Hi Everyone,
Well, It finally happened. The damn ball joint failed today on the 500E. It broke away right at the ball at around 40MPH. Needless to say,,, the tire ate the right side fender and side skirt but other than that everything else "appears" to be okay. Even with the minimal damage, it's still going to be expensive to fix. New fender, new side skirt, respray, possible undercarriage damage and obviously a new ball joint.

My question is..... Is this an accident? Will my insurance company cover the damage? I looked at my policy and I don't necessarily see anything that points this type of incident. Any help, comments or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
Adam

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Current Stable:
01 ML55 AMG
92 500E (a few mods)
87 300E (lots of mods)
00 Chevy 3500HD Diesel Box Truck
68 18' Donzi Marine
06 GT i-Drive7 1.0 Mountain Bike (with GPS!)

PREVIOUSLY OWNED:83 300SD, 87 420SEL, 88 420SEL, 90 420SEL, 86 560SEL, 86 190E 2.3-16V AMG, 94 E320

My hood popped open once, and insurance covered that, but it was after I got backed into, so it was caused by the accident. You could probably claim you ran something over?

It might be covered under the comprehensive side of the policy. Just call your agent.

My understanding is that it must be a sudden and accidental event. If there is a failure, the part that failed is not covered, any resultant damage is...so if the balljoint came apart, that would be excluded as the cause of the loss, but the rest of the damage SHOULD be covered, at least the way policies in MO are written.

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2002 Ford ZX2
2 x 2013 Honda Civics

i had a wheel come off my trailer once and it was covered.

tom w

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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.

Holy ****... was the balljoint really sloppy before this or was it unexpected?

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1985 CA 300D Turbo , 213K mi

In my (and other`s who had this happen to) experience the balljoint doesn`t just break, it gives you ample warning noises. Un-misteakable noises, every time you turn the weel it squeeks with a deep, metal-on-metal grind.
Hopefully insurance will cover it although I am not sure under what policy.

Alex

Yeah, I kinda knew. About a year ago there was some ticking going on in the front right corner whenever I hit a bump in the road. I assumed it was the balljoint so I purchased a new set along with new tie rods from Phil. It just so happened I needed an alignment so I took it to the alignment shop with the parts and told them to replace what was needed and that I thought the right ball joint was on it's way out. They told me everything checked out fine and they didn't need to replace anything. After the alignment the clicking went away and I just forgot about the problem. What's weird is that the balljoint appears to be in good shape. Minimal surface rust on the pin. The boot is in good shape and is well greased. My guess is it somehow fractured internally.

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Current Stable:
01 ML55 AMG
92 500E (a few mods)
87 300E (lots of mods)
00 Chevy 3500HD Diesel Box Truck
68 18' Donzi Marine
06 GT i-Drive7 1.0 Mountain Bike (with GPS!)

PREVIOUSLY OWNED:83 300SD, 87 420SEL, 88 420SEL, 90 420SEL, 86 560SEL, 86 190E 2.3-16V AMG, 94 E320

Ruh-roh. I better keep my mouth shut on this one.

Na... Let er rip!

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Current Stable:
01 ML55 AMG
92 500E (a few mods)
87 300E (lots of mods)
00 Chevy 3500HD Diesel Box Truck
68 18' Donzi Marine
06 GT i-Drive7 1.0 Mountain Bike (with GPS!)

PREVIOUSLY OWNED:83 300SD, 87 420SEL, 88 420SEL, 90 420SEL, 86 560SEL, 86 190E 2.3-16V AMG, 94 E320

And get banned again? Just turn it over to your adjuster and tell them what happened and let him sort it out. They will either pay it or get whoever they think is responsible to pay it. Unless you have really crappy insurance though, I think your original question is answered and you shouldn't have to pay for this.

Not necessary to commit insurance fraud though by making up a story that you hit something as previously suggested and would insure that you would have to pay the deductable (May have to anyway).

I has a similar incident in my Rover. Hub failed and the left wheel came off at highway speed. Resulting damage was covered, and it was substancial. USAA is a stellar company though, YMMV.

Mileage may vary indeed!--USAA is the stingiest, no claim payingest company I have ever dealt with, and there isn't even a close second! Glad your experience with them is good, though.

Mercury!

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Current Benzes

1989 300TE "Alice"
1990 300CE "Sam Spade"
1991 300CE "Beowulf" RIP (06.1991 - 10.10.2007)
1998 E320 "Orson"
2002 C320 Wagon "Molly Fox"

Res non semper sunt quae esse videntur

My Gallery

Not in this weather!

i SUPPECT IT WILL BE CHEAPER LONG RUN TO PAY YOURSELF
then file a claim minus deduck and pay higher rates the next too many years