Right, and what I would add to this (I thought of it after reading these posts) is that I believe the harnesses are all the SAME. I know there are different options on each car, but the harnesses will be made to accomodate different configurations, if a particular feature is not on a particular car, there will be a connector taped to the harness which is not used.
There may be a few different harnesses (A harness for a US car might be different than a EU car for example), but it's not like each car needs a hand-built custom harness.

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I had to replace a few different body harnesses on an R129, around a 97 or 98 car, and the harnesses should up from Germany in little more than a week.

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I picked up my vehicle from the out of town dealer after 95 days.
The total cost was $13,815.00. The wiring harness was replaced, replaced front seat frames, replaced front seat control units, replaced seat heater control and replaced airmatic compressor.
There were no problems with the vehicle on the drive back home.
The dealer was a multiple dealership servicing three different manufacturers. There may have been only three of four MB mechanic in the dealership. There may have been about twenty bays in the shop servicing all three manufacturers.
In the future if I am only a couple of hundred miles from home. I would consider towing the vehicle to a local large dealer or making sure the dealer is AAA approved.
I will have to wait for the insurance carriers to work out any out of pocket expenses.

I would have the car inspected soon with an eye toward any mold growth that might be happening under your feet, or anywhere else. I can't believe the bill is $13+k. That's too low. If you need to, hire an independent adjuster - your advocate, to help with the adjustment and aftermath. I personally would not buy a flood damaged car, no matter what the previous owner told me - therefore the value of your 2009 is quite seriously diminished.

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2010 CL550 - Heaven help me but it's beautiful
87 300D a labor of love
11 GLK 350 So far, so good
08 E350 4matic, Love it.
99 E320 too rusted, sold
87 260E Donated to Newgate School
www.Newgateschool.org - check it out.
12 Ford Escape, sold, forgotten
87 300D, sold, what a mistake
06 Passat 2.0T, PITA, sold

Las Vegas NV

This car would be written off in my country.
A flag would be put on the national database regarding the VIN. - Not to be re-registered.
Even hail damaged cars are written off and flagged.

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The water level during the flood may have been a bit over the exhaust. The water level in the interior was just above the seat tracks.

The carpet and the seat motors were replaced.

I had my local dealer near home complete the A Service and the scheduled Transmission Service on the first business day. The local dealer did not find any code error or problems during the servicing of the vehicle.

I did not have any problems or have any malfunctions on the drive home.

My insurance carrier said if I have any problems they will take care of it. I do not know how long this warranty is good for.

The dealer and carrier told me that ther car would have to have sustained more damage for it to be total. The dealer told me there was no damage to engine. It would take the engine and the wiring harness cost to total the vehicle because of the cash value of the vehicle.

I hope all the parts that would have molds were replaced.

The battle now moves to the hotel's insurance carrier.

California has a good Department of Insurance but there are no provisions for diminished value claims. Some states have provisions for diminished value claims. I am lucky that the dealer used new parts from the factory rather than replacements that some garage may have used.

Multiple wiring harness's in the wiring troughs all over the floorboard. Worst of all thats were many of the can connectors are, Also alot of the srs wiring and important explosive devices for the seat belts. Maybe the water coming out of the exhaust didnt make it all the way up to the engine. The wiring harness for the o2 sensors are under there. I wonder if any went into the trans or diff or wheel speed sensors? Rusty wheel bearings make funny noises. It'll probably be fine.

The dealer had the vehicle for 95 days. It took about six weeks to obtain the wiring harness from the factory. The wiring harness and all the connections were replaced. They rewired the whole vehicle. The dashboard was moved rewired, the dome was rewired and I believe all the wiring and connections below the floor were replaced.

I parked the vehicle about 11 PM at night there was no standing water. The rain was a little heavy about midnight. I am not sure how long it took for the lot to flood. The level of the water had fallen by the time I returned to the vehicle in the morning at that time the water was just about six inches deep.

So far no malfunctions or driving problems. I have attached a couple of photos of the vehicle in the shop.

Attached Thumbnails

   

Some last thoughts.

Actually if I had to debate between crash-damage & water damage on my car, I'd probably be more troubled by crash damage.
I've heard stories of people leaving their sunroofs open and the resulting water damage was horrific but the cars were repaired.

If the car should have been declared totaled or the water damage would have made the car unsafe or problematic due to mold or fungal odor - I think many MB dealers would have advised about the repairs not rectifying the damage - I do not believe most MB dealers would have gone and done work on a car simply for the revenue in this case.

The dealers work is guarantee for one year. I am sure that everything that could cause a problem was replaced by the dealer. The only concern I had was the time it took the dealer to repair the vehicle. The dealership supports three different brands of vehicles. The dealership may have three to four technicians for each brand. MB said that all the technicians were only limited to working on MB vehicles. I am sure that most of the MB technicians worked on the vehicle one time or the other. The work off was about a half inch thick.
The vehicle was road tested a couple of days before it was returned to me.
I was concern about rattle and road noises after the interior was taking down below the floor board. There were no noise or rattle while driving and there is a fresh smell to the interior with the replacement of the carpets.

The only problem I am having now is on warranty work. The vehicle has been flagged by MB. All warranty work must be approved by MB.

I had one malfunction airmatic last week. The dealer had to get permission from MB. There was a loose connection right front strut solenoid. Dealer said not covered under warranty had to pay the cost to diagnosis.

Is the insurance company compensating you for a decrease in value?

I understand some States in the United States do compensate for Diminished Value.

I read a couple posting stating that California is one of the States that does not compensate for Diminished Value.

1) I'm wondering with new wiring harness whether the airmatic connection that failed was part of the work done for the flood repair.

2) Kind of seems that MB isn't warranting their work. I realize the circumstances, insurance etc., but the dealer was paid nearly 14K - maybe schedule a meeting with the MB dealer zone rep.

3) It happened on hotel property - but it was natural (rain ?) - so only if there had been past flooding in this hotels parking lot would the hotel potentially have responsibility.

4) Hopefully this will be the only teething problem from the repairs, and it's a car so don't let stuff like this stress you.