We have probably the first "totalled" Crossfire in the counrty at my dealership... sad story indeed. An older man parked in our lot. When backing his full size van out- he pressed the accelerator instead of the gas! 9k to his van... 8k to a 2003 Ram.. 1k to one CF... 16k to a 2nd CF!!!! This happened 2+ months ago and insurance still has not settled this one out.

I did some of the estimating for this vehicle and nearly every body part was on NBO. Chrsyler did a bang up job of making sure "common" parts would be available, but rare parts like sheet metal/trim/splash sheilds... forget it... National Back Order!

Now we can expedite through normal procedures any part for a vehicle... It costs 15% premium on retail price PLUS shipping. Not bad no? Except when you consider a priority part is shipped Next Day Air...

Now imagine an 80.00 body panel.. now its 92.00 plus 60.00 shipping. What insurance company is goin to pay 152.00 for an 80.00 part????

So is there a way to circumvent this for a car that was wrecked? I do not know of any. I have been through this with a couple of CFs for damaged wheels.. Luckily for a single item the insurance companys agreed in both cases to pay the aditional costs. So- at this point my conclusion

1) There is a way to expedite shipping. It is not cheap.
2) You should pressure your insurance company to pay this premium! They will, and have in the past at my dealership.
3) Yes- more parts should be available. I do not know the logistics involved... But I would chock this up to a learning experience of buying a first run automobile. (Before everyone bashes me on this one... When was the last OTHER vehicle YOU purchases that simply did not exist last year?!? Yes its a MB... But it shares NO body panels. These are the same logistical problems that ALL manufacturers face on first year run autos... I dont care if its lexus, BMW, MB, Audi...)