Went Head to Head with a Mercedes S550...

[lhommec13]

...and the results are mixed. I was pulling out of a driveway and the first car stopped and waved me to go. But the fella behind her went around to enter the adjacent turning lane early and you know the rest. From the looks of it, the LC came out on top in terms of damage sustained. Of course the higher up vehicle usually wins, but I'm still surprised by how light the damage appears on my LC than the other guy's Merc. Pictures posted for your enjoyment.

A quick question for you insurance guys: Even though I was the one entering traffic, would the fact that the other guy crossed the yellow line in order to enter the turning lane early provide me any relief in terms of culpability? I know the chances are slim, but I wanted to get some feedback. The last pic shows the Merc's rear tire in the yellow zone, showing that he had to drive over and through the painted yellow lines to get to where he got. Thanks in advance for the feedback, whether positive or negative.

 

[Reckless]

You need to file a police report within 24 hours in order for the person at fault to be established by the police.

My father has a S550 and I think its a big piece of plastic. I am actually surprised at the amount of damage your LC sustained (not the S550). My dad has had to replace his front bumper three times and his rear bumper twice in 40k miles from bumping parking lot beams when parking. Its ridiculous how quick it comes apart. I got soo tired of paying for repairs that he drives around with this big scratch/dent on one panel of his car after driving over one. Him and I argue over the safety the S class currently offers (we have 3 of the old big body benzes in top shape for my sister and mother). I have a 2005 S600 which is fun for racing but offers NO protection (friends father died in one last year). One of the reasons I got into LC/LX was because of my perceived safety factor that they offer. I used to have 2 g-wagons before the Land Cruiser but they were too slow and too old (outside my office I am watching people crash into one another every day so I am very paranoid of accidents). I bought the same push bar for accident protection and keep debating about the rear JAOS bumper skid plate to protect from rear accidents.

 

[lhommec13]

The push bar definitely absorbed some of the energy of the impact. It is bent backwards but luckily did not come into contact with the hood or grille. I know there's some chatter that these things can act as damage multipliers in some cases but thankfully didn't in my case. If either of us were going any faster, then the push bar might have caused some additional damage to the very thing it's meant to protect.

 

[splacek007]

Great shots. I'm not an insurance guy, but an atty. in Nebraska. My off-the-cuff thoughts, which one of the vehicles involved in the collision was a moving violation? You entering traffic, or, him crossing the double-yellow? Obviously, him. I would stick to the "he violated the law and I did not" mantra. How can you be expected to keep a proper look-out when the other guy violates the law and doesn't behave reasonably? You can't anticipate behavior that is in violation of the law.

That being said, file the report as Reckless mentioned...and hope you have good collision coverage Negotiate the deductible coming out of your payment as well, b/c, afterall, I think the Benz was > 50% responsible. Since it's not clear, no one will be completely happy.

 

[splacek007]

Next time...can you at least break the plastic lens on the Benz???

 

[lhommec13]

Next time...can you at least break the plastic lens on the Benz???

The other guy was a bit of a douche after the crash and I would have liked to break more than than just his lens. He tried to goad me into admitting fault as if I were a kid caught doing something stupid. I just told him "I have my version of events as do you. Since we likely disagree, there apparently isn't much to talk about." He even tried to explain his version of the story to the cop that showed up, but he could care less. Told us to get our cars out of the road and said it was up to us to figure out with our insurance companies.

Thank you for your advice about keeping in mind that he was the one committing the moving violation. It might be hard to prove that based on the limited photographic evidence, but it's certainly worth a shot. If only I could have waved down the lady who let me go initially before she took off. Her witness account probably would tip the scales in my favor

 

[splacek007]

You should have started tasing while yelling "Stop resisting! Stop resisting!".

I don't think the dealer will sell you a S550 w/o seeing the douche card first.

 

[Reckless]

The push bar definitely absorbed some of the energy of the impact. It is bent backwards but luckily did not come into contact with the hood or grille. I know there's some chatter that these things can act as damage multipliers in some cases but thankfully didn't in my case. If either of us were going any faster, then the push bar might have caused some additional damage to the very thing it's meant to protect.

I bought mine off ebay for $200. It was mounted 2 weeks ago and I have a hard time imagining that it can cause damage to my vehicle unless I get into a high speed collision but at that point it will do more protection to the occupants is what I feel. I do think that the brush guards can cause damage on this vehicle.

Damage doesn't seem worth it to file an insurance claim. Use it as an excuse to order the ARB bumper if you really want to fix it or get an aftermarket stock bumper (I bet they go for ~$300 and have it painted and mounted).

 

[FlammableFishie]

Use it as an excuse to order the ARB bumper if you really want to fix it

I'm just waiting on the day some bone head tears off my front bumper in a collision so I can get a Blueberry on my insurances dime

 

[HWY22]

My fender bender a month ago, yielded my 2000 a 2006 facelift. I also switched out the Sahara to the deluxe bar.

 

[TrekboxX]

Great shots. I'm not an insurance guy, but an atty. in Nebraska. My off-the-cuff thoughts, which one of the vehicles involved in the collision was a moving violation? You entering traffic, or, him crossing the double-yellow? Obviously, him. I would stick to the "he violated the law and I did not" mantra. How can you be expected to keep a proper look-out when the other guy violates the law and doesn't behave reasonably? You can't anticipate behavior that is in violation of the law.

