Rear-Ended; New Bumper?

On Jul 8, 7:38*pm, "Forrest" > wrote:
> "Tegger" > wrote in message
>
> ...
>
>
>
>
>
> > Elle > wrote in news:e9dad137-9980-4a03-aeba-
> > :
>
> >> dan > wrote:
> >> snip but all read and found helpful
> >>> It is fairly easy to remove the rear bumper to see what's going on under
> >>> there.
>
> >> I checked everything people listed here. The factory shop manual has a
> >> single page for directions on how to get the bumper cover and
> >> styrofoam absorber apart, and it is dead-on correct in what (easily
> >> accessed) screws and bolts to remove. Everything looks good! I am
> >> amazed that the styrofoam absorber is not cracked nor does it appear
> >> deformed. At most, the bottom 3/8-inch of the styrofoam has small
> >> indentations from where gravel from the road accumulated over the
> >> years between the styrofoam and bumper cover. Then the gravel got
> >> pushed into the styrofoam some, either from this rear-ending or lesser
> >> ones over the years. The bumper beam looks fine.
>
> >> I guess the styrofoam, the bumper beam, and the car moving some upon
> >> collision took the force (in the vein of Tegger's post). Kudos to
> >> Honda engineers or whoever sets standards for bumpers. A little more
> >> touchup paint here and there; some Armor All, and I think my Civic
> >> will be good to go.
>
> >> Thanks again Jim, Tegger and Dan.
>
> > Happy endings are always nice.
>
> > --
> > Tegger
>
> > The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
> >www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
>
> Yeah, you really have to check them over after a rear-ender. My wife got it
> in her 92 Seville. The bumper was shoved forward on one side and some other
> damage. I went to the Caddy dealer to pick it up after it was supposededly
> fixed. The bumper was replaced and looked fine. I got down on the ground and
> looked underneath. There was a small shock absorber on each side that went
> to the bumper. The one on the impact side had been damaged and compressed..
> Did they replace it? Hell no, just shoved a bunch of shims behind it and
> rebolted it. I was ****ed, raised hell and got it fixed right. Talk about
> shade tree mechanics, at a Caddy Dealership, no less. * * Really tightened
> my Van Allen belt !- Hide quoted text -
>
> - Show quoted text -

years ago, took my civic in to a local body shop in a big bucks
neighborhood which advertised itself as specializing in mercedes, bmw,
honda, acura, figured they would do a decent job on the front end i
stupidly mangled. I impressed upon him i wanted it done right, even if
it cost, not just patched together to look good for quick sale like
some folks do. last winter, i skid into a dinky little yard sign just
stuck into the dirt, no concrete or anything. it keels right over, of
course, minimal impact, but the front bumper is split apart. Mr.
classy body shop had neglected to replace the styrofoam under the
bumper cover, and without the support the cover had stretched/ripped
under the relatively gentle stress. i'm convinced it would have
survived otherwise. bottom line, the guy's little cheat saved him
probably $15 and cost me $200.

Thus spake z > :

>On Jul 7, 3:19*pm, Brian Smith > wrote:
>> Elle wrote:
>> > Postscript: On reflecting on this accident and preventing it in the
>> > future, and from reading Dan's post, I think one of the lessons here
>> > is when there is a green light yet people ahead of one's car are not
>> > moving, glance at the rear-view mirror throughout and see what people
>> > in the back are doing. Maybe scoot the car up a little until people
>> > start moving.
>>
>> * * * * Yes moving forward when the vehicles in front of your vehicle haven't
>> moved would increase the odds of having your vehicle pushed into the
>> vehicle ahead of yours. Increasing the amount of damage to your vehicle
>> and involving other vehicles and people in the collision.
>
>good rule of thumb when stopped, always leave enough space in front of
>your car that you can see at least the rear bumper of the car in front
>of you, so that a rear impact won't totally squish your car. you might
>even be able to duck sideways out of the way. practice in your
>driveway at such things helps. stuff you need to know when you drive a
>civic in a world of suvs.

I have been taught (for at least the last 20 years) to see the bottom
of the tires in front of you, and to keep your foot on the brakes
until the guy behind you is stopped.

