Look what the insurance wants me to do.
I almost put this in general discussion so more can see it. Maybe it is best here.
It's a very sore subject with me and what the insurance company's can get away with. It's been a slow progression to this point. Insurance companies use to pay for OE parts unless the car was close to totaling. Now it's almost an everyday occurance that they use salvage and aftermarket parts. I don't have any pics prior to tear down, but you can get an idea. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01355.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01357.jpg This is how the insurance company wants to fix it. It does have it's plus', but what a PITA. The body man use to be the expert now the insurance companies are. Who's a$$ will be in trouble if someone gets killed if they are in another wreck? I know that is a loaded question. I know get off the soapbox. LOL http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01373.jpg This is a work in progress and this is where it is at right now. I've got alot of cutting, grinding and fitting to do. I'll document how I get this in and I'm curious about other peoples input. If you had 10 people do this same job you'll see 10 different ways of doing it. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01383.jpg |
Re: Look what the insurance wants me to do.
I have no doubt about your work & skills, but I'd never put my family in that car when it's finished. Thats just crazy. Seems like it would be better to take an entire salvage and put the good stuff in it?
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Let me guess, they already know it's a 23.7 hour job :lol:
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Ya, I am with som. Not doggin your work. but that sir in my mind is a HUGE LEMON now. I always thought it was Against the law to do that to a unibody.
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Wow... Don't under stand why sometimes they don't total stuff like that out...
Cant wait to see some progress! |
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what insurance company? you can PM me if you don't want it public.
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Got some more done. Got the inside cleaned up. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01385.jpg To do this right I cut the outer skin off to access the inside reinforcements. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01389.jpg Then I cut this middle reinforcement off to access the inner reinforcement because I can't weld this portion from inside the car. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01390.jpg This is it removed. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01393.jpg Removing this part without destroying it was a PITA. You can see all of the spot welds in areas an air chiesel can't reach due to the contour. I cut a small window in one spot so I could bust it loose. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01415.jpg This is what was under it and you can see my tape lines for the next cut to enable access to the inner structure for welding. The weld joints need to be staggered. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01416.jpg This is the top of the B pillar with outer skin removed. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01418.jpg Same area with middle reinforcement removed. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01419.jpg I've never seen a dash come out this way. I have removed several and up til this one most of it comes out as a unit. This one comes out in pieces. |
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Seriously, wouldn't it be less work to get a salvage/flooded body, paint it and bolt all the good stuff from this one on it? I guess you run into VIN issues that way...
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I'm not knocking your work at all here, i am sure it is top notch, it sure looks so. But if that was my car that WOULD NOT EVER be happening. Here in Canada if a unibody car takes that kind of a hit it is a total (non-repairable) no questions asked. No matter how good the work is that doesn't seem safe to me at all.
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Been in this same situation many many times..........I feel for you.......I got out roughly 6 months ago....And other than missing the pay....I havent looked back yet.......I do Street Rods now...So I still get to do my passion....Just not on Totals.....Good Luck......And just curious.....How many hours you getting for that...And did they pay you some drill out time for the salvage part....< that right there is WHY I got out.......
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Right now it has about 90 hours plus supplement. The estimate has 5 hrs right now for clean up. I supplemented for another 5.0 hrs. I've got 9.0 hours in clean up so far. You can tell what percentage that is. :sumo: The more I think about this repair the more I realize how wrong this is. Not that I didn't think is was wrong before, but it is too the point that I need to go with my gut. So I'm going to discuss this with the Boss. I might be on the soup line soon. |
Re: Look what the insurance wants me to do.
Hmmm, looks all too familiar, been there many times in the industry myself, hate doing it , or should i say hated doing it, i build hot rods and restos now, much better for me, but i do miss the flat rate pay, i averaged 300 a month, and yah if the car was that bad here, i would have gotten all new panels, to do the repair with, or it would have gotten totaled. All in all thou, it is a good hit, but a very fixable hit, i have repaired a whole lot worse in my days, sectioned two cars together to make one, complete centers and so on and forth. it just needs a little tug here and there and done, right! lol . i know your feeling, i often talk to the higher powers to see if it RIGHT to repair he car. Feel for you.
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I see where you are coming from and don't blame you at all, just like the rest of us you go to work and do your best at what the boss man tells you to do. |
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Don't go and loose your job over it. I've seen enough of your work on here that I know you of all people can make it safe. If you were to step off the job they would find someone else to do it and probably end up with an inferior fix. That's a lose-lose...
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I dont mind dropping names. But I wont on Alan's thread.
