Is the C7 a disposable car if in a crash? It just might be.
10-20-2016, 01:40 PM
#1
Is the C7 a disposable car if in a crash? It just might be.
Do you remember the recent thread here where a member had been rear ended and the dealer took the car apart and cut the frame to weld in a new section? Then State Farm and the Lizard refused to pay for the repairs? Here is why. GM has not yet certified C7 frame repair procedures as being crash worthy or even road worthy after a frame repair. In fact there is no approved method to even repair the frame and this is why the work was stopped on that guys car. This may make the C7 non repairable if any frame damage happens in a crash.
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10-20-2016, 01:50 PM
#2
Work was stopped because they damaged the frame further after trying to re-weld the crash bar iirc.
Everybody was dumb in that situation.
Everybody was dumb in that situation.
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Gonzo (12-27-2016)
10-20-2016, 01:52 PM
#3
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That would suck but then again about 25 years ago not on a vette. A friend was getting his car repaired at a body shop and he was driving this car over a RR tracks. The car just almost broke into just behind the front seat. But what it did was just behind the seat went to the ground. No one was hurt I just 
10-20-2016, 01:54 PM
#4
Racer
I know that frames in some pickups get replaced because of damage. Perhaps the same thing will be true with C7 frames. I can see the cost of replacing the frame on a C7 reaching the level of a new C7, so perhaps it will be a throw away car. It seems like frame damage changes a car, no matter how much tweaking, bending and welding happens during the repair. So I would be okay with replacing the car instead of replacing or jury rigging a repair to the frame. I pay for insurance for those types of reasons, notwithstanding the legal requirements.
10-20-2016, 01:59 PM
#5
Exactly because it can't be repaired using current repair procedures and GM has none. Frame repairs on the C7 have NEVER been tested by GM for road worthiness hence a C7 with a repaired frame is not considered road worthy until GM certifies and tests the repair process as being safe. This is why the insurance companies won't pay for C7 frame repairs now. GM now has a TSB on this telling dealers not to repair C7 frames. This could put us all in a precarious position if the cars ever get hit. TSB 070898001B
Last edited by Corvette-Master; 10-20-2016 at 02:11 PM.
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Gonzo (12-27-2016)
10-20-2016, 02:05 PM
#6
That would suck but then again about 25 years ago not on a vette. A friend was getting his car repaired at a body shop and he was driving this car over a RR tracks. The car just almost broke into just behind the front seat. But what it did was just behind the seat went to the ground. No one was hurt I just
10-20-2016, 02:14 PM
#7
Exactly because it can't be repaired using current repair procedures and GM has none. Frame repairs on the C7 have NEVER been tested by GM for road worthiness hence a C7 with a repaired frame is not considered road worthy until GM certifies and tests the repair process as being safe. This is why the insurance companies won't pay for C7 frame repairs now. GM now has a TSB on this telling dealers not to repair C7 frames. This could put us all in a precarious position if the cars ever get hit.
It sounds as if insurance companies are playing catch-up on this car with regard to the cost of repair and what the premium should be. If this proves to be the case, the premiums on C7s will certainly go up substantially.
Last edited by Foosh; 10-20-2016 at 02:17 PM.
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Gonzo (12-27-2016)
10-20-2016, 02:22 PM
#8
How is it different than any other car, which can't be repaired? In that case, the insurance company is legally bound to declare the vehicle a total loss and pay the policy owner FMV. That is a slam dunk court case, which wouldn't even go to trial.
It sounds as if insurance companies are playing catch-up on this car with regard to the cost of repair and what the premium should be. If this proves to be the case, the premiums on C7s will certainly go up substantially.
It sounds as if insurance companies are playing catch-up on this car with regard to the cost of repair and what the premium should be. If this proves to be the case, the premiums on C7s will certainly go up substantially.
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Evan Sanza (11-23-2023)
10-20-2016, 02:23 PM
#9
Drifting
I don't read the TSB as saying frame repairs are not allowed: http://gm.oemdtc.com/2833/non-approv...ars-and-trucks
Exactly because it can't be repaired using current repair procedures and GM has none. Frame repairs on the C7 have NEVER been tested by GM for road worthiness hence a C7 with a repaired frame is not considered road worthy until GM certifies and tests the repair process as being safe. This is why the insurance companies won't pay for C7 frame repairs now. GM now has a TSB on this telling dealers not to repair C7 frames. This could put us all in a precarious position if the cars ever get hit. TSB 070898001B
10-20-2016, 02:24 PM
#10
Obviously, they are appealing the judge's decision. They will lose, but it may take some time.
10-20-2016, 02:27 PM
#11
Melting Slicks
This does not surprise me....when looking at the bare rolling chassis at the Chevy Engineering tent at Carlise, I noticed that large sections of the aluminum frame structure are castings, which makes me wonder about the crash worthiness of the C7, as compared to the steel frame-rails of the C5/C6. These aluminum castings will just shatter in a collision, and won't absorb as much energy as compared to deformation of a steel tube frame.
Last edited by ersatz928; 10-20-2016 at 02:29 PM.
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Gonzo (12-27-2016)
10-20-2016, 02:28 PM
#12
I don't read the TSB as saying frame repairs are not allowed: http://gm.oemdtc.com/2833/non-approv...ars-and-trucks
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Gonzo (12-27-2016)
10-20-2016, 02:31 PM
#13
This does not surprise me....when looking at the bare rolling chassis at the Chevy Engineering tent at Carlise, I noticed that large sections of the aluminum frame structure are castings, which makes me wonder about the crash worthiness of the C7, as compared to the steel frame-rails of the C5/C6. These aluminum castings will just shatter in a collision, and won't absorb as much energy as compared to deformation of a steel tube frame.
10-20-2016, 02:31 PM
#14
I don't read the TSB as saying frame repairs are not allowed: http://gm.oemdtc.com/2833/non-approv...ars-and-trucks
10-20-2016, 02:32 PM
#15
C6 frame TOTALLY different in construction of the C7 frame.
Last edited by Corvette-Master; 10-20-2016 at 02:37 PM.
10-20-2016, 02:38 PM
#16
Drifting
GM defines clipping in the TSB: "In the collision repair industry, “clipping” refers to cutting two damaged vehicles through the windshield pillars, the rocker panels, and across the floor pan and joining the undamaged portions from these vehicles to make the repair."
There may be other definitions but the above is what is being referred to in the TSB.
There may be other definitions but the above is what is being referred to in the TSB.
Last edited by Boiler_81; 10-20-2016 at 02:38 PM.
10-20-2016, 02:45 PM
#17
Yes, "clipping" is one means of frame repair, but it is not the only means.
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10-20-2016, 06:05 PM
#20
Advanced
I am an auto adjuster, and if the vehicle manufacturer/ICAR have instructions for sectioning a frame(what you are describing as clipping), then that is a valid repair.
To the statement that the frame is un-repairable and would total the vehicle, that comes down to dollars and cents. A new or used frame can be used, and generally runs about 25 hours of repair time and anywhere from 2k to 6k cost for the part. That is going to bring the repair to anywhere from 6-10k, and on a 40k car, its getting a new frame, and repaired(depending on what else is damaged)
To the statement that the frame is un-repairable and would total the vehicle, that comes down to dollars and cents. A new or used frame can be used, and generally runs about 25 hours of repair time and anywhere from 2k to 6k cost for the part. That is going to bring the repair to anywhere from 6-10k, and on a 40k car, its getting a new frame, and repaired(depending on what else is damaged)
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