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Auto Accidents: Why Will A Collision Shop Inspect Your Car For Mechanical Problems?

4 December 2015

Viivi Kumpula

If you were in a car accident and need minor auto body repairs, a collision shop may want to inspect your car for mechanical problems before it repairs the structural damage. You may decide to skip the inspection and have your car's body work completed instead, especially if the car doesn't show signs of mechanical failure right now. However, it's critical that the shop finds and diagnoses engine problems right away to avoid complications with the car later on. In addition, your insurance company may refuse to pay for your mechanical problems if they're not found early. You may end up coming out of pocket to pay for the repairs yourself. Here are mechanical problems an inspection may reveal.

What Critical Problems Can an Inspection Find?

If the other driver's car in the accident bumped into the front of your car during the collision, your vehicle can receive some damage to the engine. The engine houses many critical parts that help your car run, including the head gasket. Although the head gasket sits between the engine block and cylinders, it can receive some type of damage if the engine shifts or moves during the accident.

Depending on how hard the other car struck your vehicle, the engine can develop a small leak that eventually causes it to overheat. If the engine overheats often, the head gasket cracks or comes loose from the hot pressure placed on it. The damaged head gasket can blow if this happens, which allows oil to leak out of the engine and mix with other fluids of the car, such as transmission fluids and coolant. Eventually, your car's transmission slips and overheats.

Bad exhaust valves can affect multiple areas of the engine, including the timing belt. Your car may experience problems when it starts up or when you drive it. If the valves crack or bend, they can keep the car from working at all.

An inspection of the engine may reveal signs of a damaged head gasket and exhaust valves right away. Although these problems can exist before your accident, the impact of the accident can actually make them worse. By performing an engine compression test, the technicians can locate low pressure in the cylinders and engine block. Low pressure can irreparably damage the head gasket, exhaust valves and other structures inside the engine that protect it during driving. 

What Happens If You Don't Fix the Car's Mechanical Problems?

Once auto body technicians locate and diagnose the mechanical problems above, you can decide whether or not you want to repair them. But keep in mind that if you choose not to repair the damages before you have the collision work completed on your vehicle, the insurance company can deny the mechanical repairs later. In addition, the car's current mechanical problems can damage its newly repaired frame and paint job in the future.

Bad head gaskets and exhaust valves can release corrosive fluids in the engine that can rust or corrode the frame later, especially if the car overheats and sprays hot oil and water on the frame. Once rust and corrosion develop, they can spread rapidly throughout the car and weaken the frame. 

You'll need to bring the car back to an auto body shop to examine the frame's damage. If the frame rusted or corroded a lot, you may need to leave the car in the shop to repair it. You can try to open up a new insurance claim to cover the damages, but the insurance company may say it's your fault for not having the car properly inspected during the initial claim. 

It's a good idea that you let an auto body shop examine the car right away, then have the shop or mechanic make the repairs. A number of auto body and collision shops repair mechanical damage before they do the body work. This is something you can discuss with a shop when you contact it. 

For more information about your car, contact an auto body and collision shop, such as Lombard Body & Fender Inc, today.

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