KingsHustleLA

Today I was on the freeway and some ******* cut me off, long story short he was half way into my lane when I hit him and the whole driver side of my front end from the middle of the car over tward the drivers side was pushed in, my radiator support is bent a few inches back and the driver's side front part of my subframe is bent down, do you think a body shop can repair that for no more than $2000-$2500? And does it sound like its for sure his fault? there wascars to the right and left of me and he was merging into my lane about 3 cars up and got half way in before I hit him, I tried to brake but there was not a chance, I was able to drive it home and the car didn't over heat although its leaking a little bit of radiator fluid somewhere on the radiator

DeltaElite121

If you pushed like that, chances are you've got some work ahead of you. A few INCHES of metal shifting = not a good sign.

You won't know how bad it is until you take it in for an estimate with a thorough inspection of how much structural damage was done.

Chevy86 IROC-Z

iTrader: (17)

WWWHHHAAATTTTT!!!!!!!! Oh man!!!!!! I cant believe you got hit!!!!! Today? Any pictures?

2007xl50

This is true, a few inches on a car is like miles to us. post some pix, but even then it need a full body shop inspection to see how bad it really is.

KingsHustleLA

...

KingsHustleLA

Dang so in other words it can go past 2 grand in just frame work alone pretty easily or is their any way I can be lucky & get the frame work done within a $2,000 budget? I can get the bumper, fender & hood from a junk yard & have it painted that's now what i'm worried about, i'm just worried about the sub frame being bend back, it's the driver's side that holds the bumper support, it's bent down & like a I said my radiator support is pushed back.

i'll take some pics in a bit, my camera sucks so i'll use my friends camera when he gets here & post them

grngryoutmyway

iTrader: (1)

It is hard to tell without looking at it in person, let alone without pictures. If it is just the rad support and the front of the sub frame rail I would think that would be under $2k in labor. If there is further damage back and they have to pull suspension etc it could go over.. also depends on the rate and the shop you take it to.

If it helps this was my car I just had repaired. I took it in stripped down (no labor to dismantle) with all the parts and it ran $600, that is just frame labor, nothing else. They pulled the fender rails over about an inch, cut off the old fender horns, squeezed out a small bend right behind the frame rail on one of the sides and welded on a new impact bar with fender rails attached that I supplied.

IROCmenace

iTrader: (1)

If you do like the last poster said you should be ok. As far as fault, based on what you are saying you had control of the lane. The issues you could run into are the rate of closure. You can't prove speed of either vehicle without a certified radar gun capturing the data and it being on the police report, regardless of what his company says. But if he had someone like Allstate, they will find fault with anyone to lower their liability exposure to negotiate in subrogation/arbitration. The good thing about the impact is it is mainly the driverside. This helps prove he came into your lane. Just stick to your guns that you tried to stop but with cars on each side of you there was nothing you could do to avoid the accident. He had the duty to make a safe lane change and didn't. You had a duty to try and avoid the accident which you tried. But for him coming into your lane the accident wouldn't have happenned.

TTOP350

iTrader: (8)

Who got the ticket?
Did you get ins information from them??
If he hit you, it should be his INS that pays to fix your car, not you scrounging to find and fix your own car.
I"m not sure how it works out there buuuuut I know what would happen if I got nailed.

KingsHustleLA

;ll

KingsHustleLA

This is the part o(Driver's side where it bolts onto the front bumper support)

IROCmenace

iTrader: (1)

That blows. Best thing to do is have a body shop check the alignment on the subframe. That frame horn might be able to be pulled out. Depends on how many hours it would take to pull that horn out. Around here setup and measure is about 55 an hour. Then mechanical labor is about 60 an hour at a body shop.

If the insurance company states it is a totalled ask them about owner retention. And if you have to have the title branded a salvaged vehicle or not. In TN we do not once they reach a certain age.

Gregs_GSXR

fixable

KingsHustleLA

I see, I just got back from a body shop in Inglewood the guy said $1,500 for the labor including paint if I supply the parts, Radiator support, front bumper, driver's side fender, hood etc.

It has a clean title right now, if the insurance wants to salvage it I will just pay for it out of my own pocket.

Question, my friend said if it was to get fixed and crashed again that part probably wouldn't hold up, I don't expect to crash it again but would I be able to have other pieces of metal welded onto it to make it stronger & if not do you have any suggestions on making that piece more stable??

KingsHustleLA

Sh*t i'm really glad to hear that. I have an ls1 in my garage that's almost ready to go in it.

B4C5.7

iTrader: (2)

Frame rail is kinked and is toast. Will need to be replaced/sectioned according to ICAR standards with an undamaged part. IF you pull and heat that rail it will fold up like a soda can in the next wreck. It has done its job and needs to be replaced.

