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How slow a hit will cost money?

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Main Forum' started by David Beale, Apr 10, 2015.

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  1. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    Sitting at a red light (third vehicle back), light turns green and "bang" (loud bang). Lady behind hit me before I even got to move. My friend noticed her cell phone sitting on the passenger seat as I was exchanging info. I asked "You weren't on the phone, were you?" "Oh no no." She replied. Yeah, RIGHT! I got all the information exchanged and drove home via the police stn. I don't think either my friend or I was injured, though of course I am still reacting to the adrenaline rush.

    So Pearl S was dirty, and a quick look (traffic was heavy and I didn't want to hold them up too long) showed perhaps scuffed paint. Minimum damage per vehicle for a mandatory police report is $2000. My friend and I estimated with a new bumper cover (should that be necessary) and paint perhaps $1500 so I didn't report it, though I did check with the police.

    When I got home I phoned my insurance company, just to make sure nobody tried to pull a fast one. The nice lady insisted I take it to a body shop to get an estimate. Yup. New bumper cover with paint was the least expensive way to go at just over $1000. For just a bump with minimal visible damage. I did wash the bumper cover and dried it so I could examine it closely and it looked like almost no damage. My insurance company will fix it and there will be no impact on my rates or rating.

    As I already knew, even a "minor bump" can be expensive!

    Oh, and a picture probably won't show the damage. It's that hard to see. My insurance company recommends I get it fixed, though it is my choice. Appointment is late this month.
     
    #1 David Beale, Apr 10, 2015
  2. bisco

    bisco cookie crumbler

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    i just chalk those up to life 'experience', and leave them be. my car is covered in rug burns.:p
     
    #2 bisco, Apr 10, 2015
  3. KennyGS

    KennyGS Senior Member

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    Hope it all gets taken care of quickly. I'm the kind that has to get any scrape or dent fixed. Even if it's hard to see, I'll know it's there.
     
    #3 KennyGS, Apr 10, 2015
  4. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

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    Wait......shouldn't HER insurance pay for fixing it ?
    What about your deductible......if any ??

    Hope they inspected the bumper mounts. They usually are designed to deform upon being hit.
     
    #4 Easy Rider 2, Apr 10, 2015
  5. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    It won't affect his deductible If any repair is made and you were 0% at fault, your insurance is NOT affected in any way. Her insurance will go up a bit because of his claim (she's 100% at fault based on David's story) and will go up if she decides to claim as well to repair her bumper.

    Prices have gone up. $600 used to cover a bumper (bumper ~$200, paint + labour is the rest and it includes taxes).

    That being said, the large plastic underbody panel beneath the engine bay is $200 (part only) and it's easily damaged.
     
    #5 Tideland Prius, Apr 10, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 12, 2015
  6. Redpoint5

    Redpoint5 Senior Member

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    I'd ask the lady for $500 cash to forget about the insurance claim if the damage is as minor as you have lead me to believe. Of course, minor cosmetic issues don't nag at me as much as it does for others. Then again, I take mine off-road from time to time.

    Regardless of whether or not she was on her phone; you should not have been rear-ended. Nothing about what you have described seems like a complicated traffic situation, and the lady should have had plenty of time to stop.
     
    #6 Redpoint5, Apr 10, 2015
  7. xliderider

    xliderider Senior Member

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    The EPS foam impact absorber behind the bumper cover should be replaced as well.
     
    #7 xliderider, Apr 10, 2015
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  8. David Beale

    David Beale Senior Member

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    I kind of felt "guilty" getting it fixed, BUT here's the actual truth. If I didn't get it fixed, when I sell Pearl S -I- take the hit of over $1000 loss. Would that be fair? -She- was the dummy who was driving without paying attention. She will pay. She doesn't even have the excuse (such as it is) of ice or snow on the road. It was a beautiful day, clear and sunny, temps of 18C.

    My insurance company will pay to fix it. Her insurance company will pay my insurance company. That's how "collision coverage" works. And I now feel justified doing this for another reason. I'm paying lots of money each year to carry proper full collision coverage. Paying all that money, I'd better get -some- benefit from it.

    I was surprised at how little the unpainted bumper cover cost. It was $366. The rest of the quote is pretty much labour with a little for paint and minor supplies (such as plastic clips, I'm sure).

    As far as the "energy absorbing foam pad" under the bumper cover, the estimator was pretty sure it and the rest of the car were not damaged. But they will find out when they remove the bumper cover at the end of this month. I have one of those pads in my garage (from Bruiser, the FJ Cruiser). I'm not impressed. Maybe there is some "hidden technology" in it, but it looks and feels like a piece of closed cell foam, the type you use for insulation. I suppose it does absorb energy, but I can't imagine it would be much. It's about an inch thick. ;)

    My -point- in all this discussion is if you even so much as "bump" another car, it will be expensive! If $1000 is expensive. Perhaps I'm living in the past when that was a lot of money!

