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"The frame's so rotted-out I can stick a screwdriver through it" Login/Join 
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posted Hide Post
That frame probably started flaking years ago. In chunks. That would have been a good time to give you a heads up about trading it in or POR 15'ing it.

Definitely look elsewhere because they should have noticed that while changing the oil.
 
Posts: 2690 | Location: Baltimore | Registered: October 22, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nullus Anxietas
Picture of ensigmatic
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quote:
Originally posted by slosig:
Back when I worked in a shop in high school and briefly after college, this would have been squawked to the owner long before it ever got that bad.

Back when I was briefly in a service-oriented job we were expected to identify possible developing problems and appraise the customer. (*)

That's the thing. I'm not blaming the shop for the rust, but, I'm annoyed they failed to spot the problem earlier-on. ISTM something that bad could not have happened just over this [/i]last[/i] winter. OTOH, as I said: HRK's observations are valid, as well. Maybe it was stealth rust.

Doesn't matter. It is what it is and we'll deal.

(*) Ironically: When the business changed hands to owners who were more interested in sales of new equipment than the welfare of the customers, I was eventually "laid off" because I didn't get the hint and stop doing that. A completely astonishing turn-of-events to me, that remained a mystery until years later, when somebody who'd worked for a competitor at the time explained it to me.



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 26009 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Absolutely Positively-
Retired
Picture of ace73
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Congrats on retiring in a couple of weeks!!
Any chance a body shop can weld in a new piece?
 
Posts: 1182 | Location: Detroit/Downriver | Registered: March 06, 2007Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Nullus Anxietas
Picture of ensigmatic
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quote:
Originally posted by ace73:
Congrats on retiring in a couple of weeks!!
Any chance a body shop can weld in a new piece?

Thanks!

Probably not worth the expense. Truck has a trade-in value of $1500 and an individual sale value of $2500.



"America is at that awkward stage. It's too late to work within the system,,,, but too early to shoot the bastards." -- Claire Wolfe
"If we let things terrify us, life will not be worth living." -- Seneca the Younger, Roman Stoic philosopher
 
Posts: 26009 | Location: S.E. Michigan | Registered: January 06, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by ensigmatic:
quote:
Originally posted by ace73:
Congrats on retiring in a couple of weeks!!
Any chance a body shop can weld in a new piece?

Thanks!

Probably not worth the expense. Truck has a trade-in value of $1500 and an individual sale value of $2500.


I'm sure you are right. I assume those values are without the rust issue, and if it is that bad in that spot, there are probably others. Besides with, one never knows how far back you're going to have to go to find something solid enough to weld to. Add in the liability if it breaks near the weld and someone gets hurt and I doubt one could find a welder who would touch it.

I had a welder friend weld up an chemigation check valve so I could continue irrigating while I waited for a replacement to come in. It ended up being a lot worse than either of us thought and his confidence in it when done wasn't high. He said something to the effect of "Here it is. I don't know if it will hold or how long it will hold, but hopefully it will last until the new arrives." Not the kind of repair one would want to do on a vehicle with lives potentially at risk...
 
Posts: 6919 | Location: Lost, but making time. | Registered: February 23, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Member
posted Hide Post
In the mechanic's defense; when the frame cracked, and moved, it probably knocked off a lot of the rust that had been hiding the problem.

Now it's obvious to anybody.
 
Posts: 1351 | Location: WI | Registered: July 07, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Big Stack
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While I can see being annoyed at having to replace the vehicle on short notice, you got 14 years out of it in what you admit is an adverse environment (this assumes you bought it new, which you didn't state.) Yeah, it would have been nice to get more notice that it was going south, but you did get your money's worth out of the vehicle
 
Posts: 21240 | Registered: November 05, 2003Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Shall Not Be Infringed
Picture of nhracecraft
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Seriously, the frame looks like it's shattered! Did your wife drive thru a 'yuuuge' pothole anytime recently? You know, the kind of pothole you can have a head-on collision in, and that would have knocked every trace of undercoating off of the vehicle!

How often do you get you oil changed? Rust like that should have been obvious for quite a while. I'd expect the tech to at least take a cursory look around under the vehicle while the crankcase is draining! This is one reason I like to do my own oil changes, just sayin' Wink

I'm sticking with my original assessment....At this point, that's MALPRACTICE by the shop/techs!


____________________________________________________________

If Some is Good, and More is Better.....then Too Much, is Just Enough !!
Trump 2024....Save America!
"May Almighty God bless the United States of America" - parabellum 7/26/20
Live Free or Die!
 
Posts: 8883 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: October 29, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Raptorman
Picture of Mars_Attacks
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Thar truck is dangerous. Sell it for parts.


____________________________

Eeewwww, don't touch it!
Here, poke at it with this stick.
 
Posts: 34115 | Location: North, GA | Registered: October 09, 2002Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Edge seeking
Sharp blade!
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One way of looking at this is what benefit does a mechanic shop gain giving their opinion on if rust is a structural or safety problem. They are giving an opinion on a subject in which they have no training, that possibly gives them some liability, for essentially no reward. These evaluations and opinions are likely never charged for.

Their best course may be noting any corrosion with: "Corrosion of structural members is apparent, potentially or eventually leading to failure. Evaluation by experts is advised" Those experts are likely body or chassis shop repair people or the selling dealer shop.
 
Posts: 7454 | Location: Over the hills and far away | Registered: January 20, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Edge seeking
Sharp blade!
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Seriously, the frame looks like it's shattered! Did your wife drive thru a 'yuuuge' pothole anytime recently? You know, the kind of pothole you can have a head-on collision in, and that would have knocked every trace of undercoating off of the vehicle!

