My 91 300D Smashed, now the real fun begins.... - PeachParts Mercedes-Benz Forum

sfsegui · #1 07-23-2017, 06:00 PM

Driving between accounts for work Friday morning, a Dodge Ram decided to make a left directly in front of me. I was going 45-50mph, he was doing at least that. For a split second, I thought it may have been my time to leave, but thankfully it wasn't. I figure it was about 2-3 inches from being head on. I'm ok accept for the cuts where the drivers window shattered on me and the bump on my head where I believe the drivers door mirror hit me.
A witness behind me stopped immediately and actually helped me exit my car because my drivers door was bent badly and couldn't be opened from inside. I was very shaken but immediately began to look for the other car to see if they were alright. Guess what? They were long gone.
After police, EMT, etc left the scene I drove my poor car home. Almost home and the handling became very, very poor. I'm thinking I have a bent control arm possibly. Will know more upon further inspection.
Called my insurance company and started a claim with them since it was a hit and run. I am covered, but I am 99.9% sure they are going to total it out and offer me an absurdly low amount. I have been getting all my ducks in a row this weekend with all my service records, comparable vehicles, etc.
Not looking forward to the fight with insurance company, but I am even more stressed about finding another 1990-93 300D in as good of condition as mine was and the seller not wanting crazy money for it.
I do plan on buying my car back from the insurance company and fixing it myself or using it as a parts car (so many new, good parts on it).
Any advice from those of you who have been through something like this is greatly appreciated.

ROLLGUY · #2 07-23-2017, 06:21 PM

Man that's a bummer. I hope the bad guy is found, did someone see the license plate? You could have been badly hurt, and the other guy just ran- that is so wrong. Glad to hear you will recover though. Yes it is wise to buy the car back (it may only be a couple hundred dollars), and get as much as you can from insurance. I wish you luck finding a donor. I do have a thought about that: I have a 1990 300CE (W124 coupe) with the M104 (24 valve) and a 2.5 Turbo from a wrecked car (I have the wreck for the donor wire harness), and I was going to make a CD. I entertained the thought of selling it to another member, but it did not work out. I still plan to do it someday, but now I have too many other projects. If you would be willing to take on the CD project using your car as the donor, I would sell the CE at a reasonable price. It is black with a grey interior. It is a CA car, so no rust of any consequence. There is a couple rust spots around the windshield washer jets in the hood, but a good black hood will make it a rust free car. Think about it and let me know. Thanks, Rich
EDIT: A right side fender with the vent in it will make it look factory, know anyone with a black Diesel W124?

Mxfrank · #3 07-23-2017, 06:59 PM

Is that his tire print on your front wheel? I'm surprised his vehicle could even move. Be glad you walked away from this one.

97 SL320 · #4 07-23-2017, 08:37 PM

The car repair assessment is at bottom.

The cops are probably not going to be of much help as they are probably tending to opioid over doses so you will need to work this on your own.

A few things that need to happen as rapidly as possible before the trail goes cold:

There will be relatively little damage to the offending truck ( Corner of the bumper / fender , rub marks on the wheel , toe change ) so don't expect to find a wadded up mess when you see the truck.

Look for tire marks / leaks on the road as the truck drove away to give some sense of direction.

Look for businesses in the crash area as well in a radius away that have security cameras and try to get a look.

Was there any active road or building construction in the area? ( RE people outside that would have seen this happen. )

If this was going to / coming from work time, perhaps they follow a similar pattern all week, might be good to watch the intersection.

As for the car, don't write it off until a body shop has a look at it even if the adjuster calls it a total. This was a grinding scrape rather than a direct impact so damage will mostly be limited to bolt on parts. This kind of damage could have been done against a parking lot pillar.

The wheel looks centered in the opening and is upright. Given the car has tie rods behind the wheel ( rear steer ) , a side impact on the wheel will toe the wheels out. When the wheels toe out a great bit, the car will squirm down the road and walk left to right as you cross uneven road surfaces. Caster and camber are probably out a bit but maybe not as much as you'd think.

compress ignite · #5 07-23-2017, 10:51 PM

If you do "Restore" it
Think about Dual Insurance...

