'87 MB 300D Totaled

retmil46 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:47 am

Well, I'm down to one diesel now, the CRD.

Yesterday, the '87 MB got t-boned in the rear passenger door by an '04 Ford Explorer at 50 mph. It was hit hard enough to spin the car around 180 degrees and throw the car at least 20 feet off the road up into a parking lot.

Right side aft of the front door is smashed in, far enough to buckle up the rear seat and past the right rear tire. Right rear tire is cocked at a 45 degree angle. Rear door glass and rear windshield smashed out. Trunk lid buckled up, and the frame is bent enough you can't fully close the drivers side rear door. Impact was hard enough it knocked one of the coolant hoses loose and was leaking antifreeze.

Amazingly enough, when the flatbed came, that tank still started right up and ran without a hitch, went into gear, and was able to turn it around 180 and drive 100 feet to the flatbed without any indication that anything was wrong with the drivetrain!!! :shock:

As for myself, I came out of it with a bruised right side from being thrown against the center armrest, but otherwise no injuries.

Both the cops at the scene and the doctor at the hospital said "if you'd been driving any less of a car, you'd be in intensive care".

If nothing else, I'm going to save the hood ornament and frame a picture of that beast before it was wrecked, and mount both of them on the wall above my desk. That car saved my life, period.

When someone tells you that the older MB diesels are built like tanks, you better d### well believe them.

ATXKJ · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:06 pm

Sorry about the 87 - but I'm glad you're Okay

(Did the 04 Explorer drive over to the wrecker? - I'd bet it didn't)

retmil46 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:54 pm

ATXKJ wrote:

Sorry about the 87 - but I'm glad you're Okay

(Did the 04 Explorer drive over to the wrecker? - I'd bet it didn't)

Nope - his was immobile. If not for the front end damage to the radiator and such, at least from the airbags being deployed and his inertia switch killing the fuel system. Wrecker had to pull completely off the road and back up to him to pull him on board.

But then, that wrecker guy was considerate and didn't even ask the other driver to try and move his vehicle. The guy that picked up mine was something of a jerk - he pulled all the way into the back of the parking lot, then told me I had to try moving MY vehicle to HIS wrecker. Then he proceeded to lecture me that I couldn't come into his yard and pull any parts off the vehicle. I asked him about delivering it to a collision center I'd used before, only 2 miles down the road - he refused, saying he wouldn't deliver it to a yard that he didn't have access to their lockup area. Then he added "I can take it to your house, but you'll have to pay the tow bill now in cash instead of letting the insurance cover it". Real nice guy. :evil:

DZL_LOU · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:55 pm

Mitchell,

Thank goodness your OK!
Those older MB frames are built for Autobahn incidents at high speeds.
Yes I agree that had you been in another vehicle you potentially could have had more than just some bad bruising.
Dare I say the frame could have been separated in two in a lesser engineered vehichle as well where the impact occurred.

Shame to loose the MB, maybe OLDNAVY wants to get rid of his E320D by now?

Were the occupants in the other vehicle OK and how much damage did they incurr?

I suppose you'll be a bit stiff for a few days like I was last week after my off-road collision.

danoid · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:57 pm

There has to be a CJ7 somewhere that's waiting for a transplant...

Uffe · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 12:58 pm

Sorry to hear about your loss, I know that Merc was as a close friend to you.

I'm glad to hear that you've not been injured much. Make sure to report everything about your health status to your insurance so if you get whiplash you can claim money.

Important thing!

retmil46 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:13 pm

DZL_LOU wrote:

Shame to loose the MB, maybe OLDNAVY wants to get rid of his E320D by now?

Were the occupants in the other vehicle OK and how much damage did they incurr?

I suppose you'll be a bit stiff for a few days like I was last week after my off-road collision.

Now THERE"S a thought. My interior is the same style and color, so I'd have plenty of spare parts now. And being Walt's car, I know that beast has been treated right. But that's for further down the road - right now I just need to get all the legalities and such settled - need some time to get my head back on straight (mentally speaking thank god) before I decide if and when to get another.

