Hello everyone,

I was static at a traffic signal, a chevy optra comes up behind me at about 30mph, his screeching brakes fail to stop the car, and rams straight into my rear bumper. The impact causes my car to hit the car in front with hardly any damage to him (Despite my foot being on the brake pedal). The Optra's bumper was quite badly damaged, and my rear & front bumper have scratches but retain their shape, but needs to be refitted from driver side. Thats about it.

The Optra guy's insurance takes care of all my damages. The shop guy says that I will not be eligible for a new bumper as these can be repainted. How far is that true? Will the front and rear bumpers regain their original appearance by repainting? Am I right in guessing that there potentially would have been no damage to the inside of the car due to the impact?
thanks...

Bharat.

 

at 5mph you can have issues with tings bending. if a person hit you hard enough in the rear to push you into the car in front of you with your brakes on.. I would have a full inspection of the rear of the car at least. Unless the offending car is just that crappily built. You should have some structure damage back there. Heck.. I could take a straight bar and bend the back of the car by pushing on it. (well with the steel bumper off. However that force is still pushed into that thin metal back there)


Oh as far as the bumpers themselves. it is possible that a repaint can make them like new as long as there are no cracks. Not sure on the 4ths. but if it has the filler behind it to help it keep it's shape it will probably need to be replaced.

 

I guess it depends on their insurance, and where the repairs are done. I had a similar accident happen to me a couple of years ago. Once their insurance quoted a repair price, I went to a local Chevy dealership and told them I wanted new GM parts, not aftermarket OEM spec parts, and I did not want the bumper covers repainted. They put new GM parts on the car, repainted more pieces than the other insurance wanted, and just sent them the bill.

 

It was a Korean made chevrolet Optra

didn't quite get the above. Can you explain?

thanks for all the feedback.

 

the noses of out fbody's are made out of urethane. in order to keep their shape and not sag there is an "honeycomb" filler panel behind them. Generally they crush and break pretty easy. You have one on the front and the back. It is there for shock absorption and to help the front maintain it's shape on hot weather days. (So it does not sag and such)

I dunno.... still the mass itself should have some dome damage other than a scuff mark. I wonder how the bumper brace underneath the plastic did.

 

okay, time has come for me to give the car in and I just need to know, with regards to any frame damage, what should I be looking at? Any tell tale signs of the tings bending? or anything specific in the rear of the car to be checked since it was a rear impact?

oh and about any damage to the bumper filler (urethane) how do I check if it has to be replaced?

thanks again.

 

If you are checking for frame damage, check for bends in the metal and cracks. Sometimes paint chips off in those areas, total tattle tale sign. Search the net on more info, sometimes you need a pro to look it over.

 

Found on the net from a collision place...

Tell tale signs that will show if that particular car has been in a serious accident is quite easy to see. Fist thing to check is all brake lights and any type of accessories that are connected to the car but are not the color of the car. What are you looking for? Paint! That’s right, many times if the car has been in a fender bender when they repaint that part there will be a little bit of over spray on the light covers or mirrors.

Another place to look is the lines where two parts of the car come together. For example, you would want to check the crack between the front fender and the hood. If one end of that line is close together and the other end is far apart then you know something is not lining up right. Something has probably been changed and isn’t fitting like the original.

 

Will be mindful of the above.

Thanks Oxygen, really appreciate it.

 

Well I would just let the Body Shop do their work...

But just make sure to tell them you want GM / OEM parts, and really look closely at the car once it is complete. IE If you don't like anything at all, don't accept the work until you feel like it's right.

I had my front bumper fixed after my accident, and it came out fine. Also have had two other bumper covers fixed on other cars, I wouldn't worry so much about that, as long as when it's done the paint matches and the car looks good.

I'm sure they will remove the covers, and replace / fix any supports, and filler behind them. (Unless it's a **** poor shop, which I would hope is not the case, as your not footing the bill)

 

I suggest taking it to a dealer, they will generally not cut corners on your car. Also, Make them replace the bumpers, I know from experience that the plastic is weakened and also will show the cracks sooner on the new paint. Talk to a service manager at a dealer and they will tell you the same thing.

Keep in mind: Your car shouldn't just LOOK new, ANY damaged parts should BE new, they wouldn't put those bumpers on a new car, they shouldn't put them back on yours. If that shop won't replace the bumpers, take your car immediately and find a shop that will.

 

Dear all, I just went to the shop where the bumper work's being done. Can anyone tell me whether fitting the rear bumper to the body requires any screws?? I mean the typical 1/2 inch screws that we all use at home??

Cos I saw one through a gap that shouldnt be there in the first place!
thanks for any insight.

 

I thought it was mostly held on by the small plastic fasteners.

 

I suppose if those fasteners are not readily available for some reason, that is an acceptable substitute. The gap...well, something's missing then.

I did have to resort to that when I swapped in the fog light valance on my F150. The lower lip that fastens on to make the tow hook holes had no hardware with with and the local stealership was no help and didn't stock the parts.

As for the front bumper..tough stuff. I remember a certain family member of mine missing a driveway to a radiator shop and landing in a rather deep ditch nose first in a 91 Camaro. My friend came to tow it out and we expected the worst. Damn thing popped right back into shape with no problems afterwards.

 

How hard is it to get parts in Dubai?