Punt on a hailstone damaged car?
Discussion
Mods - please can you leave in GG, it's a merc but a general bodywork enquiry, thanks.
OK, I am in the market for an SL55 AMG for the summer.. Having spoken to an independent MB specialist, the chap told me that a customer is selling theirs.
So it's an '03 plate, one owner since new, under 25k miles, black, pano roof.
That's all I know about the spec, the kicker is that it was damaged last year in a freak hailstorm in Leicester - my 320d was in the same storm.
Mechanic claims it's only boot and bonnet - it's a glass roof which should be ok.
Owner has rejected an offer of £10k, mechanic thinks he would accept £13k, I may offer £11k, then £12k.
Now assuming the damage is as stated, what does PH think of this as a potential purchase?
What questions should I be asking?
Why did someone who paid ~£100k for a car 11 years ago not get the insurance to repair the car?
Why has it so little mileage?
I plan to get a bodyshop estimate on the damage, and a full MB inspection if I intend to purchase, but any opinions and/or advice would be great.
OK, I am in the market for an SL55 AMG for the summer.. Having spoken to an independent MB specialist, the chap told me that a customer is selling theirs.
So it's an '03 plate, one owner since new, under 25k miles, black, pano roof.
That's all I know about the spec, the kicker is that it was damaged last year in a freak hailstorm in Leicester - my 320d was in the same storm.
Mechanic claims it's only boot and bonnet - it's a glass roof which should be ok.
Owner has rejected an offer of £10k, mechanic thinks he would accept £13k, I may offer £11k, then £12k.
Now assuming the damage is as stated, what does PH think of this as a potential purchase?
What questions should I be asking?
Why did someone who paid ~£100k for a car 11 years ago not get the insurance to repair the car?
Why has it so little mileage?
I plan to get a bodyshop estimate on the damage, and a full MB inspection if I intend to purchase, but any opinions and/or advice would be great.
tbc said:
probably been ragged from cold since new by the owner(s) or it was one of many cars they owned and just didn't bother
You really are such a useless addition to this forum...OP, I would definetely give it a good checkover and then if you are happy, hand it over for a full MB inspection like you said...can't go wrong imo!
NateWM said:
tbc said:
probably been ragged from cold since new by the owner(s) or it was one of many cars they owned and just didn't bother
You really are such a useless addition to this forum...OP, I would definetely give it a good checkover and then if you are happy, hand it over for a full MB inspection like you said...can't go wrong imo!
No?
ETA
Play nicely now!
Edited by Big Al. on Saturday 12th April 14:00
We purchased a new E70 in June 2012 and unfortunately it was subject to severe hail damage in August 2012.
Nearly £20,000 later and it had the following repairs
Various lights replaced
2 dentmaster men working for 1 week to remove worst dents
New roof
New bonnet
Various new bits of trim
Quite a lot of filler
Total respray (resulting in paint stripping off sometime later and then further paintwork)
The car looked pretty good to be fair when it was ready for collection 3 months later.
However from that day on the car was never the same. Problem after problem after problem and the car spent more time in the workshop than with us. The problem I believe was simply that a new car should if at all possible not be stripped to its bear shell to be repaired, it'll never be the same again. They are complex machines and being built at a factory gives the best chance of all components working in harmony.
We sold the car a year later, took a big hit but the relief was worth it.
In reality we should have left it as was with damage and taken an insurance payout to compensate us for the loss of value once sold (not sure if the insurance company would offer such a solution?), but should it happen again that's what I'll try to negotiate.
To summarise, the Merc is probably a good buy if it's not been touched and everything else checks out OK, had it been repaired I'd be concerned and I wouldn't go near it.
Nearly £20,000 later and it had the following repairs
Various lights replaced
2 dentmaster men working for 1 week to remove worst dents
New roof
New bonnet
Various new bits of trim
Quite a lot of filler
Total respray (resulting in paint stripping off sometime later and then further paintwork)
The car looked pretty good to be fair when it was ready for collection 3 months later.
However from that day on the car was never the same. Problem after problem after problem and the car spent more time in the workshop than with us. The problem I believe was simply that a new car should if at all possible not be stripped to its bear shell to be repaired, it'll never be the same again. They are complex machines and being built at a factory gives the best chance of all components working in harmony.
We sold the car a year later, took a big hit but the relief was worth it.
In reality we should have left it as was with damage and taken an insurance payout to compensate us for the loss of value once sold (not sure if the insurance company would offer such a solution?), but should it happen again that's what I'll try to negotiate.
To summarise, the Merc is probably a good buy if it's not been touched and everything else checks out OK, had it been repaired I'd be concerned and I wouldn't go near it.
