Hello MB Club

[DamoC43]

Hello everyone,

I've just signed up after purchasing my first MB. I've been brave (stupid?) and bought a cat S C43 Estate 2019. I'd wanted to change to a C43 some years back from my current Audi A5 2.0 tsfi but after the Covid lark the prices jumped and i was priced out the market. The money i'd had reserved got spent elsewhere and sadly my dream of owning the C43 faded into just a dream.
Fast forward to this week and i'd spotted on on auction. I did my research, worked out a max price and decided to take the plunge and go for it. I was absolutely bricking it and to some extent still are. I've not even received the car yet so won't know the full extent of the damage. I appreciate some will say this is stupid, etc and i'm ok with that.

Anyway - i'm sure i'll be all over these forum threads looking for help and advice and as my knowledge improves I may also be able to help others as i find my way through the repairs.

The damage - if anyones interested is front end. It looks as though something hit the car at about 45 degs on drivers side. Front drivers wing destroyed, bonnet pushed up, drivers headlight gone, most likely damage to drivers side suspension arms, whole front end radiator frame has moved. Probably a million plastic bits and bobs broken - ahhh let the fun / nightmare begin!

 

[DanE350cdi]

Welcome along

 

[Byron321]

Hi and welcome

 

[ALFAitalia]

Always fun....done a few myself (no Mercs) over the years.....no time these days. Rule 1.....There will be more damage than you thought and It will cost more! (I assume you are doing the repairs (minus the paint) yourself?) If you are ....start a repair thread....always a good read. Personally I buy rear ended cars.....usually rather less stress! Also I've never bought one to keep long term....(although the E46 M3 I bought I loved and kept for about a year!!)......just to fix and flip and hopefully turn a profit.....also most have been Cat N (formally Cat D). Cat cars can be fun to insure and will always attract a rather smaller payout should it be written off again....so be aware of that.
Good luck with it a post a pic ort two when it arrives.

 

[pioneercollector]

Greetings and welcome to the group. Yes very brave, but if you got it for the right price, and are planning on keeping it could be the most sensible option!!

Nice car by the way

 

[SmartAmg]

 

[DamoC43]

Thanks everyone. I'll defo start a repair thread as suggested by @ALFAitalia . Will be good for myself to have a record of thoughts and theories as i progress. Defo intend keeping the car for at least 2 years. And yes you're correct i plan to do all work myself bar the paint work. That's probably one of the most expensive parts of the whole repair (Assuming i've escaped any major engine damage - eeek), Should have it mid week next week so i'll post an update.

Thank you all though for your warm welcome, i'll sure need some supporters to get through this!

 

[DamoC43]

Well folks, Here it is.
Took and age to get onto the driveway due to damage to drivers side wheel. The whole wheel looks like it took a good deal of the impact which pushed the wheel so far backwards it struck the rear of the wheel arch and wing. Now under the weight of the car it moves backwards and catches on the cill, assuming this will be due to the main strut being bent?
I've discovered that both front alloys are ruined. Passenger side had a large chunk missing so i guess the car was pushed sideways into a curb after the impact. The drivers side has a blown tyre and a flat spot in the allow rim.
I'm off to fetch large parts tomorrow (Bonnet, Crash panel, wing). Once i get the crash panel off i can start to really see all damage.
The worst bit of damage I've found is to the end of the cill structure drivers side. It looks as though there is a steel cap welded into the end which the wheel has struck and distorted back about 1/2 inch. This will need a body shop repair i think since the steel looks pretty thick, anyone know of any good ones in East midlands?
Main priority is getting the front strut sorted so i can move the car under my carport to start stripping the front end down and making a long parts list!
Will keep updates coming. Depite being able to run power via a spare battery i can't get the central locking to activate? Bonnet isn't latching shut so maybe is the cause? Either that or part of the central locking harness has been severed drivers side front?
Admin - can this thread be moved into projects now? If so will i be able to keep adding updates?

 

[cluffy]

Hello and welcome. Big project to take on - all the best.

 

[ALFAitalia]

Hmm....Not sure Id have been quite brave enough for that....I have a feeling your skills might slightly exceed mine!

To misquote the film " I think you are going to need a bigger bottle"!

