[wheresjim]

Last year my neighbor's garage was flattened by a giant tree that fell on it. Unfortunately his prized 1959 Mercedes 220 SE was in it at the time. I always liked that car and was sad to see it destroyed. A few weeks later I was talking to a friend of mine who works at a body shop in the next town and he was telling me what he was working on, a 1958 250 Testarossa (the one that hit the wall at Laguna this past summer), a 1962 250 GTO (same owner) and the shop was also working on a Mercedes 220 SE that was flattened by a tree. I was glad to hear that he was restoring it, but after seeing the damage I was skeptical as to the results, even with these guys. Well I finally saw it back in it's place (well in a new garage in the same location) a few of weeks ago, and it looks great!

Before:

After:

Here's an article in the SJ Merc:
http://www.mercurynews.com/los-gatos/ci_14224889

 

[deusexaethera]

You can make anything new again if you can take it apart far enough. Definitely looks like that shop is worth the money.

 

[avgwarhawk]

Beautiful car and I would be upset if a oak tree flatten it. Looks like a nice job restoring it. I wonder what the Carfax looks like?

Oil Changed
Check Filter
Repair Oak Tree Damage
Oil Changed

 

[GC Lionel Mandrake]

So would insurance have written it off with that damage and then he would buy it back and fix it?

I can't see insurance repairing that unless he had some crazy rider on the policy.

 

[02GLXWag6stk]

Jim,

Los Gatos due to it's proximity to San Jose has always been a near high end enclave since the '90s. My cousin lives in Los Altos Hills. The fact that the owner TOOK this car back to Germany says it all. Still an amazing restoration. Thanks for sharing this story.

 

[l5gcw0b]

So would insurance have written it off with that damage and then he would buy it back and fix it?

I can't see insurance repairing that unless he had some crazy rider on the policy.

x2 I did'nt think these are worth anything.

Pretty though.

 

[wheresjim]

I'll ask him (subtly) if his insurance actually covered it, my guess is he paid out of pocket, though that particular model is apparently rare. I truly doubt however that insurance covered all of it (either the car or the garage).

 

[GC Lionel Mandrake]

I'll ask him (subtly) if his insurance actually covered it, my guess is he paid out of pocket, though that particular model is apparently rare. I truly doubt however that insurance covered all of it (either the car or the garage).

IIRC it's not the body style that's rare... rather that engine and trim package in that body is what makes it rare. Going on research I did over 25 years ago since my parents were looking at used Benz's back then... and we looked at a bunch of old 220s in that body style, but all were pedestrian powerplants.

 

[S_Klass]

Amazing restoration!