So you want to be crash test dummy? Oh, you really don't. The surest way to possibly become one is to purchase a used car or a used truck that has been in a collision.For our purposes, and for used car and used truck industry purposes, "collision" does not mean a fender bender. It means an incident that resulted in structural damage which requires restoration. That structural damage takes the form of either what's called "frame damage" or "unibody damage". Years ago, all cars and all trucks had frames, or body-on-frame construction. Today, it is mainly trucks that have frames. Almost all cars have what's called unibody construction and no longer have pure frames. Unibody is a hybrid between a frame and a cars body. The partial frame and the cars body are now one unit welded together.So a collision that affects a vehicle structurally results in frame damage or in unibody damage. Why does this matter to you? It matters because when a new car or truck is designed it is engineered and crash tested. The manufacturer, the government, and the insurance industry know how it will perform. That is why some vehicles have a 5 star crash rating. They all come off the assembly line and are all the same.When a crashed vehicle goes to the body shop and comes out it is now "customized". The problem is that no one knows how the repair was done or what effect it will have in the next collision. Some shops might say if 3 factory welds were good 5 welds are even better. Good intentions can create a vehicle where the engineered energy absorbing crumple zones are compromised. In the next crash you could be hurt or killed because of it.Other shops say 3 welds, or I can get away with two welds and no one will know the difference. You'll know the difference when the car comes apart in the next collision and you or your loved ones are hurt or killed. The only way to know if a repair was done right is to crash the car again. Don't be the crash test dummy who finds out how good or bad was the body shop expertise. Don't buy a frame damaged or unibody damaged vehicle.