 

[Dave Richardson]

Great that you've found us & Welcome to the forum Visit often, & look around, & above all make friends.

Hopefully your project will go well & once the bumper, wing & bonnet slam have been removed you'll have a better picture, having worked on a few accident damaged cars one piece of advice is not to throw anything away as you strip the car down, as there will always be a bolt, clip or something you need

 

[DamoC43]

Hmm....Not sure Id have been quite brave enough for that....I have a feeling your skills might slightly exceed mine!

To misquote the film " I think you are going to need a bigger bottle"!
View attachment 148886

Lol i think you're right. To be honest i've never attempted such repair. I do have engineering qualifications though which means i have some degree of technical competence but i know certain things are beyond me. I'm no good with electronics (I was mechanical engineer) and i don't think i'd atempt exterior body work. Welding is also something i did a bit of (20+ years ago) during my apprenticeship, and even then i wasn't that good.

 

[DamoC43]

Great that you've found us & Welcome to the forum Visit often, & look around, & above all make friends.

Hopefully your project will go well & once the bumper, wing & bonnet slam have been removed you'll have a better picture, having worked on a few accident damaged cars one piece of advice is not to throw anything away as you strip the car down, as there will always be a bolt, clip or something you need

Great advice and i've already been doing this. It was like a forensic investigation pulling all the broken plastic out yesterday and looking for part numbers. I've also saved anything that looks useful like clips and screws.
I could use some advice regards damage to the cill (Sill? - spelling not my strong area) end. I don't know if i should attempt pulling it back into shape or having it welded and seam sealed as is since it appears to just be overhang material which the bottom of wing attaches to. See pic. I suppose my question is ;Is there an allowance for certain damage that can remain? You can see how the inner most edge has been pushed back and the original seam sealer has been torn. Can't see any obvious welding or spoot welding marks though so perhaps this part is just seam sealed in place? I assume it's only purpose it to help amintain the cill profile and to prevent moisture getting inside the structure? - thats my amatuer appraisal anyway. PS: Should the back of that brake caliper look like this too with those wire showing? Looks far too clean so i assumed something has been knocked off?

 

[DamoC43]

Progress update: I've now found the cause of the drivers side wheel moving backwards under vehicle weight. Both bottom wishbones are damaged. One is bent (a lot) and the other has split off the ball joint at the hub side. I've ordered a complete replacement of the whole lot inc hub, shock absorber, wishbones etc so can't do much now until that gets here next week. Then i can move the car under shelter and start the strip down.
Oh i've also managed to lock the car now. Just touched the door handle while a spare battery is connected, key still won't activate central locking.
IN the pics i've included a view of the passenger side wishbone for comparison so you get an idea of how out of line it is - enjoy

 

[W1ghty]

Progress update: I've now found the cause of the drivers side wheel moving backwards under vehicle weight. Both bottom wishbones are damaged. One is bent (a lot) and the other has split off the ball joint at the hub side. I've ordered a complete replacement of the whole lot inc hub, shock absorber, wishbones etc so can't do much now until that gets here next week. Then i can move the car under shelter and start the strip down.
Oh i've also managed to lock the car now. Just touched the door handle while a spare battery is connected, key still won't activate central locking.
IN the pics i've included a view of the passenger side wishbone for comparison so you get an idea of how out of line it is - enjoyView attachment 148940View attachment 148941View attachment 148942

What a project buddy . Good luck .
I would guess the central locking not working is a safety feature due to the car knowing’s it’s had catastrophic accident and allows access to the emergency services

 

[DamoC43]

What a project buddy . Good luck .
I would guess the central locking not working is a safety feature due to the car knowing’s it’s had catastrophic accident and allows access to the emergency services

Cheers,
Yeah i recon you're probably right. I can only get limited info on the main screen too. Crash module will be sent off for reset once i've replaced all the deployed airbags. Thats a way off yet though!

 

[WOODYTHEWISE]

Hello everyone,

I've just signed up after purchasing my first MB. I've been brave (stupid?) and bought a cat S C43 Estate 2019. I'd wanted to change to a C43 some years back from my current Audi A5 2.0 tsfi but after the Covid lark the prices jumped and i was priced out the market. The money i'd had reserved got spent elsewhere and sadly my dream of owning the C43 faded into just a dream.
Fast forward to this week and i'd spotted on on auction. I did my research, worked out a max price and decided to take the plunge and go for it. I was absolutely bricking it and to some extent still are. I've not even received the car yet so won't know the full extent of the damage. I appreciate some will say this is stupid, etc and i'm ok with that.

