HELP REPAIRING MY MERCEDES

MercC220D

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2013 Mercedes Benz C220 CDI
Hi everyone,
I'm new to this site mainly because of the accident I had with my Mercedes last week,
Car: 2013 Mercedes Benz C220 CDI executive model
So... long story short, My car went into the back of another car last week, Honestly it was no more than 15mph, the other car (vw golf) got a tiny bit of paint damage whereas my Mercedes got a lot more damage then that,
3 Airbags in the front deployed, either the radiator or the water for the windscreen washer got damaged too along with some minor bodywork, Now the radiator or windscreen washer and the minor damage I don't mind as they can be easily repaired, My question is:
Since the airbags went off is it just a case of getting them replaced and getting the computer in the car reset or do i have to replace the computer along with the airbags ?

My insurance company have classed the car as a category D write off (Allowed to be repaired but according to them it'll cost more than the car is worth to repair)
They have told me the car is worth €13,000 pre accident
Current worth of car after accident €4,000
So they have given me two options
1. Take €13,000 for the car (minus my excess and whatever is left on my premium which is around €500 in total) So basically they will give me around €12,500
2. They will give me back the car and they will also give me €8,500 for this accident,

I just really need some advice about this as this is the best and nicest car I have owned, is it feasible to get the car back and use the additional money to fix it? or just take the settlement amount and try get another car?
Also just for reference 2013 model C220 Mercedes are going for around 15K near me....
Thank you for time and any help anyone can give me
 

Blobcat

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If they’re going for 15k and you’ve been offered 13k then you’re 2k short to replace. You need to go back to the insurance company with evidence that yours was equally as good (if not better) than those for sale (print out the adverts) and negotiate a higher settlement figure.

And Hello and welcome
 

umblecumbuz

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Insurers will never pay dealer prices (£15k) for written off vehicles, so you are swimming uphill trying to reach that figure. That is in any case an asking price, not a final sale price.

As you like the car, it makes more sense to direct your energies on a battle that you can hope to win - finding a repairer who will tackle the airbags and front damage at a reasonable price.
Then you can still come off the winner.
 

sonic

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Had a motorbike written off about 18 years ago. Their initial offer was low, so I produced evidence of similar bike prices. They made me a second offer, not quite what I wanted but much closer.
 

Blobcat

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R171 SLK280, Smart R451, Land Rover 110 County SW, 997 C2S, R1250 GSA TE 40th, CBR600FP
Had a motorbike written off about 18 years ago. Their initial offer was low, so I produced evidence of similar bike prices. They made me a second offer, not quite what I wanted but much closer.
I did the same and after discussions received what I was after and then a cheque from the insurance company for interest on the settlement figure as it took 10 months to finally agree.
 

A.J.

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15k for a 2013 C220 Exec sounds like a heck of a lot of money to me so may not be representative of what is available in the market place at the moment. I bought my 2012 'C' sport AMG Line with 20,000 miles on the clock almost 2 years ago for only 13k so that 2013 doesn't really stack up. I am sure the insurer would probably think in those terms too. :(

I would probably go with 'Dry Run' and after a bit of haggling with the Insurer take the money and run. December is always a good time to buy a car because the Motor business is very slow during that month and you would be welcomed with open arms to do a deal. Buyers market. :)

Good luck with whatever you decide :)
 

Blobcat

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R171 SLK280, Smart R451, Land Rover 110 County SW, 997 C2S, R1250 GSA TE 40th, CBR600FP
15k for a 2013 C220 Exec sounds like a heck of a lot of money to me so may not be representative of what is available in the market place at the moment. I bought my 2012 'C' sport AMG Line with 20,000 miles on the clock almost 2 years ago for only 13k so that 2013 doesn't really stack up. I am sure the insurer would probably think in those terms too. :(

I would probably go with 'Dry Run' and after a bit of haggling with the Insurer take the money and run. December is always a good time to buy a car because the Motor business is very slow during that month and you would be welcomed with open arms to do a deal. Buyers market. :)

Good luck with whatever you decide :)
Depends where the OP is, he's quoting Euros so who knows the market where he is??
 

A.J.

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Depends where the OP is, he's quoting Euros so who knows the market where he is??

Can see that now, should have rear it more thoroughly :rolleyes:
 

vtaylor78

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Insurers will probably blame Brexit, seems that’s to blame for everything when you look like loosing out.
 

Rory

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2005 C270CDi Avantgarde Estate. Bought 2005, sold 2022.
Insurers will never pay dealer prices (£15k) for written off vehicles, so you are swimming uphill trying to reach that figure. That is in any case an asking price, not a final sale price.

I guess the OP isn't in the UK, but here the FOS says market value of the vehicle generally means the price it would have sold for at a reputable dealership just before it was damaged or stolen.

We just had a write off in the family and they paid within the range of dealer prices, which were £5K to £6.5K - we got £5.5K for the reason that the car's mileage was relatively high. I would have liked a little more to reflect that the car was one owner and fully serviced but the car had had a fairly hard life and the body and wheels certainly weren't in retail condition.

Dealers don't usually discount used cars much these days - with Autotrader etc, they put the cars on for as low as they can in the first place as the market os very price sensitive.
 

umblecumbuz

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Sterling/Euro, almost parity now. Certainly heading that way fast.
Maybe Soros was right after all!
 

Bubble

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If your insurance company are offering €13,000 then I would take that!

If you accept that car back with cash, you then have to find someone to repair it and you will then be left with a repaired cat D car, which will be hard to sell on in the future, even at a much lower price.

Take the money!
 

ioweddie

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negotiate...send them photo's of advert in the media of similar cars at the price you seem to think its worth...if you can get a few together...they may up their offer.
 
OP
M

MercC220D

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  • Thread Starter
  • Thread starter
  • #17
Hi everyone,
First off I would like to thank you all for your responses, much appreciated
I should have mentioned in the original post that I am from Ireland,
After numerous phone calls with my insurance company they won't move on their price of the car... no matter what "proof" I show them, also they have gotten a salvage offer from a company for my car of €5,110 so they now have to pay out less.
My first plan (which is why I created this post) was to get the car back and get it repaired, but after thinking about it for a few days I have decided to take the money from the insurance and get another car.
It is a pity though as the merc was such a nice car and had plenty of power in it, definitely the nicest car I have owned.
I think now though it's time to get a jeep as it will be more practical in my current situation.

Anyway thank you all for your responses and I hope all of you had a good Christmas and have a great new year
All the best,
Alan.
 

John Laidlaw

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Land Rover Discovery 4
Hi everyone,
First off I would like to thank you all for your responses, much appreciated
I should have mentioned in the original post that I am from Ireland,
After numerous phone calls with my insurance company they won't move on their price of the car... no matter what "proof" I show them, also they have gotten a salvage offer from a company for my car of €5,110 so they now have to pay out less.
My first plan (which is why I created this post) was to get the car back and get it repaired, but after thinking about it for a few days I have decided to take the money from the insurance and get another car.
It is a pity though as the merc was such a nice car and had plenty of power in it, definitely the nicest car I have owned.
I think now though it's time to get a jeep as it will be more practical in my current situation.

Anyway thank you all for your responses and I hope all of you had a good Christmas and have a great new year
All the best,
Alan.
Good luck for the future Alan no matter which vehicle path you take....
 


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