More often than not you go cheap you get cheap. Read your policy (set aside acouple days) :lol: |
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After I posted my last post of not doing the job, I thought about it some more. To save face so-to-speak, I'll do the job I was hired to do and forget about it. In all reality I believe this might be the best way to repair this one. The piece that I am putting in still has all of the factory spot welds. Just the joints and where it welds to the car will be welded. All of the pinch welds will remain factory. If I had to piece it all together with new parts nothing would have factory welds. Another plus is aligning the doors shouldn't be too much of an issue. For those of you that don't do this for a living, it sucks aligning doors on a side hit. You get paid to replace the doors one time, but with a side hit the doors are R&I several times. Then sometimes when you weld, things might move which causes more problems. I did talk to the boss and asked him if it was totaled on paper and he said no. We are a DRP (direct repair program) shop. We write the estimates for the insurance and they come out and spot check our estimates and ding the shop (score wise) if there are discrepencies for doing their job. There's so many times that I've done the work and insurance comes out and cuts the labor. The shop usually makes it right, but sometimes they don't. I don't think I'd be able to walk if I contracted a builder to build me a house for 100K and after he finished I told him I will only pay him 80K because he finished it too quick. Anyway back to business. This dash is such a crazy design. The pile of parts is the visable part of the dash. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01503.jpg This is the dash reinforcment. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01502.jpg Dash removed. Had to remove right door and cowl screen. There were 2 bolts under the cowl. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01504.jpg Outer skin removed. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01507.jpg Reinforcement removed http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01508.jpg Ground the spot welds down instead of drilling because of HSS. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01510.jpg Inner removed http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01513.jpg B pillar in work. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01514.jpg |
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This is ridiculous....How do you even bid a job like this....or do you let the insurance adjuster use his "black Magic" to come up with the cost ?.....
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We had a car hit in the front end 4-5 years ago. It came in again with almost the same exact hit. The time on the second hit was 12 hrs less than the estimate 4-5 years ago. That was just comparing the labor to replace the items line for line. This info came from the bodyman working on it. He remembered the car and pulled the history and the estimate then compared the 2. He showed me the estimates and I saw the bottom lines, but didn't study the 2 myself. |
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Wow, lots of work!
I didn't see it mentioned anywhere and it's bugging me... What IS that? |
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Ya know Alan, You are a very handy guy!! Nice work. Too bad the circumstances are not different for you. It is hard to buck authority when they control your paycheck.
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Update on hours the job pays. It now sits at 142. I worked all day today and made some good progress. Finished removeing the rest of the old metal. Had to cut a section off the outer wheelhouse and also cut and folded up the inner wheelhouse. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01549.jpg Prepped and used some weld thru primer on the areas to be welded. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01550.jpg The used piece went in really nice. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01554.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01557.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01556.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01558.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01559.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01560.jpg I used this hole for alignment. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01562.jpg Rear door hung and aligned. I wanted to hang the front door, but the door didn't come with any hinges. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01563.jpg |
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Boy, you sure do some good work.;) Looking good buddy.:metal:
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Wow......I can't believe they would fix that, if it was mine I would tell the insurance company where to stick it !!!!!!!!!!
Anyway very nice work Alan, you are definitely a professional at your job !!!! |
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Got some more done. Got the sheetmetal lined up http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01602.jpg Inner structure going together http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01604.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01611.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01616.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01617.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01618.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01621.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01623.jpg |
Re: Look what the insurance wants me to do.
Two things:
First of all your skills to be able to put something like that back together and make it look good is absolutely amazing. VERY nice work! Secondly, WTF would anyone want to repair that? Seems to me like insurance companies will spend $2 to save $1 and in the process making US less safe?? Not dog'n your work by any means, just doesn't seem right? |
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You do some awesome work for sure...
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Thanks guys. It's in the paint shop getting trimmed out. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01651.jpg |
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So is it "out of your hands" now? If it is, don't forget to get us some pics of the finished product :D
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nicely done, i would have done it very close to the same way as you, great minds think alike.
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If insurance companies totaled every car that took a shot in the uniside, there would be a lot of guys like Alan in the unemployment line, and your rates would be even more through the roof than they are now. Judging from the photos, that car is not a lemon, and is every bit as safe as it was before it was popped.
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Got the dash back in and it runs. LOL http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01684.jpg Ready for some sheet metal http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01706.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01739.jpg http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01740.jpg The after market fender doesn't fit good around the hood and door area. When I fit the fender before I didn't have the hood or the area where the hood bolts to welded in yet. I played with the after market fender more than I usually do to get it to fit to no avail. Waiting on an OE fender to see if it corrects the problem. I haven't met a after market fender yet that fits a Japanese car. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01741.jpg |
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wow, nice work but that's crazy...
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I bought aftermarket front fenders for my 86 Toyota truck back in the day and the fit on them sucked too, but in NY, OE fenders that weren't half gone were impossible to find. It was a "truck" so I didn't care too much about the fit, I was just tired of my fenders flapping around :lol:
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It's been done for about a week now, just getting around to posting pics. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01809.jpg Don't mind the bumper color match. We didn't paint it and it doesn't match the other side neither. http://i606.photobucket.com/albums/t...t/DSC01807.jpg |
Re: Look what the insurance wants me to do.
All that work and they won't pay to spray the bumper?
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