hunt.quinn•25d agoTop Commenter

Watched a body shop in Vegas take a shortcut on a unibody pull - call them out or let it slide?

I was in Las Vegas last week getting parts for my own side work and walked past a shop that was pulling a unibody car. The tech only tack-welded the pulling tabs on three spots instead of the full seam like you're supposed to. He had the car under tension for maybe 20 minutes and called it done. I know some guys say if the panel's not structural it doesn't matter, but I've seen those tacks pop off and mess up a door gap later. Any of you deal with shops skipping steps like that and do you say something or just mind your own business?

3 comments

3 Comments

emery1925d ago

Wait, did you actually see him stop after 20 minutes on a unibody pull? I caught a guy doing the same thing at a shop in Phoenix, he only hit three tacks on a quarter panel and I came back a month later and the customer's door gap was all jacked up. That shortcut never holds, and I still kick myself for not saying something at the time.

angela_grant25d ago

Oh man, did he really think three tacks would hold a quarter panel? I watched a guy at a shop in Dallas try the same trick on a door skin... came back two weeks later and the thing was already pulling away from the seam. I walked past it every day for a month and could see it getting worse.

alexc9318d ago

Ngl, you're probably overthinking it though. If the pull got the panel straight and it's not a structural frame rail, three tacks might hold fine for the life of that car.