TCL's opinion on car frame repair?

[BODH1]

I was recently involved in an accident, in which my car suffered minor roof damage, both C-pillars were crumpled inward from being rear ended.

The body shop estimated around $7000 in repairs, the other guy's insurance is paying for it. But they mentioned that the frame would likely need repairs. I knew that the C-pillars being crumpled showed obvious signs of frame damage, along with the roof damage too. I was expecting them to say it was totaled, but it wasn't, somehow.

Now the body shop mentioned that they may have to repair the frame.

Whats TCL's opinion on this? Should I sell the car? or is modern technology going to bring it back to factory spec?



There is damage to both sides C pillar, I guess that absorbed a lot of the damage.
















Sunroof got completely misaligned.

[renegadeofpunk03]

where is the damage to the c-pillars? i can't see anything in your pics, maybe i'm just blind

[BODH1]

where is the damage to the c-pillars? i can't see anything in your pics, maybe i'm just blind

You're right I didn't post them.

But they're both dented inward.

[Lwize]

"Frame damage" are among the two worst words you can hear about your car.

Can unibody frames be repaired? sure.
Will it ever be the same? no.

Disclosure rules upon selling can hurt worse. Keep the car a long time, so the related loss in resale value is minimized.

[RobMarkToo]

that freaking sucks man.. weird damage. How fast was that guy going you think when he hit you? 20-25?

[BODH1]

that freaking sucks man.. weird damage. How fast was that guy going you think when he hit you? 20-25?

I have no idea, he must have been going at least 20-25.

The body shop thinks that his car was under mine for a brief second and bounced back outward. The catback got mangled.

[BODH1]

Is there any way to convince or prove that the frame damage could not be repaired to the condition the car was in before the accident?

Someone told me to drive over a puddle and check to see if the tire tracks are at all different.

[71DubBugBug]

I have no idea, he must have been going at least 20-25.

The body shop thinks that his car was under mine for a brief second and bounced back outward. The catback got mangled.

that does sound like it, because your trunk lid seems to not have been touched.

only problem I have heard with frame damage is people only doing cosmetic work to cover it up, and the second owners finding out the hard way.

Might they find more damage when they take the bumper off, I assume its already been up in the air.

the wheels not being on the same track could also be suspension components

I have seen people weld two car halves together and it come out pristine, as if rolled off of the factory, but these are peoples projects, pride and joy



From personal experience, I was once in an accident, not frame damage, from what I was told, jump a curb, and slammed into a guard rail, destroyed the side fenders, and bumpers, it was a beetle, and tons of suspension work, they replaced all new parts, at a high end shop, and the thing never drove the same

[BODH1]

that does sound like it, because your trunk lid seems to not have been touched.

only problem I have heard with frame damage is people only doing cosmetic work to cover it up, and the second owners finding out the hard way.

Might they find more damage when they take the bumper off, I assume its already been up in the air.

the wheels not being on the same track could also be suspension components

I have seen people weld two car halves together and it come out pristine, as if rolled off of the factory, but these are peoples projects, pride and joy



From personal experience, I was once in an accident, not frame damage, from what I was told, jump a curb, and slammed into a guard rail, destroyed the side fenders, and bumpers, it was a beetle, and tons of suspension work, they replaced all new parts, at a high end shop, and the thing never drove the same

Man, this sucks. The accident happened on the 29th, estimated completion time: 19 working days. That's a whole car payment of paying for something I can't even use.

[DustinM]

This never ends well. 7k includes pulling, and replacing and repainting the quarters right? You're not supposed to section a C-pillar, you're supposed to replace the quarter up to the top of the door. That's what I-Car was pushing a few years ago at least.
Your car is going to be worth a LOT less. Go for diminished value before you decide to do anything.

[BODH1]

This never ends well. 7k includes pulling, and replacing and repainting the quarters right? You're not supposed to section a C-pillar, you're supposed to replace the quarter up to the top of the door. That's what I-Car was pushing a few years ago at least.
Your car is going to be worth a LOT less. Go for diminished value before you decide to do anything.

