diesel-benz-digest Monday, June 20 2005 Volume 01 : Number 1869 Forum for Discussion of Diesel Mercedes Benz Automobiles Derick Amburgey Digest Coordinator Contents: [db] 300D and someone hit me RE: [db] 300D and someone hit me Re: [db] 300D and someone hit me RE: [db] 300D and someone hit me Re: [db] 300D and someone hit me Re: FW: Re: xj: Re: [db] diesels RE: [db] any gotchas on this one? Diesel Benz Digest Home Page: http://www.digest.net/diesel-benz/ Send submissions to diesel-benz-digest-at-digest.net Send administrative requests to diesel-benz-digest-request-at-digest.net To unsubscribe, include the word unsubscribe by itself in the body of the message, unless you are sending the request from a different address than the one that appears on the list. Include the word help in a message to stag-digest-request to get a list of other majordomo commands. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 09:52:58 -0700 From: Noah Dentzel Subject: [db] 300D and someone hit me Hi Everyone, I have an 81 300D and someone hit me. As we all know, these diesel benz's are very durable, so there wasn't a whole lot of damage considering my old bumper absorbed a lot of the pressure. In any event, the front drivers side of the car is damaged. Now, here are my questions.. Visibly, the front of the fender there is smashed, the hood is sort of compressed and now does not open properly and has a slight kink in the middle from the pressure, the bumper is a bit out of alignment, and the light assemblies are smashed and broken. So, sorry for delaying the q so long, but, what other damage to the car (mechanical as well as interior body) can be done in crashes like these. My car is now out of alignment and my brakes are malfunctioning a bit due to slamming and skidding, but what other damage can also happen in similar incidents? Try to picture the car crash, i was driving just under 35 mph (a lot of momentum with a heavy diesel) and someone pulled out in front of me and i slammed on my brakes and the front of my car hit the back of his?) well, please help, the insurance adjusters are coming on monday and I want to have a clear idea of all damaged parts. Thanks, - -Noah Santa Barbara ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 12:28:44 -0500 From: "Alec Cordova" Subject: RE: [db] 300D and someone hit me First off, we're glad you seem to be physically OK. Somebody's gotta ask, although you certainly don't have to answer. If I'm in a similar situation, please don't expect me to answer, because I may not like what I say. ;-) Are you simply trying to make sure you get appropriate repairs, or are you trying to determine what you might be able to get repaired? If the former, sounds like your list is reasonable, subject to an examination by a professional familiar with these cars. However, depending on how badly the car was shaken by the incident, one might suspect that anything on that side of the engine may have been affected, including radiator, air conditioning condensor or compressor, power steering (if it's on that side in a W123), steering box, power steering pump, suspension parts... Even stretching the imagination, I doubt anything in the interior was affected. These cars are just too well designed and built. Another challenge here is that if the repair estimate is greater than the book value of the vehicle, they'll just consider it a total loss, cut you a check, and take the car. And while those of us who know these cars think they're priceless, or at least worth a heck of a lot more than a 97 Honda Accord sedan, the rest of the world apparently doesn't recognize this. (According to nadaguides.com, a base 97 Accord DX is $5,175 Average Retail, while an 81 300D is $5,350.) Good luck, Alec Cordova Taylor, Texas 89 300CE, 188K >> -----Original Message----- >> From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net >> [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net]On Behalf Of Noah Dentzel >> Sent: Sunday, June 19, 2005 11:53 AM >> To: diesel-benz-at-digest.net >> Subject: [db] 300D and someone hit me >> >> >> Hi Everyone, >> I have an 81 300D and someone hit me. As we all know, these diesel benz's >> are very durable, so there wasn't a whole lot of damage considering my old >> bumper absorbed a lot of the pressure. In any event, the front >> drivers side >> of the car is damaged. Now, here are my questions.. >> Visibly, the front of the fender there is smashed, the hood is sort of >> compressed and now does not open properly and has a slight kink in the >> middle from the pressure, the bumper is a bit out of alignment, and the >> light assemblies are smashed and broken. So, sorry for delaying the q so >> long, but, what other damage to the car (mechanical as well as interior >> body) can be done in crashes like these. My car is now out of >> alignment and >> my brakes are malfunctioning a bit due to slamming and skidding, but what >> other damage can also happen in similar incidents? Try to picture the car >> crash, i was driving just under 35 mph (a lot of momentum with a heavy >> diesel) and someone pulled out in front of me and i slammed on my >> brakes and >> the front of my car hit the back of his?) well, please help, the insurance >> adjusters are coming on monday and I want to have a clear idea of all >> damaged parts. >> Thanks, >> -Noah >> Santa Barbara ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 10:58:22 -0700 (PDT) From: Jerome Kaidor Subject: Re: [db] 300D and someone hit me Alec Cordova wrote: >> >> >> Another challenge here is that if the repair estimate is greater than the >> book value of the vehicle, they'll just consider it a total loss, cut you a >> check, and take the car. *** And if you ask, they'll sell it back to you really cheap. So you take the difference and go get the car fixed. Working on your own car, you can do