AutoElectNG:


Some people benchmark against what they say are bad examples.

Others benchmark against world-class standards of which America is a standard bearer.

For whatever its worth, I will continue to benchmark against what I perceive to be the best there can be

Perfect, you helped make my point.

This car would never be fixed in the USA simple because of that benchmark thing you mentioned, in this case, a safety benchmark. The unibody frame is already compromised.

And this is why it should never be fixed in Nigeria if we truly want to benchmark towards a standard bearer.

For the avoidance of doubt and to make the records straight, since this is a matter of professional opinion, which is likely to be misconstrued, in the light of the statements in my signature, and to protect my brand, I wish to make the following clarifications:

1. When I said in response to the question"Why would anyone consider fixing a wrecked Toyota Corolla in this condition?":

Because making money in Nigeria is hard. How many months was cash saved to get this, only for it to go in an instant? How many more months to save to get another? So the easy way out is to fix it it seems.

I was in no way supporting the fixing of the car involved in that accident unless certain very strict conditions are met.

I was simply trying to explain the thought process behind the attempt to fix the vehicle in that condition.

That is made all the more apparent by the use of the emboldened words above.

Professionals in the automotive industry know that if a car costs $25,000.00 from the factory, to build the same car by buying the parts individually would set one back by between $100,000.00 and $125,000.00

2. Then there are safety/standards issues involved which is why in a subsequent post I said:

Does Nigeria have certified collision repair centers?

Even if Nigeria has collision repair experts, are they in Nigeria? Do they keep up with the avalanche of OEM training available?

Best option is to sell this car as scrap.

Here is why



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPffaSintIw

and this



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLdKrCWDaAg

Follow my Toyota thread here https://www.nairaland.com/3811419/dealership-level-diagnostics-toyota-1996

Please note again the emboldened text.

3. Let me make a further clarification.

If anyone offers to work on fixing a car in this condition, ask the following questions,

1. Do you have a Toyota SPIN?

2. Have you attended Toyota collision repair classes?

3. Are you affiliated to or have a working relationship with a Toyota dealer? (Very relevant because the cost of the equipment mandated by each manufacturer for collision repair is beyond the reach of the average independent shop to acquire and varies from manufacturer to manufacturer.)

4. Then confirm from the dealer if indeed such a relationship exists!

If the answer to any of those questions is NO, then do not bother to attempt to fix the vehicle using that facility.

The question is simple...there are standards for everything...and while I did not specifically refer to unibody damage, anyone who answers YES to any of those questions above already knows everything there is to know about unibody damage and when it is worth repairing or not.

Why did I make reference to collision repair training? This article written by our standard bearers ( the Americans) entitled "UNIBODY/FRAME RE-ALIGNMENT" which can be found here https://www.moparmagazine.com/2016/06/unibodyframe-re-alignment/ goes in-depth to explain.

In conclusion, I hope I have made it patently clear where I stand, which is that the vehicle in the said picture if repaired is an accident in waiting unless certain exact conditions have been met which are difficult to meet in Nigeria but very easy to meet in the Americas.

Additional details in the attached pictures.