I understand why some always buy new

[GoCougs]

Standards were different then, but amazingly the front end does provide a perfect crumple zone for crashes up to about 30 MPH and the high sills do provide a greater measure of side impact protection than most cars of the 60's.  The rear?  As fragile as most other monocoque cars of the era.

Yes, I agree with all that. My point was by hacking and welding in a garage one is probably not going to do any worse than the original design.

"fabricated from a single billet just as the wings are"?   Wings are fabricated from a single billet? That must be a hell of big billet for a 747 wing.   Most every airplane I've seen has a wing made up of an internal structure covered with panels that are mechanically fastened to the substructure.  And why is that spar replaced?  Because that's the proper way to do that repair.  Same thing with a car, there's a proper way and an improper way to repair one.  

Yes, it is a large billet, and the milling machine itself is even larger. As you allude to in your experience with non-jet airliner wings, another advantage of billet wings and spars is they save substantially on weight because there are vastly fewer fasteners (another aspect of weight savings of the 787 not usually mentioned).

Is cutting two damaged cars apart and sticking the two undamaged halved together the best way to repair one?  Probably not.  Can it be done to create a car as safe as the original?  Yes, provided it's done properly.  There's a cardinal rule you should know.  "With enough money you can damn near fix anything".

Like I said, this Hyundai, and I doubt it can ever be repaired so as to retain full integrity of the original design.

[Byteme]

Yes, it is a large billet, and the milling machine itself is even larger. As you allude to in your experience with non-jet airliner wings, another advantage of billet wings and spars is they save substantially on weight because there are vastly fewer fasteners (another aspect of weight savings of the 787 not usually mentioned).

You said "fabricated from a single billet just as the wings are".  That's wrong, the wings are not fabricated from a single billet. Various component parts of the wings may be but not the wings themselves. 

[GoCougs]

You said "fabricated from a single billet just as the wings are".  That's wrong, the wings are not fabricated from a single billet. Various component parts of the wings may be but not the wings themselves.  

Obviously the ENTIRE wing, with its intricacies of flaps, elevators, internal tanks, engine and landing gear mounts, fasteners, etc., isn't machined from a single piece of billet aluminum. However, the largest structure of the wing, the wing skins, certainly are. There are no individual "panels" draped over a skeletal structure as you state. A third aspect of why they're made this way is that there is too much going on inside a wing to allow for an internal support structure (most notably, the fuel tanks).

An airliner wing (not sure which one); the highlighted portion is machined from a single piece of billet aluminum, yes, even the huge wide body wings. Literally seen it many times in Boeing's Everett facility (wide body plant; 747, 767, 777, and 787). Also feel free to Google the issue. Note the lack of fasteners and seams that would belie an internal support structure:

[Byteme]

Obviously the ENTIRE wing, with its intricacies of flaps, elevators, internal tanks, engine and landing gear mounts, fasteners, etc., isn't machined from a single piece of billet aluminum.

Then why did you say it was? 

[GoCougs]

Then why did you say it was? 

Right back at you in that you presumed I had intended to say "wing skins" in your previous stating that the wing skin was a patchwork of panels affixed to a lattice structure (meaning, we were both talking wing skins).

[Byteme]

Right back at you in that you presumed I had intended to say "wing skins" in your previous stating that the wing skin was a patchwork of panels affixed to a lattice structure (meaning, we were both talking wing skins).

For starters I wrote:  "internal structure covered with panels that are mechanically fastened to the substructure".  That is correct no matter how you try to spin it.  No where did I say anything about a "patchwork of panels affixed to a lattice structure".  Take a bit of time and you can find multiple pictures of wings of various commercial airplanes in service today that have wings with the skin consisting of more than one panel.

And you wrote:  "fabricated from a single billet just as the wings are", which is in effect writing that the wings are made from a single billet.  Not parts of the wings, not components of the wings, but the wings. 

[GoCougs]

Modern airliners have wing skins fabricated from a single piece of billet, which in the case of the modern airliner, can be anywhere from 40 to 80+ feet in length, as shown in the above photograph. You've made the claim here and before disbelieving such fabrication technique for a modern wing but I suspect you've Googled and found that that is indeed how skins (and spars) are made - HUGE billets for some of the EXACT reasons why this Hyundai repair won't retain the full integrity of the design.

[r0tor]

Sheet metal does not equal billet

While its true the ultra modern latest gen airplane wing spars are machined from a single piece of stock, most others are just strips of aluminum and or titanium welded or fastened together to form some kind of an i-beam

[GoCougs]

Sheet metal does not equal billet

While its true the ultra modern latest gen airplane wing spars are machined from a single piece of stock, most others are just strips of aluminum and or titanium welded or fastened together to form some kind of an i-beam

The overall point is both structures serve both static and dynamic purposes, so the way they are constructed as originally designed is critically important to retaining the integrity of the design.

True, not all spars on all planes are machined from a single billet but again the point is if you take an as-original billet-machined spar and cut it and then re-weld it, you'll never retain the original integrity of the design. Granted, this is a more extreme example than a unit body chassis but the analogy holds IMO.

[JWC]

Modern airliners have wing skins fabricated from a single piece of billet, which in the case of the modern airliner, can be anywhere from 40 to 80+ feet in length, as shown in the above photograph. You've made the claim here and before disbelieving such fabrication technique for a modern wing but I suspect you've Googled and found that that is indeed how skins (and spars) are made - HUGE billets for some of the EXACT reasons why this Hyundai repair won't retain the full integrity of the design.

You do realize that they rebuild damaged aircraft also.  There are aircraft body shops just like auto body shops.  Those skills include metal working and welding.   The shops use used and new parts...just like autos. 

[565]

Carfax may only pick up incidents where insurance payouts are made.  If your parents paid for both out of pocket, it probably wouldn't get picked up.  Rental cars likewise rarely have accidents show up on Carfax because rental companies self-insure and do their repairs themselves.

Both were paid through insurance.

[hounddog]

I read an article not long ago which stated carfax only picks up about 50% of the accidents reported on vehicles checked.

Either way, I do not buy new vehicles based on this type of crime, yet, it certainly cements my doing so.

[The Pirate]

I read an article not long ago which stated carfax only picks up about 50% of the accidents reported on vehicles checked.

Either way, I do not buy new vehicles based on this type of crime, yet, it certainly cements my doing so.

I've heard this about carfax as well.  I've used it before, but it was mostly out of curiosity and a friend had a few reports to share.  I did end up buying the car, but probably would have regardless.

I've not yet been in a financial position to buy a new car, but even if I could afford it, I'm not totally sure that I would.  A few years old and 60 cents on the dollar greatly appeals to me, and I've been fortunate with every car that I've purchased.

[AutobahnSHO]

I would LOVE to have the money to throwaway on a new car- but buying a car just a couple years old, if treated well, will last just as long but be FAR cheaper.

Of course the newest car I ever bought was 5yrs old with 120k miles on it, the most expensive, too- at $8k. (current minivan).

The key with used cars is to fully examine them, if something doesn't seem right it's probably broken. Dings and scratches and whatnot will indicate wreck problems- but I've been fortunate, too- I've only bought one real lemon (a CRX) but that's because I went against my better judgement and didn't look at it during daylight and take a longer testdrive.

[ChrisV]

The key to used cars is simply knowing what you're looking at and understanding what sort of damage/repair is meaningful and which isn't.

Bought my daily driver sight unseen from a wholesaler 5 states away, picked it up at night and drove it home. The "test drive" was 6 hours back to Baltimore from Stamford, CT.