QuestionQUESTION: hello Sir, i bought a 2012 hyundai elantra from a local car dealer. when i bought the car i was told the car was in a minor car accident like the bumper replaced, but recently i took my car to another car dealer to sell my car for a trade in and according to them my car has frame damage, they said that the left rear panel was replaced and it is true they showed me the the repairs made to the car. Is this considered frame damage?
ANSWER: Hi Carlos!....A 2012 Hyundai Elantra will be a "Unitized" type of vehicle. This means that the frame and body are all welded together to form 1 complete unit. This differs from the BOF "Body Over Frame" type of vehicle, where the frame and body are 2 separate units, and are generally bolted together. That being said, in both cases, a unitized and BOF type of vehicle, may or may not have frame damage in the event of a collision. It all depends on how hard the vehicle was hit. In your case, if there was frame damage to this unitized vehicle, this would need to be repaired to square up the rear section of the vehicle before the left rear panel (Quarter Panel) was replaced. If it was not repaired, the quarter panel will not fit properly, due to the fact that the rear section will be swayed, or swung to one side. This would result in an improper and/or forced fit of the panel, uneven gaps, body lines not lining up, etc. A 4 Wheel Thrust Alignment should have also been done. This will tell if the frame is in proper alignment, and the vehicle will not dog track going down the road. From the sounds of it, the dealer you took your vehicle in to, to trade your vehicle off, was the one that repaired it originally. If they showed you the repairs, I would suggest you ask for a copy of the original repair order. As they should still have this on file. It will show on there, if there was indeed frame damage. If there was frame damage, any reputable shop will automatically do a wheel alignment....Hope I have helped you out....If you have any other questions, please drop me another line....Thanks....Dave
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QUESTION: Hi Dave, thank you for answering my question it was very helpful.
I have one more question if I may!
Since I bought the car it makes road noise or tire noise from the rearend, I just replaced all four tires and it still makes the same noise. Do you think this is due to the accident? And what can I do to minimize this noise?
I forgot to mentioned before that the car dealer gave the carfax facts on the car when I bought it. carfax did not reported any frame damage and there was airbags deploited. Thanks Dave
AnswerHi Again Carlos!....You are very welcome!....Road noise is generally caused by a lack of insulating materials. Vehicles manufactured today, have various types of insulating materials installed throughout them. These can be anything from sound deadening sheets, spray foam, insulation bags, etc. Since the Quarter Panel was replaced on your vehicle, it is possible that these material were not replaced. What you can do though, is to take your vehicle in and get it undercoated. This will definitely help out with road noise. A lot of muffler and accessory shops offer this service, as well as Dealerships....If you have any more questions, please do not hesitate to ask....Thanks again....Dave
