Hi there,

Can anyone tell me the part number of the area circled and if it is structural? (I assume so), I have looked online but can’t find the precise part.

Thanks,

AMV8

 

Is it the floor panel number 2 cross bar? #2 in parts diagram?

 

Thank you. I think it might be too. However, on the underside of the part, there are four screw holes and two tie-down holes that are not shown here. Assuming it is that part, how difficult / costly would it be to replace?

 

Structural and yes not an easy replacement. That part and the pans will be bonded together and held with flow screws.

 

Thanks - very helpful.

 

Any thoughts on the cost?

 

I think you may have to ask a dealer about this. I checked a couple of parts sites and they said discontinued, so no price. They usually are replaced with a new part number, but not this time.

 

Thanks - I can find the part between $45 and 60, some still have in stock. It is more about an idea of the labour cost.

 

Are you rebuilding a wrecked one? What's the reason for replacing it? The part is cheap but getting it is another story only a certified shop in the Cadillac network will be able to order it unless you find one on eBay. After looking at it closer it's very possible you can't get that out without removing the floor pans or possiblity the side rail. There's a lot of time into replacing that piece and it will probably be hard to find a shop to do it.

 

I think so. Here are steps 8 and 9 from the replacement procedure.
8. Remove all related panels and components.
9. Remove front floor panel. Front Floor Panel Replacement

 

Definitely not an easy replacement. The unfortunate part is it's really hard to separate the panel bond from the panels. Odds are you will also wreck the floor pans in the process of separating them from the aluminum structure. Believe me I've spent hours trying to salvage parts that can't be bought due to the restrictions and it's really frustrating only to crack one after several hours.

 

Nope, the reality is that I rented one and I may be asked to pay for the replacement of the part. It has been claimed I damaged it during the rental. I do not recall any incidents and if I knew I had done it I'd just pay. I have wracked my brains to consider whether there was any circumstance where it may have been me and I just cannot imagine how it could have been damaged whilst I was driving it, on a speed bump or otherwise. I've seen a picture and there is no damage around it except an indent in the metal. It looks to me like a jack has been used on it with someone maybe trying to use the hole there mistakenly as a jacking point and it slipping (and the car doesn't have a jack and neither do I). Personally I've got a Porsche 992 GTS with lowered suspension and I am super-paranoid about scraping the nose. I drove the C8 in the same way I drive mine. Prior to this I had a 991 with lowered suspension - I've never scraped the bottom in 6 years and 40K miles. See pictures below. The damage that has been attributed to me is only to the cross-member. The other scrapes on the paint are all pre-existing and not attributed to me, which is another reason I am confused as they are above the apparent dent on the cross-member. If it wasn't something like a jacking error, the car would have had to had been dropped onto a protruding item and it would have made a much bigger mess getting it off! It has been really useful to get an understanding of what it might take to solve.

 

Thank you for this insight. Based on what I can see, personally I'd be minded to leave well alone. I've looked at some of the rebuild videos on youtube and I didnt realise there was such complexity and that level of panel bonding. The plus side of this issue is I have learned so much about the C8.

 

So did the rental company provide you with an estimate of the "damage". What was their estimate?

 

The cure could be worse than the disease if that piece is replaced. Does the rental company have "before" pictures to show it was undamaged prior to you renting it?

 

it was a booking using a company called Turo, which is a peer-to-peer rental service. I didn’t meet the owner and the handover is all done via an app, where you upload pictures at pick up / drop off. The car was parked in an airport car park. I took comprehensive pictures of the outside and inside of the car before / after. A representative of the owner checked the car about 50m after I dropped it off and uploaded their pictures. Ten minutes later the owner messaged me, told me there was damage, sent these pictures of the underside, and said it would be $890 to fix if I paid him direct and then or $2500 or more if Turo organised it.

 

if it were my car, I 100% agree, having watched some of those YouTube videos that show the heat gunning, then pulling the panels apart.

The owner has only uploaded underside damage photos of the “after” so far, although they did upload photos of the rest of the car prior to pick up as they are required to. Of the whole car they took 12 pictures before and 63 after.

I did not take pictures of the underside of the car. It didn’t cross my mind to get on my hand and knees and slide the camera under the car!

I am at the mercy of Turo now, so we will see what they say, based on the evidence.

 

Interesting that the owner contacts you directly, and asks you to pay directly. And says less than half if you pay directly. How does that even make sense? Is there even a legitimate body shop estimate?

 

Absolute BS. There is no authorized shop that will replace that for that amount. That part is resistance welded, panel bonded, and sandwiched between composite floor pans. The labor to replace that piece is very high. Sounds like the Turo renter is just trying to get some extra cash from previous damage.

 

I have learned (since) that Turo actually encourages what they call the Host (the owner) to come to an agreement with the Guest (the driver, or me in this case). No there isn't a legitimate body shop quote as yet. The process is that now the Host has to go away and get one. I now understand that the way Turo operates is that it basically distances itself from any liability, by providing the platform to enable peer-to-peer rental, and offers separate "protection plans" but not insurance (because that would attract regulatory responsibilities) to both the Host and the Guest. If there is damage, the Host / Guest can agree a settlement rather than claiming on either protection plan. In this case, I assume the Host would claim from Turo under his protection plan. If I were liable under my agreement, but I have a protection plan which limits my liability to $3000. I have since identified that basically it is set up so if any damage occurs, it is heavily weighted towards the Host. There are many horror stories online of people being pursued for very minor damage, e.g. paying to replace internal panels for scuffs you would have on any car. Turo also shares which protection plan you have with the host hence the host knows your risk. Interestingly, and I think this is the most important fact, the Host is not covered for underside damage under the fine print of the Turo protection plan he has. However, if I felt that I had caused that damage because the evidence supported that conclusion, I'd compensate him. I've been trying to find out the facts accordingly.

So far, from the picture, I'd lean towards someone has tried to jack the car up on the cross-member prior to my booking, i.e. that something has been lifted up underneath it. Its a weird indent with no scratches around it to have been made by something in the road. For the road or a kerb to have made an indent like that I'd think it would be surrounded by scrapes and other damage.