Other guy seemed to be OK - looked to be at most a sprained wrist and a banged up knee. Took me 3 or 4 minutes to get my breath back so I could get out of the car, but we were both walking and talking under our own power when the police showed up.

Yep, right side is pretty sore this morning. Time to go get that prescription for pain meds filled.

Bummer in another way - my friends down in Texas, their son - my "nephew"- is 9 years old. Another 7 years he would be looking to start driving. He thought the MB was a "neat old car". If I'd been able to keep it in shape, I'd half thought of giving it to him when he turned 16 for a first car. :cry:

retmil46 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 1:17 pm

danoid wrote:

There has to be a CJ7 somewhere that's waiting for a transplant...

Matter of fact. my friend in Texas has already mentioned that! :lol:

Thanks to everyone so far for the kind words and support.

geordi · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 4:56 pm

Hey, I'm glad you are in one piece! That sounds like one heck of an impact. I was in one similar wreck when I was younger, (under 16) and a guy in a Pontiac station wagon drilled the left rear tire on my (eventually) first car, an 83 Town Car. Completely obliterated the rear differential, the guys from Lincoln said all they found was metal oatmeal when they pulled it apart.

What was amazing in that wreck - Same results, a 180 spin, demolished rear quarter and compressed trunk. But the rear door was missed by about 1 inch, and the frame only had a SCRATCH on it. From a guy doing 50 into a solid block of a car. I don't even think we lost any of the glass, but I could be wrong.

They certainly don't build them like that anymore!

One reason the tow guy might have been acting like such a dirtbag about where to bring the car - It might be an impound company. I'm not saying YOURS was being impounded, but my sister wrecked my 95 Taurus, and I got to the wreck before the tow did... And they were 5 blocks away. The car was drivable (only radiator damage) but I was informed that the car "needed to be towed for safety, the yard was only 5 blocks away" and only found out later that it was an impound yard.

My car was impounded for the wreck, and I had to pay $300 for a 5 block tow and 20 minutes of 'storage' in a space 6 inches narrower than the car. Yea, they managed to ADD damage to the car because of their "safety consciousness." And I still drove the wreck home.

Get your car back from that yard QUICK. You may not be allowed to remove stuff, but you can COUNT on them doing it for you.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 6:32 pm

Went by there this afternoon. It's actually run by a small garage right beside it, that I've used many times for vehicle inspections and such. The guys there recognized me when I walked in. Told me no problem, unlocked the gate so I could get my stuff out of the car, told me to just lock up the gate when you're done, and went back to the garage. They even located the keys for me so I could retrieve the house key off the ring. When I was done, I went back in to ask them if they needed to check and make sure I wasn't trying to remove any parts of the vehicle. They said no, we know you well enough to take you at your word.

At least I lucked out in that regard.

nursecosmo · **Posted:** Mon Dec 08, 2008 11:10 pm

Sorry to hear about your wreak. As a rehab nurse I'd recommend an MRI in about a week. Often injuries don't show up in the first scan and will show up further down the road after the insurance will not cover the treatment.

warp2diesel · **Posted:** Tue Dec 09, 2008 9:52 pm

Years ago when my Scout II got T boned, I got a broken my right ankle.
CJ7 would make a great transplant with the space under the hood. The Engine on your 87 is stronger than the transmission.
Will you use the Jeep trans? I would.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2008 1:55 am

nursecosmo wrote:

Sorry to hear about your wreak. As a rehab nurse I'd recommend an MRI in about a week. Often injuries don't show up in the first scan and will show up further down the road after the insurance will not cover the treatment.

Well, that's turning out to be a bone of contention, at least as far as North Carolina is concerned.

Went to regular doctor to schedule a followup appointment on Monday. As soon as I said I was in a car accident, they immediately said they would not accept either BCBS thru work or Tricare Prime - that I had to pay cash up front, they would give me the bill, and it was up to me to submit the bill to my auto insurance company.

I called the Geico rep handling my claim - she called BS, NC state law does not require medical coverage on auto insurance policies, and recommended I find another doctor/clinic. In other words, by state law Geico does not have to pay for any medical expenses on my part.

I tried contacting several other clinics in the area, including the doctor my parents use, and got the same story - pay up front and submit the bill to your auto insurance.

