I hate the Public! Someone bashed my new car!

[MotardMan]

My previously undented W124 300TE now wears a long scar and a dent in the wing, and the o/s passenger door. :evil: :evil:

Some blind tw*t managed to hit the car whilst it was parked in a pub car park last Thursday lunchtime whilst I was on holiday in Cornwall. I swear, if I found out who it was I would have got very unpleasant indeed :evil:

Why did they not even have the coutesy to leave a number on the screen? If they did not have the balls to go into the pub and ask the at the bar if a driver of a silver MB could get in touch, the least they could have done was to leave a number. B*stid.

This kind of damage cannot go un-noticed, The crease is below the rub strip, and runs about 8 inches to the wheel arch, and the door panel has been pushed in. F*ck knows how they managed to dent the o/s wing behind the indicator?

I'll be insisting the insurers use a MB bodyshop to do the work, I reckon the whole side of the car wuill need spraying to avoid a nive patchwork quilt type effect in the smoke silver paintwork. Dammit, I'm really angry now.

Jim

 

[wagamama]

Hi MotardMan,

Sorry to hear bout what happened, i do feel for you, i know what it's like to come back to find your car has been damaged in some way...

But yes, you must insist on on a MB body repair shop! I hope everything works out for you.

Waga

 

[demetris]

I am sorry to hear that too, happened to me they took my wing mirror off and scarpped it so i got all that sorted and vowed to park the car basically tyre width on the edge of the kerb/curb? and i got a ****** ticket for that, the government just suck every motorist dry no matter how minor the so called offence, they are tits!

 

[MotardMan]

Insurer bastids

I had a letter from my insurer, Quoteline or Wilsons, asking me to send them the car keys, MOT and V5 documents!

I promptly rang them and asked if they were trying to steal my car, and how my wife was supposed to be driving a baby around with no car.

The answer was that as the car is pre 1990, it was going to be a "total loss" and that they needed the keys. I told them to read the notes in the file, note the kind of car they were insuring, note the damage to the car and call me back.

They called me back and still maintained that the car was going to be a "total loss". I disagreed and suggested that perhaps an engineer should inspect the damage first. After all, it only has a dented door and wing, and the damage is purely cosmetic. The engineer attended today, spent ages looking over the car, according to my wife, and then left no paperwork or comment other than we needed to get a quote done at our preferred repairer.

This is going to be MJ Warner in Gloucester, as they used to be an MB dealer until the take over of dealerships. They still have approved MB repairer status, so I think it is a wise move to let them repair the car rather than the insurers suggestion of Gemini in Cheltenham. Anyone had experiences of either?

I am amazed that they wanted the keys and documents without even having seen the car though... Anyone heard of this before? I am taking the car over on Sat morning to get the quote done, and I'll let you all know what the outcome is. My excess is £220, so I may end up having to get it repaired at my own cost anyway......... :evil: :!:

 

[demetris]

they were mad

you need to change insurer i was with norwich union a couple of years back and was driving a 1978 audi 80! now sounds old eh? but it was in impeccable nick and was rear ended and was a totall loss but they let me buy it off them for a modest sum payed out in full i sorted the car out with no problem at all and was left with money at hand......now i have my 190e which is cool apart from the botched paint job you advised me about...hope it goes well with your car

 

[Mike Buley]

What a nightmare,
Give me a shout if you need any help, I'm only down the road. You can borrow mine if you are without a car.
Mike.

 

[andy_k]

Hi again jim,

We've just been through exactly the same procedure with our W123 - some idiot keyed it.

The insurance company asked for all the documents and the keys in order to write it off - rule 1 DON'T hand them the keys. They go for a "category D write off" which is cosmetic damage only ie uneconomical to repair. To get the car back on the road you then have to go through the following procedure -

1, from the settlement figure they give you negotiate a purchase price for salvage - usually based on 1/3rd of the market value of the car although it will vary

2, with the remainder of the money get the car repaired

3, get an engineers report saying the repairs have been carried out satisfatorily and the car is in a roadworthy condition - the bodyshop will be able to do this for you

4, get the car an new MoT

5, notify the DVLA and your insurance company and you are back on the road

not too much hassle in the short term but the possible long term problems are

1, when anyone checks the car's history it will be shown as a write off/salvage repaired although the category 5 note will be listed so anyone will know it wasn't serious but it could blight the cars value

2, your insurance company may decline to insure the car as it is a recovered write off - they could also load the premium.

So, the options are as follows

Insist they get the car properly inspected as you already have done and try to get the engineer to tell you the valuation he put on the car. The engineer will usually let this info go if you are nice to them They may also tell you what recommendations they have made.

Then get estimates from your bodyshop - get 2 - one for a cash job, and one for an insurance job - they will probably vary by quite a large amount.

Go back to your insurance company and tell them the higher price saying that you will either accept the repair being done by them on a "contract repair" basis or you will accept an ex gratia payment of that amount less your excess and get the job done yourself - this method is quicker, less paperwork for the insurance company and will probably make you a slight profit or at least give you room to negotiate with them as you will be paying the "cash" price to the bodyshop.

Any of these options are open to you - if you want any more info - then drop me a line

Andy

 

[steve moores 1]

Someone bumped the back of my Merc earlier this week and whilst the other driver quite openly disclosed his full details, I was surprised that Chris Knott (the MBOA recommended broker) did not use an insurer (Highway) who used the Mercedes's main dealer's (Brunswick) recommended bodywork contractor for my area.

