jeems

This is how I started my Thanksgiving day.
A car sideswiped me as I was leaving my apartment.
Its a 2005 model. Any chance that they'll just total it? If not, how much damage do you guys think is done?

bB2NER

NAH, that's just sheet metal replacement. It didn't get into any of the pillars or rocker. Just needs used doors and fender and a littler rear quarter work. Then repaint good as new. I est. about 4-5 K in damage.

If they were dumb enough to toal it def. buy it back and fix yourself. You can pick up the complete doors for about 3-5 hundred each. New front fender is only a couple hundred more then pay a body shop to bump out the rear quarter. Easy!!!!

Sciond

^yep and the damage is above the axles too which helps

Skuff_Box

I third the opinions. The car is far from totaled. "That will buff right out" lol. Doesn't appear to be any frame damage so why would the total it? Damage is less then value of a payout so mathematically it doesn't make sense for an insurance company to total it.

bB2NER

If that were to get totaled it would be such an easy fix. I could fix that in my garage. No pulling at all just replacing parts and paint work.

TheJonas53

My aunt sideswiped a light pole a couple days ago with her ford minivan and it had just about that much damage and its getting fixed. There was no question of it being totaled.

lastlookcustoms

Definitley not totalled...

Needs a fender, doors, 1/4.. A good shop would replace the 1/4 instead of fixing it. The metal is so thin on these cars. It would be a better repair just to replace it.

TerribleTed

I would agree that replacing the 1/4 panel would be a better repair , due mostly to the extensive damage to the "dogleg" (the part right next to the door). I also agree that a total loss is very unlikely for this damage.

dgenem

Hmm, somebody made a left to pull into the parking lot and overshot, hitting your front passenger side and scraping to the rear I am guessing.

Insurance companies go by damage versus percentage of value don't they? Is the percentage around 60% that they average? Assuming that, the damage would have to be around 5-6k to total it. At least no airbags deployed, because when those go, chances are your vehicle will be totalled on the insurance. I would bet it is a close one depending on the mileage and used value.

Doors look like the worst of it. Do they still open or was there any damage to the frame?

Either way, please keep the inquiring minds informed.

healthynine

I disagree with replacing the quarter panel. Your car is far from totaled, but I would see if the body shop can repair the quarter. Replacing the quarter is considered frame damage as it is part of the structure on these unibody vehicles. Welding to the frame = not a good thing

TerribleTed

The 1/4 panel is not part of the "frame". It is structural in a unibody car like the xB which has no frame. Most of the structure is in the inner 1/4 panel and subframe rails, which I am sure are not affected by the damage. This 1/4 panel has significant damage to the dogleg and the entire wheel lip. A good repair would involve removing the 1/4 panel, repairing the outerwheel house and installing a new 1/4 panel. Cost of this operation is roughly $1200. Replacing both doors and fender and repairing the rear bumper cover would round out most of the rest of the repair. I would guess this repair at about 5-7k with all new parts. Used doors might help limit the cost of the repairs.

Nada lists the value of a 2005 xB in my area with 40000 miles at about 11k. 7k damage would put the car at a borderline for total loss with some companies. Most companies cutoffs are slightly higher than this so I doubt it is totaled, especially assuming that the repair cost will likely be less than 7k.

Good luck on the repairs. Find a good shop that wll do you a good lasting job with warranty. DO NOT allow the Ins company to direct you to a sub par shop. Find a referal to a good shop in your area if you can. Or at least check references on the shop the Ins directs you to or the shop you think you want to use. Look at some of their completed work if you can. If the work doesn't look perfect keep looking.

daneisthegreatest

iTrader: (1)

just get a bucket of bondo...itll look brand new :-)

jeems

Actually they came from behind me. Either their brakes didn't work or their accelerator got stuck because they never stopped after they hit me, went airborne over our street until they crashed into a tree.