A lot of cars were written off as a result of that storm. As were lots of caravans, repairs to which I was involved with through my business.
Specialist paintless dent removal teams came from all over the world - countries where that type of hail is normal so their kit & techniques have adapted to deal with it. I was told - by the owner of a PDR company in Leicester who also got a lot of the business - that these chaps were being paid around £1000 a DAY. Bear in mind that that's FAR cheaper than paying out to replace a newish top end car so it makes economic sense for the insurance companies.
Properly done, the removed dents were undetectable & I had a GOOD look at a number that I knew exactly where the damage had been.
That said for an older car with damage to all panels - or those with excessive damage, such as many in the Burbage area which looked like the aftermath of a shrapnel shell attack - the cost would put the car into the write-off bracket.
Due to the high number of written off cars & vans & problems with what they were going to do with them insurers paid people out & told them to do what they liked with the write off. This caused a considerable amount of annoyance in the trade locally as many kept & continued to use the car/van & didn't buy a replacement with the payout!
I was in Burbage yesterday to quote a caravan repair - not hail related - & there are still quite a lot of cars about with the hail damage.
Specialist paintless dent removal teams came from all over the world - countries where that type of hail is normal so their kit & techniques have adapted to deal with it. I was told - by the owner of a PDR company in Leicester who also got a lot of the business - that these chaps were being paid around £1000 a DAY. Bear in mind that that's FAR cheaper than paying out to replace a newish top end car so it makes economic sense for the insurance companies.
Properly done, the removed dents were undetectable & I had a GOOD look at a number that I knew exactly where the damage had been.
That said for an older car with damage to all panels - or those with excessive damage, such as many in the Burbage area which looked like the aftermath of a shrapnel shell attack - the cost would put the car into the write-off bracket.
Due to the high number of written off cars & vans & problems with what they were going to do with them insurers paid people out & told them to do what they liked with the write off. This caused a considerable amount of annoyance in the trade locally as many kept & continued to use the car/van & didn't buy a replacement with the payout!
I was in Burbage yesterday to quote a caravan repair - not hail related - & there are still quite a lot of cars about with the hail damage.
Edited by paintman on Friday 11th April 09:00
tbc said:
NateWM said:
tbc said:
probably been ragged from cold since new by the owner(s) or it was one of many cars they owned and just didn't bother
You really are such a useless addition to this forum...OP, I would definetely give it a good checkover and then if you are happy, hand it over for a full MB inspection like you said...can't go wrong imo!
No?
Surely a replacement bonnet/boot in the same colour would be the best option if you can source them.... with the age of the car, I wold probably go down that route rather than try getting the dents repaired.
Ebay and then phone round breakers, surely there's a few of them being parted out across the country. The normal colours will obv be black and silver so unless it's a different colour, you should be able to source relatively easy I'd have thought
Ebay and then phone round breakers, surely there's a few of them being parted out across the country. The normal colours will obv be black and silver so unless it's a different colour, you should be able to source relatively easy I'd have thought
tbc said:
NateWM said:
tbc said:
probably been ragged from cold since new by the owner(s) or it was one of many cars they owned and just didn't bother
You really are such a useless addition to this forum...OP, I would definetely give it a good checkover and then if you are happy, hand it over for a full MB inspection like you said...can't go wrong imo!
No?
OK well I went to check the car out....
Hadn't been driven for 3 years.
Hardly noticeable on the boot, bonnet quite bad... rear bumper had peeling paint where he must have pranged it...
Scratches down both wings....
Damp meaning the interior was filthy and stank.
Intercooler pump issue as usual.
Pulled heavily to one side under load.
So I said I'd like to speak to the owner and get a bodyshop quote. Got a call from the garage owner later on saying the owner wants £20,000 for the car.
To remind you, it's an '03 plate with about 23k miles, one owner.
£20,000.
Hadn't been driven for 3 years.
Hardly noticeable on the boot, bonnet quite bad... rear bumper had peeling paint where he must have pranged it...
Scratches down both wings....
Damp meaning the interior was filthy and stank.
Intercooler pump issue as usual.
Pulled heavily to one side under load.
So I said I'd like to speak to the owner and get a bodyshop quote. Got a call from the garage owner later on saying the owner wants £20,000 for the car.
To remind you, it's an '03 plate with about 23k miles, one owner.
£20,000.
I know, the guy is dreaming... The car had potential, but needed a good few thousand spending - and that was without a proper inspection so no idea of what else is hidden!
Probably a blessing in disguise, it would probably have ended up costing me a fortune!
I will just budget £20k for a well looked after example and put a decent warranty on it...
Probably a blessing in disguise, it would probably have ended up costing me a fortune!
I will just budget £20k for a well looked after example and put a decent warranty on it...
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