IROCmenace

iTrader: (1)

Metal has "memory". It "wants" to go back to it's original form. I know your concern of the hole bend a paper clip so many times thing. If strength is a concern they can always weld some stock plate across the repair. I will say when I punched in the nose on my old formula the horn flange was bent. I formed it back and it was pretty stout metal. Another thing to consider is the disipation of energy. Every part that crushes is bleeding energy. So even IF the frame in that area was weaker the other parts would have the same strength these parts did before this impact. Once all the parts are off the shop can give you a real idea if it can be repaired or needs to be cut and another welded in it's place.

I know manufacturers plan for these kind of things, at least these days. They have factory standards on frame repair that most good shops will follow. $1500 is a good price. These days if you can feel a scratch in the paint is is usually about $400-500 to fix at the least. At least for insurance companies. Plus you bringing the parts gives you the ability to know what condition it was in before they put it in. I, like you and the most of us, am pretty **** about what goes on my car.

IROCmenace

iTrader: (1)

When he says ICAR he means this:

http://www.i-car.com/html_pages/tech...nquiries.shtml

Good info in there. Just my opinion but if it was my car I would not want them to cut off the original structure. Again, that is for me. Everyone is different.

lmidden

the part that the bumper support bolts to you would get with the rad support. with cutting off pieces its all about were you cut and weld new pieces on. and welds are normally stronger then sheet metal

KingsHustleLA

So pretty much you guys are saying to cut that whole bent piece off and weld a new one on? How much harder/more money would that be? can any body shop just do that?

lmidden

most of it could probably be pulled back out on the frame table and the rest would have to be cut out and new welded in

KingsHustleLA

Well he said he was going to bend back the sub frame piece that's bent then cut out the radiator support and weld in a new one, my concern is if there's something I can add to the subframe piece to strengthen it or if its about the same price to weld off that one and weld on a new one if its possible or worth it?

lmidden

it would probably be cheaper to bend the original back one way you can make sure its strong is were the accual bends that happened were you could have plates welded over it to give it additional strength

KingsHustleLA

Alright cool so that would work then, I thought after I have it bent back I could have a couple long plates that go over the bend completely into where it didn't get bent and have them welded on & that would help out. does that sound like it would do the trick??

lmidden

yea that should work fine.ive done stuff to like that to repair trailers and they have come out stronger then originally

KingsHustleLA

Alright cool thanks for the help man I really appreciate it ohh one question, is there a certain type of metal I can have welded on that would be stronger? I don't know if there's a certain metal that would be ideal to use, I also work at a heat treating plant so I dunno if theres some kind of heat treated stell that wuld work or if heat treated metal could be welded on? Sorry if that spunds dumb just trying to see all my options.

Gregs_GSXR

just don't weld too thick of metal bracing, you also need to keep in mind, that cars are suppose to crumple to absorb most of the energy. Adding some extra bracing wont hurt anything. Im just saying dont add 1/4" plate steel or anything lol

Have the body shop pull it on a frame rack and you'll be surprised what it will come out as.

Johnny Blaze

iTrader: (15)

Was there a police report?

Did you get insurance info?

All you should have to worry about is a deductible, you had insurance, right?

KingsHustleLA

Lol yeah I get what you're saying thanks for the info! I just love my car to death & anything I can do to help it out i'll try my best to get it done lol

KingsHustleLA

Yeah CHP came 10 minutes later & got the report down, yes I only have liability though so I'm hoping everything comes out good and his insurance shoots some money my way.

plum92_camaro

It pains me to see such a beautiful car hurt! but i agree it looks fixable. A GOOD body shop should be able to pull and repair that. Maybe a few pieces no thicker than what is there could be added to "bulk up" the stressed areas.

Biggest thing i wanted to say is BE CAREFUL DEALING WITH THEIR INSURANCE COMPANY!!! Don't settle or accept a check. Tell them that you will take it to a body shop of your choice and they can pay the bill when its fixed properly. Most insurance companies just want to cut you a check for their estimate of damages and that can leave you hanging. Another option is to have his insurance company go through your insurance agent and let your agent know exactly what you want so they can protect you from the other insurance company.

91 zeee

ok; you've gotta a really nice car there. I would do the repair the right way while you have the car apart.
You do not want to straighten a part that needs to be replaced and then 'strengthen it' by welding on extra metal. 2 reasons for that...1) it is a short cut and makes it very obvious your car has been in an accident and 2) GM designed 'crumple zones' into the car. I cannot tell for sure which part this is or if it is at a crumple zone; but, either way, when this part crumpled it either saved other parts of the car from having more damage or was to help save the occupants of the car from more injury. If you 'strengthen it' by welding on more metal it can no longer do it's job as GM intended. It did this time, but it won't if there is a next time.
That part does not look like a cosmetic part (i'd me nore inclined to repair it if it was). It was designed to support other parts of the car AND absorb impact. Don't take a chance...fix it right while the car is apart.

