Bent Crossmember

[ikarma]

I purchased a 99 Mercedes SLK 230 with low miles for a great price. It had been wrecked and airbag deployed. It looks like everything is fixed cosmetic wise. I was wondering what it would cost to have my crossmember straightened out or if its even worth it. It causes both front tires to have noticable camber and the entire car leans about a half inch or so to the left, and the front end looks like it has been dropped which it hasn't)

I imagine there would be no painting involved so could anyone give me a rough idea of how much I would be looking at spending? Would it even be worth it? I cannot get a good alignment with the tires like this.

Advice please (and rough estimates)

Chris

I can post pics if need be.

[Serge]

The first thing I would do is to bring it to a good frame shop and have it put on the bench and measured...I would not drive a car with such visible geometry defect.

You can save some money by taking it appart yourself and putting it back together afterwards...I would definitely have it checked...

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

You could just check the crush zones. If you have any abnormal ripple than it's bent, but know that sometimes crush zones come with ripples in them to crush. Compare both sides. That area is meant to crush to dampen the force before it reaches the passenger compartment. But he's right, it's better to get it looked at and saying otherwise would be bad advice. If a pull isn't needed they'll section out the rail. Your suspension struts, coils, and shock towers could be bent. Not sure how much it'll cost but I'm guessing it'll be around $700-$1000 maybe more. Never did an estimate on a rail section. It would be alot more if they have to pull. Not sure if they charge you to just put it up on the rack to check but I think they do.

[Len]

I absolutely agree with Serge, take it to a "good" frame shop. You need a way to measure the undercarriage and put it back in it's proper position. Drive it around and get some prices. My guess is that it's probably up-wards of $2000. Let us know what you do and the outcome.

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

Len, would that be without a pull and just a crossmember section?

When I'm in my estimating class the joke in the class is that it's $500 per mouse click.:D

[Len]

Len, would that be without a pull and just a crossmember section?

When I'm in my estimating class the joke in the class is that it's $500 per mouse click.:D

There isn't much you can do on an MB for $1000 :rolleyes:

My guess is that it's going to take some labor and/or parts to get it back where it belongs.

[ikarma]

A mechanic told me there was some crumpling on the crossmember. I am unable to locate any of it without taking the car further apart. But if its gonna be under $2000 I will definitely get it straightened out.

[ikarma]

what is a GOOD frame shop? My experience with mechanics and body guys has been lest than trust full.

Anyone recommend one in Austin area?

Chris

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

get multiple estimates and let them know you will only go with the cheapest estimate. Show them all the estimates to see if they can go lower.
A good shop will give you plenty of options and will fully explain everything. I was taught to write a certain estimate for the insurance
company, and a bare essentials one for an customer that doesn't want to spend a lot of money. A good tech will find everything and alert you to everything. A good shop will have a good percentage of their techs ICar trained and ase certified.

Btw, don't go to a mechanic, go to an autobody technician.

[AutobodyCAD]

get multiple estimates and let them know you will only go with the cheapest estimate.I respectfully disagree, unless by 'estimate' you mean semi-accurate prediction of the actual bill. I had some body/paint work done to a car of mine in late 1998. They estimated it at $2500 - the bill was $5600. I shou'd've told them to keep the car, which was worth about $3500 tops after repairs.

Another shop estimated at ~$3250, which scared me away, but theirs was probably more realistic. A GOOD estimate, with a guarantee of quality is far more important than a low - and possibly misleading - estimate.

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

That is very true. well that's why a good estimate looks at likely hidden damage. It's pretty predictible in most cases and that supplement you got was out of hand and not a thorough estimate. You want a guy to look under hood and under the car. They should be asking you a lot of questions to about how it drives and how the accident occured. There's always gonna be supplemented items but you have to keep it at a minimum cause you'll go over the threshhold and I bet the insurance company had a fit cause they paid over the value.

In his case it's different. It seems to be that all the visable damage has already been taken care of but it's the hidden damage that needs to be estimated.

Regardless, just mentioning that you have estimates or will get more is a good thing. It keeps them in check and doesn't really mean you'll go with them. Sometimes a shop will eat the cost on certain things to keep a car in there.

btw, what did they miss on your car the first time? Cracked block or something like that?

[AutobodyCAD]

It was an out-of pocket job, so I didn't have insurance fighting my case.

They didn't really miss anything. The only difference might have been a misunderstanding. I thought I made it clear that I was having a color change, but they said I did not. I found and paid for almost all the parts myself, so they couldn't screw me on that. It was mostly labor charges.

I learned an expensive lesson or two.

[SHOWCAR FINISH]

sorry to hear that.

[Henry]

A mechanic told me there was some crumpling on the crossmember. I am unable to locate any of it without taking the car further apart. But if its gonna be under $2000 I will definitely get it straightened out.
Overriding labor will come into play. There is a 3 - $500 set up fee for a frame machine along with how much work and time to remove parts to expose the damage. Then you go from there with probably a lot more parts and labor than can be seen right now.
Sort of like replacing a deck attached to your house. You call 3 carpenters. The prices are around the same. You pick someone who tears your old deck off the house. Now he says, you have termite or carpenter ant damage and rotted wood framing on the house where we need to attach the new deck. That was not in the deal we made. Get the idea? Henry