Help-tree fell on car:( What next restore/totaled/part-out?

[DatukinMD]

Hi,
Sadly a tree fell on my garage and the wall/roof/tree impacted the passenger side and trunk mostly.  I'd appreciate any advice and concrete steps to determine what I should do before "settling" with the insurance company.

She is a '69 automatic transmission with 46k original miles on the odometer. She starts right up and everything forward of the windshield is fine (minus some dents to hood and fender).  The hardtop was smashed to smithereens on the stand behind the car.  Top was down so there was stormwater in the cockpit for 5 days.  Trunk lid is has large dent and water intrusion, but still opens and closes!  All of the glass on the car is intact.

I'm fortunate that this is my first time dealing with insurance for a "totaled" car and that nobody was injured when the tree came down.

Thank you!

[Vander]

What do YOU want to do... Do you want to restore it? Or do you prefer if its totaled, receive a check and shop for a replacement? It's easy to tip the scales either way, so you first need to decide what your desired outcome is and you can create a plan backwards from there.

A few other questions.....Who is it insured with? Do you have "Agreed Upon Value" clause? If so, what is the amount? This is also a factor if it will be totaled or not, and how much you have to spend on a replacement.

[stickandrudderman]

The pictures don't say much but I would imagine it's emminently saveable.

[johnk]

I would agree unless it’s a rust bucket underneath.

[Alex D]

Agree with Vander. A lot will depend on your insurance and type coverage. Generally if the damage is cost to repair is more than 75% of the car's value then the insurance company will declare it a total loss and send you a check, you can then buy the car back as a "salvage" at additional cost and along with the check amount try to find someone to repair correctly - which will be the difficult part.

[waltklatt]

Get a reputable body shop familiar with these older Mercedes and have them do an estimate.
Then go to your insurance and work out a deal with them.
The damage, based on your description and pictures, is mostly cosmetic.  Nothing structural or frame.
All parts are findable with patience.  I have a spare hardtop in black paint if you need one.
Let me know.
I'm in Silver Spring, MD.
Walter Klatt
1967 220SL diesel
1969 280SE
2003 Beetle TDI
2005 Honda Element

[DatukinMD]

Thank you all for the inputs!
I have a buyback option from my insurance.
Mechanicals are all in good working order.

I'm trying to find reputable shops to get an estimate of the work.  Please feel free to send recommendations, ideally in the MD/VA/DC/DE area and I am open to shipping it.

My son was excited to attend Pagodafest this year with me...

[mdsalemi]

Contact AlexD (Alex Djuric) on this site. He can give you sound advice.

His car went through a terrible wreck. He did the whole procedure and process. He gave up going local.

Worth your efforts to speak with him. He’ll be at PagodaFest.