Look what mommy did to the 2000 ML today!
I pulled it on the frame machine right away. This will be fun.

Peter

http://albums.photopoint.com/j/View?...103&p=44339908

Uh Oh! Looks like she hit a tree! How bad is the damage? Airbags are good? I bet even that small damage will cost a bundle! Good Luck!

Joe Golden

Aw goodness. Did she know what hit her? Bet she didnt even feel a knock!

:D

Please do tell us what the damage cost is. From the picture, it looks like there's a bit of frame damage, and those are really expensive to fix. Looks like she hit a pole?


Vu

Alax Hill Odds
 

For the events, the following odds are available:

Bets on Hitting a:

1. Pole - 3:5
2. Tree - 1:2
3. Car - 1:8
4. Bird - 1:1,000,000
5. Parking Meter - 2:3

What about a pedestrian? A big one!!!!!

Had to have been a pole
 

If it'd been a tree, there'd be bark everywhere!

Hope she's okay

I bet the mom didn't even feel a thump. I'm pretty sure she's okay.


Happy Driving,
Vu

I go for the pole as well (a nice steady one).
No cracks in the windscreen, so: YES for an used seat belt, NO for the deployed airbag (that is a guess) and NO for the possible hurt mother...

bumper, hood, 1 fender and most probably a damaged radiator (I think the engine parts are still allright)...approx. 14.000 dutch guilders (but the parts are cheaper here, so:...no idea)

greetingz,

Hope mum is alright.

Could it be an unassuming bear she knocked into judging by the greater indentation on the left of the bonnet (presumably the rear end of the grizzly)? :)

Ouch...hope Mom is alright. Looks like the hood and bumper absorbed alot of the impact force....

Let us know how it turns out...

Andy Kuo

...no fur, no animal...Encountering bears on the road is something I would never think of. The biggest animal we can run into is a mini-deer (1,2m high). I have seen a bear (and moose's) on the road when I was in Canada (Banff and Jasper national park) some 15 years ago. Nice animals to see, not to get an accident with...

greetingz,

Ok guys....

First, I'd like to thank everyone for the great concern of my mother. She was uninjured EXCEPT for the friction burns on her arms from the airbag. She was driving in a parking lot at about 15mph, and somehow she hit a light pole (the ones with the 3ft diameter concrete around it). Her and my little 12 yr old brother were both wearing seatbelts, and both airbags deployed. My brother was sitting close to the windshield, and in return suffered a broken nose and bad scrapes all over his face from the airbag.

Second, Allstate came out and estimated the damage at, no bulls**t, 14000. After making the appropriate supplements, the damage will exceed 17000 or 18000.
The reason damage is so high: this car is designed so that in the event of a frontal collision, the frame folds downward and pushes the engine UNDER the passenger compartment as opposed to INTO the passenger compartment. I'm sure you've all heard of "crumple-zones." 70 hours of labor were allocated to the frame repair. Also, both airbags popped as well as both seat belt automatic tensioners. Windshield was shattered by the dash part covering the passenger airbag. The trim inside the car that covers the roof pillars is also cracked. No MAIN motor damage. Radiator, A/C condenser, compressor, powersteering pump are destroyed.

The Verdict: If this were a 55mph or higher accident, it would saved my family's lives. But at this minimal speed, more damage was done to both the occupants and the car than necessary.

I'll post pictures when the car is finished.

Peter

My conclusion,

WOW!!! I can't believe that much damage was done! I hate to hear about your bro but at least he is alive! Those pass bags have killed kids his age and younger. Close call! If you looked at the damage from a different angle you can probably tell there is more damage than the straight forward shot. I still think the bags should have refrained from deploying in such a low/moderate crash. Sorry again to your family and good luck!

Joe Golden

All this happened at 15 mph?

Goodness.

Its not proportionate to the damage suffered. Am glad that everyone's ok except for a little here and there.

Isn't the insurance policy paying instead??

Best wishes for a speedy recovery for both mum and bro. Sorry to hear about the extent of the damage- insurance will cover it?

Now that we have established that everyone is fine...
Please explain to us how your mom hit the pole!

We (Swanee and I) drove my dad's 260E and parked right infront of an ML. I think the top of our windscreen was looking up at the tip of the ML's bonnet. Its really a huge SUV.

