Hey guys,


So my 1984 300D met its end today. I was going down the main road on the way to work this morning and an F150 Lightning spun out ahead of me and landed up stopped right in front of me. The roads were super slick and I was going about 50 or so, so despite my efforts to stop, I slammed into the side if the truck. It mashed the front of the car up pretty good and I'm pretty sure the drive line shifted. I know the radiator cracked, among other things. At this point, I know the car is going to be totaled.

I'm bummed, but for now I need to worry about taking care of the business with the insurance. The other driver got the ticket, and he has USAA insurance, so I figure that's a good start.

I'm hoping to get some advice from some other W123 owners who have been in this situation. I've heard these cars are notorious for getting lowballed by insurance companies. What methods have you guys used to get the most from insurance? The tow truck driver told me to ask for replacement value and to remind them that it's a classic car. I'm not sure how sound that advice is, but we'll see.

Thanks for any help or tips guys. Much appreciated.

__________________
1984 Mercedes-Benz 300D

At least mention what state you are in.

Pictures will be a big help.

Many members have DIY repaired serious impact damage.


.

__________________
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1985 300SD
1983 300D
1984 190D
2003 Volvo V70
2002 Honda Civic

https://www.boldegoist.com/

Its all negotiable. Get advertisements of similar cars for sale to support your value. Point out differences in condition miles etc from them and your car. In the end you can always tell them to find you a replacement as good as your car.

If its not too heavily damages as Roy suggests you may want to take a total and buy back the car from the company. It always used to be about 10% of undamaged value for the salvage value of a car.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

When my '83 got it, the insurance company offered what I thought was a reasonable market value. Since my car isn't stock, the replacement cost would have been much more than market value, so I went with the total and buy back option.

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Whoever said there's nothing more expensive than a cheap Mercedes never had a cheap Jaguar.

83 300D Turbo with manual conversion, early W126 vented front rotors and H4 headlights 400,xxx miles
08 Suzuki GSX-R600 M4 Slip-on 22,xxx miles
88 Jaguar XJS V12 94,xxx miles. Work in progress.

Thanks for the advice so far guys. Sorry, I'm located in Florida.

I honestly don't want to repair it. I'm looking forward to getting some money back from it and getting something different. I'll get pictures later.

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1984 Mercedes-Benz 300D

Sorry to hear this happened! As mentioned above, start collecting/printing sales advertisements. Ebay, auto trader, etc. Your best move is to be armed with pricing information.

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1983 123.133 California
- GreaseCar Veg System

I've seen the opposite on the forum, with insurance companies valuing these cars at 4-7k. I would suggest cleaning the car up to look nice -- wash it, clean the interior -- so that the car will look it's best and hopefully be considered more valuable.

I was hit twice in the span of six months last year and the USAA appraisals were very decent both times.

__________________
"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

One guy recently was real lucky when they valued his 80's wagon >$10,000.

You sound real lucky that the other driver was ticketed even though you ran into him. I don't know that is the end of story in a civil case. The police was not a witness, so whatever they think after the fact is based on hearsay, though it usually carries much weight, especially if they interviewed witnesses.

Thanks man, I think I'll get on that right now.

Ah, that sounds promising. And great idea. I'll make it look as nice as I can.

Well I was glad I wasn't ticketed, but I didn't feel lucky. Albeit no witnesses, it was very apparent from the scene and from the damaged to the cars that the accident only could've happened one way, and that it was unavoidable for me. The other driver was also very up front about his errors and what happened. It was a pretty honest mistake.

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1984 Mercedes-Benz 300D

Sorry for your mishap. As long as you walked away, it was a good day nonetheless, given what you describe it might have turned out worse.

If no one else has mentioned it yet, get to a doctor within the next 48 hrs or so and get ANYTHING you are feeling into a report (headache, stiffness, confusion, upset stomach, constipation, drowsiness... anything). This is vitally important as aftereffects of collisions can show up months or years later and lack of documentation from the time allows the insurance company to give you an uphill ride in trying to claim. Voice of experience.

You are the injured party. In most jurisdictions, that means the at-fault driver's insurer has a duty to restore you to a reasonable resemblance of where you were at prior to the incident. So find out what it will cost to replace that car with one at least as nice as what you had. If you have any doubts about your rights, your state may have a consumer protection office or insurance ombudsman bureau that can provide info on what you are entitled to.

__________________


Mac
2002 e320 4matic estate│1985 300d│1980 300td
Previous: 1979 & 1982 & 1983 300sd │ 1982 240d

“Let's take a drive into the middle of nowhere with a packet of Marlboro lights and talk about our lives.” ― Joseph Heller, Catch-22

I'm the guy with the 85 wagon that got totaled. The first attempt by the insurance was $5,000 and then I used the NAPA site with zip code and the price went to the max for their insured which was $10,000 minus the rental car. So a little over $9,500 was paid out. Good luck
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Original
MSRPLow
RetailAverage
RetailHigh
RetailBase Price$31,940$5,200$8,400$11,650TOTAL PRICE:$31,940$5,200$8,400$11,650

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Moss Gate Bed & Breakfast
1985 300 TD GG done in by a red light runner
1984 300 CD Sold
2008 Titian
2000 Cadillac SLS
1966 FLH Sold
2003 Harley Ultra

First and foremost, I'm glad you are ok. Good luck with the vehicle. Hopefully it was not totalled. I hate to ask, but I have to.....if the roads were super slick like you said, why were you driving 50??

__________________
2012 Mercedes ML350 Bluetec 91K (hers)
2005 Corvette 55K (fun car)
2002 VW Jetta TDI 231K (mine)
1998 Volvo S70 T5 Turbo 196K (kids)
1994 Ford F150 4WD 249K (firewood hauler)
1983 Mercedes 300D 376K (diesel commuter)

For petes sake! If an officer who actually saw the conditions of the crash wrote the other guy a ticket why would you think you know better sitting at your computer in another place?

A possible explanation is there was ice some places and not others.

__________________
[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I am glad you are ok. I am sorry to read this. USAA was more than fair with my wife and I for car value and quickly getting the check to you. However they are horrible about anything related to the person, hope nothing happened to you at all.

I don't know that I was going 50 exactly. The speed limit for that particular stretch of road is 55 and in the dry, the general traffic flow is around 60. I was going with the flow of traffic which was about 45-50. I'm actually a very decent rain driver, but for me to have been going slow enough to be able to stop when a vehicle suddenly slides to a sideways stop about 10 feet away from me, I would have been causing a whole other safety hazard on my own, prior to the collision.

Thanks man. I appreciate your use of simple logic. The officer was actually very nice to me and all of the authorities on scene were very sympathetic because they saw how I felt about my car and they realized that based on the evidence and the story of both me and the other driver, I was being a very responsible driver.

I'm not saying I never drive like an idiot, but when I'm going down wet roads with 100's of other peoples lives on that same road, I do everything I can to ensure my vehicle will not cause any issues. On the other hand, the driver at fault decided to accelerate hard in a pickup truck with a supercharged 5.4 liter V8 because he failed to realize he was 3 lanes away from the freeway entrance until he was nearly at it. He deemed it acceptable to accelerate around a semi truck so he could cut over 2 more lanes and get on the freeway entrance ramp.

__________________
1984 Mercedes-Benz 300D