Anyway - i'm sure i'll be all over these forum threads looking for help and advice and as my knowledge improves I may also be able to help others as i find my way through the repairs.

The damage - if anyones interested is front end. It looks as though something hit the car at about 45 degs on drivers side. Front drivers wing destroyed, bonnet pushed up, drivers headlight gone, most likely damage to drivers side suspension arms, whole front end radiator frame has moved. Probably a million plastic bits and bobs broken - ahhh let the fun / nightmare begin!

Hello and welcome.

 

[DamoC43]

Update: After a few weeks of not being able to work on the car (away with work) i've now completed the strut and wishbone replacement and finally been able to push the car under my carport. I'd wanted to do this before stripping down the front end so it's not exposed to the elements.
Last weekend I began the strip down. Got the front bumper off, removed the passenger side headlight, which i thought had survived but turns out i could be wrong . It rattles and when i tilt it the whole light cluster inside slides forward on one side - whaaaaa! Might be repairable but probably not - i've not had chance to have a mess around with it yet.
I've managed to cut off the part of the slam panel which was bent around at the drivers side and have ordered a new auxillery coolant pump as the old one was partly smashed. I've undone all ofthe major crash panel bolts so it's loose but ran out of natural light so this is where i'll pick up from today. In this delightful -2 deg weather i will be pulling the crash panel off to hopefully finally see what else is broken. It'll then be a case of making a long list of part numbers and get buying. Oh and i'd really like to see if the car turns over / starts. Didn't want to even try this until the crash panel is off incase a fan or something damages the rad. I believe i should be able to jump the pyro fuse at battery end somewhere in order to do this, if anyone has managed this on a C43 i'd be greatful of any advice. I won't run the car for long as there's no coolant in the system. Oh i also took one of the wheels to a repair place as they'd said they could fix but on closer inspection they've said it's too far gone. I'd already written it off so not really a big surprise. I've one on order from Germany so onl the lookout for another - hard to find decent one's that don't already have weld repairs.

Right wish me luck, time to go and freeze my praverbiles off

 

[DamoC43]

Update: Well not been able to do much recently, with nearing xmas i've stopped ordering parts for fear of them getting held up / lost. I've also discovered that the frame rail on drivers side is out of line by about 7mm so i need to sort that before building the front end back up. Looks like i won't be up to much now until Jan. Bending a frame rail is not an easy feat without a proper jig and dozer. I've still not been able to start the car as i'm beginning to think that these models don't have the pyro fuse from the battery but instead have a code in the ECU which detects the crash and disables starter. I doubt my code reader is able to reset this but i'll try this hopefully this evening. I've asked a fellow member off this site if they can help since they've bought an Autel device and i've seen these being used successfully for this task. Will be a relief to hear it start up and i'd want to know this before rebuilding the front end back up incase theres any engine issues.
Lots of parts have arrived though so front end rebuild should in theory happen pretty quick and then i'm onto the interior. I've also had the log book finally arrive so another worry off my mind.

 

[JHS]

Update: Well not been able to do much recently, with nearing xmas i've stopped ordering parts for fear of them getting held up / lost. I've also discovered that the frame rail on drivers side is out of line by about 7mm so i need to sort that before building the front end back up. Looks like i won't be up to much now until Jan. Bending a frame rail is not an easy feat without a proper jig and dozer. I've still not been able to start the car as i'm beginning to think that these models don't have the pyro fuse from the battery but instead have a code in the ECU which detects the crash and disables starter. I doubt my code reader is able to reset this but i'll try this hopefully this evening. I've asked a fellow member off this site if they can help since they've bought an Autel device and i've seen these being used successfully for this task. Will be a relief to hear it start up and i'd want to know this before rebuilding the front end back up incase theres any engine issues.
Lots of parts have arrived though so front end rebuild should in theory happen pretty quick and then i'm onto the interior. I've also had the log book finally arrive so another worry off my mind.

Massive respect for you! Even in my more flexible days this would have defeated me.