Hello, thanks for the add, I have a question on frame repairs, specifically the “passenger side front rail extension”.

Some background, my son bought a 2008 Civic EX, as-is. He paid $6900 for it with 132k miles on it. He read the car fax and it noted an accident that required a bumper replacement. Overall, a nice looking car, heated seats, sun roof . . . But only 3 days after buying it, he hit a raccoon and damaged the plastic front bumper, so we took it to a shop as recommended by our insurance company. This is where it got bad.

The shop discovered the damaged rail extension, telling us it is “pushed back” and you could see that it was slightly bent. The hood had uneven gaps and I trust their assessment. The shop told us it would be a major repair to fix it and could cost more than the car is worth and it will not be safe in another accident.

So now what? Is it truly an expensive/extensive fix? We didn’t ask for an estimate and they suggested putting on the old bumper, get the insurance money and then sell the car. I doubt we could recoup the $6900 once we tell potential buyers it has this flaw.

Any sage advice from experienced collision guys here? How much do you think we could get for this car now being in this condition? I appreciate anything you can offer.

Thanks
Jk

 

I have been in the autobody industry for quite some time. from labor to now an estimator.
Please provide some photos of damaged rail.

can it be expensive? yes
depending on damage, it may have to be sectioned and replaced. if rail needs replacement, proper repair procedures will require removal of the engine to access weld points. if the frame rail is kinked beyond repair, then it will have to be replaced.

repairs can be done to frame rails, but it all depends on how the damage currently is.
if you find a shop that is a "Honda pro 1st" shop, then they have to follow manufacturer procedures to repair correctly.

putting it on a measuring rack will determine how expensive the damages are.

regardless of replacement or repair, it will need to be measured and pulled

 

Wow, thanks for that response. I’ll take pictures, the buckle seemed not too drastic to me. One hole in the engine side of the extension is slightly oval vertically, if that makes any sense. Thanks again SDN