    I"m not angry or depressed about this, just a little annoyed. And not just at that woman. People in general take driving too frivolously. While stopped exchanging info. one moron leaned out of his window and shouted "there's no damage, just drive away". He was upset because we took up an extra minute of his day! But you can see how stupid he really was!
     
    #8 David Beale, Apr 11, 2015
  9. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

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    Well maybe Canada has uniform insurance rules but the US does NOT.

    Here you can NOT make a blanket statement like that because each company writes their OWN rules......and you are expected to actually READ the policy that they give you.

    With some companies, a deductible might apply. With some companies, your rate might go up.

    It almost sounds like he is in a "no fault" state ........which is another whole bag of worms.

    [edit] Oops. Maybe all of Canada operates in kind of a "no fault" manner ??
     
    #9 Easy Rider 2, Apr 11, 2015
  10. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    Today's cosmetic fairings masquerading as bumpers are a cash cow for body shops. Body color paint over flimsy black plastic. Not gonna change I guess.
     
    #10 Mendel Leisk, Apr 11, 2015
  11. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    Unfortunately with my Honda Fit I had nearly and exactly the same situation.

    Honestly, the rear bumper had "barely" the imprint of the offending vehicles licence plate bracket screws. That was all the damage I could barely see....

    The vehicle was less than a month old, and since the accident wasn't my fault I wanted it repaired. If I remember right it cost upwards of $1000-1500.
    Ufortunately again, it seems even the most minor of damage means they have to remove, inspect and paint blend and repair the entire bumper and the 'absorbent" material beneath it.

    I didn't report the accident either, it was just below the threshold, and the advantage was that the accident didn't later appear on Carfax when trading the vehicle in...
     
    #11 The Electric Me, Apr 11, 2015
  12. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

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    I don't know the system where you live but here if you report the accident and file with your insurance company she is going to have an AT FAULT accident on her record and her insurance rates may go up. I would file. She needs to learn something.

    You are right on that. I, like most of us, have experience with that.
     
    #12 Okinawa, Apr 11, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 12, 2015
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  13. Former Member 68813

    Former Member 68813 Senior Member

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    my prius was rear-ended twice. both low speed at red light with the perps texting. surprisingly, the dents are minimal at low speeds and you have to strain the eyes to see them. i collected $800 from one insurance and $50 from the other driver (this perp was a pretty blonde in a rental with no insurance and the dent was almost invisible).
     
    #13 Former Member 68813, Apr 11, 2015
  14. Okinawa

    Okinawa Senior Member

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    I have been rear ended a few times and I am tired of it. When I get hit in the rear and no matter how little the damage is I call the police and get an accident report and turn it in to my insurance. I also have my car repaired. I want the driver who hit me to have that accident on their record. They deserve it.
     
    #14 Okinawa, Apr 11, 2015
  15. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    Here, the person turning left is at fault, the person on the "left" of a 4-way uncontrolled intersection and the person who hits from behind is at fault unless proven otherwise. That's why if you're not at fault, it's always good to have a witness or two. Usually people are nice and will stop and offer all parties their contact info (be wary of people who only offer their contact info to one party, regardless of who's at fault, unless you physically approach them on your own).

    Canada used to have a 5mph bumper standard (prior to 2009 IIRC). It required that cars withstand an impact up to 5mph without sustaining damage (the idea is that if you accidentally roll into a shopping trolley or a pole at very low speed, it won't cost you an arm and a leg to repair the bumper cause it wouldn't sustain damage in the first place).

    Canada now uses the 2.5 mph standard that the U.S. and Europe uses.


    The IIHS does low speed crash test. Here's an older video from 2010 that explains how different bumper designs affect the cost of the repair at 6mph (or 3mph corner crash).




    Soo.... how much are those Lexus spindle grilles gonna cost? (particularly the F-Sport ones which look a bit more brittle because of the honeycomb shape vs. the horizontal bars which could potentially be more flexible before breaking)
     
    #15 Tideland Prius, Apr 11, 2015
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 12, 2015
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  16. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk Senior Member

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    It musta been higher than 5 mpg, going back more years. Our '81 Civic had SIGNIFICANT bumpers: steel, with black rubber contact strip, hydraulic mounts.
     
    #16 Mendel Leisk, Apr 11, 2015
  17. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    From Wikipedia (and it has a link to the source)

    that explains the hydraulic mounts, allowing the bumper to return to its original position.
     
    #17 Tideland Prius, Apr 11, 2015
  18. Redpoint5

    Redpoint5 Senior Member

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    It's there to protect pedestrians, not offer much protection to the occupants of the vehicle. Your pads are the airbags.
     
    #18 Redpoint5, Apr 11, 2015
  19. Easy Rider 2

    Easy Rider 2 Senior Member

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    The hydraulic mounts are not intended to return to their original position.
    Compress once and done.
     
    #19 Easy Rider 2, Apr 12, 2015
  20. Tideland Prius

    Tideland Prius Moderator of the North
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    So... what's their purpose then? energy absorption?
     
    #20 Tideland Prius, Apr 12, 2015
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