Repairs expensive in mild accidents to cheap vehicles

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Link

Surprising since yesterday I saw a link of the top and least expensive 5 cars to insure and kia/hyundai got ALL five at the lowest.

 

[onza]

You get what you pay for in other ways. Not totally surprising but interesting for sure

 

[sdifox]

it's all plastic, and shops no longer just glue them back together. Most of the time it is perfectly safe to just add a brace and be done, but most of them prefer to buy a new part because that would add on a paint job (as opposed to retouch).

Plus rear bumpers are too high now (or front is too low, take your pic) , so when you rear end someone, you dig under their car, causing even more damage than a bumper contact.

We are again dealing with form over function.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: sdifox
it's all plastic, and shops no longer just glue them back together. Most of the time it is perfectly safe to just add a brace and be done, but most of them prefer to buy a new part because that would add on a paint job (as opposed to retouch).

Plus rear bumpers are too high now (or front is too low, take your pic) , so when you rear end someone, you dig under their car, causing even more damage than a bumper contact.

We are again dealing with form over function.

That's not entirely accurate. There are regulations that mandate minimum and maximum bumper heights so that vehicles meet up with crumple zones to minimize damage and injury to passengers.

When you are braking hard in a vehicle the front end will dive and the rear of the car will rise as the weight is transferred to the front of the car. If you plow into the back of a car that is braking hard his bumper will be raised and yours will be lower. That is why, in some accidents, you see the bumpers not lining up with each other or "dig under their car" as you put it.

The fact that many people add lift kits or lowering springs to their vehicles exacerbates this drastically.

 

[sdifox]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: sdifox
it's all plastic, and shops no longer just glue them back together. Most of the time it is perfectly safe to just add a brace and be done, but most of them prefer to buy a new part because that would add on a paint job (as opposed to retouch).

Plus rear bumpers are too high now (or front is too low, take your pic) , so when you rear end someone, you dig under their car, causing even more damage than a bumper contact.

We are again dealing with form over function.

That's not entirely accurate. There are regulations that mandate minimum and maximum bumper heights so that vehicles meet up with crumple zones to minimize damage and injury to passengers.

When you are braking hard in a vehicle the front end will dive and the rear of the car will rise as the weight is transferred to the front of the car. If you plow into the back of a car that is braking hard his bumper will be raised and yours will be lower. That is why, in some accidents, you see the bumpers not lining up with each other or "dig under their car" as you put it.

The fact that many people add lift kits or lowering springs to their vehicles exacerbates this drastically.

Then the regulation is no good. I have seen to many accidents where the front of the car digs under the rear bumper of the car in front. I know operator is at fault but the bumper height is obviously not working.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Originally posted by: sdifox

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: sdifox
it's all plastic, and shops no longer just glue them back together. Most of the time it is perfectly safe to just add a brace and be done, but most of them prefer to buy a new part because that would add on a paint job (as opposed to retouch).

Plus rear bumpers are too high now (or front is too low, take your pic) , so when you rear end someone, you dig under their car, causing even more damage than a bumper contact.

We are again dealing with form over function.

That's not entirely accurate. There are regulations that mandate minimum and maximum bumper heights so that vehicles meet up with crumple zones to minimize damage and injury to passengers.

When you are braking hard in a vehicle the front end will dive and the rear of the car will rise as the weight is transferred to the front of the car. If you plow into the back of a car that is braking hard his bumper will be raised and yours will be lower. That is why, in some accidents, you see the bumpers not lining up with each other or "dig under their car" as you put it.

The fact that many people add lift kits or lowering springs to their vehicles exacerbates this drastically.

Then the regulation is no good. I have seen to many accidents where the front of the car digs under the rear bumper of the car in front. I know operator is at fault but the bumper height is obviously not working.

I don't think it's no good. If the car in front is already stopped then the bumpers would likely meet up as intended. It is usually in these chain reaction accidents where this happens.

Raise and lower 5-10% of the vehicles on the road and you see it even more.

I wish police would crack down on vehicles with extreme lifts but they don't seem to do anything about it. Why have the laws if you're not going to enforce them?

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus

Originally posted by: sdifox
it's all plastic, and shops no longer just glue them back together. Most of the time it is perfectly safe to just add a brace and be done, but most of them prefer to buy a new part because that would add on a paint job (as opposed to retouch).

Plus rear bumpers are too high now (or front is too low, take your pic) , so when you rear end someone, you dig under their car, causing even more damage than a bumper contact.