One insurer covers the Legal requirements of your state
AND the Other covers the "Stated Value" of the Mercedes.

(The first insurer will HATE it and Many do Not Participate)

But the Next time some Uninsured derelict "Tags" you the "Stated Value"
insurer cuts a check for whatever Negotiated Value has been previously
established.You can also negotiate (Ahead of Time)the "Return to Owner"
cost of the Wrecked Chassis. (AND start all over again !)

jay_bob · #6 07-24-2017, 08:07 AM

Wow where did this happen? Richland or Lexington county?

I would definitely be hunting for security cameras. Don't overlook the state or county as many of the major intersections in the area have cameras on the traffic light poles.

I had the same thing happen to my 210 in December 2015 in the parking lot of the Best Buy in NE Columbia. Except she did not run and it wasn't quite as severe an impact. That repair ended up estimating in at 3.5k, so the other party insurance agreed to repair it. But by they time they got done it was pushing 6k so I got lucky they did not total it.

She was driving a large SUV and it had very little damage. Her bumper support broke through the plastic bumper cover and ripped my car open like a can opener from the front edge of the passenger door trailing off to a long scratch by the back bumper. I was coming across the parking lot the right way between the rows of cars and she was cutting across and hit me in the right rear flank. I can't say for sure but distraction seemed to be a factor on her part.

I did the security camera thing too at that strip mall, and the managers of the various stores were helpful. Unfortunately they only had cameras trained right on their door to get a good shot of the troublemakers with a sense of entitlement trying to leave without paying.

Definitely show up with a police report in hand, or they won't share anything with you.

I see you have an S124 and a W163 also.

TX76513 · #7 07-24-2017, 08:35 AM

CI stated this well. Each policy has a written procedure on how they assess the value of a vehicle...period, NADA, Edmunds, etc. No matter if you put a crate motor in it the day before it doesn't change the value. That's why its been stated so many times here you have to get a declared value policy or collectors insurance on these older vehicles that have value beyond NADA.

Part 2; From the picture you posted that is not a tough repair especially since the doors and fenders can be painted easily in a small DIY booth. Body parts are very inexpensive to source for that car.

jay_bob · #8 07-24-2017, 11:42 AM

As long as his a- and b- pillars are not tweaked.

He took a big hit to the LF tire, I am concerned that did suspension damage, especially with his complaint of poor handling afterward. Probably going to need new LCA at the very least. I am worried the subframe may be distorted.

97 SL320 · #9 07-24-2017, 06:17 PM

I'll also add that if this was a sub 6 year old car it would be fixed without question.

The windshield isn't broken so I don't expect "A" pillar damage other than surface issues. The door posts could have flexed a bit but nothing major. An in person inspection at a body shop will discover what the car needs.

You could always run it to an alignment shop and see what has changed besides toe.

torsionbar · #10 07-24-2017, 10:47 PM

Major bummer, sorry to hear it. x3 on checking with nearby businesses for security camera footage. Had a hit-n-run happen to me a while back too, and the lesson I took away was to install a dashcam in all my cars. As you said, it really shakes you up and is disorienting, and by the time you realize the other guy has driven off, it occurs to you that you didn't get his tag number. But Mr. Dashcam sees all, records all, and the police will go knock on the guys door with handcuffs ready if you're able to provide them video evidence of the crime occurring. Glad to hear you weren't seriously injured.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfsegui

Not looking forward to the fight with insurance company, but I am even more stressed about finding another 1990-93 300D in as good of condition as mine was and the seller not wanting crazy money for it.

Actually, you want the sellers to be asking crazy money for cars in similar condition. The condition of your car affects its value, and the higher the price on comparable vehicles, the better your chances of getting a fair payout. Make sure when they appraise the damage to your car, you point out the excellent condition of your car for its age. Start browsing the for sale ads now, looking for the nicest and most expensive 90-93 300D's you can find, and print them out (in case the ad gets taken down) to provide to your insurance.