How often do you get you oil changed? Rust like that should have been obvious for quite a while. I'd expect the tech to at least take a cursory look around under the vehicle while the crankcase is draining! This is one reason I like to do my own oil changes, just sayin' Wink

I'm sticking with my original assessment....At this point, that's MALPRACTICE by the shop/techs!


What makes you think part of an oil change is an inspection and evaluation of other parts of a car?
 
Posts: 7454 | Location: Over the hills and far away | Registered: January 20, 2009Reply With QuoteReport This Post
quarter MOA visionary
Picture of smschulz
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You know the irony of the situation is that if the tech > way back > said "you are going to possibly get some rust and you need to ....
~ then he would have chastised for being a "stealership" trying to steal your money for unneeded work. Eek
 
Posts: 22906 | Location: Houston, TX | Registered: June 11, 2006Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Thank you
Very little
Picture of HRK
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Dang that's a big effin hole, being MI it's rotted through and through and done might be she hit a pothole (its MI right so the odds are good) and it finally cracked though.

Donate it or junk it, that's clearly not safe.

You could find a used tire place, have them swap out some shitty used up tires and then resell the new ones you bought on craigslist.

When I traded in an S10 Blazer they wanted $700 for two new tires to meet the lease requirements, granted the rears were low on tread, I just went to one of the used tire stores in the area, bought two matching tires for $25 each, mounted and somewhat balanced
and the lease company was ok with the tread amount.
 
Posts: 23448 | Location: Florida | Registered: November 07, 2008Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Shall Not Be Infringed
Picture of nhracecraft
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by pbslinger:
quote:
Originally posted by nhracecraft:
Seriously, the frame looks like it's shattered! Did your wife drive thru a 'yuuuge' pothole anytime recently? You know, the kind of pothole you can have a head-on collision in, and that would have knocked every trace of undercoating off of the vehicle!

How often do you get you oil changed? Rust like that should have been obvious for quite a while. I'd expect the tech to at least take a cursory look around under the vehicle while the crankcase is draining! This is one reason I like to do my own oil changes, just sayin' Wink

I'm sticking with my original assessment....At this point, that's MALPRACTICE by the shop/techs!


What makes you think part of an oil change is an inspection and evaluation of other parts of a car?

The vast majority of service shops doing oil changes (excluding the Jiffy Lube / express-lube shops, etc) offer an inspection (safety?) as part of that service. Regardless, how long does it take to do a quick check of the tires/tread wear, exhaust, brake pad thickness (if visible), etc, while you're under the vehicle with the oil draining. In this case, a simple 'Hey you might want to keep an eye on this....Pretty soon your suspension will no longer be connected to the vehicle' should have been in order months ago! Wink

Further, such inspections usually end up identifying potential work/add'l revenue for the shop. Assuming the shop is honest, and not recommending unnecessary or overpriced service(s), I'd expect the customer to feel that they're looking out for them, especially w/ safety related issues. Such shops would likely earn their future business, and maybe that of their friends/family....People talk! Honestly, I see safety issues as a moral obligation to notify!

That said, the OP indicated that his wife gets ALL service done at that shop....If you're under the vehicle (with your eyes open), that should have been noticed sooner!


____________________________________________________________

If Some is Good, and More is Better.....then Too Much, is Just Enough !!
Trump 2024....Save America!
"May Almighty God bless the United States of America" - parabellum 7/26/20
Live Free or Die!
 
Posts: 8883 | Location: New Hampshire | Registered: October 29, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
Ammoholic
posted Hide Post
quote:
Originally posted by nhracecraft:
The vast majority of service shops doing oil changes (excluding the Jiffy Lube / express-lube shops, etc) offer an inspection (safety?) as part of that service. Regardless, how long does it take to do a quick check of the tires/tread wear, exhaust, brake pad thickness (if visible), etc, while you're under the vehicle with the oil draining. In this case, a simple 'Hey you might want to keep an eye on this....Pretty soon your suspension will no longer be connected to the vehicle' should have been in order months ago! Wink

Further, such inspections usually end up identifying potential work/add'l revenue for the shop. Assuming the shop is honest, and not recommending unnecessary or overpriced service(s), I'd expect the customer to feel that they're looking out for them, especially w/ safety related issues. Such shops would likely earn their future business, and maybe that of their friends/family....People talk! Honestly, I see safety issues as a moral obligation to notify!

That said, the OP indicated that his wife gets ALL service done at that shop....If you're under the vehicle (with your eyes open), that should have been noticed sooner!


We always did SIs (Safety Inspections). Sold brake jobs, etc, and kept the customers safer. Rarely, someone would thank us for pointing out whatever needed doing and do it themselves. Generally, they would just have us do it. A good honest shop is too damned busy to sell people the crap they don't need. It has been long enough that I don't remember the rest, but we always checked fluids and brakes and reported to the customer what we found. Washer fluid or a radiator that needed a little water, we just took care of. Oil or ATF, we told them what it needed and asked if they wanted us to top it. We always reported brake condition, whether brakes were needed, "someone just did your brakes, looks like a nice job.", or anywhere in between. I never saw anyone not appreciate the heads up. And if they know 10 or 15k miles ahead they can budget for it...

This message has been edited. Last edited by: slosig,
 
Posts: 6919 | Location: Lost, but making time. | Registered: February 23, 2011Reply With QuoteReport This Post
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