W124 Frame Damage - Opinions Please
 

I fear I just acquired the proverbial lipstick on a pig car, 1995 E300 Diesel beautiful on the outside, but ohh what's on the underside... This vehicle was acquired at auction.

In my review of the car I found the following damage to the main front cross member. I believe this constitutes frame damage but would like to hear what others have to say.

Attached are pictures of the main front cross member and the drivers door both at rest will all 4 feet on the ground and a second with it jacked up at the drivers side jack point.

Thanks for any and all feedback.

- Mark

Is the crinkled / scraped surface facing the ground? To me it looks like it's just poor jack placement... if the frame were crinkled it would be crinkled on all sides.

-J

The cross member may have just hit bottom, a not too uncommon occurrence. You may want to get a body shop to inspect for repair work. You may be able to see something yourself if you inspect the B-pillars.

But, I wouldn't despair if the repair work is good. At 16 years, your car has low resale value anyway, and if had a good long-term repair it shouldn't impact it much anyway. If it's safe, aligns well, drives straight and quiet, then it's a keeper.

Mark, it's odd that the front door gap changes when the car is jacked-up. Have never seen that happen on any of our MB automobiles, even the coupes. Best to investigate further to assure that 1995 E300 is safe to drive. Your local indy can put it on a lift and thoroughly inspect the frame integrity.

Mark if you just purchased that car, you should have a reject option possibly. Real-time frame damage isn't cool!

Are we sure it isn't just worn door hinges?

My frame looks like that, and I have no damage. I think you have two separate issues.

???

Maybe I'm blind or stupid or both, but I can't see much of a problem from the photos. You should see my old diesel underneath, and it drives fine & dandy. What you should worry about is rust & I don't see any.

If you're worried, take it to a body shop and have them inspect it for any sign of prior repair, and check the Carfax as well. That car is probably as solid as they come & you're just suffering some anxiety over your purchase.

Not a great photo, but you can see at the top mine...identical to yours:

http://www.w124-zone.com/downloads/p...swap/swap8.jpg

How much door movement?

+1 on bad hinges, but worth a closer look by a shop just to make sure. A 124 E300D is a nice car to have, but your life is worth even more. My 2c

Thanks to all that replied. The car was covered under arbitration and has been taken back. Mechanical stuff doesn't bother me but body/chassis stuff does greatly. And along those lines regarding the damage, maybe it's me but of the other w124 cars I have owned, 2 sedans and 1 wagon which had been hit and repaired, none had a main front cross member look that liked this one.

The issue with door alignment and more the movement was also disconcerting as I will be putting a young driver behind the wheel of the car and didn't want any concerns regarding body integrity.

Cheers, Mark