Highway have advised that whilst I make take my car to the MB dealer's approved contractor, I would need to pay and claim later. Obviously I will need to take many photographs of the car prior to it being collected - not that I have any knowledge (good or bad) of Highway's repairer.

Surely this is wrong. Has anybody else had this experience in the Croydon area of south London - except Wagamama who unfortunately used Harwoods to devastating effect.

On a separate note - when my Range Rover went if for a partial respray at Harwoods several years ago, I'm sure it knocked up a couple of hundred miles on the clock during its week stay - but it's only memory; I didn't write it down! :?


Steve

'95 E220 coupe

 

[MotardMan]

I called the insurer to find out if the engineer had submitted his reprt, and he had. He has NOT written the car off, he judged it to be repairable. So that is very good news. All I need do now is get the quote from Warners, and get it faxed to the insurer. I was assured this would be the fastest way to get the repair on its way. So some good news at last......

Best,

Jim

 

[andy_k]

Glad you've got the good news Jim

Steve, see my comments about the "contract repair" - see if the insurance company will do that for you - all you need to do is show them the estimate from your chosen body shop - they will pay the amount their repairer has estimated (less your excess) and they probably won't mind whether they give you the money or your choice of repairer. Naturally, if your chosen repairer costs significantly more than theirs you'll be the one paying the difference

Here's an example - based on the figures from our keying incident.

!, figure quoted from Merc approved repairer for cash job (before we mentioned insurance) = £1000 to spray both sides of the car

2, figure quoted from the same garage by the same person to the insurance company = £2450 to spray both sides of the car

3, figure quoted by a second bodyshop - who is approved by ferarri, porsche, Bentley and Jaguar and used to be the spray shop manager at the Merc approved garage for a cash job - £800+vat including spraying both sides of the car, bonnet and boot lid

4, figure quoted by the above mentioned merc approved repairer after the insurance company queried his quote = £1050 inc vat to spray the whole bottom half of the car

The insurance company sent us a cheque for the £1050 as an ex gratia payment leaving us the decision about the repairs

Whatever they quote, don't accept it until YOU are completely happy and purely because the local dealer hands out work to a spray shop doesn't mean they are the best - it means the local dealer is getting the best deal from them so shopping around can be beneficial.

Andy

 

[kiwi_bloke]

bastards!!

Them bastards!!! I would prepare to stalk them then give them a lovely nudge up there rear end with my star I understand how ya feel, some pr*ck uplifted the star off my old 190....emotions were running high everywhere hehe

josh

 

[wagamama]

Surely this is wrong. Has anybody else had this experience in the Croydon area of south London - except Wagamama who unfortunately used Harwoods to devastating effect.

On a separate note - when my Range Rover went if for a partial respray at Harwoods several years ago, I'm sure it knocked up a couple of hundred miles on the clock during its week stay - but it's only memory; I didn't write it down! :?

The approved repairers for MB's in the Croydon area is Chandler Stuart http://www.chandlerstewart.co.uk/. Their rep is in the room past the parts dept. in MB Croydon. The bloke is quite helpful, but doesn't always do as you ask. They;re based in Beddington Lane. Be warned that their quotes are really large.

The repairer I chose in the end was SG Smith in Crystal Palace (last independant MB dealer in London apparently). Staff were really helpful, and Terry (The bodywork assesor) has been the most helpful, reliable person I've dealt with with regards to body work repairs. Their bodyshop is offsite, and repairs were good, but i would advise that you inspect your vehicle thoroughly before leaving it in their hands. Note scratches, fuel level. The mileage was only ~+20 or so miles when i got the car back - an acceptable amount.

As for Harwoods, yeah I agree, several hundred miles on the clock is what I've experienced thru Harwoods. They are untrustworthy, and jsut do not take care with your vehicles (dirt in grain of leather, tears etc).

 

[MotardMan]

Warners of Gloucester - Damage estimate

Hey all,

Well the quote has been done, the engineer would not be specific, suffice to say it would be well in excess of my excess (£220)!!

He reckons it needs a new back door, as MB will not supply door skins any longer. They will then paint the whole side of the car, blending the paint to the front wing. He noticed the small dent by the indicator and said that we could arrange a cheap fix for it, and write the paint and materials off to the insurer. I'll have to let him know when I drop the car off, providing his estimate is approved. They were VERY thourough though, he had the car up on a lift and had 3 blokes over it whilst we drank his coffee and read his magazines.

I am now concerned that they will write the car off, this has been mentioned before as you will know from the above posts. I'll call the insurers today to find out what the score is. Wish me luck! :lol:

Jim

 

[andy_k]

if they go for the "write off" then start arguing - as long as there is no structural damage to the car writing it off will only cause you grief and them a pile of paperwork. If they don't want to pay for the repairs to be done try and get them to pay you an agreed figure. get a slightly lower quote from another spray shop and let it look like you are trying to save them money - insurance companies like that

Best of luck

Andy

 

[MotardMan]

Good advice, and noted. The cars pre accident condition was A1, so there should be no question of it really. The body shop guy said he saw very few '88 cars this good. 8)

Wifey is having 2nd thoughts about the whole thing now though. Bleedin wimmin, what is going on in her head? :? That was a rhetorical question BTW, I don't expect anyone here to have the answer...

 

[MotardMan]

I'm pleased, so far!

Quote has been done. £1770+VAT

The repair has been approved and Warners called me to arrange collection of the car.

Warners are going to replace the door, and all trim, respray the car down the LHS, provide us with a courtesy car, and it is booked to go in on the 11th June.

Thank goodness for fully comp and protected NCB!