things that a insurance-work shop can't, like finding another car for parts, buying parts on Ebay etc. I had a '76 VW bus that was rearended. They dented the rear bumper pretty severely, and bent up the exhaust system. The insurance totalled the car, sold it back to me, and gave me a check for $2500 or so. I bought a bumper at the wrecking yard for $50 and took the car to the local independant VW shop, where they replaced the exhaust system for $400 or so. I could have done it cheaper, but I didn't want to mess with it. I pocketed the $2000 difference, the car was as good as before, and the only lasting effect was that the title now said "salvage". I didn't care. - Jerry Kaidor ( jerry-at-tr2.com ) ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 13:08:13 -0500 From: "Alec Cordova" Subject: RE: [db] 300D and someone hit me >> *** And if you ask, they'll sell it back to you really cheap. So you take >> the difference and go get the car fixed. Working on your own car, you can >> do things that a insurance-work shop can't, like finding another car for >> parts, buying parts on Ebay etc. >> >> - Jerry Kaidor ( jerry-at-tr2.com ) Yeah, I was just poking around on AutoTrader.com and saw an 89 300CE like mine that was wrecked on the passenger side, but they said it ran fine. They only want $1500 for it. I could replace a few driveline parts, even including my tranny, and definitely come out ahead, if I only had a cheap way to physically swap the parts. Meanwhile, if anybody needs driveline parts from an 89 M103, check autotrader for that $1500 one. Alec ------------------------------ Date: Sun, 19 Jun 2005 11:31:35 -0700 From: john meister Subject: Re: [db] 300D and someone hit me if the front wheel was hit then you may have damage to the suspension and unibody. if the brakes are misbehaving and you're misaligned then trying to fix this yourself might be beyond most of our skill sets. It would require a frame alignment jig to make it right... Was the radiator damaged? there is a good possibility the motor mounts were sheared as well... too bad you're not further up the coast... there is always that temptation on my part to build ANOTHER Diesel Jeep. ;) glad you're alright... and if you have a desire to get another 300d and a place to store parts I'd buy the remains and save all the parts you can... :) john Noah Dentzel wrote: >> Hi Everyone, >> I have an 81 300D and someone hit me. As we all know, these diesel benz's >> are very durable, so there wasn't a whole lot of damage considering my old >> bumper absorbed a lot of the pressure. In any event, the front drivers side >> of the car is damaged. Now, here are my questions.. >> Visibly, the front of the fender there is smashed, the hood is sort of >> compressed and now does not open properly and has a slight kink in the >> middle from the pressure, the bumper is a bit out of alignment, and the >> light assemblies are smashed and broken. So, sorry for delaying the q so >> long, but, what other damage to the car (mechanical as well as interior >> body) can be done in crashes like these. My car is now out of alignment and >> my brakes are malfunctioning a bit due to slamming and skidding, but what >> other damage can also happen in similar incidents? Try to picture the car >> crash, i was driving just under 35 mph (a lot of momentum with a heavy >> diesel) and someone pulled out in front of me and i slammed on my brakes and >> the front of my car hit the back of his?) well, please help, the insurance >> adjusters are coming on monday and I want to have a clear idea of all >> damaged parts. >> Thanks, >> -Noah >> Santa Barbara ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2005 11:53:35 -0400 From: "Jim Hoffman" Subject: Re: FW: Re: xj: Re: [db] diesels bioDiesel - at the pump, from a processor To me the most important part to emphesize to a *greenie* is that bioDiesel is a *renewable energy* fuel! ;) Jim/ ------------------------------ Date: Mon, 20 Jun 2005 11:13:00 -0600 From: Subject: RE: [db] any gotchas on this one? Very tempting indeed! Great marketing job by the eBay seller. It says at the bottom that the reserve price is just under the "buy it now" price, which is $5999. So, you're looking at $6000 at a minimum. Probably still an excellent deal. If the AC was fully working, I'd try to convince my wife to drive it (I'd have a 50/50 chance....since it has a turbo, she may be willing). Somehow, the 72hp of the 190D 2.2 L non-turbo just isn't enough power for her. R, Scott - -----Original Message----- From: owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net [mailto:owner-diesel-benz-at-digest.net]On Behalf Of dieseljohn-at-comcast.net Sent: Friday, June 17, 2005 11:20 AM To: Bruce Caruthers; diesel-benz-at-Digest.net Cc: Bruce Caruthers Subject: Re: [db] any gotchas on this one? looks pretty nice... that 3.0L is a fast setup. wonder what the reserve is. :) john >> Any gotchas on this one? Mileage is a bit high, but >> otherwise looks pretty nice. >> >> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4556984610 >> >> I was thinking of bidding up to about $4,000, maybe >> $4,500? >> >> (Although they apparently rejected the previous >> bidder's high of $5,300. See: >> http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=4553100545) >> >> I suppose I could hold out for a 2.5 602, but every >> day I wait is that many more miles and premium gas >> used by my wife commuting in the ML... >> >> By the way, why do so many W124 300D's (at least on >> eBay) seem to have cracked dashes? My '76 240D's >> dash is still pliable and uncracked after 17 years >> in NY and 11 in CA, so why are these newer ones >> cracked? >> >> Thanks! >> >> -bkc >> Lynnwood, WA >> '76 MB 240D/W115.117 >> '00 MB ML320/W163.154 ------------------------------ End of diesel-benz-digest V1 #1869 **********************************