Help? Got rear-ended!

[TheVin]

Stay with me folks, I promise this is a tech topic, it just needs set-up.

Well, my specially ordered every-option 2008 black GT mustang dream car got rear ended the other night by a teenage girl driving her pappys 40k Audi. The Good news is the Audi was likely totaled and my Stang drove home. Only have owned the thing for 4 months.

Oh well. 'Dark Matter' happens.

But I found out yesterday that there is some 'minor' damage to the frame. They say they are going to have to 'pull' it. Now I am a good driver and have not been involved with a major collision for 20 years, and back then I drove a piece of junk I didn't care about.

Now my question is, and the whole reason this is on tech- is will this car still handle as nicely as it did when they finish bending the frame back? IE, will I have lost some structural rigidity? Ideally I'd like a response from folks who have either been on the track and needed 'a little work done' after a smash up

Also, an aside: Like I said, I have not been in an accident of any account in 20 years- what will this do to the resale value of my car?

Vin

 

[anthony05gt]

The way the new bodies are constructed you shouldn't have anything to worry about. It's extremely easy to weld in whole sections of the unibody and leave nothing more than a few grinder marks on the welded seams. I wouldn't worry, just make sure it's at a competent shop.

 

[bigcat]

with carfax, it will hurt your resale. people are scared of cars that have had collision damage, even if it was properly repaired. more than likely, your rear floor rails are tweaked. should be a fairly easy fix for a good shop. check out this car i repaired about 2 years ago....
reverse order. fixed to damaged....
View attachment 329361 View attachment 329362 View attachment 329363
View attachment 329364 View attachment 329365 View attachment 329366
View attachment 329367 View attachment 329368 View attachment 329369
View attachment 329370 View attachment 329371 View attachment 329372
View attachment 329373 View attachment 329374 View attachment 329375 View attachment 329376
View attachment 329377 View attachment 329378 View attachment 329379 View attachment 329380
View attachment 329381 View attachment 329382 View attachment 329383 View attachment 329384
View attachment 329385 View attachment 329386 View attachment 329387
View attachment 329388 View attachment 329389
View attachment 329390 View attachment 329391 View attachment 329392 View attachment 329393
View attachment 329394 View attachment 329395

 

[TheVin]

The way the new bodies are constructed you shouldn't have anything to worry about. It's extremely easy to weld in whole sections of the unibody and leave nothing more than a few grinder marks on the welded seams. I wouldn't worry, just make sure it's at a competent shop.

Hey- thanks. That really sets my mind at ease. I think there was one area where the guy was talking about welding in sections- under the trunk. It makes sense that welding in new metal will be just as good as original, and you don;t have to worry about loss of rigidity from fatigue.

Vin

 

[TheVin]

with carfax, it will hurt your resale. people are scared of cars that have had collision damage, even if it was properly repaired. more than likely, your rear floor rails are tweaked. should be a fairly easy fix for a good shop. check out this car i repaired about 2 years ago....
reverse order. fixed to damaged....
View attachment 329359 [/URL] View attachment 329360

I think my damage may be a bit more severe. The floor of the trunk is completely buckled up, there are dimpled welds all over the rear end, and there is _minor_ warping on the side pillar behind the door.

The guy who is working on it runs the body shop at the dealer. The dumbass 'cleanup' crew at my dealer wiped it down after a service with some dirty rags and scratched the paint pretty badly (like not just spider-webbing all over, but deep scratches in 4-5 places) a month or so ago. He stepped in and repaired the damage and polished the whole car free of charge. I swear it looked better than when I bought it- like show-car quality. The reason I am going back to him is he obviously (a) obviously takes deep pride in his work and (b) has demonstrated skill. Those are rare these days.

Plus, he used to be a programmer like me, but decided he liked working on cars enough to take a pay cut to spend his life working on them. I know what it takes to be a good code jockey and how lucrative it can be, so mad props to him for being able to cut it as a programmer but also know when to walk away because he likes something else enough. Thats the mark of a natural craftsman. Lets say I've contemplated that step but with Old Houses and not cars.

Anyway, lots of OT, but I have faith in the guy I'm taking it to. Rare to find trustworthy people these days.



Vin

 

[o0Dan0o]

As far as rigidity, if the work is done right and well it shouldn't be an issue even for a track car. Grand Am cup cars can get pretty banged up and they repair them except in the most sever cases.

