frame damage?

[3G]

On Saturday we got into a little fender bender (or so I thought it was). The vans steering got fucked up so we took it to a mechanic, he said nothings out of the ordinary it only needs an alignment. So today we took it for an alaignment and they told us it doesnt need one, the frame is damaged.

so my question is : Does frame damage write the vehicle off?

If it does write it off and the insurance gives you money, do they take the vehicle or keep it up to you to sell it?

Thanks

[ryder_23]

if its not split in two, i believe it can be fixed. Of course i feel its never the same after that...depends on how much your van is wroth and how much it costs to fix....they usually auction it off, and give you a certain value, black or blue book maybe, not sure

[3G]

Originally posted by ryder_23
if its not split in two, i believe it can be fixed. Of course i feel its never the same after that...depends on how much your van is wroth and how much it costs to fix....they usually auction it off, and give you a certain value, black or blue book maybe, not sure

Alright thanks. btw it's a 97 Caravan I'd say it's worth about $7000.

[1badPT]

Most cars are unibody anyways, so there are only a few parts that could be considered "frame" and if those are bent, the most basic part of the structure has been compromised. Yeah some places can fix it, but as has been pointed out, its never the same after that - most insurers write vehicles off in this situation simply because if they pay for a frame repair, they usually have a warranty claim come through right after when the owner of the car find that their car "drags" or "feels off".

[3G]

How much would a frame repair cost? And how long do you have to file a claim?

We thought it was minor and we really want to keep insurance out of it (so our rates don't go up).

[GTS Jeff]

it depends on how bent the frame is. if its not out too much, some shops can straighten it for u. if u want a quote, u should be calling the shops. as for it "never being the same again", i wouldnt worry about that since this is only a minivan were talking about and i doubt it would ever see any hard driving anyway.

[Redlyne_mr2]

A decent honest frame shop should only charge you about 250-300 dollars to pull the frame..some can do wicked jobs and basically restore the vehicle to how it was

[Barlow]

how hard did you hit??? if you didn;t hit hard then i higly doubt your frame is bent, if you did hit hard then yeah maybe.

[angierideswitme]

the mechanic and or alignment guy lied to you,

[hockeybronx]

You can bend the frame back if you want to and if it isn't damaged too badly.

Imperial Collision (on Deerfoot and 16th Ave) can do it for you. I know the manager there.

However you have to remember that any time metal is deformed and bent back it is weakened a considerable amount.

[3G]

Originally posted by Barlow
how hard did you hit??? if you didn;t hit hard then i higly doubt your frame is bent, if you did hit hard then yeah maybe.

We weren't going fast, it was icey and we slid. The other guy was going mayb 40-50+.


Originally posted by angierideswitme
the mechanic and or alignment guy lied to you,

Doubt it since they are friends of the family.

[3G]

Thanks for all the advice guys, but we dicided to go through insurance.