I've had body work done to a few cars over the years, thanks to living in the largest city in America (in terms of square miles) and no decent public transportation system (ergo, lots of drivers and lots of miles traveled per capita). And in none of the cases where I've had body work performed or estimated have I been asked to pay for an estimate. That being said, I'm self-employed in a service business, and I understand what a PITA putting together estimates can be. I understand the need to not give away the hour (or several) it can take to do a proper estimate. So I'm not begrudging the $100 I've been asked to pay for a body shop estimate... But I do want to make sure I'm not being fleeced.

See, what had happened was...
A large piece of curb had broken off and was in the roadway on a freeway exit. My RF wheel found that piece of curb while going 45 MPH. Wheel had a tiny crack, tire was toast. Underneath the car, everything looks fine. (I looked, as did two different tire techs at two different companies. While it's not a definitive answer, it's something.) Got the wheel fixed, got a new tire put on, got a rotate and balance. Took it to NTB for alignment today, and they say my RF camber and caster are way out of spec and that they can't fix it. First thing the tech says to me: "You might have to take it to a frame shop and see if the subframe is bent." See, I didn't say anything to NTB about the curb or wheel damage. I just had them do the alignment.

Also, I suspect my subframe might be slightly <gulp> bent, because there's a buckle/wrinkle/crinkle about the size of a baseball on the R rear of the sunroof opening. (I had my sunroof open when I encountered this jerky chunk of curb.)

Bottom line: Does it seem right to have to pay $100 for a decent body shop to put it on "the machine," just to check it out?

 

At $100 they are basically charging you the hour it will take to put it on the rack and check it. I think that is fair. Remember they have to physically do work and not just walk around the car like they would for say scratches and dents. Have you tried a different body shop to see if this is standard body shop practice? I don't know since I have never had to have a frame checked.

 

You should have maybe told the technicians that you hit something. Prolly would have found a bent tie rod/shock or suspension component. Or maybe the technician should have opened his eyes before spitting out something stupid like the subframe being bent.

I seriously doubt running over a piece of curb bent your "subframe" or crinkled your roof.

As far as paying diagnosis, thats fair. As a dealer technician myself, I dont touch anything if I aint getting paid, end of story. $135 for an hour diag, which get's applied towards the repair after diagnosis.

good luck

mike

 

@crx_91si: Thanks for the insight about the fee. As for the your doubt that a curb bent my subframe and buckled my roof? Search here and on the WWW, and you'll see I didn't pull this out of thin air. I'm a :detective

I didn't think they could be related either, but I'd just washed my car, and I know every curve, nuance, and slight imperfection in that pristine body. I'd have noticed the baseball-sized dent on the sunroof (it's actually a dent and a wrinkle). There is a very good chance these are related and that when the TSX is put on the frame puller, the dent/wrinkle may actually be pulled out.

And I most certainly did tell the technicians about the curb strike--the technicians at Discount Tire (who replaced the tire and did the rotate-and-balance. I didn't mention it to the goons at NTB, because they'd have: a) broken something trying to get my tire off; b) left a lug nut off; c) tried to sell me non-OEM crap I don't need; and d) made me wait another hour. I'm not putting stock in what the NTB tech said, merely noting that it's interesting that that was the first thing that popped out of his mouth, because it jibed with what I (and another body shop guy) suspected.

I only went to NTB because I have 6 months left on a pre-paid alignment plan. But I plan to never return to NTB, pre-paid alignment be damned. I hate that place. Every time I go in there there's a completely new crew and manager, and I promise you, they did every one of those A, B, C, D things I mentioned above. The most polite thing I can say about them is that they're as dumb as a box of hammers. The only guys there who've ever known a few things haven't lasted. /endrant