Insurance approves new running board for car: Dealer found repairing it

I had given my car for repair under insurance claim wherein the insurance company had approved the replacement of the running board.

BHPian outdoorlover recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Dear Bangalore Team BHPians, I wanted to share my recent bad experience with a particular Honda dealership and wanted to check how the experience of other BHPians has been with them.

I had given my car for repair under insurance claim  wherein the insurance company had approved the replacement of the running board (it had been badly scratched by a protruding stones being kept on the road side by our BBMP for road repair work). When I visited the workshop to check on the progress of the work, I discovered to my surprise that the dealer had cut a small piece of the running board and was welding that to the remaining part of the original running board of the car instead of replacing the entire running board as approved by the insurance company.

I found this to be an extremely fraudulent act and immediately brought it to the notice of the Service Manager who agreed to get the part and replace it. Sharing it here to highlight the lack of integrity of the A.S.S. and cautioning others to be careful.

Here's what BHPian Turbanator had to say on the matter:

If I remember from the old days, it seems the dealer has probably done the right thing by not removing the whole board. Being a monocoque chassis, a new running board would have needed to be welded across the body and not at just the ends. Now the whole build remains the same as from the factory, just a joint in the middle.

You should speak to someone senior and technical at the dealership to understand more. I maybe wrong.

Here's what BHPian jkrishnajk had to say on the matter:

There could be the ‘plastic’ panels of the running beneath which could be the aluminium metal parts. I’m guessing (please speak to a senior person in the service centre) that the outside layer is replaced and the welding is to take care of the metal areas of the running board. I could be completely wrong though.

Here's what BHPian ashivas89 had to say on the matter:

The "running board" is nothing but the sill in a car with a monocoque construction. It is an integral load bearing member and is not a separate part. It is in-fact stamped with the entire side of the car frame as a SINGLE PIECE.

It CANNOT be replaced. It can only be repaired in the case of minor issues. If the entire sill is to be replaced, it has to be CUT from the B Pillar in the middle, the floor along its length and at either ends from the wheel wells. And then be rewelded. Now, think about how implausible this is.

OTOH, the work being done in this case is entirely plausible based on the images shared. The issue here could merely be with the the wording.

If they are charging you around 30k for this job item on the list, I would say it is entirely legitimate (i was charged 30k for an even more inane dent fix on the sill by Hyundai).

Chill and give them a chance to fix your car.

Here's what BHPian DRIV3R had to say on the matter:

I don't see any fault on dealer's side here. The whole side panel including running board comes as a single piece of panel, which also includes the A,B,C Pillars.

Cutting damaged portions and welding with similar cuts from new panel is the way this would be repaired. Whether the dealer cut more or lesser than optimal is another discussion. Isolating the repair area to as small as possible is best always, rest of the panel being part of the factory finish.

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