Bodyshop says can fix cracked frame -- what???
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Bodyshop says can fix cracked frame -- what??? My wife's LX sedan was rearended in the stop-and-go traffic and pushed into a 4-Runner. Damage seems to be pretty bad, especially in the front.
I took the car to the Scott Robinson bodyshop in Torrance. (I kinda like doing maintanance there.) I get an estimate from the insurance guy, which includes the following item: "Pull and Square Unibody". I call the shop and ask them: "isn't it a safety risk to try to straiten the frame?". And they tell me "no problem, we even fix the unibody if there is a crack in it. Just cut the cracked part off and reweld a new one -- as good as in the factory. There is no frames now anyway, it's just a bunch of structure elements welded together!". I've never heard of fixing cracked frames. Is it legit? Has anybody else experienced something like this?
BTW, the estimate came to $7500 while the car's worth ~$10k now. And that's without opening the hood, which is in pretty bad shape, so the estimate will probably go up once the true extent of the damage is known.
I took the car to the Scott Robinson bodyshop in Torrance. (I kinda like doing maintanance there.) I get an estimate from the insurance guy, which includes the following item: "Pull and Square Unibody". I call the shop and ask them: "isn't it a safety risk to try to straiten the frame?". And they tell me "no problem, we even fix the unibody if there is a crack in it. Just cut the cracked part off and reweld a new one -- as good as in the factory. There is no frames now anyway, it's just a bunch of structure elements welded together!". I've never heard of fixing cracked frames. Is it legit? Has anybody else experienced something like this?
BTW, the estimate came to $7500 while the car's worth ~$10k now. And that's without opening the hood, which is in pretty bad shape, so the estimate will probably go up once the true extent of the damage is known.
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^^ a good body shop can actually fix the frame and make it better the it was stock...
The frame is just a bunch of panles spot welded together. what they do to fix it is they put the car on a frame bench, do a bunch of measurments, and then pull the frame back to where its suppose to be. Then, then cut off all the damaged parts, and replace them with new panles and spot weld them back in. Just like new.
Seriously, a good shop should be able to fix it better then new. (I know my dads place can).
The frame is just a bunch of panles spot welded together. what they do to fix it is they put the car on a frame bench, do a bunch of measurments, and then pull the frame back to where its suppose to be. Then, then cut off all the damaged parts, and replace them with new panles and spot weld them back in. Just like new.
Seriously, a good shop should be able to fix it better then new. (I know my dads place can).
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Rep Power: 584 dude, why are you so shocked? ANYTHING can be fixed, what matters is if its worth it for the insurance company to pay to fix or if the car is worth less than the fix cost.
if the shob is good, like zzyxx said, you should have nothign to worry about. but i would definitely not opt to cut costs and go w/ a less reputable shop because they might screw it up and not only will the car be less sturdy/safe, but it will probably also lose a bit of resale value.
if the shob is good, like zzyxx said, you should have nothign to worry about. but i would definitely not opt to cut costs and go w/ a less reputable shop because they might screw it up and not only will the car be less sturdy/safe, but it will probably also lose a bit of resale value.
How did you get thgat estimate without opening up the hood? If there is more damage on the inside then the total cost will be more than 80% of the value of the car and the ride will be labeled as a total loss. (you get the money that the insurance thinks your car is worth).
I wouldnt trust it BECAUSE there are no frames now. they can't possibly square up the unibody, and make it track down the road straight without doing all kinds of hell to your alighnmet, and probably having to screw with other suspenion parts. IMHO, it isn't worth it, and I would sue the guy who hit you, or at least get him to compinsate you for total loss of your car's value off what the insurance company gives you. so $10K - $7.5K = $2.5K (this is what he should pay you in that case)
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Rep Power: 0 Well, I'm not saying it can't be done, I'm saying that the car most likely will never be the same, especially if they pull and straighten the frame and such. I don't think it's possible to truly restore it to the original condition. I guess, my main goal here was to get the car declared a total loss by the insurance, so that I can get a new one, which I know will be fine and safe, rather than drive a questionable quality fixed wreck. However, I realize that it's out of my control. So thanks for the words of confidence for the bodyshop: it puts me at ease a little. 
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Rep Power: 320 that is fixable damage...it is trustable because i've done frame fixing like that...im taking an auto body frame class and we fixed a supra with almost exactly the same problem as ur car...it is costly damage but is repairable and will be safe after that...we had also done some repairs on an 02 civic lx which the front end is totally fuked with frame damage and everything...it is a common procedure but a costly one at that
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Rep Power: 0 i took my vic down an 50 foot hill and bent the ish out of my frame took it to mike rose auto body and the stretched and repaired my frame and it was better then new i traded it in this week and the dealer said it didnt even look repaired
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Rep Power: 0 Wife's OK mostly, thanks for asking... We are going through our insurance now since the guy behind her in a Saturn was uninsured. However, his car was insured by someone else, and hopefully, our insurance can get its money back from theirs, and we'll get back our deductible.
