Projects Looking at Buying a Wrecked 50 Merc...How High Would You Go ???

Just looking for opinions...

 

Need better pics of the upper cowl and the right side where damage ends and good begins. Obviously front clip (both frame and sheetmetal) is gone, but how bad is the main body/frame past just that clip?

 

More photos

 

The passenger door opens and closes, we can tell that from the pics. Frame is fucked and will need a whole front clip, but otherwise looks like a pretty nice coupe body. Interior looks fair. Glass looks intact. Drivetrain is a total unknown, very possibly some mounts broken off, rendering engine and trans useless.

You'll want a 4 door donor to give up a good frame and front clip and you'll have to put a drivetrain in it. Still, it's a nice coupe body, I think anything under $5K would be reasonable.

If it's full of mud or something we can't see from the pics, that would make a huge difference.

 

One thing about wrecked cars...there is all ways more damage than you see at first glance. I would break it down into what the individual parts are worth then take it from there.

 

Tell us what your plans are for it. Fix it and flip it quick? Keep it and drive it cheap? Build your dream car? That probably will help you decide what it's worth to you.

 

looks like roof buckled, door over lapping body....parts only..... If you cant get it for a few hundred then walk away....its parts.

 

Doubt it'll sell for only a few hundred, but don't have any idea what it's worth. Shame it got hit that hard. I'd crawl all over it, and especially under it. I don't see roof damage with my bad eyes, but I'm wondering about the cracked filler. Maybe that's just from the hard hit, without any additional movement of the roof. Hell, the doors still fit better than on any Merc I've ever had.
Interesting car. Is it a salvage deal, best offer, or are you going to have to bid on it?

 

If you're any kind of bodyman, it can be fixed, but if you gotta pay to play, big bucks. BUT, this seems to be a pretty nice car, looks like a decent build to begin with, the crack in the filler above the door is a concern, how much filler is in the roof? The fact that both doors open is a bonus.

 

Ya. It's a tough call. If you can do all the work yourself that makes a big difference on what you can pay for it.

 

The cracked bondo on the roof doesn't bother me too much; a car will flex in a lot of places under impact then spring right back. I had one car that if you jacked up the rear with the factory bumper jack, the quarter panel opposite the jack would get big waves in it. Let the car down, they would disappear...

I'd look at the door fit closely; if the door hinge posts/firewall/cowl has been pushed back on either/both sides, that will be tough to pull back, but not impossible. The fact that the passenger door opens is a good thing. The frame is probably toast. Engine, worse case you have to short-block it and replace the front dress/exhaust; make sure you check for crankshaft damage. Trans, if the case isn't cracked/broken at the bell or rear mount, it's probably ok.

This is better than a parts car if the body shell isn't a bondoed-over rusty mess and the cowl doesn't need pulling out, but still a project. Seeing that rusted out POS Mercs are selling for pretty good money, if the main shell is good it's worth $5K IMO, but I'd sure look it over close. If you're looking to do a flip, I'd walk away.

 

That second set of pics has me walking away. Can it be fixed? Sure, anything can, but that body is in a lot worse shape than I think a few of these guys are seeing.

 

saw that one and wondered the same thing

 

Always a case of it's worth what people will, and you deside what you can pay.

The crack in the roof would'nt be my biggest fear.
If i was to buy a car like this, my focus would be on shape of frame, shape of cowl and how does the gearbox/transmission look.

Is that a auto with a floor shifter for a manual look or a 4 on the floor.
Steering wheel and coloum pulls the price down ;-)

 

How much it's worth to you....finished....is the key figure, less repair costs.

The car appears to have been hit hard...but the good thing is it was more from the side than head on. Likely less body distortion and cowl damage from that angle. Still, as others have pointed out, there are many unknowns. Also, I expect you will end up with a Branded Title (aka "Rebuilt" or "Salvage"). That is not as big a detriment on this as a late model automobile, but still less than ideal. And in Illinois where I live, the cost of returning a salvage vehicle to titled status is expensive and time consuming and detailed receipts are required. Also, only a licensed "Rebuilder" can process the paperwork. It is worth checking your State's regulations on those issues before you dive into a project like this.

