Accident, question about structural integrity

[Aquineas]

Someone backed out of a parking space and hit me. $9100 is the initial repair estimate. Obviously this will require a rear quarter panel. What I worry about is since the body is semi-monocoque, that rear quarter panel is actually part of the (stress-bearing) body of the car. In the body-in-white, the roof going into the quarter panel is one stamping. See this photo of a non-G70 (but close enough to a G70 to make my point) in body-in-white to see what I mean:

My question is, they're obviously going to have to cut out the damaged portion and weld in a new quarter panel, but won't that affect the structural integrity of the vehicle?

 

[joegr]

As long as the welds are right, structurally, you will be fine. It will be just a strong. However, I have heard that it is all but impossible to make it look 100% right.

 

[EdP]

Someone backed out of a parking space and hit me. $9100 is the initial repair estimate. Obviously this will require a rear quarter panel. What I worry about is since the body is semi-monocoque, that rear quarter panel is actually part of the (stress-bearing) body of the car. In the body-in-white, the roof going into the quarter panel is one stamping. See this photo of a non-G70 (but close enough to a G70 to make my point) in body-in-white to see what I mean:

My question is, they're obviously going to have to cut out the damaged portion and weld in a new quarter panel, but won't that affect the structural integrity of the vehicle?
View attachment 36694

No wonder insurance is so high. As long as the weld is done right it will be just as strong.

Years ago I had similar done on a car and it looked perfect with a good paint match. Hopefully yours will too.

 

[Aquineas]

Two weeks into it, I learned from the body shop that they finally ordered the parts today (the collision occurred on Monday, May 17th). I sure hope that the office manager at the body shop had redeeming qualities as a human being because she was woefully pathetic at her job.

In any case, however long it takes for the parts to arrive from Korea (which I'm going to guess is going to be about another 3-4 weeks, plus another week or two for repair and painting, puts me at about the middle of July for getting my car back :-(.

 

[Aquineas]

Man do I miss my car like crazy.

 

[Husky]

Man do I miss my car like crazy.

Sorry to hear about the accident, that sucks. You're never reimbursed for the hassle you have to go through and the waiting. Hoping it all goes smoothly and turns out great.

 

[Aquineas]

Sorry to hear about the accident, that sucks. You're never reimbursed for the hassle you have to go through and the waiting. Hoping it all goes smoothly and turns out great.

The thing is, the insurance company offered me a rental that I declined. I don't want a rental, especially since my new job is 100 percent remote and there's no need to drive into Austin. Theoretically I could probably save a ton of money by selling it, though between now having an accident on the Carfax and the relatively high miles (22K in the year that I've owned it), I'd lose a pretty penny. But honestly I don't want to sell it; I bought a G70 because I wanted one.

 

[joegr]

The thing is, the insurance company offered me a rental that I declined. ...

I always take the rental. It's something that they have to pay for (daily or weekly), and that helps motivate them to pay the body shop in a timely manor and keep things going as quickly as possible.

 

[Slip_Angle]

Man do I miss my car like crazy.

I got T-boned a several years ago in my Acura. I visited the autobody shop every few days to make sure their work was being done properly. The other benefit was seeing the car on a regular basis.

 

[EdP]

I always take the rental. It's something that they have to pay for (daily or weekly), and that helps motivate them to pay the body shop in a timely manor and keep things going as quickly as possible.

Yes, but be careful. When I got hit I took the rental but they tried to upsell me. "Insurance pays for this cheapo but for $10 a day more you can have the Luxobarge"

______________________________

Help support this site so it can continue supporting you!

 

[Slip_Angle]

Yes, but be careful. When I got hit I took the rental but they tried to upsell me. "Insurance pays for this cheapo but for $10 a day more you can have the Luxobarge"

Like a G80, you mean?

 

[joegr]

Yes, but be careful. When I got hit I took the rental but they tried to upsell me. "Insurance pays for this cheapo but for $10 a day more you can have the Luxobarge"

No, that hasn't happened to me yet. They did try a couple of times to put me in an econobox, but I was firm about getting a car that was at least in the same size class as the car being repaired.

 

[Aquineas]

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It looks like late next week (right around the three month point) I'll finally get my car back. The dealer has on multiple occasions ordered and sent the wrong part to the body-shop contributing even further to the delay, and of course the need to have to order parts (which likely came from overseas) in the first place is took the longest. I cannot wait to have my car back. Hopefully they did a good job of matching the paint, but I'm not optimistic. The contact at the body shop said he did look it over with a black-light and a fluorescent light and it looked "pretty good." We'll see.

 

[Aquineas]

Looks like the final bill will be right around $11K after they re-calibrate the sensors. Right now I'm on schedule to pick it up tomorrow.