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This accident looks fairly bad (especially since we have taken off all the exterior parts for inspection) but would have been a repairable vehicle had it not been for the prior repair having been done so badly. It also would not have sustained so much damage had the repairs been to "industry standard". |
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This picture shows the hammer marks, wrinkles, old burnt paint and the general repair mind set of this repairer. This upper front frame rail reinforcement is critical in the collision crash worthy ness of this vehicle and was left this way we think due to the cost and level of expertise required to change this component. |
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The Top arrow in this picture shows the weld quality of this repair shop. Vehicle manufacturers require welds to be of a certain size and in certain location so that they will collapse in a pre determined way in order to pass US government crash tests. These welds are oversized by about 300%. |
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This is a typical problem we see when welds are ground down to make them look better. The problem is that if the base metal is ground down it weakens in that area leading to the panel ripping away from the panel it is welded to instead of forcing both panels to collapse or crush. |
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This is the lower frame rail and has been welded and ground down (to make it look better)in an area know as a crumple zone. I wonder whats under this. |
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Repair shops don't like to use "weld thru coatings" as they can make the welding process a bit tricky. but is an "industry standard" repair procedure. Even though some insurance company's refuse to pay for this operation often stating "the other shops don't charge for it". We tend to think they don't but are thoroughly convinced they should as it is necessary. From what we see they shouldn't charge for it because as you can see .. they don't do it. |
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This weld pulled clean out of the hole when we removed the panel it was welded to. All structural welding on your vehicle should be do by certified welders with the proper welding equipment like that at Leif's Auto Collision Centers. |
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