A branded frame-repair shop. When an inspection station fails a rotted frame, Rusty Frames is where it goes. We start with one shop we own.
What we know
Pennsylvania rejects a frame that isn't solid or is rotted. New York rejects one severely rusted at the suspension mounts.
67 Pa. Code §175.78, §175.80; 15 NYCRR §79.21(d)I found no US chain built on welded frame repair.
Franchise search, Oct 18, 20264.9 stars from 58 Google reviews.
Google, Oct 18, 2026What we don't know yet
No state publishes how many vehicles fail for frame rot. In PA a station earns the same fee pass or fail, so it has no money reason to refer. That's what the Test tab is for.
This is closer to hiring an advanced welder than to an oil change. I found no proof that a written procedure gets a typical welder to repeatable structural work. The pilot answers it.
I need your real numbers: frames a month, ticket, parts, labor, comebacks.
Why we don't inspect
Before we build anything, ask stations. Call a few this week. Every station here is on an official state list.
- Do you fail trucks for frame rust? About how many a year?
- Where do those trucks go today?
- If a shop could fix the frame and give a written warranty, would you send them?
- Don't offer money. Not until a lawyer says we can.
Prove each step before the next one.
20 to 30 in PA and NY. How many failures, where they go, would they send them.
Frames a month, ticket, parts, labor, comebacks. Then the two-hour sit-down to write the repair down.
New entity, trademark search, a license of the method from Rustfix LLC, insurance quotes. Needs an attorney.
Run to the written procedure. Train three to five average welders and see who passes. This is where we learn the real cost.
With real numbers. Franchising needs a federal disclosure document and filings in several states (IL, IN, MN, WI, NY, MD and probably MI). PA isn't one.
Stay out of trouble
Whether it's allowed in PA and NY is unclear. California bans shops paying insurance adjusters for referrals. A lawyer decides first.
That's the claim that gets franchisors in trouble. Show real pilot numbers, cleared by counsel.
Toyota prohibits frame sectioning. The Wrangler has one approved location. GM and Ford are only partly confirmed.
I-CAR CRN-565 (quotes Toyota CRIB #155) and other I-CAR notes. Applies to collision repair; counsel to say how it applies to rust.The biggest risk is an injury claim after a repair fails. I found no frame-repair cases and no word on insurer exclusions. Get broker quotes and a lawyer's read.
More services to test
Yearly treatment is a proven recurring model for Ziebart and Krown. No margin data yet.
Brake and fuel lines, body mounts, cab and bed corners. Ask stations what else they turn away.
Four calls only you can make. Tap an answer. It saves on your phone.
1. First shop
Who owns the pilot?
2. Thanking stations
Referral fees are unclear in PA and NY.
3. Tacomas in or out?
Toyota doesn't approve frame sectioning.
4. Your part
What do you want for the method and your name on it?
Opens your messages with your answers filled in. Pick Brian and hit send.
One shop, one month. Put in your real numbers. Nothing here is a forecast.
Where jobs come from
What each job costs
Fill in the numbers above.
Nothing is saved or sent. For scale: BLS median pay was about $51,000 for welders and $51,680 for body repairers in May 2024, before taxes and benefits.