I've read several posts where a Vette (or other car for that matter) was in an accident and the person spoke of frame damage. This might be an incredibly stupid question but I truly don't know the answer. Why don't the body shops replace the frame? Is it the cost and/or labor involved? Can you not buy replacement frame? Any answers appreciated.

 

Well, you would have to R&R the body, suspension, drivetrain, etc. Essentialy taking the entire car apart. Ive ALMOST never seen this done. Ive seen it once on a late model truck, it was 2 weeks old and the retail was near 50k...so "i guess" it was cost effective in that case.

 

Frame damage is a tricky subject.

Let's address the three major frame designs:

1) Body on frame - this is easy, it is possible to replace the frame. C1-C3 Corvettes were this way, so are many of the current trucks and Crown Victoria sedans.

2) Uni-body - this is a pain. The frame is the body. In this case, they have to bend the body back to straight and replace bad panels. my biggest fear here is if the same area is hit hard again, the metal has lost its ability to absorb the impact correctly.

3) Monocoque or Semi-monocoque. The C4 is a kluge of monocoque and unibody. If the front gets hit hard enough, the exposed frame rails are liable to be seriously damaged, and the labour is killer to get to them to repair.

In short, frame damage is the worst thing that can happen. It causes weakness in the existing structure, extreme tire wear and is very expensive to fix.

a girl a dated back in the 90s had a miata. it was rear ended, summer of 98. I still don't know why they repaired it. But, they put it on a frame alignment machine and repaired the entire rear third. It never did feel right... not the shops fault, the insurance company was cheap.

 

Most insurance companies will only pay 85% of the vehicles determined value for repairs.

For example, if the vehicles value is determined by the insurance company to be worth $10,000 they will only pay a maximum of $8,500 to have the vehicle repaired.

The cost to have a frame straightened and also, all the body work, materials and labor that goes with it would be well over the $8,500.

 

[QUOTE=GKK]Most insurance companies will only pay 85% of the vehicles determined value for repairs.

This is the best reason to have " Gap " insurance if you are financing your vehicle. It pays the difference between what the insurance company pays, & what you actualy owe on the loan, so you are not left holding the empty bag.

 

good idea! It has happened to many a person...

In Vette, they were redoing an early C4. Did quite a lot of work to it when some moron ran a light and hit the front. The damage didn't look to bad, but the front was toast. They got an estimate of $20k to rebuild the front end, with the associated frame damage. So it was totaled.

As it stands, and early C4 is done for with a rather minor front end shunt. Think of it this way, take a 1988 coupe, worth about $8k max, and it gets hit in the front. No frame damage. However, lets say this is the laundry list of repairs:

** radiator
** condenser
** hood
** front bumper cover
** front bumper structure
** a headlite assembly
** wheel
** tire
** marker light
** fog light
** air dam
** misc fasteners
** paint/prep/labour/etc

That repair is $6000.00, with hope nothing else is wrong.

 

Another issue with frame damage is that some insurers misrepresent the necessary time to make correct and accurate repairs. The fact is some short change and limit how much they will pay on the frame damage without so much as even looking at the undercarriage. Technicians that focus on reducing the amount of time spent on repairs to gain more billable hours compounds the problem further. The average consumer is likely to be blind to issues of inaccurate repairs. Frame damage will likely diminish the value of any repaired unit.

 

The last Corvette that I rebuilt that had frame damage was a 74 coupe.
This was "back in the daze" before the "salvage title". The car had 50k miles and every option. In 1982 I paid $3000.00 for the car.

I bought a used front end well half of a used front end from the middle of left front fender, to just before the middle of the other fender.
Also a used facia and one new headlight housing.

I didn't notice that the frame was short till I put the new front end on.
The right front wheel was short about 1". I took the car back to the shop where I bought it and had the frame pulled. Cost was $350.00

The car turned out beautiful, great driver, it had new tires, complete new paint Yellow, wet sanded and polished. C-3's most always bent just behind the wheel where the frame goes under the cowl.

I drove for about a year and then sold it for $5,500.
You can't make money on rebuilding totals but it will get you into a car that you otherwise couldn't afford.

A frame that is hit straight on isn't so bad to get straight but if its a diagonal hit its a lot harder.

Todays laser guided frame machines are works of wonder and they do a very good job.

As far as replacing the frame its just to costly.
You could do it yourself and it wouldn't matter how long it took, but its a really time consuming tedious job.

When I worked in the truck shop we replaced the frame rails on Peterbilts, but the frames are just rails with bolted in cross members.

Multiple $65.00 an hour x 100 hrs.

 

"Todays laser guided frame machines are works of wonder and they do a very good job."

A Car-O-Liner, I think it is. I've seen this used before, it's great. It dials in 40 to 50 points all over the frame (depends on model of car), won't stop beeping at the test points until the frame is pulled within spec. Some car dealers use them to check frames on used cars.

You can buy & replace a frame,. A pickup frame can run about $2600 based on 2003 Ford F-150, one year ago, don't know if that was a discounted unit or not. But, the labor involved may not be worth it. It's a lot of work to strip anything down to the frame.