On a trip with my girlfriend, I ran over an unseen chunk of loose concrete and got a dreaded fast “thump.”

I pulled off to the side of the road, and noticed that the fender liner was damaged and rubbing against the wheel. I got a razor blade knife out and cut the plastic away so that it was no longer against the wheel and continued on my way (about 400 miles round trip).

I took my car to the dealership upon returning home to get the fender liner quoted, and they decided to give me a big quote for a new bumper cover, skid plate, air dam, and engine cradle to the tune of $5,000.

This is a pic they sent me me off the underside of the car; I’m not sure exactly “how bad” this is. Can someone offer an opinion on it?

The car still handles fine (no shudder, perf issues, etc). You wouldn’t know anything is damaged; I have a feeling the cradle has been scraped up for a while (Michigan roads are awful); not having looked at it and having a reference point for makes it hard to really gauge if this is really a problem or more dealer CYA.

Happy to share the quote. The body shop manager says the bumper cover is ripped and needs to be replaced. From the exterior, everything looks fine and the only thing noticeable is the fender liner missing if you look inside the passenger front wheel well.

2005 w/ 42k miles.

 

They want to replace the cradle for that scrape? Did they say it was cracked? If the only damage is what is obvious in this pic, I'd say it's only cosmetic.

 

I don’t think he said it was cracked—that was just a picture I got.

I suppose I could take it to a different shop? Seemed a bit excessive. I figure that they would sent the worst evidence?

 

My guess is they feel any rube that takes their Vette in for a fender liner quote will fall for the 5k repair.

 

He said rube

 

True enough.

i just don’t have a place to do it (live in a Condo). But, I did find concrete debris in the engine bay, so I know *something* happened—just wasn’t sure if this is “holy crap, there’s a risk of real structural damage,” “try to get a sucker to pay for anything,” or a “go buy some race ramps and walk it off” scenario.

I do have a reputable shop near me; I’ve just tried to have most of the maintenance on my Vert managed by the dealer and they’ve (mostly) been fine. This is really the first time I’ve questioned it.

 

They're not called "stealerships" for nothing! Those scrapes in the photo are nothing to be concerned about. If it bothers you, get under with a grinding wheel & clean it up. As for the fender liner, $64 on GM Parts Wholesale (https://www.wholesalegmpartsonline.com/), along with any other bits & pieces you may need, including the three sections of the front air dam. All are easily replaced. You might also consider a front end alignment at a good independent shop that has experience with Corvettes.....check with your local Corvette club for a recommendation.

 

Take it to a good frame shop/ alignment shop (not belle tire, lol) I use harolds frame shop in Novi. They will tell you if there’s any damage. The rest is cosmetic stuff.

 

So, picked it up from the dealer and threw it up on ramps. Seriously, that’s the “worst” of the engine cradle.

The skid plate, though. That is another story. Seems like the previous owner mangled it before and rigged it with some steel and bolts. It’s solid, but looks ghetto. I’ve never had problems with it and this is only the second time I’ve ever had it into the dealership the entire time I’ve owned it. I think I captured it about 1/2 way through the attached video. Should I dedicate time to replacing it, or is it more hassle than it’s worth as long as it’s solid?

I see part where the body shop manager said the bumper cover was “torn/broken.” Looks like one of the tabs got ripped off when I hit that piece of concrete and took out the fender liner. (Last 20 or so seconds of video).

For a 15 year old car, I’m thinking that I’ll just order the liner pieces and rig something with metal tape to give myself a solid fastening surface and call it a day. Does that sound like a viable solution? Or does that put me in the same class as “skid plate rigger?” Lol

Shame on me for not looking under the car before I took it in (since I just had it in for its 45k service 3k miles early, I was feeling lazy to see if I could get the dealer to be nice). Apparently, that was a poor choice on my part.

The video was about 65mb so it wouldn’t upload, but I’ve linked it here:


Appreciate everyone’s comments.

 

Just FYI, I had something similar happen that caused a gash scratch in the engine cradle and my insurance wanted to total the car Theres this idea that any frame damage on a corvette whatsoever is an instant replace.

^^To your question above, as long as its solid, I wouldnt worry. Your ghetto solution sounds just fine

 

Turn it in to your insurance company if the damage bothers you

 

I see nothing in that video to justify required replacement of the cradle, its not perfect, but far from trash. Check the alignment, inspect for cracks, and run it. Front Facia cover can be easily repaired on your own with a repair kit and its not visible from above. Replace the plastic underneath. It probably could have been saved also if it wasnt cut off , but just replace it now. By skid plate, are you referencing the radiator cradle? It looks rough, but as long as its not cracked or too bent just run it.

If the scrape scars on the cradles really bother you, its possible smooth it all out, but again, none of it is visible from above. This should be a few hundred $ repair + time at most if done DIY (and if you can tolerate the scars). Otherwise, go through insurance

 

I would not worry about it as others have said. (Although, I would check it now and then. IIRC aluminum does not fatigue but if the cradle is going to crack it should start in the sharp points of the scrape. ) Someone with more knowledge might want to comment here.

 

“Stealerships” - I had a ‘99 WS6 brand new and would take it to the Discount Tire by my apartment where the manager would always personally take care of the car and knew not to put it on their little quick jack. One day the Manager isn’t there but another kid who recognized me & the car & said don’t worry I’ll take care of it. Before I could get out there he put it on the quick jack & I just saw the driver’s rocker panel sticking out from the car.

They told me to take over to the Pontiac dealership for an estimate and they’d pay for the repairs. Stealership quoted over $2k in repairs. I didn’t feel right about that so I took it to another body shop I drove by and the guy gets under the car and says, well you can fix this for about the cost of $7 vice grips, but I’d charge ya $200 to put it on the lift and fix it. He showed me how nothing was broken just a tab was bent. Gently pull the tab back into place and bolt it back in & it pulled the rocker panel back in line.

That was 20 years ago and from the constant posts here, they’re still doing the same crap. Good thing you decided to ask for opinions and take a look yourself

 

A A A ron...not to throw more shade at you...why would you go to a dealer? They don't know any more about your Corvette than a good independent shop will. What they know is how to look at a $100 repair, and blow it into a $5000 repair. That is their knowledge base. This would be a really good time to build a good relationship with an independent shop. Ditch the dealer!

 

From the picture I see no real damage that would disrupt the integrity of the cradle. There are several products that can be used to defect cracks in aluminum. Magnaflux makes a two part spray due that will show aluminum cracks, there is also Zyglo which is widely used in the aircraft industry. I doubt the stealership envy knows these products exist. Search Aluminum Crack Detection for various products.

 

IMHO, if you ran over something that was capable of damaging the cradle beyond repair, you'd have far more damage farther back on the car.