Only you can decide what you are willing to pay and still assume the various risks it represents.

 

Most salvage vehicles sell at 15-18% of their preloss value.

I agree with most here. If you can`t do the repairs then pass on it. There is a lot more hidden damage that will show up after teardown.

 

All Good Feedback...many thanks

 

Hnstray makes a good point, the same or similar rules apply here in Wisconsin. It has to be inspected by a State trooper here and they don't go easy. My suggestion is if you can get the ins. co. to settle with the car owner without branding the title and then buy it from the owner you would be a lot better off, if the ins. co. will go along with it. Find out where it sits as far as insurance is concerned, get a good look at the estimate ( it looks like it's sitting at a body shop or an insurance pool lot ).
As far as value, well that will depend on the estimate to fix it, what the ins. co. does is settle up with the car owner ( if it's totaled ) and then sells them to the highest bidder to try to recoup as much money as possible. Get the ins. sorted out first.
I used to deal with this on a regular basis when I was in the car business,( 17 years dealership owner, 18 years General manager, and part owner of a body shop for 5 or 6 years ).

 

The filled drip rails (on a non-choped car) would scare me more than the wreck. Why would they do that? Probably because they rusted too badly. Probably a lot of other rust "fixes" as well. And you always need to be wary of other guys rust fixes.

Crawl all over the car to look for patches. If none, then the whole car can be put on a rack and pulled reasonably straight for a few grand. Then get a fordor for a chassis swap and new clip. All together you'd have a straight car needing engine and paint for under $10,000.

 

Watch copart for hidden fees. I bought a car there once.

Posted using the Full Custom H.A.M.B. App!

 

It's funny how you post a picture of a crashed car and its junk to so many "car" guys on the HAMB. Yet you post a picture of this same Merc, rusted to death at the bottom of some impossible creek bed and everyone will tell you to save it, and that they've seen worse etc.

I'd buy it in a second and put it right back together if I was looking for a project. Look at it like its 3/4 done.

 

I was thinking about bidding on it too but decided I have enough projects for now and I'm not going to show up. if it was summertime, I would go after it, well at least show up and take a closer look at it and then decide.

Looks like only a little over 3,000 miles on it since it was finished last time.

price in my head without taking a closer look at it was around the $5,000 mark.

 

Well stated!..............

 

Salvage World or Co-Parts?

 

I've seen worse cars saved. This one is savable. Engine and or tranny could be broken. Need to look. A guy in this area had a non chopped 50 burn down except engine compartment and still rebuilt it as a chopped custom. Anything is possible.

 

CoPart, Madison, Wisconsin

 

Sorry, op, I was keeping it quiet this last three weeks but seen you posted about it and I decided just to watch instead and some figured out where it is at might as well spill the bean and make it easy on them.

Co-part in Madison Wi.

Hopefully it gets bid up and I won't feel bad about not going after it.

 

ok, that made me feel a little better that the op posted where it was at before me.

I actually was trying to keep it quiet and thought I would use my dividend check I get at the year end for it but it turned out to be a lot smaller than I expected and with current bills and my current projects and winter being here, I decided to pass.

Hopefully someone picks it up at a decent price and rebuild it. Good luck to all bidders and hopefully it is a Hamber that gets it.

 

Do you have the control number from Copart?
Is it up for bidding now?
I will check in with the Copart down here as I have to head over there to look at a burn job. Looks like a builder....for the right price.

 

For several years I was a licensed Rebuilder and bought salvage from Copart and other vendors. However, at that time a bidder HAD to be a licensed dealer/rebuilder, and pre-registered with Copart, to bid. Has that policy changed to include the public?