$2,000 in damages for a minor fender bender. Pick up a old Ford Tempo for $500, insure it for under a grand, get in a fender bender, rip off the bumper and toss on a mismatched Topaz bumper from a junk yard.
I have the impression that this insurance sponsored "authority" does not like small cars: I wonder if they are trying to steer people towards larger, more expensive cars with higher insurance premiums...
I wonder what the correlation is between low-speed impact damage and braking performance. I'd expect that the Hyundai and Kia take longer to stop than the pricier cars, but then I'm kind of an elitist dick that way,
My Accent imploded like a frightened doodlebug (awkward analogy) when I rear-ended another car at low speed in traffic several years ago. The insurance co. came back with a $1,500 estimate to replace the left front fender, bumper, hood and left headlamp. I thought the whole point of these so-called "crumple zones" was passenger safety, though. Sure, the whole front end is gone, but you walk away without a scratch.
Isn't that the idea with these cars? In order for them to be safer, they're supposed to disburse the energy of the impact around the body panels. They sacrifice sturdiness for safety. Yes, it costs more, but that's because they are designed to take as much of the damage in their body panels as possible so that it's not transferred to the soft, squishy, messy parts in the seats.
@Deartháir - Now with more SingoFinger™!: Yeah but small accidents are a different ballgame. And a lot of the reason for the costs is crappy design. Mostly in making the bumper cover (which does nothing in a serious crash) out of plastic that can't survive minor knocks, and overlapping the bumper/fender in ways where a hit to the bumper is transferred to the fender damaging the much more expensive sheetmetal and/or lights.
@Pixel: The bumper cover used to be just decoration, back in the 80s and 90s. Now, particularly in small cars, they're all designed to transfer damage.
The energy from an impact has to go somewhere. Plastic can absorb a lot of energy without damage, but when that amount of energy is exceeded, it's gotta go somewhere. It's not always "crappy design". Bumper covers used to always wrap around and go all the way back to the wheel-well, in the interest of protecting body panels. Part of the reason they don't any more is that it's an efficient way of transferring energy in a collision.
Sorry, it sucks that it costs so much to fix, but that's why it's so much safer.
@GreenN_Gold: You back into your space until you come into contact with something. Then you put it in D and straighten up until you come into contact with something. What? That's not standard practice in the City?
I regularly cars like this (with a bit more twine, sometimes) driving around. The repair only costs that much if it's done. Also, I imagine the other party's insurance will generally cover you if you're hit in the back, no?
That's assuming they have insurance. As Los Angeles resident, I can tell you from personal experience that not everyone does. I got rear ended driving my mom's car in downtown by a guy who barely spoke English, had no insurance, and just drove off.
I parked (in my '97 Range Rover) behind a smart fortwo the other day in Hoboken. When I got out, I nearly died laughing I couldn't believe it: the center of my front bumper was in line with the rear "smart" badge. I could have completely destroyed the back end of the car by just bumping it, like most urban drivers tend to do, getting out of the spot.
@Tiberiuswise: If by that you mean packed to the gills with awful, cheezball Irish/sports bars loaded with meatheads, tanorexics, and stale Stella Artois, then yes.
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He did it at about 10 mph, though.
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Have beer.
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When there ain't much crumple zone to go around, it's going to crumple. Get over it.
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The energy from an impact has to go somewhere. Plastic can absorb a lot of energy without damage, but when that amount of energy is exceeded, it's gotta go somewhere. It's not always "crappy design". Bumper covers used to always wrap around and go all the way back to the wheel-well, in the interest of protecting body panels. Part of the reason they don't any more is that it's an efficient way of transferring energy in a collision.
Sorry, it sucks that it costs so much to fix, but that's why it's so much safer.
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That's assuming they have insurance. As Los Angeles resident, I can tell you from personal experience that not everyone does. I got rear ended driving my mom's car in downtown by a guy who barely spoke English, had no insurance, and just drove off.
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And you only get paid if the other driver sticks around. When most people bump another car when parking, they just leave.
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