Auto Body Damage: Why Does It Matter?
Posted on: 27 October 2015
A few dents or lopsided objects on a car may not seem like a big deal. While many people care about the appearance of their car, some people would rather put their repair money into something else. To these people, appearance-marring damage points may seem like minor inconveniences, but there are consequences to leaving the damage alone. Before you ignore your collision-caused problems, consider a few consequences that could become more expensive.
Dents and the Aerodynamic Problem
Vehicles are designed to reduce as much air resistance or aerodynamic drag as possible while moving. The science and engineering behind reducing the amount of fuel needed to drive is applied in many places, but one of the most noticeable areas is the auto body.
The auto body, or the shape and design of your car's outer layer, is designed to route air around the vehicle with as little resistance as possible, but without lifting it into the air or letting it swerve from side to side from wind force. Even if the wind isn't blowing, the speed of your car traveling down the road can lead to some heavy resistance, which can impact your car in strange ways.
You can feel resistance, lift, and other behaviors in action by putting your hand outside of the car window while it's moving—preferably while someone else is driving. As you move, open your hand so that the palm faces forward and feel how the air seems to push your hand back. Turning your hand so that your thumb or pinkie finger is facing forward reduces that feeling of resistance, but you may notice that your hand is lifted, pushed down, or otherwise diverted.
When your car suffers auto body damage, you create unplanned diversions of air that can change the way you drive. At the least effect, your engine will need to work harder to maintain the same speed. With more drastic forms of damage, the vehicle may swerve from side to side or begin to pull off other attached parts.
What's the Cost?
First, think about how your engine has to put forward more effort. To drive faster, you'll need to step on the gas a bit harder. With more resistance, your vehicle has to spend more fuel as if it were moving faster just to achieve the same speed results.
The cost may be small depending on the damage, but do you keep an eye on gas prices? If a few cents changing on the gas price signs can change your opinion about where to fill up, you should be just as concerned about your engine working harder.
Dents, bent bumpers, and separated panels can eventually rip off. Even if it doesn't look like a bad dent or tear now, you may have a much more drastic repair situation if the entire thing comes off on the highway. Hopefully it doesn't hit anyone or startle a driver!
Get to the issue before it gets bad and take the time to find a price that works for you. Contact a collision repair professional, like one from Black Horse Auto Body Shop Inc, for a repair assessment.
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