I did not see “Body Shop Frame Machine” mentioned in the previous posts. Ask your body shop if they have one and can pull the body structure around the wheel back where it should be to the extent that the wheel can be aligned. If this was not done, unfortunately it should have before body repairs were completed. I had this done to a hobby car that got hit on one side in the rear so that the rear door would not close easily but I had no wheel alignment problem before or after the pull. It cost me about $600 and now the door closes like it should. My car, which I kept, was totaled by the insurance company and so they gave me the residual value of the car minus the salvage value if I recall.
Don’t take the comments here too hard. Its a pretty good bunch of folks actually but everyone has their particular views. It took me over ten years before I found out my son had put my Riviera in the ditch one night. They got a farmer to pull them out and no harm no foul. I hope he paid the farmer. I probably should have paid more attention to the weeds under the car at the time but never thought about it. Kids.
Like I said though, you are in pretty good so far and its hard not to throw good money after bad when you are in that far, but get it to a good frame shop to get a complete estimate on how much more it will take. Then you may find that it will always have some alignment quirks.
Thanks a bunch for all helpful comments so for.
To those who wrote un-helpful comments… Well, this is the internet, isn’t it? What else did I expect?
db4690 wrote:
Why they would hand the car back, when it's so obvious their job wasn't done, is quite beyond me
That’s what I’m trying to figure out. The shop appears to be competent and reputable. Why would they do this?
Wha Who wrote:
I did not see "Body Shop Frame Machine" mentioned in the previous posts.
I think I mentioned that at some point. The body shop has a frame machine and they tell me they already straightened the frame. They charged me $300 for that, over and above their quote for replacing the fender, door and steering parts.
I need to have a serious conversation with the body shop. Just trying to understand the situation as well as I can, so I’ll be well-prepared for our little talk.
To the OP, I apologize for the other assumptions. I only hope that you realize that talking about your son like that is not reflective of someone who cares. That was the part that upset me.
I honestly do not wish you bad vibes. But I do hope that the way you referred to your son is not the way you normally refer to him. The damage that can do is far less repairable than any car damage. My kids made mistakes too, but it would never ever occur to me ever call either of them an idiot. And if I ever did, I hope someone would smack me a good one. They’re both full grown adults now, my son’s a combat veteran, and both have healthy self-esteem.
For the record, if I hear a man calling his son an idiot I will not remain quiet, and will not apologize for speaking up.
As regards the car, if the wheel has been pushed 3/4" back, take the check and find a replacement. As OK4450 said, you have some serious damage.
There’s a lot involved when it comes to straightening a frame and if suspension parts are damaged no amount of frame straightening can fix that.
For what it’s worth anyway, the vast majority of body men are not mechanics. Suspension/steering components and so on are considered mechanical parts of a car so in many cases the guy who does body work to perfection and shoots flawless paint may not have a clue about what is damaged in the suspension, why, or even how to check it.
The fact they fixed the car and handed it back to you with one wheel 3/4 of an inch back reeks.
If you have a long tape measure you might get someone to help you and do the following check.
Measure from the back of the front wheel to the front of the back wheel on one side.
Repeat the process on the opposite side and compare the measurements. They should be very, very close. If not, this car is going to need beaucoup more work.
Humble_Taurus, it could be useful to know which alignment parameter(s) specification(s) is(are) not adjustable to within the factory tolerance so you can ask the people with the frame machine why they can’t bend or pull what needs to be bent or pulled to get what you need or if new sheet metal or new parts were needed to get a good repair, then why were these not done.
Another look by another body shop that has an alignment machine might be useful too. A second opinion for serious medical situations is good to have so why not for a car as well? Sometimes people are loath to admit that there is something that they don’t know or can’t do. Your body shop might be good but it is possible that you are bumping into their capability limit.
Art, every bodies insurance requires you report it. That’s not in question. If you read his post he only said he wasn’t filing a claim. Many people immediately inferred that to also mean he wasn’t reporting it. Two completely separate issues…