Rep Power: 418

Anyway know of a good bodyshop in the MA area? I had an accident a while back and the bodyshop I went to fixed everything up, but they didn't put the car on a frame rack to get the frame back into alignment. Now its impossible to get a proper alignment. I need to get my frame straightened; that and an alignment and I should be all set.

 
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Holy crap M, I didn't think you got hit that badly!

 
Rep Power: 309

could go to my dads shop hes got a frame machine but its here in everett (1 mile north of boston)
where was the hit on ur car? it could be suspension work that is out just enough on various parts u cant tell without specs. oh and how long ago was the repair done? insurance should cover all costs if u can prove this is from the accident.

 
Rep Power: 418

It was hit in the front, but the car slammed into me at an angle, so my whole front end is lop-sided (slanted out towards the driver's side). It's visible. I guess you're right about the suspension, but the wheels were free-standing during the accident, so the suspension didn't catch anything. I guess that you could reason that it didn't get bent up during the accident, but who knows?

The repair was done when the car was about a month old back in Oct. of 2001. I got insurance money for the repairs and I went to a body shop and they did some work to it. They fixed everything up and it was cosmetically OK. I think they did an alignment, but they did not put the car on a frame rack to straighten the frame. You can tell because it's visible.

I'm not sure how to go about it? I called up a body shop and the guy was hesitant because he knows that it could involve a lot of work and that I'm willing to pay say... $500 He mentioned a price of $1,000 to me and that's something I wouldn't be able to afford. I'm doing it so that I don't burn up my tires as often as I do now, so it has to be worth it to me.

There's one other thing that I could do I guess... I bought a body shop repair manual for my car a while back. In it I have the measurement betwean certain reference points. I can check those out to see what is not to spec. If I see that something is out of spec., then I take the guess-work out of the job and I can get a better estimate of the money that it would take to do the job. Yeah, I think that's the way to go...

 
Rep Power: 418

Yeah, it's pretty beat up. Not from a couple months back, but from that first accident of mine. I think that is what is causing the problem. Then again, now that I think of it... Remember that one run-in I had with a curb in CT? That definately messed up the suspension a little. Although... I then got a new set of front shocks and struts from Sam (noname). I think I noticed that my alignment improved a little after that.

 
Rep Power: 309

yea i used those diagrams on my car when it got hit. just check all the measure points and that will give u an idea of whats wrong. a general rule of thumb is that if something is more than 3mm out of spec it needs to be fixed. i dont suggest trying to fix it yourself with hammers or something cus although it seems easy to figure out which way to twist back there is a reason frame guys are paid to be frame guys lol. yea frame work is expensive, youve gotta take the car down to bare frame (sheetmetal and plastics off) then roll it on and set up the machine then continuous measurements between setting up and pulling the frame. then put the car back together. you should just take a few measurements and see how much out of spec it is. then take it to a bunch of diff shops explaining to them the situation where work was not completed a long time ago but dont dictate to them whats wrong with it and what needs to be done, mechanics and body men alike hate when customers tell them whats wrong with the car because often times the professional will know right away whats wrong. good luck.