Need help with a repair, estimate, or claim?
REPAIR COSTS
What Does Frame Straightening Cost?
The honest answer is that it depends, and here is exactly what it depends on.
Frame damage is the point where a repair stops being cosmetic. The number varies more than any other job we quote, because two cars with identical looking damage can need completely different work underneath. Anyone who gives you a firm price from a photograph is guessing.
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How far the structure actually moved
A mild pull to bring a rail back into tolerance is a different job from a repair involving several structural points. Measurement comes first, and until the car is on the bench and measured against factory specification, nobody knows which one you have.
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Unibody or full frame
Most modern cars are unibody, where the shell itself is the structure, so damage spreads through it rather than staying local. Trucks and older vehicles on a separate frame behave differently. The construction changes both the method and the hours.
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What else moved with it
Structural damage rarely arrives alone. Suspension geometry, steering, wheel alignment, sensors and calibration can all be involved, and a repair that ignores them puts the car back on the road driving badly.
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Parts and access
Some repairs need panels removed to reach the damage, and a proportion of parts do not come off intact. Availability moves the timeline more than the price these days.
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The point where it is not worth repairing
Every car has a value at which the repair costs more than the vehicle is worth, and insurers write it off there. We will tell you when we think you are near that line, including when it means we do not get the job.
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Why the estimate is free
Because the only useful number comes from measuring the car. Bring it in, we will put real figures on paper, and you can decide with something better than a range off the internet.
Common questions
The rest of what people ask
Is a car with a straightened frame safe?
Yes, when it is measured, pulled back to factory specification and re-measured to confirm. The crumple structure is engineered to behave a certain way in the next collision, which is exactly why this work is done on a bench with measurements rather than by eye.
Will frame damage show on a vehicle history report?
A reported insurance claim can appear, and structural damage does affect resale value whether or not the repair is good. That is worth weighing before you decide how to proceed.
Can you tell me a price over the phone?
We can tell you what the job involves and roughly how it usually goes. We will not quote frame work without the car, because a number given blind is either padded or wrong.
Does insurance cover it?
Usually yes, under collision coverage, subject to your deductible. If the damage came from something other than a collision, comprehensive may apply instead. We will handle the adjuster either way.
Get the car measured
A free estimate with real numbers beats a range you found on the internet.