Immediately, we bought thought of Mom's poor ML and wondered how it all happened ... :D

But we do say that the ML is one heck of a tough SUV.

aside
 

FWIW, recently when at a dealer’s shop, I saw a ML that had experienced a similar accident. In this case, the entire chassis was lifted off the frame, and literally 99% of the components that were mounted on the frame (engine, suspension, fuel tank, exhaust, etc.) were also removed. This project was started by an auto repair company but handed off to the dealer as the repair company was way over their heads, or so it was reported to me by one of the managers at the dealer.

Wish I had a camera. It was quite a site!

I assume it to be a restoration project?

If indeed it was, how many of you would consider buying a completed, reconditioned and restored ML?

I wouldn't - unless it was given to me, and in which case I might just dispose of it real cheap and buy myself a BMW 500cc bike and ride myself to paradise. :D

PBalias,

If I remember your previous posts correctly, you own a repair shop yourself...if this damage is paid by the insurance company (I presume the vehicle was all-risk insured) it may end up very interesting in a financial point of view.
It is good to hear that your family is allright (besides the broken nose). Personally I do not like airbags...I recently saw an E class with 5 or 6 deployed airbags...lots of damage inside the car...

greetingz,

I think air bags are essential if I am to get any more cars they must have air bags.
I have also read that no Mercedes BMW or Honda air bags have never killed a person. But that Volvo Cadialic and Dawoo are under invetigation for killing to many people.
Anathor thing I hate is how people think that Volvos are the safest car ever built, when Mercedes invented many more safety features than Volvo or any other car co.
Just my $.02

MBenz and everyone else...

Yes...I own body shop/garage in Houston, TX, USA. We do a lot of bodywork on MB vehicles because the nearest MB dealership does not have its own BodyShop. This IS an insurance claim. Right now, the entire front half of the truck has been disassembled so the insurance company can come look at the extent of frame damage so they can provide additional payment. As of now, repair costs are going to run at just under $20K. Most of this money is allocated to labor costs, as parts for this vehicle are EXTREMELLLLLLLLYYYYYYY inexpensive. I think the airbags cost around $250 a piece. We currently have a 2000 Infinity QX4 being repaired whose passenger airbag was almost $1200! Many of the parts are on order from GERMANY and will be here in the next few weeks. During the accident, the frame folded downward and the motor slid UNDER the cab at a rough angle of -35 degrees to the parallel, and almost 3inches back. That's why one member who posted here earlier said he saw an ML whose cab was lifted completely off the frame. The motor is made to go UNDER the cab, as opposed to INTO the cab as to not injure the occupants.
The reason my mom hit a pole is because just hours prior to the accident, my grandmother was diagnosed with cancer. As you can imagine, mom had LOTS on her mind, and wasn't paying close enough attention to where she was driving.
Something that really angered me was that when I arrived on the accident scene (with one of my Flat-Bed tow trucks) there was another tow truck hooking on to the ML and trying to lift it from the front and drag it into a parking lot. He couldn't figure out the ML was full time 4WD. What made me mad is that he insisted on hooking up the ML even as I asked him not to, and the car had to go to a STORAGE YARD because the driver (my mom) wasn't able to sign for the tow. He told me he didn't care if I was her son and he was going to hook up the ML and take it to a storage yard REGARDLESS of what I said. Anyway, before I was able to kick his ass, and maybe visit the jail-house, the police officer made him drop the car right where it was and I was able to take it away.


Like I said...I'll post pictures of when it's done. We are going to add the MB Grille-Guard and the Skid-Plate along with a bug shield and side-steps when it's finished.

Thanks for everyone's concerns...
Peter

Does the other tow-trucker comprehend basic English?

Assuming he does, does he seem to understand simple English?

Assuming he does too (I'm half Economist), I assume he speaks American better?

Regardless, I know these characters too well. Have had to deal with similar people before when in an accident before. Apparently, they have an unwritten code of "first come, first right-of-tow".

You should have kicked him in the S.

I would have, if in a similar situation.

YMSin,
What is the "S" ?? I can't figure it out?

I think "S" stood for ass.

