Diminshed Value Claims

dodge guy wrote:

rgatijnet1 wrote:
Actually diminished value came about primarily because the auto industry switched from vehicles with frames to unibody construction. With a vehicle with a frame it was easy to tell if a vehicle was repaired properly. With a unibody type vehicle they will cut off entire sections of the body and ATTEMPT to duplicate the same rigidity that the factory obtained with their robots and in a carefully controlled environment. When a unibody type vehicle is sent to a repair shop, that is working with the insurance company and has time limits and a budget, there is almost a 100% probability that corners will be cut and once put together and covered with body filler and paint, you cannot tell if ALL of the welds were done and if they meet the same(they don't) quality as those that came from the factory.
I am sure there are some here that work at body shops that will swear that their repair is just as good as what came from the factory. That is a myth put out by the insurance companies to convince owners that their vehicle was properly repaired. There is not one single body shop anywhere in this country that can cut off a section of a unibody vehicle and install a new section that is as good as what came from the factory, with the amount paid by the insurance company. There are too many points of contact that cannot be properly attached/welded by a human after the vehicle has left the factory. They can look pretty after the repair but the damaged vehicle will never be the same.

If you take your car to billy bobs body shop in a broken down backyard garage, then yes there will be problems. If you take it to a reputable repair shop the repair will be just as good if not better than the factory! I have worked in a body shop that did things methodical. They took there time but the repair was always better than new. This is where inspecting any vehicle comes in.

And now you tell me exactly how a buyer is supposed to inspect a unibody vehicle, where the entire back half or quarter was replaced? Tell me how he could inspect every weld that is now covered? It is impossible to tell from any type of inspection after a vehicle rolls out of the body shop. The only way to tell if it is as good as it left the factory is with a destructive test, which is what the factory does to insure their vehicles meet government standards.
ALL body shops send out a repaired vehicle and since a complete inspection is impossible they rely on a buyer that thinks it "looks" great and they also hope that the vehicle is not in another accident which may reveal that it is not as strong as it was before the repair.
I hear what you are saying but that is what every body shop owner would say, knowing that their statement cannot possibly be proved. I mean no disrespect but facts are facts. A body shop sends out a pretty vehicle but not one that has been tested to again meet the same crash test standards as a new vehicle.