Bottom line is that the grill needs to be replaced. Its minor damage, but its not fixable and I'll see it every time I look at the car.

I don't want to tip off my insurance guy, but I don't think I should pay for a new grill.

__________________
2009 E320 Bluetec 117,000
1995 E300D 306,000 Sold
1996 Ford Taurus LX 130,000 Sold
1985 300TD Still 225,000 Sold
2016 Ford Fusion 24,900

I had a similar situation happen with a guy in a Suburban right after I got the 300D. The only damage was a slight scratch to the bumper chrome from the bottom of his trailer hitch.

__________________
'81 MB 300SD, '82 MB 300D Turbo (sold/RIP), '04 Lincoln Town Car Ultimate

Sooner or later every car falls apart, ours does it later!
-German Narrator in a MB Promotion Film about the then brand new W123.

connor, is the cowling (outside part) of your grill damaged, or just the center strip? What about the plastic? Replacing the center strip isn't that big a deal (well, other than disassembling the grill is a pain) ... I think you can buy that at the dealer for $15 or so. You can also replace the plastic part if needed. If it's just the strips, though, they are all sold separately and just slide in and out once you have the grill disassembled. I replaced all of mine about five years ago because some strips had fallen off, and also replaced the plastic part ... was not too hard or expensive. So it may not be so bad.

Still ... bummer ... even small damage like that is so frustrating when you put a lot of work into your car. I came out of the DMV once and found a dent in my grill cowling (not cheap), no note or anything. Really made me mad. I was able to bang it out with a rubber mallet mostly so it looks OK, but still ... people are so careless.

__________________
1987 300D, arctic white/palomino--314,000 miles
1978 240D 4-speed, Euro Delivery, light ivory/bamboo--370,000 miles
2005 Jeep Liberty CRD Limited, light khaki/slate--140,000 miles
2018 Chevy Cruze diesel, 6-speed manual, satin steel metallic/kalahari--19,000 miles
1982 Peugeot 505 diesel, 4-speed manual, blue/blue, 130,000 miles
1995 S320, black/parchment--34,000 miles (Dad's car)

So, wait a minute. In your post you seem to imply that the taxi driver spoke english!!?? Nah, guess I better go back and re-read that. I must have that wrong.......

__________________
Jimmy L.
'05 Acura TL 6MT
2001 ML430 My Spare

Gone:
'95 E300 188K "Batmobile" Texas Unfriendly Black
'85 300TD 235K "The Wagon" Texas Friendly White
'80 240D 154K "China" Scar engine installed
'81 300TD 240K "Smash"
'80 240D 230K "The Squash"
'81 240D 293K"Scar" Rear ended harder than Elton John

Damage is really limited to the vertical strip in the middle. Plastic doesn't seem to be broken. If the part is cheap, I'll fix it myself, but this numbskull will pay for it even if its $15. The point isn't the cost, but the carelessness. Who backs up in an intersection? The guy did speak English and was apologetic, but apologies don't make up for a careless rookie move. The Capitol cops who were there (6 total) said they really go after on-duty taxi drivers to keep them in line. He said they issue tickets to them for absolutely everything. I sensed a real "war" between the Cap cops and the taxi drivers. I don't disagree. Maybe they're holding them to a higher standard. Taxi drivers are supposed to be professionals (make their living driving). I kept asking the guy why a professional would think its ok to back up in an intersection without looking. He had no answer. The guy was pitiful and I felt sorry for him. I know he's broke and probably feeding a bunch of people somewhere, but when he suggested the dent was already there, I went into instant South Side Chicago and looked for the nearest pool cue. The cops were there within 1 minute of me getting out of my car so things stayed cool.

__________________
2009 E320 Bluetec 117,000
1995 E300D 306,000 Sold
1996 Ford Taurus LX 130,000 Sold
1985 300TD Still 225,000 Sold
2016 Ford Fusion 24,900