We are again dealing with form over function.

That's not entirely accurate. There are regulations that mandate minimum and maximum bumper heights so that vehicles meet up with crumple zones to minimize damage and injury to passengers.

When you are braking hard in a vehicle the front end will dive and the rear of the car will rise as the weight is transferred to the front of the car. If you plow into the back of a car that is braking hard his bumper will be raised and yours will be lower. That is why, in some accidents, you see the bumpers not lining up with each other or "dig under their car" as you put it.

The fact that many people add lift kits or lowering springs to their vehicles exacerbates this drastically.

It's the bumper covers that are the problem more than anything...often the true bumper is undamaged.

 

[seemingly random]

Institute senior vice president Joe Nolan said bumpers should be designed to protect vehicle parts such as grilles and headlights. Damages should cost less than the typical $500 insurance deductible for a collision, he said.

We now know who butters his toast...

 

[Kntx]

Car cost and repair cost is almost irrelevant to determining insurance cost. Repair and replacement cost is completely and utterly dwarfed by liability. How likely are you to get hurt in a car? How likely is it you will hurt someone else in a car?

 

[exdeath]

It's typically the same labor and repair cost for any car. It's just a higher percentage of the value of the car when the car itself costs less. $500 worth of paint and body work is the same whether it's on a $30,000 BMW or a $2000 KIA. Of course it's going to feel disproportionately more expensive and not seem worth it on the $2000 car.

 

[StageLeft]

Originally posted by: exdeath
It's typically the same labor and repair cost for any car. It's just a higher percentage of the value of the car when the car itself costs less. $500 worth of paint and body work is the same whether it's on a $30,000 BMW or a $2000 KIA. Of course it's going to feel disproportionately more expensive and not seem worth it on the $2000 car.

Not according to this article.

 

[bruceb]

Labor cost will vary from car to car. Some are easy to take apart, others you need to take many items off to get to the item to be replaced.
Parts cost also varies a lot from make to make for what look like similar parts. For ex: Toyota / Lexus .. you can be sure you will pay more for
a part for the Lexus, even though they are very similar. And as to bumper heights, try getting hit by an SUV, Minivan or small pickup. Guaranteed, in most cases, he goes over your car bumper and into the trunk lid / quarter panels.

 

[Arkaign]

Heh, my car is the polar opposite of the Kia Rio (my gf has an '06 Rio Sedan).

http://www.autoblog.com/2008/0...r-cheap-crash-repairs/

I can attest to this, I've been rear-ended by a Dodge Stratus, getting only minor scratches on my bumper cover, while his entire front end folded in, crushing his radiator and headlights. I was also backed into by a CTS the other day while turning left from Commander onto Midway, and when we got out to check the damage, there was none to either car.

 

[RU482]

Originally posted by: JulesMaximus
When you are braking hard in a vehicle the front end will dive and the rear of the car will rise as the weight is transferred to the front of the car.

haha, that just reminded me of an incident back in high school. One of my jackass buddies drove a camaro, his brother had a jacked up truck. They were chasing each other around, the guy in the truck hit the brakes, and the guy in the camaro, drove right under, but hit the brakes just in time so his front end was inches away from the rear differential of the truck.

In a panic, my friend driver jammed the camaro in reverse and hammered on it. The truck, being big, jacked up and with mudder tires, was also equipped with tow hooks. When the camaro was gunned, the front end lurched up, and then back, with enough force for the tow hooks to imbed in the hood, and then tear down the hood as the car peeled backwards away from the truck.

All this about a week after the car had been fixed from a previous accident.

 

[desy]

Im surpised the Astra was cheaper than my Versa considering its an Euro car where my Nissan is Mexican built

 

[BUTCH1]

KIA= "killed in action"..

 

[fleabag]

Originally posted by: bruceb
Labor cost will vary from car to car. Some are easy to take apart, others you need to take many items off to get to the item to be replaced.
Parts cost also varies a lot from make to make for what look like similar parts. For ex: Toyota / Lexus .. you can be sure you will pay more for
a part for the Lexus, even though they are very similar. And as to bumper heights, try getting hit by an SUV, Minivan or small pickup. Guaranteed, in most cases, he goes over your car bumper and into the trunk lid / quarter panels.

The IIHS and other institutes point is that damage should be very very minimal in these fender benders, so minimal that even on an expensive car, the repair is only a few hundred dollars.