I asked my insurance company to consult about that, they said that diminished value is something that only works on really expensive cars, which I find hard to believe, because percentage wise, it makes more of a difference for a cheaper car than an expensive one.

[SVTDanny]

I would push to get money for the devaluation of your car, and then dump it as soon as you get it back. It will never drive the same, and you'll have a hell of a time selling that car for anything close to it's value with that on it's history.

[BODH1]

I would push to get money for the devaluation of your car, and then dump it as soon as you get it back. It will never drive the same, and you'll have a hell of a time selling that car for anything close to it's value with that on it's history.

Yeah, I think i'm going to try.

And they offered me $200 for my backpain. My doctor's visit cost me around a hundred bucks already.

I said to call me back on thursday with a real answer.

[patrickvr6]

"Frame damage" are among the two worst words you can hear about your car.

Can unibody frames be repaired? sure.
Will it ever be the same? no.

Disclosure rules upon selling can hurt worse. Keep the car a long time, so the related loss in resale value is minimized.

Do unibody frames exist? No.

[CSFiend]

hey, at least the guy who hit you was prepared with his 'CPR and First Aid' book in reach.

[BODH1]

Do unibody frames exist? No.

What?

[mike02467]

It should have been totalled.

[BODH1]

It should have been totalled.

Yeah, I let them start work on my car already. I'm going to take it to dealerships and get a trade in value and let the dealerships know what i'm trying to do.

I'll get the value, get the KBB value, present them both to the insurance company and tell them I want the difference.

Any reparation to the frame or unibody automatically puts the KBB value at fair, when otherwise it would be at excellent.

[snb3]

State of CA doesn't recognize diminished value.

Unibody repair can be done correctly (meaning truly putting it back to pre-accident state) but almost every shop in Socal (and elsewhere) doesn't invest in the proper equipment/training/skilled labor. I would choose a shop that will repair your car using a dedicated bench w/jig setup to correct the unibody conditions. You have movement in your unibody almost to the opposite end of the car, I would want it corrected using actual hard measuring & holding points a bench & jig setup will provide. Certified Audi/BMW/Benz repair shops will have this stuff & is required by them when changing parts of the unibody itself. If nothing welded is being changed, it might not be necessary & insd co's might not be willing to pay but if it was my car, that would be the only way I'd want any frame conditions to be addressed.

[BODH1]

State of CA doesn't recognize diminished value.

Unibody repair can be done correctly (meaning truly putting it back to pre-accident state) but almost every shop in Socal (and elsewhere) doesn't invest in the proper equipment/training/skilled labor. I would choose a shop that will repair your car using a dedicated bench w/jig setup to correct the unibody conditions. You have movement in your unibody almost to the opposite end of the car, I would want it corrected using actual hard measuring & holding points a bench & jig setup will provide. Certified Audi/BMW/Benz repair shops will have this stuff & is required by them when changing parts of the unibody itself. If nothing welded is being changed, it might not be necessary & insd co's might not be willing to pay but if it was my car, that would be the only way I'd want any frame conditions to be addressed.

Yeah, i thought I read somewhere about CA not recognizing it.

I took my car to the highest rated, most recommended body shop in the county.

I'm just hoping for the best.

[ReflexJettaVR6]

I wrecked my MK3 Jetta pretty bad a few years ago. I don't remember noticing any kinks in the roof or anything, but my doors didn't line up right. Pretty obvious frame damage because it was a front-end impact.

The one and only thing I can say the body shop repaired to a satisfactory condition, was the frame. After the accident, everything lined up correctly, the car tracked perfectly straight, no strange noises or anything of the sort. They did half ass the paint, glued my turn signals into the bumper (because the secondhand ones they used had broken tabs) and welded the motor mount to the frame, because the bolt was broken, but I drove the car for 4 years after the accident, and despite all the above corner-cutting, and even after tearing the car completely apart myself and rebuilding it, the frame was perfectly fine.

TL;DR: Depending on the body shop, your frame can be repaired, but they might half-ass everything else.

Here's a picture of the car after the accident, and before the repairs: