The road I was sitting on had three lanes.  Two through lanes, and a right hand turning lane.  I was stationary in the middle lane, which was the right most of the two through lanes.   The Honda SUV (driven by a P-plater) had attempted to change lanes into the turning lane and been cleaned up by an Audi SUV.  The impact of the two SUVs had taken most of the impact of the accident, but the Honda had pushed into my rear bumper.

The drivers of the Honda and Audi could not agree whos’ fault it was.  I didn’t really care as it clearly wasn’t mine.  I just exchanged details with both drivers and let them continue their argument.   Both the Audi and the Honda were in a bad way.  It would not surprise me if both cars were written off.  It doesn’t take much these days.

My 300TE is insured with Shannons.  Since being integrated more into the Suncorp parent company, I’ve heard mixed reviews on claiming with them.  Having talked about this with a friend who owns a panel shop which does insurance work, his comment was:  “They are all pretty terrible these days, but they are probably still the best to deal with”.   Having said that, my experience was very good and I was able to put my claim in quickly, and choose my repairer.

I took the car to be assessed recently.  The bumper bar took most of the impact, and we’ve found a good second hand bumper cover in Melbourne, minus the impact strip.   There is a small amount of damage to the paint underneath the tail light, so the rear quarter will need to be painted.   The tail light also has a crack.   Still, this should easily be doable in the insured value of the car.

The post 300TE rear end crash appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

Along the way I also witnessed a procession of pre-war Rolls-Royce cars on the Putty road.    It is great to see these cars being driven and used on the road.     It is really nice to get out on the open road in such a great cruising car.    I hadn’t actually planned to take the 250SE on that drive, but the day was so nice it was perfect for it.   Sunny and low 20s.

Unfortunately, I ran into another problem – literally.   As the route took longer than I expected, I ended up on some back roads at dusk.  I slowed down because wildlife is very active at this time.     That didn’t stop me impacting a Kangaroo in the 250SE, the car I would have least wanted to damage.

The W111 cars are pretty tough so despite the impact, the damage is fixable.   The drivers side headlight is pretty much destroyed, but spare headlights are easy to come by as they are shared with the sedans.   The bodywork around the headlight is damaged, but is fixable.    There is slight damage to the grille, and perhaps the bumper, although I am not sure at this stage.

For overseas readers, Kangaroos are a real menace on the roads here in Australia.   Their population numbers can swing rapidly in the flood/drought cycle.   They are also unpredictable – they can jump towards cars, and jump into their path.   As they jump rather than walk or run, it can be hard to gauge what direction they are going to turn.   The wheels I have my my 450SLC came off a car wrecked due to Kangaroo impact.

I have lodged my insurance claim, contacted my preferred repairer, and started checking on parts.   In the off chance they still sell them, I contacted the Classic Centre to see if grille shells are still available.  Mine is dented and has three small tears.    Not surprisingly, they are no longer available, so mine will need to be repaired.    The idea that Mercedes-Benz sell all the parts for their older models is a myth.   They are still better than most, but fewer and fewer parts are available as the cars age.     The grille shell is not shared with the sedan, so is extremely rare used.

I’m obviously pretty upset about the damage to my 250SE.   However, I would rather occasionally damage the cars through use than have them sit as garage queens.    The joy of owning these cars is the experiences you have with them, not possessing them.

The Mercedes-Benz club is having a Paul Bracq day in late May.   I was planning on taking this car.   I hope I can have it repaired by then.

Before I hit the Kangaroo, I was able to snap a nice sunset photo of the car.

The post Impact with a Kangaroo appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

As outlined in the last post, the first issue was the A/C stopped blowing cold.  I already knew I had to do a few things for the climate control –  I could hear the little aspirator motor rattling away behind the glove box.    The aspirator motor is basically a small fan that blows air from near the dome light down to a temperature sensor.   That sensor is used for the climate control.   I’m a little perplexed as to why Mercedes didn’t just have the sensor near the dome light.   The added tube and motor seem overly complex.    The aspirator motor should not cause the A/C to stop functioning altogether.   Therefore, my assumption is that the aspirator needs to be replaced, and the A/C needs a leak repaired.

Secondly, I was in a minor accident in the 300SE.  The car was not badly damaged, which given its value is important.

Hopefully it can be repaired via insurance without undue cost.

Finally, the water pump appears to have given up the ghost.  Driving home, on a fairly cool night, the temperature was steadily rising.   Moreover, it would rise alarmingly while stationary.   I stopped at a service station to check, and took in the sight of the new green river emanating from the 300SE, gently meandering its way over the concrete forecourt.     Needless to say, this was not a river I wanted to see.     I was able to top up the water sufficiently to get home.

Once home, I looked under the car to discover the source of my new river.   Surely enough, it was dripping down off the sump, leaving its residue behind.   My assumption is that the water pump has packed in and is leaking as much water as it is pumping.   The water pump is a painful job on the M103, and I don’t think I will get the time to do it.   I will probably pay to have it done along with the A/C check and re-gas.    As the say, there is no such thing as a cheap Mercedes.

On a more positive note, the car has responded well to the transmission service, with smoother gear changes.   It also seems to be selecting the ‘right’ gear more.

The post The 300SE strikes back appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

I took the DS and it was running really nicely on the way home.  It is such a relaxing car to drive.

Unfortunately, disaster struck during parking when I knocked it into gear and sent it flying into a post.    After at least 10 years insured with Shannons this will be my first claim with them.  I hear they are easy to deal with and I hope I am able to have a quality repair done inside my agreed value.

My main concern is given the age of the paint and the level of fade etc, the whole car will probably need repainting.  This and minimum a new bumper up front plus extensive damage to the aluminum bonnet and the wings.   I hope all the duct work for the radiator is not damaged.

I was also really lucky nothing else was damaged at the warehouse.

Update 2018:  The DS is now fixed and back on the road better than ever.  You would not know it was in an front end smash.

The post Frontal Damage to the DS appeared first on Classic Jalopy.

A good example of the reason you would buy a well engineered car.   This was the BMW 523i I reviewed about 9 months ago, and it hit another car on the freeway yesterday.    It is obviously a write off.    This car belongs to my brother, he had nicknamed it Gary.

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