paint/body repair

[wd]

Okay, went for my first ride on the freeway two weeks ago and was hit and run. This is becoming a real ordeal in trying to determine who to get to work on it.

Up front there is not a lot of money to throw behind the insurance money.  Again it was hit and run so my insurance is covering it.

So my experiences in talking with many body shops has been a difficult experience.  I found a couple of restoration/hot rod fabrication  shops that are interested  in doing an insurance job,but nothing determined yet.  Other/most experiences with shops have been, well discouraging.

My biggest question is concerning the paint.  This car was or is 542g dark red.  The shops that seem the most honest and talented seem to want to do a two part paint.  Well I don't think I can afford to cover the difference in a total repaint  at this point as I am of modest means and bought the car just 6 months or so ago.   I don't think the original and two part is a good idea. I had several of the shops I talked to that wanted to do this. I know nothing about auto finsihing but this seems rediculous.
Any help on uderstanding the paint situation and what to try to accomplish during this repair would be appreciated.

Also the pass door is bashed in and is scheduled to be replaced but one shop said he has done work on 300 and 190 sl hoods where he cut them rewelded and saved them.  Again I am out of the loop on this.  The door still opens and closes fine and all the seams are still perfect.  Does this type of thing sound preferable to replacement?  Thanks for any help on dealing with this situation.

[w113dude]

Two stage paint is the norm these days for a lot of body shops and if they use good quality paint such as PPG the result is always better than single stage paint. I don't think there is a lot of difference in price single stage vs two stage! they recommend two stage paint because it's an easier way of painting and less chance of a mess up.

As for the door, I would replace it instead, a used door is about $350.00 or sometimes less , cutting and welding aluminum sheets is not going to be a very good option and at the end you still have a door that is not perfect. By the way doors on 190sl and 300sl are much more expensive than w113.

[RickM]

How much of the car is being repainted? If less that the entire exterior I would stick with what is on there now.

As mentioned above, two part is less $$ as it's less work on the part of the tech. Less post paint / finishing work.

If it were me I'd even strive to identify / use the same brand that is on the car now if it is of high quality.

[wd]

It seems to be about half the car.   Not a hard hit accident but she managed to touch alot of panels.   I bought it from the original owner and to my knowledge the left front fender was worked on and the paint faded in on the nose panel.  To my knowledge and unskilled eye I believe the rest was original. (?) Looked more than  good enough for me as a nice driver before this happened.  Only the second time I have had to have any body work done.  Last time 1974 and just a fender on a chev.

[m300cab]

i would do whatever possible to repaint the entire car, take all chrome off , even pop the windshield and possibly rechrome the surround if neccessary, paint and replace windshield with new rubber, makes a world of difference in my humble opinion.

[wd]

I am trying to work out someway to paint it all.  Car has all original tinted glass so I'am worried about breaking something in replacing the door and pulling the windshield.  But out they come.

Three weeks later I get a call from the hit and run drivers insurance.  I was feeling bad about my insurance footing the bill and even had some sympathy towards the woman.  I thought she was probably not insured and most likely  having hard times in this economy.  I knew she would eventually be sued for the money.  So now they call and want to take a recorded statement. I told my insurance to send them a copy of the statement I gave them.   I have no sympathy after readiing her account of what happened.  Luckily I had a number of witnesses who stopped. The witnesses were great as they stopped the first time when she hit my car and the second time when I chased and luckily caught up to her at a train crossing, thanks to Burlington Northern Rail Road.   I didn't know it at the time but the witnesses were following right behind me all the way.  When she left the original scene there was of course the potential to lose all contact with witnesses but I needed to get her license plate number.

 One witness said his wife insisted on following telling him,  "that's the Mercedes I always wanted we have to help him."  Nice lady.    

 The state patrol went to her home after the accident but she would not answer the door and lights were out.  Damaged car was in parking stall.  So I think it is obvious she got away with something.  They picked her up later for hit and run.

Keep an ink pen  and pad of paper in the car you never know when you will need to make a quick note of something.   Again saved by the witness.

[w113dude]

WOW,
I always thought this kind of things happen in a TV show! Unbelievable 

[RickM]

Keep an ink pen  and pad of paper in the car you never know when you will need to make a quick note of something.   Again saved by the witness.

Wow, hope everything works out. I had a similar situation in NYC years ago. A young lady was going the wrong way in traffic and found the front of my car. Long story short, her insurance co called me to assign half the fault. I stated that I had witnesses and if I wasn't completely exonerated I would retain an attorney. Half hour later they fully complied.

Aside from a pad and pen a cell phone's camera/camcorder and voice recorder come in real handy .

Again, good luck!

[graphic66]

Also, my advice is now to start journal of every call and contact made with dates and the time and length of the call. A phone recorder can be very handy for a reference later. You may need it to document things. My friend had a legal case and was awarded $10,000.00. The attorney he hired billed him for $8000.00. He had a complete journaland from that a judge later reduced his fee to $2000.00. The attorny was billing the phone calls for way longer than they actually were and the journal was proof enough for the judge. Also check and see if you have car rental insurance or if the other persons insurance will pay. I had two cars crash into my full size pick up and it was in the shop for almost a month. I was reimbursed the cost of renting another full size truck at a big price.

[dseretakis]

As far as painting your car goes, I would consider a single stage urethane paint.  2 stage paints are the norm today but the thought of a clear coat on a non-metallic paint on a vintage car makes me cringe.  As far as replacing vs repairing your door goes, I wouldn't necessarily discount the repair option.  A skilled metalworker can work magic.  But when I mean skilled I mean skilled.  I don't mean your typical collision shop guy who knows how to sculpt bondo. It might actually be easier to get the gaps right by keeping the original door.