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Originally Posted by phatcyclist
they can't possibly square up the unibody,)
If the car's damage does exceed the 80% mark, it will be concidered a total. Now you do have an option in some states to buy the car back for a percentage, sometimes about 10% (say a grand in your case). Might be worth keeping to part out or get a Civic thats hit in the door or has some sort of damage that your car doesnt and just swap out parts (bad motor???). Ive done this a few time and made a killing on selling left over parts and selling whole vehicles. CarFax doesnt show everything
My family has been in the autobody business since the 60s and i have personally done frame and unibody repairs and customizing. Its not that difficult. Everything down to the fenders have adjustments built into them to compansate for irregularities during assembly and repairs. 7k in damages, thats scary for that hit. The pictures dont look bad. The quarter panel will come right out (obviously not like new, but the wrinkle will mostly come out)when they pull the rails as well as the floor. I doubt that the frame cracked anywhere, usually it may be stretched and rear rails can be replaced easily if they are that bad. the front rails are alot worst to replace and more critical. The other thing you can hit your insurance company with and they usually dont tell you is that you can collect on the loss of value because of the accident. The accident and the severity of it will decrease the RESALE value of your car. You CAN get dispute this with your insurance comapny and get reimbursed for the loss. Something to think about 
Last edited by lowzone; Sep 13, 2004 at 07:30 PM.
Originally Posted by lowzone
WHAT?!?!?! as long as the UNIBODY is within the factory specs, the car will be fine. Its all about WHO does the work, if they are any good. When the factory build the car bodies and unibody components, they are not 100% perfectly square. This is why the suspension parts have adjustments. If you hit a pot hole hard enough, you can knock the alignment out and tweak the unibody and NOT know it,except when the car pulls to one side abit. When you pay the guy at the alignment shop all he does is gets it within 1 or 2 degrees within spec. This isnt a F1 car.
If the car's damage does exceed the 80% mark, it will be concidered a total. Now you do have an option in some states to buy the car back for a percentage, sometimes about 10% (say a grand in your case). Might be worth keeping to part out or get a Civic thats hit in the door or has some sort of damage that your car doesnt and just swap out parts (bad motor???). Ive done this a few time and made a killing on selling left over parts and selling whole vehicles. CarFax doesnt show everything My family has been in the autobody business since the 60s and i have personally done frame and unibody repairs and customizing. Its not that difficult. Everything down to the fenders have adjustments built into them to compansate for irregularities during assembly and repairs. 7k in damages, thats scary for that hit. The pictures dont look bad. The quarter panel will come right out (obviously not like new, but the wrinkle will mostly come out)when they pull the rails as well as the floor. I doubt that the frame cracked anywhere, usually it may be stretched and rear rails can be replaced easily if they are that bad. the front rails are alot worst to replace and more critical. The other thing you can hit your insurance company with and they usually dont tell you is that you can collect on the loss of value because of the accident. The accident and the severity of it will decrease the RESALE value of your car. You CAN get dispute this with your insurance comapny and get reimbursed for the loss. Something to think about
If the car's damage does exceed the 80% mark, it will be concidered a total. Now you do have an option in some states to buy the car back for a percentage, sometimes about 10% (say a grand in your case). Might be worth keeping to part out or get a Civic thats hit in the door or has some sort of damage that your car doesnt and just swap out parts (bad motor???). Ive done this a few time and made a killing on selling left over parts and selling whole vehicles. CarFax doesnt show everything
My family has been in the autobody business since the 60s and i have personally done frame and unibody repairs and customizing. Its not that difficult. Everything down to the fenders have adjustments built into them to compansate for irregularities during assembly and repairs. 7k in damages, thats scary for that hit. The pictures dont look bad. The quarter panel will come right out (obviously not like new, but the wrinkle will mostly come out)when they pull the rails as well as the floor. I doubt that the frame cracked anywhere, usually it may be stretched and rear rails can be replaced easily if they are that bad. the front rails are alot worst to replace and more critical. The other thing you can hit your insurance company with and they usually dont tell you is that you can collect on the loss of value because of the accident. The accident and the severity of it will decrease the RESALE value of your car. You CAN get dispute this with your insurance comapny and get reimbursed for the loss. Something to think about Uh... If im not mistaken, the 7th gen civic doesnt exactly have anything to adjust, other than the front toe; That means, if anything else, (Like a thrust alighnment) is off, your car will never drive correctly.... It MIGHT be possible to square it up, but I would only let Honda technitians touch it if anything....
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Re: Bodyshop says can fix cracked frame -- what???
Take your Car to Jimmyzkustomz I had my car repair there and seriously i have no complain and it was done cheaper than others.
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