That being said, file the report as Reckless mentioned...and hope you have good collision coverage Negotiate the deductible coming out of your payment as well, b/c, afterall, I think the Benz was > 50% responsible. Since it's not clear, no one will be completely happy.

Perhaps it's different in Nebraska, but failing to yield the right of way to vehicles already on the highway is also a moving violation here (sorry to bear the bad news). I'd just let the insurance companies duke it out, they may split fault. It just an oops, no biggie. The important thing is that you're ok and your cruiser will get some new goodies!

 

[2003lx470]

Wow, I used to live in Burlington, MA. I drove on this road to drop off my wife at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Brighton, MA. I had to avoid few people doing the same at that same location. Good Luck !!!!

 

[lhommec13]

Damage doesn't seem worth it to file an insurance claim. Use it as an excuse to order the ARB bumper if you really want to fix it or get an aftermarket stock bumper (I bet they go for ~$300 and have it painted and mounted).

Definitely going through insurance for this one. Minor damage to the LC but easily several thousand to the Benz. They use lots of expensive plastic on those S550's!

I'm just waiting on the day some bone head tears off my front bumper in a collision so I can get a Blueberry on my insurances dime

I also thought of this but an ARB/TJM bumper might be too much over the replacement cost of the stock bumper. Plus I don't wheel much or at all so it'd be somewhat lost on me. I am a big fan of how they look so let's see what the repair estimate yields

Wow, I used to live in Burlington, MA. I drove on this road to drop off my wife at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Brighton, MA. I had to avoid few people doing the same at that same location. Good Luck !!!!

Wow, I used to live in Burlington, MA. I drove on this road to drop off my wife at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Brighton, MA. I had to avoid few people doing the same at that same location. Good Luck !!!!

Yup, you've correctly identified the road and intersection. Typical aggressive New England drivers. Always in a rush with nowhere to go

 

[FlammableFishie]

let's see what the repair estimate yields

Looks like it could be more than you would expect. Bumper, sheet metal under your headlight, and I can't really tell but it looks like your front fender is bent as well. So all of those parts plus paint and labor, the insurance tag may be higher than what you would expect!

 

[splacek007]

Perhaps it's different in Nebraska, but failing to yield the right of way to vehicles already on the highway is also a moving violation here (sorry to bear the bad news). I'd just let the insurance companies duke it out, they may split fault. It just an oops, no biggie. The important thing is that you're ok and your cruiser will get some new goodies!

Very true. But the vehicle w/ the right-of-way stopped and waved lhommec13 on. I think lhommec13 yielded the ROW to the right car. I don't think the Benz assumes the ROW when it then decided to drive over the double-yellow and pass the original vehicle. Just an argument. Get what you can and negotiate the deductible.

 

[KlausVanWinkle]

Looks like it could be more than you would expect. Bumper, sheet metal under your headlight, and I can't really tell but it looks like your front fender is bent as well. So all of those parts plus paint and labor, the insurance tag may be higher than what you would expect!

There isn't much metal below the headlight. It's that one strip that costs like $80. But on the pre 2003s you need to get it painted. Other than that your front looks pretty good. A new tupperware bumper and metal backing bumper maybe all you need. Time to get that slee, ARB, TJM or BIOR front bumper.

Both your insurances will go up no matter who's at fault. At least get a free aftermarket bumper out of it.

 

[MrGreenJeans]

The bumpers on these are a joke. It is often said in threads that the cost of sliders will pay for themselves by preventing one good ding to the rocker panels. The truth is a front (esp) bumper probably ought to be the first real mod all of us do since we are far more likely to have a low speed fender bender - drive off with merely a scratch, or lessen the impact of a real crash (esp with a deer).


The repair on that S550 is easily going to be north of $10,000. We had someone back into our 740 at less than 5 mph and crack the rear plastic bumper only - that entailed 3 parts and $2,000.



Good luck

 

[lhommec13]

Looks like it could be more than you would expect. Bumper, sheet metal under your headlight, and I can't really tell but it looks like your front fender is bent as well. So all of those parts plus paint and labor, the insurance tag may be higher than what you would expect!

Getting the repair estimate performed tomorrow. Anyone want to take a guess based on what they can see from the pics? And yes, the fender was bent a little.

 

[EdsCruisin]

Getting the repair estimate performed tomorrow. Anyone want to take a guess based on what they can see from the pics? And yes, the fender was bent a little.

A deer conveniently stepped in front of mine a couple years ago and paid for the ARB. When they do the estimate, be sure to detail all the labor and the paint. In my case they had to replace the bumper, the flimsy metal and Styrofoam bumper behind the rubber, the grill, fog lights, a headlight and the right fender. Needless to say, the replacement of the fender, grill and headlight had to occur, but the combination of the remaining parts, labor and paint added up big time and I spent less than $200 on my ARB. Oh, and my fender was barely bent - almost imperceptible, but they replaced it.

The adjuster was going to throw bulk numbers at me, until I went through the details on the nuts, bolts, brackets, paint additives for flex, etc. and especially labor. It adds up!

 

[gaijin]

Getting the repair estimate performed tomorrow. Anyone want to take a guess based on what they can see from the pics? And yes, the fender was bent a little.

$3,850.