Are Auto Body Repairs Worth The Time?
If your car has a few dents, how badly do you need repairs? Parts that hang from the side of the vehicle may need to be pulled off and replaced, but what about smaller dents that may not be scraping across the road? Here are a few details about auto body damage to help you understand how quickly you need to get to a body shop:
Aerodynamic Disaster
Vehicles are designed not only for visual appeal but to move forward as efficiently as possible. The forward movement should "cut" through the air while making as little extra work for the engine as possible.
When objects move forward at higher speeds, they encounter wind resistance. You can experience this resistance by sticking your hand out of a car window while someone else drives, but the resisting force is even more extreme for a large object such as a vehicle.
When a vehicle is damaged, the auto body's planned method of moving through wind resistance is changed. There's no easy way to prove every single dent's way of changing how the vehicle moves, but any change to the aerodynamic profile--the car manufacturer's design for moving through the air efficiently--can lead to negative effects.
The gas mileage can change because of increased air resistance since the engine has to work harder. More work means more gas money spent, so if you're avoiding a car body repair because of cost, think of the gas money being wasted.
Shaking And Vibration Damage
Not all damage is subtle and requiring an understanding of aerodynamics. If certain parts of the auto body are damaged, you may be dealing with separation and breakage the more you drive.
Driving can cause unseen, damaged panel to pull further away from the vehicle. The rattling can be noisy, but the real problem is when high-speed separation occurs and either exposes sensitive components or creates a road hazard.
In addition to damaging the auto body, you may be damaging parts such as the tires. Plastic and other paneling materials that loosen and scrape against the tires can lead to faster wear and tear, such as tire balding or exposing wires.
The longer you wait, the worse the damage may become. Although many auto body components are divided into specific sections, an unfortunate tear or jammed piece of broken paneling could rip other sections away.
Contact an auto collision repair professional to get an estimate before driving around too long with damage that could get worse.
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