Any advice on the best option to fix car after minor accident?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

iliria

Active Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2013
Messages
152
Location
Cheshire
Car
W205 C200 Sport petrol (67)
Sadly I have damaged the front side panel (passenger side). As I was turning out of a carpark I did not notice a very low wall which hit the side panel in the middle (between the door and wheel) and dented and scratched it. When the side panel went in it also pushed the screenwash fluid container and broke it and all the fluid has come out. Went to a local MB specialist and they kindly advised me that the cost of the side panel is £320ish, screenwash container £40 and it would take 2.5 hours to replace it=£240 plus the side panel would need to be sprayed as it only comes primed from factory. So we are looking at around £800+ to get this fixed.I did ask if the side panel can be hammered back to shape instead but they werent able to advise because they are not a bodyshop.

Any advice on what is my best option please?



 
On a car as new as a W205 I would imagine a new MB wing is the best option bearing in mind all the other operations/parts will be the same. Painting will be the same-- add in the time for panel beating/filling the damaged wing means costs might turn out be similar? Is this not an insurance job? If the car is on finance it might have to be? :dk:
 
A bodyshop should be able to repair that without replacing the panel.

The process is to spot weld a number of pins to the dented area and then use a puller to remove the dent / realign the panel. A couple of skims of filler, primer, paint lacquer and you are done (plus the new washer fluid bottle).

Replacing the wing is also an option but steer clear of pattern parts as knocking these into shape to align perfectly tends to negate the savings on the price of a genuine part.

Shop around and get a few quotes but stress you are doing it outside of insurance.
 
Last edited:
If I went through the insurance do they take the car to a Mercedes specialist that uses genuine parts?
 
If I went through the insurance do they take the car to a Mercedes specialist that uses genuine parts?

Depends on your insurer - and your policy.

Typically - no - they will have a prefered bodyshop / repair centre in your area. So if there is the option of going to MB it will possibly involve an extra charge and the insurer may not provide the same level of guarantee for the repairs.
 
Depends on your insurer - and your policy.

Typically - no - they will have a prefered bodyshop / repair centre in your area. So if there is the option of going to MB it will possibly involve an extra charge and the insurer may not provide the same level of guarantee for the repairs.

But I assume the repair centre will use genuine MB parts?
 
Sadly I have damaged the front side panel (passenger side). As I was turning out of a carpark I did not notice a very low wall which hit the side panel in the middle (between the door and wheel) and dented and scratched it. When the side panel went in it also pushed the screenwash fluid container and broke it and all the fluid has come out. Went to a local MB specialist and they kindly advised me that the cost of the side panel is £320ish, screenwash container £40 and it would take 2.5 hours to replace it=£240 plus the side panel would need to be sprayed as it only comes primed from factory. So we are looking at around £800+ to get this fixed.I did ask if the side panel can be hammered back to shape instead but they werent able to advise because they are not a bodyshop.

Any advice on what is my best option please?




Hard to tell from photos , but that might pop back out ( either remove wheelarch lining and push from inside , or use a suction cup on the outside ) you have nothing to lose trying since if it fails you'll need a new wing anyway .

If the dent pops out , then you just need to get the wing painted ; hereabouts bodyshops will tend to charge £150-ish to paint a panel .

I wouldn't mention to insurance , presumably zero chance of the wall owner making a claim against you , so no other party involved .

Get it fixed at your own cost and no one else need know it ever happened .
 
If the car is on PCP have a close look at the small print wrt repair policy of the agreement
 
As long as it is repaired competently they needn't find out .
 
Call chips away or similar... they should fix that for less than £200
 
As people have already stated, any decent local bodyshop would be able to sort that out for you for considerably less than MB would.

A good one may even be able to sort the screen wash bottle out for you as well, by repairing and not replacing. As for insurance I wouldn't mention it to them either as long as no-one else was involved.
 
In terms of repairs see this from 2013.
I work for Mercedes-Benz Financial Services.
As stated previously you can get the car repaired wherever you like. The car will be inspected at the end of your agreement (if you hand it back) and any damage will be identified against the return standards - then if there is any damage outside the standard you will be invoiced for fixing it, all in line with your finance agreement.

The inspectors would note if there was any previous damage repair (you can tell) and so long as it was within the quality standard it would be passed as OK without charge.

As far as I know there is no requirement for the work to be undertaken at an MB workshop - although some old contracts etc may have something in, its not current practice.

And thereby lies the tail- what defines an "adequate standard" It won't be a deal breaker but may effect the final GMFV guaranteed future minimum value. Mercedes tend to look with disfavour on cars that have strayed outside the main dealer network for servicing or repair and may try to impose additional charges to cover any perceived loss of value [ e.g. where a car has been serviced outside the dealer network- perfectly OK with the terms of the warranty but may adversely effect the value of a car without a full main dealer service history- or that's how they might argue- likewise repairing a wing rather than replacing it:dk:] This more likely to happen if you were say walking away rather than taking a new deal using any extra value of the old car as a deposit. No way to make more money off you in that scenario? It's possible they might not notice a very good repair but any hint of a doubt on inspection and they will run a paint depth gauge over the wing and then invoices may be required!
I don't know the answers for sure :confused:just posing the questions perhaps forum members with experience of PCP in action can comment.:dk:
 
Last edited:
I concur with what Grober has to say regarding lease / pcp returns where MB Finance is involved. They have been known to be, err, 'rather fussy' where repairs have been undertaken outside of the MB network of approved repairers, come return time.
 
If the car is on PCP have a close look at the small print wrt repair policy of the agreement

Graeme, thankfully the car is not on PCP. I bought mine outright a year old thus saving £13.000. Glad I made that decision.


As people have already stated, any decent local bodyshop would be able to sort that out for you for considerably less than MB would.

A good one may even be able to sort the screen wash bottle out for you as well, by repairing and not replacing. As for insurance I wouldn't mention it to them either as long as no-one else was involved.

I have found out that there is a body shop in Macclesfield so I am visiting them tomorrow to find out how much they can do it for.
 
Graeme, thankfully the car is not on PCP. I bought mine outright a year old thus saving £13.000. Glad I made that decision. I have found out that there is a body shop in Macclesfield so I am visiting them tomorrow to find out how much they can do it for.
That's fortunate- gives you far more options. :thumb:
 
A bodyshop should be able to repair that without replacing the panel.

The process is to spot weld a number of pins to the dented area and then use a puller to remove the dent / realign the panel. A couple of skims of filler, primer, paint lacquer and you are done (plus the new washer fluid bottle).

Replacing the wing is also an option but steer clear of pattern parts as knocking these into shape to align perfectly tends to negate the savings on the price of a genuine part.

Shop around and get a few quotes but stress you are doing it outside of insurance.
Here's what's involved- it aint pretty and you need a good eye. The less precise the more filler of course.

[YOUTUBE HD]/lKtft6xJdII[/YOUTUBE HD]
 
Mother of god. That looks painful. :eek:
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top Bottom