Had an accident a while back and insurance decided to fix the car. It was a rear end collision and part of the unibody needed to be replaced/welded. I'm little confused as to what unibody means (from my understanding it's not the frame, but it does surround the frame). The dealership who is repairing my car says since it's the rear it's easily fixable. After a reading a few articles I'm now a bit more confused/concerned. Should insurance have totaled my vehicle or am I just stuck in a chitty situation? Or is it no big deal and my car will be like new?


Pictures for reference.

 

"Unibody" is referring to the unitized structure of the vehicle. It is the way most passenger cars are built nowadays. Full-frame vehicles, such as most pickups and large suvs, are the vehicles which have an actual "frame." In these vehicles, the body is bolted to the steel frame and both the frame and shell (body) are separate components.

In a unibody vehicle, the structure is all welded together to create the vehicle itself. The structure is comprised of the quarter panels, rocker panels, all the side pillars, roof, floors, rails, rear body, and radiator support. All these areas weld together to create the structure and provide the strength and rigidity for the vehicle.

Your car looks like they probably had to replace the rear body panel as the only part of the "structure." A very routine repair. You should have no worries about driveablilty as long as it was a reputable shop.

 

Thanks a lot ZGavewaytoG for the info, as that's what the bodyshop said in a way. I guess I'm just making sure. The other thing that concerns me now is what my car is worth after the repair? Will this show up as frame damage on a carfax, or just rear end repair?

 

I just had a similar accident - albeit not as bad as yours. See my posts.

As long as you had a good body shop - you should be just fine. Easiest way to tell - get an alignment.

Sorry for your accident, tho.

 

sorry about your unfortunate situation.

as far as carfax goes, it will probably show up as 1 accident. idk how specific it gets though, and it needs to be over a certain dollar amount. ($2500 i think. i only know this because the dealer asked me about it when i traded in my max)

 

Unfortunately, if there was any time on the damage report, from the collision shop, that referenced "frame" or "structural" time then it will most likely show up as having "frame" damage. I hope for your sake that I'm mistaken, but you may want to order a report for your car just to make sure.

 

I would be looking into a Diminished Value Claim. Do a search, a guy not too long ago did a whole thread on a diminished value claim. It takes some leg work, but ends up working out in the end.

 

Don't listen to that joker , rear of a car doesn't even have impact sensors. I'm a body shop manager and have worked in the field for years . For some reason years later this guys gets a old thread going for what reason ?