totaled out benz..will miss greatly

[cangold]

Hi guys..

Well my decision is to receive a cash out for $4200. insur co did raise the amount from $2500.I'm unable to buy car back because the insur co. is going to salvage and sell my benz as a parts only car.

I wil miss my benz dearly..but it's time to say good-bye..
All this for an air-bag deployment.

Bought an awesome 1993 Lexus SC300 .... now off to the Lexus forums.

Thanks again for all your help...this has been a great forum..

[Hirnbeiss]

japanische Autos bringen's nicht!

[rchase]

Originally Posted by cangold

Hi guys..

Well my decision is to receive a cash out for $4200. insur co did raise the amount from $2500.I'm unable to buy car back because the insur co. is going to salvage and sell my benz as a parts only car.

I wil miss my benz dearly..but it's time to say good-bye..
All this for an air-bag deployment.

Bought an awesome 1993 Lexus SC300 .... now off to the Lexus forums.

Thanks again for all your help...this has been a great forum..

Your getting screwed. An airbag deployment does not total a car. Make the insurance company give you a unscathed title and buy an airbag from a junk yard and keep about $4000 in profit.

[ILUVMILS]

Originally Posted by rchase

Your getting screwed. An airbag deployment does not total a car. Make the insurance company give you a unscathed title and buy an airbag from a junk yard and keep about $4000 in profit.

Not true! Front flex disc failure resulting in airbag deployment can cause SEVERE damage to the vehicle underbody. Also, just replacing the airbag won't help. The SRS control module must be replaced as well. The cost of the parts, in addition to the probable underbody damage make this one a "no-brainer" for the insurance company, given the age of the car.

[rchase]

Originally Posted by ILUVMILS

Not true! Front flex disc failure resulting in airbag deployment can cause SEVERE damage to the vehicle underbody. Also, just replacing the airbag won't help. The SRS control module must be replaced as well. The cost of the parts, in addition to the probable underbody damage make this one a "no-brainer" for the insurance company, given the age of the car.

Perhaps if your not real bright and use NEW parts on a 15+ year old car purchased diretly from an expensive retail source. The car in question will go straight to a rebuilder the title will be washed to get rid of the salvage and the repairs will be made and then the car will go to an auto auction and then a dealer. The insurance industry and the rebuilders are in bed with one another. The insurance companies total cars that are repairable and the rebuilders buy them patch them back together and sell them to consumers at a hefty profit. The insurance companies love this because they can total a car quickly sell the wreck just as quickly and rip the consumer off by starting negotiaions off under wholesale value on the car.

Even with "Severe" underbody damage the airbag and module could be replaced and any collateral damage could be repaired (brake cables and exhaust damage) and the car would still be quite safe to drive.

To the original owner. If you want to see something real amusing wait about 6 months and do a carfax on your VIN. You will be amazed to see it has a washed title and its probably registered to its new owner in another state.

The insurance companies and rebuilders have been defrauding consumers for years like this and will continue not matter what laws are put into place and no matter how carfax tries to adapt. There are too many loopholes in state laws and the vehicles are moved around a lot to take advantage of these laws.

[ILUVMILS]

Originally Posted by rchase

Perhaps if your not real bright and use NEW parts on a 15+ year old car purchased diretly from an expensive retail source. The car in question will go straight to a rebuilder the title will be washed to get rid of the salvage and the repairs will be made and then the car will go to an auto auction and then a dealer. The insurance industry and the rebuilders are in bed with one another. The insurance companies total cars that are repairable and the rebuilders buy them patch them back together and sell them to consumers at a hefty profit. The insurance companies love this because they can total a car quickly sell the wreck just as quickly and rip the consumer off by starting negotiaions off under wholesale value on the car.

Even with "Severe" underbody damage the airbag and module could be replaced and any collateral damage could be repaired (brake cables and exhaust damage) and the car would still be quite safe to drive.

To the original owner. If you want to see something real amusing wait about 6 months and do a carfax on your VIN. You will be amazed to see it has a washed title and its probably registered to its new owner in another state.

The insurance companies and rebuilders have been defrauding consumers for years like this and will continue not matter what laws are put into place and no matter how carfax tries to adapt. There are too many loopholes in state laws and the vehicles are moved around a lot to take advantage of these laws.

If what you say is true, the next owner (if there will ever be one) will be the one who gets screwed, not cangold. No reputable shop will install used parts on an airbag system. As far as the underbody damage is concerned, don't kid yourself. Every car I've seen this happen to actually had the sheet metal above the driveshaft sliced wide open. The interior wiring beneath the center console was shredded to bits. Two of them had the transmission housing broken. The shift rod, driveshaft, and exhaust system also had severe damage. The cars were all totalled partly because of the cost, but mostly because they couldn't be fixed properly.

