How To Find a Quality Collision Repair Shop?

[REWahoo]

Unibody design has saved countless lives when compared to the "good ole days" when the rigid frame would transfer impact to the occupants and in many cases impale them on the steering wheel or launch them out of the vehicle through the windshield. I get that we all drove them and love them, but what we have today is much safer for us and our children.

VW

+1

Last weekend my college freshman granddaughter was hit almost head-on by a driver running a red light. Totaled her Mazda SUV, destroying the front of the car and pushing the engine almost into the passenger compartment. Thanks to the car's design, seat belts and air bags, she got out with nothing more severe than bruises.

I'm helping her parents shop for a replacement - they want another CX5 since this one did such a great job. What a PITA the car market is for buyers today.

 

[MichaelB]

+1

Last weekend my college freshman granddaughter was hit almost head-on by a driver running a red light. Totaled her Mazda SUV, destroying the front of the car and pushing the engine almost into the passenger compartment. Thanks to the car's design, seat belts and air bags, she got out with nothing more severe than bruises.

I'm helping her parents shop for a replacement - they want another CX5 since this one did such a great job. What a PITA the car market is for buyers today.

Glad she’s unharmed.

 

[Midpack]

Airbag replacement gets very expensive. Now add in the parts and labor to repair the body/suspension damage and it is quite understandable that your car is a total.
If you really want to order a Tesla, just get a short term older used car (beater??) to bridge the time until new Tesla arrives. Less out of pocket to buy and you can always sell a lower cost running car easily.

Thanks. Though a Tesla Model Y was the car I planned to buy next, I’m not buying until they have 4680 batteries, one piece front and back castings and much better paint like Giga Texas will offer, and Fremont never will. And while I was ready to spend $60K a Model Y, my perspective has changed after watching a perfectly good car declared a total loss. I understand why, but not what I was expecting…

I am also gathering that two of us will be found at fault for the accident, failure to reduce speed to avoid a collision. Car #2 and Car #4 (me) were cited, Car #1 and Car #3 were not because they did not make contact (no damage at least) Car #0 (the stopped cars that left) or Car #2 respectively. The police report does not even mention the stopped cars, Car #1 or Car #2 Now I just need to figure out if I pay the fine and suffer the consequences, or hire an attorney - only to pay more to no benefit?

 

[Walt34]

Last weekend my college freshman granddaughter was hit almost head-on by a driver running a red light. Totaled her Mazda SUV, destroying the front of the car and pushing the engine almost into the passenger compartment. Thanks to the car's design, seat belts and air bags, she got out with nothing more severe than bruises.

Scenarios like that made a believer out of me for air bags, seat belts, and "crushable" construction over the years I was writing accident reports. I came on in 1973 and left patrol in late 1991. Early on, collisions like that would almost certainly have been fatal (and I saw several that were) or at least involve some severe injuries requiring weeks if not months of painful hospital time. And only rarely would the people fully recover.

And now what happened with your granddaughter is much more common instead of a rare miracle. It is not yet the expected outcome (the forces-of-impact numbers get pretty impressive so it's still a hard hit) but the odds are better than ever before.

Below is a head-on collision between a 1959 Chevy Impala and a 2009 Chevy Malibu done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The differences are stark:

 

[MC Rider]

Below is a head-on collision between a 1959 Chevy Impala and a 2009 Chevy Malibu done by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. The differences are stark:

No doubt. Yikes.


I never thought about stuff like that back when I had that '68? VW Bus. Good thing I never crashed it. Those had no front end whatsoever.

 

[turbo89]

Another vote for the dealership here. As a former mechanic, who has friends in auto body. Most insurance shops will do a good job, but they make a lot of there money by “fixing” things, that they really should be replacing.

It takes a trained eye to pick them up, and most of it is usually under the car. What this means is that a year or two after it’s fixed, random things start to fall off or get broken.

As “someone in the know”, I had this happen to me , when I got hit a few years ago. Now it’s too far out to get it repaired / file a claim, and I’m stuck paying out of pocket (or doing repairs) that should have been covered.

Count yourself lucky that it is being totaled!