Yeah the doors still open but they're not on track. No frame damage i don't think. Its drivable/

jeems

I was thinking of just getting it fixed by Toyota. What do you guys think?

healthynine

I don't mean to be insulting, but that is entirely incorrect. NAAA(National Automotive Auction Association) defines the quarter panel of a unibody vehicle to be part of the frame. Removing, and specifically rewelding this piece is considered to be frame damage.

TerribleTed

Dude read!!! ""The 1/4 panel is not part of the "frame". It is structural in a unibody car like the xB which has no frame. Most of the structure is in the inner 1/4 panel and subframe rails, which I am sure are not affected by the damage. "" I have been a professional in the collison business for over 15 years. The xB is a unibody car, and as I said it has no "frame". A frame is a separate heavy steel lattice upon which the body is mounted...see old school cars and many current trucks. With a frame you can unbolt the body and lift it off and have the frame and suspension sitting on the floor to roll around. The xB and other unibody cars are built from multiple sheet metal sections welded together to form a ridgid structure. There are frame-like sections often called rails to which suspensions and engines are mounted. they usually run for and aft along the underside of the sides of the floor and provide a strong framework for the rest of the body.

Also as I said the 1/4 panel is structural so damage to it requiring replacement is structural damage. SO WHAT if it is structural or as you call it "frame" damage?? These structural sections and areas are assembled by welding and are repaired by welding. There is absolutley no truth that welding of structural components in a unibody car is bad, unless the repairs are improperly performed. It makes no difference as to whether the car is repairable or not except by way of the costs incurred in doing the repair. Replacing an outer 1/4 panel skin correctly will in no way decrease the structural worthyness of the car.

NOTE: Welding of frames (heavy steel structures in a body on frame vehicle) can also be performed to meet factory strength, but, this work requires more skill than work with sheet metal unibody structures. It is possible to easily weaken a real frame by overheating etc. This is why normally engine cradles (a heavy framelike structure) and badly damaged frames are generally replaced rather than repaired using welding in of sections etc.

healthynine

The word structure and frame are pretty much the same thing. Now I think what you are confusing is that when you are saying frame, you are referring to a ladder frame, commonly found on trucks, SUVs, some mini-vans and a select few full size cars.

That being said, the structure or frame of a unibody car does exist. Cutting and rewelding of a structural component would indicate that the structure has been altered, thus, frame damage.

I in no way doubt that you are confident in your collision repair expertise, however, there is a frame of a unibody vehicle....the unibody.

I could say that cutting and rewelding the quarter is causing unibody damage if that makes you feel better. There is also truth in saying that it is bad, because who is to say that anyone can weld a vehicle to meet factory specifications? No one is. The vehicle will no longer meet the same impact standards. Whether the welds or sheet metal are weaker or stronger, they will react differently in a collision that toyota originally engineered the vehicle to.

I do respect your opinion, however, I have to disagree based off my mechanical engineering background and several NAAA frame seminars that I have attended. Manheim does technically call it "Unibody Damage" with a cut quarter, so I'm sorry if you don't like that I'm calling it frame damage. Again, I am not referring to a ladder frame.

healthynine

Also, jeems, sorry to take this thread somewhat off topic, but I don't recommend taking it to the dealership. They often do not have repair facilities that can perform the desired work. You really need to take it to a collision repair facility. If anything, they may be able to give you the names of some body shops they use. Assuming that your insurance is paying for this, it won't really matter, but otherwise, the dealership will be taking a cut of the profit.

hotbox05

healthynine. the lower quarter which is not a rail like the entire roof rails and the a , b ,c pillars so it is not "frame" damage or frame damage.

if the roof rails , or a pillar were damaged a large portion would need to be cut and rewelded. not just the dented/ruined portions of that rail.

hotbox05

Whether or not you've attended seminars on frames and frame damage . Ted does this for a living and is legally responsible for his repairs , he's probably doing it correctly.

That and I've seen it done by the better shops in my area as the standard form of replacement/repair of such damage.