Crunched/Bent Frame - Advice

[Shay]

It's totally fixable if you can find a body shop with the talent and willingness. Shops that do restorations on older cars might be a good place to look, they do this type of work all the time. Those are the places you're going to find The talented metal workers.

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[Glen Baker LLC]

It's totally fixable if you can find a body shop with the talent and willingness. Shops that do restorations on older cars might be a good place to look, they do this type of work all the time. Those are the places you're going to find The talented metal workers.

That is true but at what cost.$$$$
If the original poster already paid $24,000 plus dollars for it. How much more are you going to sink into it to make it right? And then you still have a unibody vehicle with major repair. At least enough for it to be a copart vehicle.
You know for it to be a copart it had to be either repossession, recovery or totaled.

 

[Bwicka]

Pull on it , paint it and use the piss out of it as a work truck !
I’ve seen way worse on work trucks with actual frame damage from improper towing , getting pushed at stoplights by the receiver .
Slightly slammed by the girl on a cell phone at the 4 way stop sign .
The damage is all at the spot behind any rear suspension or crossmember area by 18” or so ,strictly the metal are that just holds up the plastic bumper cover and other visual prettiness , it will still drive straight, hold 1400lbsup in the bed and let the tailgate work just fine .
Paint it and get the next 20,000 in depreciation out of it as quickly as you can in the next 4-5 years !all of ours are doing the same!
In the end in 5 years yours will only be worth $500-1000 less even with a salvage or rebuilt title!
It’s a truck !

 

[AutobahnSHO]

Yeah, I've seen wrecked Mavericks for under $15k on ebay- but the headache to get them drivable again is just way beyond my talents/ money....

 

[Skott]

Pull on it , paint it and use the piss out of it as a work truck !
I’ve seen way worse on work trucks with actual frame damage from improper towing , getting pushed at stoplights by the receiver .
Slightly slammed by the girl on a cell phone at the 4 way stop sign .
The damage is all at the spot behind any rear suspension or crossmember area by 18” or so ,strictly the metal are that just holds up the plastic bumper cover and other visual prettiness , it will still drive straight, hold 1400lbsup in the bed and let the tailgate work just fine .
Paint it and get the next 20,000 in depreciation out of it as quickly as you can in the next 4-5 years !all of ours are doing the same!
In the end in 5 years yours will only be worth $500-1000 less even with a salvage or rebuilt title!
It’s a truck !

Thank you. My thoughts exactly.

I'm not planning on towing near max capacity, trying to flip to make a few bucks, etc. Just planning on replacing my current beater.

 

[JimKivi]

I've driven it for ~2 miles so far. Not enough time in the seat to tell if it drives different. Still waiting on title to get it registered.

Thanks for the advice.

These trucks don't have a "frame" in the conventional sense of the word. You have probably seen a vw bug floor pan. The Mav is more like that.

 

[MaverickMark]

Bought a used 2024 Maverick Hybrid, knowing it was in an accident.

From the looks of it, the truck was rear-ended on the passenger side. The accident looks to have dented the tailgate, took a bit of paint off the tailgate, crunched my frame (behind the rear wheels, underneath the truck bed), and snapped a plastic clip on the passenger side plastic bumper.

My plan is to knock off the flaking paint on the crunched section of frame, and hit it with a rattle can of rustoleum primer, and then seeing if a body shop can get my plastic bumper to clip back in.

Should I consider having the frame straightened/pulled back?
Is there a better way to go rather than hitting the bent section with rustoleum and keeping an eye on it? Perhaps hitting this section with Fluid Film each Fall going forward?

What would you prioritize in this situation?

Thanks.

There is no frame on a Maverick. Its unibody construction.

 

[Optimus]

If it were me in this situation, and if I indeed paid 24k for this, I’d be doing 2 things. Reviewing copart’s “return” or cancellation policy if they even have one, and showing the truck to a local repair/frame shop for their two cents if you can’t back out. The internet can’t determine your needs in this case from damage in photos. Too many unknowns with the truck itself, plus insurance unknowns, titling, potential resale value some day (even if you repaired it 100%), as well as your own intentions of what you want out of this truck.

If you’re just looking for a better vehicle, 24k still buys a lot these days and I would argue that just buying a used ‘22 XL or XLT Maverick (without damage or other issues) won’t be far off what you could have into this (unless speculation is wrong and you bought it crazy cheap). If you can’t ultimately insure it fully once the time comes, you risk losing all of it should another accident happen.

There are lots of previous posts on this forum about Mavericks getting rear-ended. Unfortunately, these trucks don’t seem to take it well, in that it doesn’t seem to take much to total them. Your kinked unibody rails being case in point. A shop might tell you their thoughts on what they can (or cannot) do for you, and for how much $$$. But having this much potential money tied up on a “sight-unseen” vehicle, before any repairs, titling, or insurance needs are verified, would scare me off. If you don’t NEED a ‘24 or a Lariat, try looking for a used/older undamaged XL or XLT Mav, or another make model/altogether. The used market is getting better (assuming you can even cancel your purchase). Better yet, order a brand new lower trim Mav, and you likely won’t have to wait as long as others did on their ‘22’s and ‘23’s. The wait time is noticeably shorter now.