I tried calling Tricare Prime first and then BCBS. Tricare Prime essentially said they were secondary to BCBS and would follow their lead. BCBS said "if that's the office policy of your Primary Care Manager, that's what you have to live with, and if you see anyone else besides your designated PCM we wouldn't pay for it anyway" - they basically said they considered the auto insurance company to be the primary coverage in this case and they would be secondary. And neither Tricare or BCBS would/could provide me with the name of a doctor in the area that didn't follow this policy.

This sounds like nothing more than a gigantic scam that everyone involved - the NC State government, the auto insurers, the medical insurers, and the doctors/clinics/HMO's - are willing participants in.

In short, to be able to do a follow-up exam this Friday, I'm going to have to pay at least $70 out of pocket, just so the doctor can give me the once-over and say I can return to work. No choice in that matter - if you call in on sick leave more than 3 days straight, Freightliner requires you to have paperwork from the doctor saying you can return to work, or you're screwed out of your paid sick time and written up for an unexcused absence. Without paperwork from the doctor, they assume you were just laying out because you had the time available - and unfortunately I have to agree with that policy because many people there have greatly abused the system in years past.

And right now, my right side is feeling the same way the opposite side did when I had a couple cracked ribs 8 years ago. If the doc wants to do anything expensive like an MRI or CAT scan on the follow-up, I'm going to have to decline.

And now I'm wondering if in a month or so if I'm going to get a bill for the emergency room visit because BCBS and Tricare refuse to pay for it.

A word to the wise for those of us that live in NC - ask your auto insurance company if they offer optional medical expense coverage, and add it to your policy if you can afford it.

Sir Sam · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:19 am

sorry to hear that!

I looked for your post on mercedes shop but didn't see it.

buy back? find a clean gasser to swap it into?

retmil46 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:55 am

Sir Sam wrote:

sorry to hear that!

I looked for your post on mercedes shop but didn't see it.
buy back? find a clean gasser to swap it into?

Haven't posted yet on mercedesshop yet, just on here and on Schumans Automotive (another MB forum). Just haven't had the time.

Dang, I hadn't thought of that - find an '87 300 gasser to swap the engine into. I tried looking for other '87 300D's on autotrader, only found 3 out to 500 miles. To be honest, I haven't really decided what to do yet.

1 - could find another 300D or 300 gasser and use this for a parts car.

2 - sell off the parts and use the money for getting a used VW TDI. Found a '99 NB TDI locally with under 100K miles for about 6 grand.

3 - sell off the parts to pay for stuff like idler and alternator pulleys, intercooler hoses, ball joints, etc, etc, to keep the CRD running (said only half jokingly). :twisted:

4 - sell off the parts except the engine and trans, pick up a used VW TDI, sell off all the components (DC motor, controller, charger, etc) out of the '81 Ford Courier electric pickup I have (only 25K actual miles), then transplant that inline 6 and tranny into the Ford Courier.

Now THAT would make one tire squalling kick butt lttle pickup.

nursecosmo · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2008 2:55 am

One short call to an ambulance chaser will get things moving REAL fast.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:06 am

nursecosmo wrote:

One short call to an ambulance chaser will get things moving REAL fast.

I was already considering consulting a lawyer over this tomorrow.

For the record, it would be on my insurance - the police decided to declare it my fault, issued me a citation for improper turn/movement.

nursecosmo · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2008 3:47 am

Ooh. that does make a difference. Nevertheless You carry insurance for that very reason.

retmil46 · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2008 5:48 am

Well, speak of the devil. Looked on autotrader, and found an '87 300E gasser up in VA, asking 2 grand for it.

Now here's the scary part - it's the identical twin to the 300D. Same color, same interior, same options, - even the SAME MILEAGE as was on the 300D when I first bought it! :shock:

Hmmm, may have to seriously consider the transplant option with karma like that. :wink:

naturist · **Posted:** Wed Dec 10, 2008 9:24 am

I'm glad your injuries appear to be minor, sorry to hear of the wreck and of the insurance hassles. It does sound like that Virginia 300 gasser but awaits your touch. Best of luck.

'87 MB 300D Totaled

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