Back in mid November I managed to rear end a Kia Optima in my E320 wagon. I was able to drive the wagon home and I really thought it was totaled.


It kept me safe, and the damage looked pretty bad. I didn't have collision on it so it pretty much would have to be repaired out of pocket if anything.


I got it mostly apart and it didn't really look bad at all. But after pricing out what it would cost to get all of these parts at a junk yard I decided to try and find another wagon.


Still, it really sucked to have to scrap a perfectly good wagon with minor damage to it. I kept convincing myself to not fix it, but eventually yesterday happened...


...and this popped up. It's a 1995 E320 sedan with 195k on it. Bought it for $1000, and it runs and drives fine! Unfortunately the interior isn't great, and the head gasket is probably bad (burns coolant and oil), and it would cost way more money to fix up than I have. I bought it with the intention of using it as a parts car.


It's a powerhouse, that's for sure. Faster than my wagon somehow (I imagine my heavier wagon has something to do with it) but it has a ton of new parts that will make getting my wagon on the road much easier and more affordable.


I started out by cutting out the radiator support on my wagon. This and the material connected to it that everything attaches to. It was pretty well mangled and past the point of no return.


I then began to mark out where I was going to cut the damage out.


Here is what is getting replaced. It shouldn't be buckled like that! And honestly, after getting it removed I'm surprised how light it is considering how much impact it absorbed.


The black lines were from a while ago, but I eventually cut out the white lines. I found it to be far better to cut out only the damage as opposed to most of the panel in this case.


Damage removed! Didn't take very long thanks to an angle grinder.


And here is what was removed. As you can see it was pretty mangled, but it took the impact very well. That whole chunk right there only weighs a few pounds!

I have a ways to go, so look out for further updates.