It might not be the advice you wanted to hear, but I wouldn’t want you to get backed into a bad situation.

 

[Shay]

That is true but at what cost.$$$$
If the original poster already paid $24,000 plus dollars for it. How much more are you going to sink into it to make it right? And then you still have a unibody vehicle with major repair. At least enough for it to be a copart vehicle.
You know for it to be a copart it had to be either repossession, recovery or totaled.

Who knows what the cost would be. The original poster stated that the vehicle has a clean title so it doesn't have a bad mark on it. They paid cash for it most likely, so they probably have the money to fix it and the intention to do so. I was simply answering their question is to how to go about it. Experienced body shops can do this kind of thing it's just not that big of a deal. The reason most people are getting totals on their insurance claims is because insurance companies steer you to shops that are less likely to want to get into brain damage like this. That's why I suggest they go to a place that specializes in restorations, they've got more time and ability and willingness

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

Who knows what the cost would be. The original poster stated that the vehicle has a clean title so it doesn't have a bad mark on it. They paid cash for it most likely, so they probably have the money to fix it and the intention to do so. I was simply answering their question is to how to go about it. Experienced body shops can do this kind of thing it's just not that big of a deal. The reason most people are getting totals on their insurance claims is because insurance companies steer you to shops that are less likely to want to get into brain damage like this. That's why I suggest they go to a place that specializes in restorations, they've got more time and ability and willingness

Sounds to me like they haven't seen the title yet to assume it's clean or unbranded.

Currently waiting for the title to be sent from seller's state, to me. Once I have the title, I will attempt to title in my state. As far as I know, total loss =/= salvaged. A lot of times a total loss is salvaged/branded, but not 100% of the time. This vehicle seems to have been a total loss by the original owner's insurance.

If for any reason while titling in my state, the title gets branded as salvaged, etc. I would probably end up giving it back to Copart and let them auction it off to a new owner, and I take the hit financially. I've so far seen the original title which has been signed over to me via Copart/power of attorney, and it has no brands listed.

 

[vinnymac]

Bought a used 2024 Maverick Hybrid, knowing it was in an accident.

From the looks of it, the truck was rear-ended on the passenger side. The accident looks to have dented the tailgate, took a bit of paint off the tailgate, crunched my frame (behind the rear wheels, underneath the truck bed), and snapped a plastic clip on the passenger side plastic bumper.

My plan is to knock off the flaking paint on the crunched section of frame, and hit it with a rattle can of rustoleum primer, and then seeing if a body shop can get my plastic bumper to clip back in.

Should I consider having the frame straightened/pulled back?
Is there a better way to go rather than hitting the bent section with rustoleum and keeping an eye on it? Perhaps hitting this section with Fluid Film each Fall going forward?

What would you prioritize in this situation?

Thanks.

That’s replace !!! For safety

 

[Jonny44]

I believe those are high-strength boron steel. Once compromised they must be replaced. You can try to straighten them but they'll probably crack from the process or quickly rust through afterward.

 

[Glen Baker LLC]

I believe those are high-strength boron steel. Once compromised they must be replaced. You can try to straighten them but they'll probably crack from the process or quickly rust through afterward.

Hmm
You could be on to something. It could be why the Maverick was sitting at Copart.

What car manufacturers use boron steel?
Ford Boron Steel Bodywork - Borates Today
Jan 26, 2022
The leading car manufacturer, Ford, uses boron and other ultra-high-strength lightweight steels. They are used in applications in different structural parts on their existing models, including Ford Taurus, Transit Connect, Flex, Mustang, F150, and Focus, as well as in Lincoln MKS....

 

[Suzukiridr14]

Bought a used 2024 Maverick Hybrid, knowing it was in an accident.

From the looks of it, the truck was rear-ended on the passenger side. The accident looks to have dented the tailgate, took a bit of paint off the tailgate, crunched my frame (behind the rear wheels, underneath the truck bed), and snapped a plastic clip on the passenger side plastic bumper.

My plan is to knock off the flaking paint on the crunched section of frame, and hit it with a rattle can of rustoleum primer, and then seeing if a body shop can get my plastic bumper to clip back in.

Should I consider having the frame straightened/pulled back?
Is there a better way to go rather than hitting the bent section with rustoleum and keeping an eye on it? Perhaps hitting this section with Fluid Film each Fall going forward?

What would you prioritize in this situation?

Thanks.

If you were looking for a truck, and bought it at a price that was a great deal, I would not have a problem having it fixed, and keeping it for 5 or more years. The damage in my opinion doesn't seem to interfere with the integrity or safety in any way. Wanting to flip it to someone else, I'm not that kind of person.

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