Sh** day... (Rear ended)

Originally Posted by gy954

Here is my cautionary tale....

I too was rear ended a couple of years back. I knew I'd been hit hard enough to bend the frame, but the body shop assured me the car was repairable. Since I had dealings with the shop before and they have a sterling reputation, I accepted what they told me.

And the repaired car seemed to be fine: drove well and did not show odd tire wear (scrubbing). So all seemed well, so I thought. Then I went to trade the car in.

Of course I told the dealer about the rear-end accident, but when the tech put the car up on the rack I was screwed. Because the frame had been straightened the dealer claimed the car had much less value. Even, he said, possible liability--it could be dangerous.

Now I'm not saying I totally believed the dealer, but I can tell you that the rear end cost me $1500 in trade-in value. If I had known that when the accident happened, I might have taken the responsible party to small claims court to recover the $1500 decrease in value.

I wish you better luck. At least you're not injured. And forewarned is forearmed. Maybe.

Originally Posted by jboffill

They tell me that the new 370z dont have an "actual frame", they have something called the uni-body. it consist of multiple panels that come together and make the frame of the car. those panels can be replace and technically there is no frame damage. I am going to look at the carfax report to see if it says frame damage on it.

Thanks again for all the support.

Originally Posted by gofaster87

Ive worked at a couple of shops and technically they are to report the frame damage whether they replace the panels or not. It's no different than if you had a front end collision and they fixed the bumpers, lights and fenders. It is still reported as a front end collision even though they replaced all the parts. You may get lucky though.