KingsHustleLA

Thanks! I see what you mean, my only worry is if they will want to salvage it since it's an old car & to them it probably isn't worth anything. If the other insurance company tries to do that I wouldn't accept the money, id rather pay out of my pocket then let them do that. Do you have any suggestions in how to get the money from them without them doing that if that ends up being the case?

KingsHustleLA

Yeah I understand what you're saying, damn didn't think about that. It's bent where the subframe bolts up to the front bumper support bar on the drivers side. If you go under a 3rd gen under the driver's side you can see 4 bolts holding the front bumper support to the sub frame, which is where mine is bent. What would you say is the correct way to fix it?

mjdavis68

iTrader: (1)

+1

91 zeee

It looks like a bracket to me rather than the actual lower rail. If that is the case I'd replace the bracket. I'll look under mine tomorrow so I can see what I am looking at in the picture.

B4C5.7

iTrader: (2)

Listen to 91 Zeeee, he is accurate and on target. That frame rail has done it's job and must be replaced. GM spends millions on developing frame rails that crush to absorb energy, so the enrgy is not transmitted to the passenger compartment, i.e. your body. They are not meant to be repaired if they kink. If they only bend you can repair them, but believe me, that left rail is kinked.

Blue1990camaro

iTrader: (1)

easily fixable, seen ALOT worse fixed. take it to a GOOD BODY SHOP and let them handle EVERYTHING as far as repairs THEIR way, thats what i did, and youd never even know it was hit...

grngryoutmyway

iTrader: (1)

Get in touch with your agent and get them arguing with the other insurance company. If the other party was cited it is their insurance companys responciblity to make it right with you. No doubt the will TRY to total the car out, but it is up to you and your insurance agent to keep them from doing that and get you a check and/or pay a body shop to repair it. If you can get them to foot the bill I would just take it into a good shop and let them do everything, that way you don't have to worry about it.

BlackMamba

iTrader: (6)

This will never happen if you would of bought LS1 brakes instead of LS1 engine

Well just gotta wait and see what happens to Roxy
Make sure she's put back right

2007xl50

Also if they did try to total it you can argue the offer as well, i did that on an old Ranger i had that got rear ended and totaled, but keep that car, it looks nice.

KingsHustleLA

Alright thanks, so if its the bracket does it bolt on & off from somewhere or does it have to be cut & welded?

KingsHustleLA

Yeah it's for sure kinked but what is the best way to replace it?

KingsHustleLA

Yeah if I can get it done at a good body shop for $2,000 I'll be down but if its 3 or 4 grand I might just keep asking around and see what I can find

KingsHustleLA

I already have LS1 brakes on the back Valentin, you of all people know that since you helped me put them on & i'm going with those 5th gen SS brembos.

KingsHustleLA

Yeah I need to call them and see what's going on but if they try to total it they can go f*** themselves. I don't care if they gave me 5 or 6 grand I wouldn't let that happen

KingsHustleLA

Yeah I know but I aint letting them total my car no ifs ands or butss about it, that car means too much for me to let my pink slip say "salvaged"

IROCmenace

iTrader: (1)

Just to clear up some insurance things here to try and help you out so you have real expectations.

Agents - sell products. They do not handle claims. They cannot act as an attorney for you and argue with the other company on your behalf. Sure they can call and complain but the claim rep for the other company owes them nothing as they are not a customer and the accident didn't happen to them. Sometimes them calling can make things worse. But I am sure they would call you back and tell you all the great arguing they did on your behalf and then try to sell you a life policy.


Totalling a car - In TN if the cost to repair a car is 75% or more than the cars total worth then they have to brand the title which is "totalling". If it is older than 10 years they no longer have to brand the title but the 75% mark still is standard. They will not pay you more than 100% of the cars total worth. You can do an internet search for titling standards in CA to see what they do.

Value - Every company has a standard. Some use NADA, some use Mitchell or others.
Rarely does anyone use Kelly Blue Book.
If you don't like the offer you can request the company to do a "market search" That can hurt as well as help. Submit receipts for what you did to the car to help your arguement.
Your car is special to you as mine is to me. But when it boils down to it has a value not unlike other vehicles in it's class.

You catch more flies with sugar.... carry yourself well with the other company and you will get farther. Remember you are dealing with human beings.

seiplentz

iTrader: (2)

That blows!! That car is is totally fixable!! I just hope the insurance company doesnt try to total it because blue book says the car isnt worth much and thats what they usually go by.

I have my car insured for 15k gives them more of a reason to fix it..

IROCgiraffe

iTrader: (3)

A regular insurance policy is going to Total that car, unless you have your own Collision coverage with an agreed value. These cars are plentiful, and appear to be fairly easy to repair/rebuild. Keep in mind, if structure is damage, depending on how badly it is bent/kinked, it makes sense to properly replace the damage area/component as the integrity of the metal in the affected area has been compromised.