Hit a deer

[mbtjc]

Last night I hit a deer at 65mph with my beloved 126. The damage is concentrated on the passenger headlight. It wasn't a "head on". The headlight and turnsignal were completely obliterated. The quarterpanel and bumper look surprisingly virtually unscathed, except that the bumper is ever so slightly cocked down a little, but I bet it wouldn't be much to straighten that. The worst part....my hood. Totally bashed the hood in where it comes down on top of the headlight. It's sticking up about an inch where it meets the quarterpanel.

I have to find a new euro headlight and turnsignal, and maybe a few other odds and ends.

Here are my questions: When I look for a body shop....what should look for? Should I insist on a certain brand of paint (glasurit)? I'm almost willing to bet that finding a new hood will be the better option as opposed to straightening this one because it is nicely bashed in. I want a top paint job, esp. since it's such a large prominent surface.

Thanks for any help.

[J.HIDALGO]

Take your car to a shop where they are used to work with european cars, preferebly MB's. That is what I did after looking around for a while and I am very happy with the results. Insist on genuine MB parts if they are going to replace anything. I do not know the condition of your paint right now but, they may match the color of your paint but not the condition of paint on the rest of your car. If you know what I mean.
Good luck!

Sorry to read that.

The locals around here say you're not a true midwesterner until you hit a deer.

In regards to the paint, my 560 had some work done a few years back by a reputable shop. They used DuPont and the product looked great when it was fresh and still looks good to this day.