sorry if this is in the wrong area.

my 1983 300d was recently hit in a parking lot (driver-side rear door and fender).

other driver admitted fault and her insurance will pay for repairs.

is there a “proper” way to repair these cars?
all shops ive spoken with so far (southern CA) mention hammering/body filler/etc.

should i find a shop that can source a replacement door and fender? or is that completely unreasonable?

(using mobile site, cant post pics - will use desktop pc soon)

My car had a similar issue in the same area. For the door I bought a used door. And in my case the door took most of the hit. There at one time was replacement sections for the rest of the rear but that was a time back.

The insurance is likely going to want to total out the whole care and pay you cash. If you want to keep the car the insurance may give you the money minus the scrap cost of the car and let you go on your own.

However, each state has their own laws.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

You're in a pickle simply because the sheet metal is thicker than it is in more modern vehicles. Yes, hammering is the way to go. Body fillers should be used sparingly but aren't terrible.

Don't go for a replacement skin for a door or a replacement fender as the replacement parts are going to be much thinner sheet metal than the original.

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Onus probandi incumbit ei qui dicit, non ei qui negat

I recondition w123/w126/w124/w140/r107/r129/ steering boxes!


1984 300D "Elsa" odo reset 6/2011 147k
1983 300TD "Mitzi" ~268k OM603 powered
1995 E300 "Adelheid" 262k [Sold]

Metal gets stretched when deformed in a collision. There are shrinking techniques which work but the cost of having it done correctly is prohibitive.

I would find a used door and fender. It might take a while but that's the easy and cheapest way to go. A bit of rust can be cut out and repaired by a skilled sheet metal tech.

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84 300SD
85 380SE
83 528e
95 318ic

In the old days I have seen people it the junk yard cutting off what think was called a quarter section of the car. And they would take that and remove the damaged part of the owner's car and weld or do what was needed to attach the quarter section.

Someone on this forum long ago said that say the W123s stolen or bought scrap were cut into sections so that they could get as much as possible to fit into a shipping container and when it gets to the middle east it is welded back together and otherwise assembled and sold.

What a regular body shop can do today is questionable. Certainly, custom car makers that get top dollar can do it.

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84 300D, 82 Volvo 244Gl Diesel

Try Montebello Auto Center on Whittier Blvd in Montebello, CA. The owner is Joe Ortega. Quality body and paint work at a fair price. Joe has worked on my fleet of W123 cars for years.

price isnt a concern, as the other party’s insurance is paying for everything, provided i choose a shop that accepts insurance.
the other party’s insurance indicated they want to proceed with repairs. no mention of totalling the car.

i contacted mb classic center, and they indicated the door and fender are no longer available.
however, their online shop lists both parts and allows me to add them to my cart and proceed to checkout… ive contacted them again asking if the parts would fail to ship.

Attached Thumbnails

     

luckily, your damage seems minor and no trim parts look damaged. A competent body shop should have no issues straightening out your dents by pounding/pulling them out with minimal body filler. Your side trim also would be perfect for just shooting paint on the lower sections of the door and rear quarter panel which will likely be less noticeable to the eye when blending in the paint rather than having the entire door or quarter painted which will likely stand out more.

Good luck

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Stable Mates:
1987 300TD 310K mi (Hans)
2008 Jeep Grand Cherokee OM642 165k mi (Benzrokee)

The car looks like new.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Luckily lite damage , Insurance companies prefer to call on shops that dont overcharge the damage, but theirs a twist . . For instance , Gieco in my area likes to find a body shop big enough that has space for them to put in an office to setup shop , their employee to give and assess damage with a certified tech on hand , insurance quotes are purposed and then printed for customers to use , ( you usually will use that shop location for repairs which is the advantage for the shop )if that amount exceeds the given value of the estimated value of the car , it’s then deemed a loss and then give you a check for you to go on your merry way keeping the car , from their it goes to salvage sale in which someone picks it up to run through the system of a salvage title repair or onto the yard .You can shop estimates but That’s the game .Excessive cost now on parts and unavailability has put a target on Anything older than 30 years . I’ve had an accident where that was the case , I had all the parts but let them access then run the quote , a $1200 value for a bent fender and hood but they we’re on the fence about a total , I said make the check out to me and I’ll fix the car , kept it out of the yard and still going strong .

I've fixed similar myself. On plus side, the main dent in the door is large with no sharp creases, so could be more easily worked out if you can get a dolly on the inside. More concerning is the hard hit at the corner of the door and quarter panel. If the "pinch-weld" is pushed in, many say the door can't be salvaged. But your corners may not have moved. Plus side is doors can be replaced, if needed, and you are in the heart of W123 sales, though even in SoCal salvage yards they are getting rare.

The quarter panel can be fixed by pulling and filler. I have the Harbor Freight Stud-welder, which I've used on several cars. It works best on my newer cars with thinner sheet metal (1996, 2002). My 1965 Chrysler is hard to pull since thick metal. My M-B is in-between. In older days, they screwed into the sheet-metal many places to pull, leaving holes with filler squished thru. Don't fear filler since show cars skim all the panels of the car with filler to sand perfectly smooth. After beating as close as possible (but not too high, don't over-pull), start with fiber-glass filled filler (ex. Bondo Glass). I have even used woven fiberglass and epoxy over large areas or holes. Even once you think you are close, plan on at least 5 passes with filler. Those curves on the quarter panel will take repeated fussing and sanding to match. I only get a few swipes with filler before it starts reacting, even in cold weather. Don't believe the "5 minutes" or such.

Painting will be trickier. If you can take a part in, say your fuel filler door, a paint shop can match it with an optical sensor. You could also give them the paint code, though yours may have faded with time. Will probably have to paint the door up to the trim so it looks uniform, since hard to blend with clear-coat.

Re cost, their insurance will pay per a body shop estimate, which likely may be "totaled". You can take the money and do nothing, have the shop do it, or do yourself. I always pick the later. Won't be the first time an idiot runs into your car. 75% who've hit me have been uninsured.

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1984 & 1985 CA 300D's
1964 & 65 Mopar's - Valiant, Dart, Newport
1996 & 2002 Chrysler minivans

mb classic center responded and indicated the door and fender are indeed NLA and long gone.
also, according to the representative, tons of parts in the online store are NLA, even though you can add them to your cart and checkout. per the rep, when they uploaded all the parts to the online store, they failed to filter out the NLA parts and havent gone back and fixed it.

ive never attempted any paint/bodywork, and currently i don’t have the space or time to do so, so my best bet may be to take the car to one of the insurance company’s recommended shops. if i do that, the repair is “guaranteed for the life of the car”, so if i dont care for the work, i can have them do it again and again until im happy.

appreciate all the replies.