Video: Why So Many American Wrecks Are Exported
A number of auto repair videos like this one have recently gone viral. They’re made by man in Eastern Europe, I assume Lithuania but I could be wrong. He seems to be able to pull off all kinds of auto body repair miracles. The videos are really interesting and some of the before and after transformations are truly amazing.
Many of the cars seen in these videos seem to be purchased in North America and send to eastern Europe for repairs and eventual sale. This is fairly common in Poland, too. American dealers buy wrecked, salvaged titled, cars in the U.S. and then ship them for repairs and sale in eastern Europe. The cars come out looking really good and most buyers wouldn’t know that they were wrecked if they’re not told so. Given the fact that the repaired cars sell for much less money that their domestic market never-wrecked counterparts, it makes financial sense that a lot of people buy them.
But there is a major problem here. The video shows clear damage of many integral parts: floor, sub-frames, firewall, rocker panels, sub-frame, roof, and roof pillars. The front right impact transferred the energy throughout the vehicle, all the way to left rear, via the floor and the roof. Because of that, the whole chassis is twisted as the repair video shows. In other words, this car was fucked and should have been scrapped.
The repair video shows how all of the chassis parts were pulled, straightened, and re-welded. The passenger-side shock tower and the lower portion of the A-pillar came from a donor vehicle, which itself was wrecked but presumably beyond repair. The floor and the roof are hammered out flat. In the end, body panels off another wrecked 2-series are installed. The video concludes by saying that all panels are installed and properly aligned. The vehicle is in clear need of an engine, interior, and a ton of trim.
Automakers design their vehicles to absorb and dissipate the energy from an impact. This is why there are so many parts on this car that were bent and twisted. The problem here is that this vehicle will never again have that the same strength and ability to absorb this energy again. Automakers design their vehicle for a single impact, with all priority going to protect the occupants. Pulling bent steel parts to their original shape greatly reduces their strength. Adding on new material or welding it in the wrong places may cause other issues.
In North America and in western Europe, a vehicle wrecked like this would never be allowed back on the road and with good reason. It is simply wrecked beyond the point of a safe and proper repair. The cars being sold in the U.S. with a salvage titles are probably marked that way with a good reason, and yes, there are many exceptions. But this bimmer? Well, would you put your family in it?
