How Much Does It Cost to Straighten a Car Frame?

If your car has been in an accident, its frame may have been damaged. In a worst-case scenario, the damaged frame has made your car unsafe to operate and may not even be repairable. In a best-case scenario, the mangled frame jeopardizes the functionality of other components of your car and still requires a fix.

The damage sustained by your vehicle during a collision can be extensive, especially if your frame requires straightening. When a car frame is warped or damaged during a crash, repair costs can range from $600 to $10,000. Caliber Collision is happy to determine if your car’s frame is damaged and recommend needed repairs.

Car Frame Damage

For the most part, today’s cars feature unibody construction — meaning that the frame is a single structure upon which the car’s body rests. The skeleton of the car’s body and frame are made as one component.

Most have what are known as crumple zones that help protect the vehicle’s occupants during a crash by absorbing some of the crash’s impact, helping to distribute the force of the impact throughout the entire car structure. These crumple zones improve the vehicle’s safety factor. However, they can also put added force on the frame during a wreck, which is how bends, breaks, and frame warping generally occur.

Types of Frame Damage

“Frame damage” refers to any damage that affects the car’s structural integrity. Causes of car frame damage include impact damage to areas such as the strut tower or pillars.

Firewalls, rocker panels, rear support structures, and aprons may also be affected. Crumple zones, designed to collapse with force during an accident, can also lead to frame damage.

Frame Damage and Safety

The effects of frame damage on vehicle safety and performance cannot be ignored. If your vehicle has minor damage to the frame, the car may be drivable. Nonetheless, it is not safe to drive a damaged car. Always have a wrecked vehicle looked at by a professional to determine if a frame repair is needed.

If the frame of your car is structurally unsound, then the vehicle cannot protect its occupants if another collision occurs. What’s more, driving a car with structural damage is illegal in some states.

Factors Influencing the Cost of Frame Straightening

Although car frame straightening costs range widely from $600 to $10,000, several factors influence the actual price. The biggest of these is the extent of the damage since more severely damaged frames require more work on behalf of the collision pro.

Another major determinant in the cost of car frame straightening is the make and model of the car since parts for newer model cars or more expensive cars are often more costly than those for older or budget cars.

Insurance Coverage and Claims

Understanding insurance coverage for frame repair is essential. Whether your car insurance pays for car straightening repairs or not depends on your insurance type and the coverage your policy provides.

In some states, claims (and whose insurance pays for what) depends on who is deemed at fault in the accident. Filing an insurance claim for frame straightening involves contacting your insurer.

Caliber Collision maintains excellent relationships with all major insurers and has preapproval with many of them, so our team can often get started on your repairs immediately.

Factors Influencing Cost: Professional Repair vs. DIY

Most novice mechanics lack the knowledge and equipment needed for a DIY repair of a damaged car frame. Professional frame straightening services are generally necessary for most frame repairs.

Caliber Collision’s pros can assess the damage to your car’s frame and determine whether the frame is repairable. A collision repair professional can spot frame damage such as sagging or twisted frame, sway damage that makes the car lean to the side and smashed frames with crumple zone damage.

Choosing a Reliable Collision Repair Shop

At Caliber Collision, we know how important it is to Restore the Rhythm of Your Life® after a car accident. A big part of getting your life back to normal is getting your car road ready. Our expertly trained collision repair pros are armed with the latest industry knowledge and the best equipment, ensuring that post-collision repairs to your car go off without a hitch.

Reach out to Caliber Collision at 1-888-Caliber as soon as possible following your car wreck to arrange repairs, from straightening the frame of your car to general auto body work.