In Sugar Land (a suburb of Houston), the tow truck companies are called out by the Police Department. A certain number of companies are on the "list" the police use, called a rotation list. The wrecker driver thought he had the right to tow the ML just because he was called out by the police. Houston, on the other hand, has a first come first serve towing industry. People criticize this system but it is actually very effective and efficient, and the high level of competition also keeps towing rates down. I dont hate wrecker drivers...I consider myself one! Tow trucks are a MAJOR part of my business, but this guy must have been a rookie or something!


Peter

Tow-truckers have a parasitic synonym attached to them in Malaysia as you'll be able to see them whizzing into the accident scene in the dozens fighting over whose right it is to tow the vehicle away as the victims are left flabbergasted at the ludicrousy of it all. Makes me mad that human importance should have to take a back seat whilst them trcukers argue over a piece of metal. Certainly would be inclined to physically knock some sense into them.

Regards to your family from YM and I- hang in there.

ps. S translates - rear end; posterior; four-legged animal with long ears, related to a horse; butt?

Tow-trucking needs the wreck as its their main source of bread and butter. Despite them having a "code of ethics and conduct", they certainly disregard all niceties when 2 truckies happen to chance on an unfortunate event at the same time. Then, some unpleasantries might be the common exchange while the affected would just try to be referee.

In my course of work, I have had to serve injunctions on the truckie's workshop, coupled with some police escort, to get cars out of their workshop - which was taken in by duress. Imagine someone just walking out dazed not knowing what hit them, and then preyed upon by tough-talking-everything-possible tow truckies, when suddenly everything becomes "tougher-louder-talking-everythings-NOT-possible" and the car can't get out unless a ransom paid.

From my own collection, we have had not less than 3 such cases where we had to intervene on behalf of the owners to get their cars out.

Thats is why whenever I need a tow-truck, I don't call anyone else except the Automobile Association (AAM) - because I know just where I want the [car] towed to, and they will oblige!

Swanee and I are both members of AAM and I do hope that she won't ever need their services.

Having said that, I'm sure if we do ever need a tow-trucker outside AAM's realm, I would love to call on Peter.

Fellow supposter of AAM! AAM has proved very, very reliable over the short period it has opened in Kuching. Prompt service and reliability makes me sure that I don't regret joining. I'm expecting an ML320 soon. Anything I should look our for in this model? Wished the interior was of better built. I didn't want to settle for the X5 simply because I'm pro-MB :)

I had the same discussion last year with a towing truck driver after my girl friend was caught in an accident (with my C250D). The police officer at the accident was kind enough to let me tow-truck my own vehicle...leaving behind someone being extremely annoyed!

greetingz,

Chung Chieh, What model year ML320 are you looking at? A lot has changed since MY98.

Kuan

Hi Kuan,
I'm looking at a 2001 ML270CDi or an ML320. I test drove and ML320 back in 1998 and I was quite put off with the interior quality, particularly the door trim; and heard of the electrical problems asscociated with the early types. I have seen the revised interior which IMHO looks better. Which is a better ML, the 270CDi or 320? I don't plan to get one soon, (I've been considering the ML since last year! :)) but with a face lift due out soon, should I wait? What are the pros and cons of the ML? :)
Best Regards,
Chung

Good Thing that Air Bags Deployed
 

Actually the amount of force of striking an immovable object at 15MPH is quite high. An unbuckled passenger without an airbag can be thrown from the vehicle at this speed or up into the windshield. A few MPH faster, and the unfortunate person will go through the windshield. There is nothing you can do to stop it as no one is physically strong enough to hold on. Without airbags but with standard seatbelts, you will have a considerable brusing along the chest from the seatbelt. (and possibly cracked or broken bones)

Likewise the damage done to the vehicle should be expected since the entire force of stopping the 4500lb+ mass is concentrated in such a small area.

It's one of the many reasons to appreciate the safty features of MB vehicles.

Truck is almost finished!!! I'll be taking some pictures of the final product this week and post them here for comparison. It's starting to come together quite nicely. Damn, my body guys are good!!!

Peter

Post the original as well. It seems to be unavailable.

Between 3-20-01 and 12-09-01 and it's STILL NOT FINISHED????

Where did the pictures go?
 

Where did the pictures go?