[Dee8go]

Hey, Iluvmils, how about flood-totaled cars. I expect there are plenty of those on used car lots around the country these days. Can they be patched together well enough to seem to be in good condition only to begin falling apart after the sale?

I'm not sure exactly what the issues are, but presumably the electronics don't fair too well after flooding.

[rchase]

Originally Posted by ILUVMILS

No reputable shop will install used parts on an airbag system. .

Mostly this is profit and liability generated. If you buy a used car your also buying a used airbag. That's dangerous right?

[BENZ-LGB]

Originally Posted by rchase

...The insurance industry and the rebuilders are in bed with one another. The insurance companies total cars that are repairable and the rebuilders buy them patch them back together and sell them to consumers at a hefty profit. The insurance companies love this because they can total a car quickly sell the wreck just as quickly and rip the consumer off by starting negotiaions off under wholesale value on the car.

...

The insurance companies and rebuilders have been defrauding consumers for years like this and will continue not matter what laws are put into place and no matter how carfax tries to adapt. There are too many loopholes in state laws and the vehicles are moved around a lot to take advantage of these laws.

I don't trust insurance companies and I don't trust CarFax.

[rchase]

Originally Posted by BENZ-LGB

I don't trust insurance companies and I don't trust CarFax.

I self insure as much as I can. Insurance companies are a for profit business and have no ethical or moral qualms about ripping someone off. Unless I have a loan company that requires full coverage or unless I am driving a car I can't afford to loose I self insure.

When you consider cars like ours it makes even more sense. For example you wreck your car and its not repairable. You take the amount the car is currently worth and subtract that for the scrap value you got for the car (many of our cars are worth a lot in parts) and that is your loss. Many people underestimate the value of a wreck and underestimate how easily it can be sold. Many of us would only be out a couple of grand in an accident and have paid much more than that over the years in insurance premiums. Just like in Vegas the house (the insurance company) always wins. Over a period of time the amount you spend in premiums will ALWAYS be higher than the amount the company pays out.

Carfax is a nice try but because of all the loopholes and the way that the insurance companies and recyclers work the rules I don't trust it 100%. If your terribly afraid of buying a wrecked car go buy a new one. Its interesting the hysteria involved in vehicles that have involved in collisions.

[Mistress]

Originally Posted by cangold

Hi guys..

Well my decision is to receive a cash out for $4200. insur co did raise the amount from $2500.I'm unable to buy car back because the insur co. is going to salvage and sell my benz as a parts only car.

I wil miss my benz dearly..but it's time to say good-bye..
All this for an air-bag deployment.

Bought an awesome 1993 Lexus SC300 .... now off to the Lexus forums.

Thanks again for all your help...this has been a great forum..

Hope your o.k. and good luck

[TwitchKitty]

Originally Posted by cangold

Hi guys..

Well my decision is to receive a cash out for $4200. insur co did raise the amount from $2500.

How did this happen? They raised the amount?

[cangold]

Originally Posted by TwitchKitty

How did this happen? They raised the amount?

I gave them 3 comparable 300E being sold, $4000-$7000 and had a MB Dealer work one up for $4200..
I feel better knowing I took the $$$$...the trans was also slipping

[Hatterasguy]

Sure you can dry it out. What about the smell? The interior usualy is scrap.

Two things I simply refuse to ever buy, a car that has been under water, and a boat that has been under water. Both are a never ending electrical nightmare. I'd rather not put myself through, so I just won't buy one. I'll leave the flood cars to the ambitios people who want a challange.

[rchase]

Originally Posted by Hatterasguy

Sure you can dry it out. What about the smell? The interior usualy is scrap.

Two things I simply refuse to ever buy, a car that has been under water, and a boat that has been under water. Both are a never ending electrical nightmare. I'd rather not put myself through, so I just won't buy one. I'll leave the flood cars to the ambitios people who want a challange.

My 126 does not smell at all. The smell comes from bacteria. Bacteria need water in order to survive. A month in a low humidity enviroment and there would be no smell.

Again I think we have a communications issue here. You equate a "flood car" as any car that has had water in it at all when in reality the flood cars that are really problematic are the ones that have had salt water in them or muddy water in them.

My 126 has been the most reliable car I have ever owned in my life. I just hate it when old wives tales suddenly become "fact" when it comes to urban legends like the notorious "flood car".