I got a chance to check out the Buick today with my own eyes (previous days have been to cloudy and wet), and the frame is definitely bent. Anyone know the cost to make it straight?

Just surface repairs are going to be $1500 to $1800. The repair shop is 100% sure there are issues underneath.

**Hubcaps not on car, as these are winter tires**

Edited January 10, 200818 yr by Dsuupr

The shop is more likely talking about the unibody frame rails, not the bolt-on subframe. Those gap pictures are somewhat telling, but don't look too bad from here. The car should probably be put on a frame machine and measured to determine the extent of the damage.

subframe repair wouldnt be much, but if the unibody section is bent, that could open a whole new can of worms...

subframe repair wouldnt be much, but if the unibody section is bent, that could open a whole new can of worms...

Yeah. Then you would be talking about a repair worth more than the car..

Looks pretty minor to me - I bet a slight pull is all it would need.

Depending on how much disassembly would need to be done, the expense shouldn't be to high.

Hell, if it still goes down the road straight I might not even bother.

tie a chain around a tree and the other around the frame and floor it...

oh this isn't a 72 Ford pick up...

my dad once straightened a frame on a beater pickup by chaining one chain from the frame to a concrete jersey barrier and another chain from the frame to a Caterpillar bulldozer... it worked ok for its crudeness!

Straightening a frame is relatively easy, doing it accurately is a whole different story.