But the thing is, for a 4 month old car, you could try and push the insurance company to replace it. It will hurt your resale and you have a right to a car as good as before the accident. Though it may be more hassle than what its worth.
Dan

 

[anthony05gt]

Carfax will definitely hurt the resale, but most people don't get a Carfax report. All I can really say for sure is the car should be in tip top condition when you get it back. Good luck with it.

 

[bigcat]

I think my damage may be a bit more severe. The floor of the trunk is completely buckled up, there are dimpled welds all over the rear end, and there is _minor_ warping on the side pillar behind the door.

i just used that car as an example of how it could turn out with a quality repair. that cars estimate came in at $700, but turned out to be $6000 worth of damage!!

if you can, post pics of the damage. if this guy is as good as you say, should be a cakewalk for him to fix it right.

 

[TheVin]

i just used that car as an example of how it could turn out with a quality repair. that cars estimate came in at $700, but turned out to be $6000 worth of damage!!

if you can, post pics of the damage. if this guy is as good as you say, should be a cakewalk for him to fix it right.

Gotcha, thanks Big Cat. The car is already parked at the dealer, and given that there is exhaust damage (they say i could crack a valve) it will stay there. But I will see if he can email me some pix. I understand that in this state most of the estimate process is handled with digital pix back and forth. Perhaps he'll send some.

I expect the butchers bull to run 8k or more.

Vin

 

[bigcat]

parts are pretty cheap for the S197s. it surprises me. but if its as bad as you say, labor will probably triple the parts bill.

 

[TheVin]

parts are pretty cheap for the S197s. it surprises me. but if its as bad as you say, labor will probably triple the parts bill.

To be clear, I don't have any final quotes yet. Just going off hunches and a knowledge of how very expensive body work is in my area.

Vin

 

[TheVin]

BTW- Another quick question. At the dealer they warned me not to drive it any more (I had already arranged a rental car pickup, so that wasn't an issue) because of the damage to my exhaust (warps and bends) might cause valve problems. I drove it the 5 or so miles home, then another 5 miles to the dealer. If damage had been done to the valve train, would I know already? or is that something that might show up later? Would a compression test show any damage? If so, should I ask for one?

Probably stupid questions, but I don't work on cars past the little things.

Vin

 

[bigcat]

still have the stock H right? as long as there is no damage that far ahead that would cause a leak, i would not worry about it.

 

[TheVin]

still have the stock H right? as long as there is no damage that far ahead that would cause a leak, i would not worry about it.

Yep, but I might see if I can get aftermarket pipes instead of replacement stock and doing an FRPP power pack. Make some lemonade out of this lemon

 

[o0Dan0o]

The only way you are going to damage the valves is if you run the car without headers, or possibly, but unlikely, if you run it with open shorty headers or the stock manifolds. A small leak wouldn't do it, you'd need them to be wide open. Basically, if the cooler outside air can get back to the valves it can cool them suddenly and possibly warp or crack them.

I wouldn't worry about it, if you had damaged one you would tell easily enough.
Dan

 

[kooldawg6]

I feel your pain man! I had an '88 T Bird TC and wrecked it in '97 and it tweaked the right front frame pretty good. Took it to a trusted frame shop in the area. They called me down for the estimate while it was up on the straightening rack. The frame points they measure where several inches off in a few places and after about $500 and a new fender I was back in business and I drove it for 2 months like that with no problems, until I traded it in. If the guy does quality work, I wouldn't worry about it

 

[ArchNemesis]

I just want to say that I feel your pain too! My 06 GT was the victim of a hit and run 2 weeks before the Super Bowl (to this day I'm convinced that it was a drunk Chargers fan who was pissed off his team lost!).

<p>Anyway, the car was in the shop for the past 3 weeks, and I just got it back yesterday evening. I have to say, the shop that did the work did an AWESOME job, I couldn't stop gushing about what great work they did. It was hit on the rear quarter, and the buckling and rippling went all the way up to the driver's side door. My trunk lid was even raised about a quarter inch from the impact. The shop pulled my stang too, and I'm guessing since you were rear-ended your damage is somewhat similar to mine. Visibly I can't even tell it was hit.

<p>I've attached some thumbs of the damage, like I said I got it back last night and it looks PERFECT!