sfsegui · #11 07-25-2017, 08:15 PM

Thanks for all the advice and sympathy. To answer a few of the questions, I was on Two Notch Rd in Columbia (live in Forest Acres) and was headed to Sandhills where I Have a several accounts. Adjuster coming out in 3-5 days to look at my car. Have found a few similar cars to mine on Craigslist, but they are either beaters or don't give the detail I am looking for. Will expand my search.
On a different note, Picked up my rental car today, 2016 Hyundai Sonata. Really, really easy to get spoiled by my 91 300D or even my 87 wagon. The Hyundai is nice and has all the new tech stuff but right when I got in the car, I immediately missed my car. Uncomfortable seat, felt like an ergonomic disaster. Driving it was okay, just felt loose, loud and different, bad different. I am sure this car has been abused but with only 30,000 miles, I was expecting a little more. My 124s have really, really spoiled me I guess. Oh well. Will update after adjuster visit.

jay_bob · #12 07-25-2017, 08:35 PM

I have seen the left turn daredevil way too many times in my travels around here. If this happened on 2 Notch I would be going back to that intersection and looking up to see if the traffic light pole has a camera on it. Many of the intersections especially between Sesqui park and Sand Hills are equipped with cameras.

Didn't know we had another member so close by. I'm up in NE in the huge development surrounding the lake, up hard scrabble road. Only other one I know of is greazzer the injector guy, he lives near here too.

I travel for work extensively and draw lots of Hyundais and Nissans at the rental car line. Perfectly adequate transportation but no soul, and yes they age really fast especially when treated poorly. I really like getting in the E300 when I get back to CAE.

Is your 87 wagon gas or diesel?

sfsegui · #13 07-25-2017, 10:22 PM

My wagon is a diesel. It is definitely a labor of love. I don't drive it in the summer very often due to the inoperable AC (it is on my list). Currently it has almost no interior due to tracking down leak (found leak caused by shrunken boot around rear gate lift). Contemplating changing from Palomino to Parchment as I have a really nice headliner in Parchment to replace my old shredded one. Have all replacement interior, just don't have the time.
Just moved back to Columbia from Rock Hill last year. Had Greezzer refurbish a set of injectors for me in my 91 a couple years ago. He did a fantastic job. Makes me even sadder thinking about my 91, how I finally had it where the engine sounded like a typewriter, transmission had never shifted better, suspension was tight, drove like a dream, and the AC could freeze an Eskimo. May show this thread to the insurance adjuster and see if he has a heart!

torsionbar · #14 07-25-2017, 10:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jay_bob

I have seen the left turn daredevil way too many times in my travels around here. If this happened on 2 Notch I would be going back to that intersection and looking up to see if the traffic light pole has a camera on it.

That's a good point about going back to that intersection - sfsegui mentioned this occurred on a Friday morning. Perhaps this intersection is part of the offender's daily commute? Might be worth staking it out for a day or two, camera in hand, and see if a Dodge Ram with a patch of scuffed paint drives through there at the same time each day. Get photos and video of the Dodge driving through there at the same time, multiple days in a row, clearly showing the license plate number and the damage to his vehicle and the driver, and provide it to your police officer. I've found that when you help the police out with concrete evidence of a crime, like photos or video, they will run with it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by sfsegui

May show this thread to the insurance adjuster and see if he has a heart!

Insurance adjusters are compensated to keep payouts as low as possible. Heart or not, his paycheck / bonuses depend on cutting you the smallest check he can manage. Your receipts for recent parts / maintenance, photos of the condition of your car, and high-dollar comparable sales are your friend here. Tip: you can search ebay for auctions that have already ended, so that you can see the actual selling price, which is more useful than just an asking price, so that's another good source of comparables.

97 SL320 · #15 07-26-2017, 07:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by torsionbar

That's a good point about going back to that intersection - sfsegui mentioned this occurred on a Friday morning. Perhaps this intersection is part of the offender's daily commute? Might be worth staking it out for a day or two, camera in hand,. . . . .

Amongst other things, I've pitched that in this thread and others in the past. What I find strange is that the person whom suffers a loss is unwilling / uninterested in investigating on their own but will make a big fuss with their insurance company.

The cops are mostly uninterested in pursuing this kind of thing and will let the insurance co pay. The trail is growing colder by the minute, by not investigating on your own you are reinforcing hit and run behavior. RE: There is a high probability if I hit a car, I can run and no one will catch me.