The bumper thing went out with 2&10
--

- dillon I am not invalid

"Jimmy, I'm sorry your girlfriend turned out
to be a cylon."
-Special Agent Tim McGee, "NCIS"

Elle wrote:
> 93 Civic DX sedan. It was a collision hard enough that the drawer
> beneath the radio opened and sent the coin change I keep there flying.
> As I got out, I thought I would find the Civic's rear would be partly
> flattened. I was amazed that externally, the bumper only showed
> scratches. The exhaust system is intact. Is the integrity of the foam
> etc. in the bumper compromised, though, after a hard rear-ending?
>
> The police made their report. I spoke with my insurance company last
> night. While only once before (on another car 20 years ago) of several
> rear-endings have I pursued a claim, this collision was so hard that I
> am concerned.


If you are unhurt, just go for the cosmetic repair.

Of course if it were me, I'd be screamin' neck, back and other maladies
and interviewing sleazy lawyers!

JT

Forrest wrote:
> "Tegger" > wrote in message
> ...
>> Elle > wrote in news:e9dad137-9980-4a03-aeba-
>> :
>>
>>> dan > wrote:
>>> snip but all read and found helpful
>>>> It is fairly easy to remove the rear bumper to see what's going on under
>>>> there.
>>> I checked everything people listed here. The factory shop manual has a
>>> single page for directions on how to get the bumper cover and
>>> styrofoam absorber apart, and it is dead-on correct in what (easily
>>> accessed) screws and bolts to remove. Everything looks good! I am
>>> amazed that the styrofoam absorber is not cracked nor does it appear
>>> deformed. At most, the bottom 3/8-inch of the styrofoam has small
>>> indentations from where gravel from the road accumulated over the
>>> years between the styrofoam and bumper cover. Then the gravel got
>>> pushed into the styrofoam some, either from this rear-ending or lesser
>>> ones over the years. The bumper beam looks fine.
>>>
>>> I guess the styrofoam, the bumper beam, and the car moving some upon
>>> collision took the force (in the vein of Tegger's post). Kudos to
>>> Honda engineers or whoever sets standards for bumpers. A little more
>>> touchup paint here and there; some Armor All, and I think my Civic
>>> will be good to go.
>>>
>>> Thanks again Jim, Tegger and Dan.
>>
>>
>> Happy endings are always nice.
>>
>>
>> --
>> Tegger
>>
>> The Unofficial Honda/Acura FAQ
>> www.tegger.com/hondafaq/
>
> Yeah, you really have to check them over after a rear-ender. My wife got it
> in her 92 Seville. The bumper was shoved forward on one side and some other
> damage. I went to the Caddy dealer to pick it up after it was supposededly
> fixed. The bumper was replaced and looked fine. I got down on the ground and
> looked underneath. There was a small shock absorber on each side that went
> to the bumper. The one on the impact side had been damaged and compressed.
> Did they replace it? Hell no, just shoved a bunch of shims behind it and
> rebolted it. I was ****ed, raised hell and got it fixed right. Talk about
> shade tree mechanics, at a Caddy Dealership, no less. Really tightened
> my Van Allen belt !
>
>


I got some damage in a 10 or 15mph rear-ending at a yield sign. The
insurance company called a Honda dealership for a price for a
"replacement bumper" and paid me the $600 they quoted. When I went to
pick it up it was just the skin, unpainted, without the collapsible
supports. I ended up buying the supports and just repainting the
scratches on the original "bumper." We need to get some redefinitions of
what constitutes a "bumper."

On 2009-07-09, Grumpy AuContraire > wrote:
>
>
> Elle wrote:
>> 93 Civic DX sedan. It was a collision hard enough that the drawer
>> beneath the radio opened and sent the coin change I keep there flying.
>> As I got out, I thought I would find the Civic's rear would be partly
>> flattened. I was amazed that externally, the bumper only showed
>> scratches. The exhaust system is intact. Is the integrity of the foam
>> etc. in the bumper compromised, though, after a hard rear-ending?
>>
>> The police made their report. I spoke with my insurance company last
>> night. While only once before (on another car 20 years ago) of several
>> rear-endings have I pursued a claim, this collision was so hard that I
>> am concerned.
>
>
> If you are unhurt, just go for the cosmetic repair.
>
> Of course if it were me, I'd be screamin' neck, back and other maladies
> and interviewing sleazy lawyers!

Why's that?

--
Joe - Linux User #449481/Ubuntu User #19733
joe at hits - buffalo dot com
"Hate is baggage, life is too short to go around ****ed off all the
time..." - Danny, American History X

"Grumpy AuContraire" > wrote in message
...
>
>
> Elle wrote:
>> 93 Civic DX sedan. It was a collision hard enough that the drawer
>> beneath the radio opened and sent the coin change I keep there flying.
>> As I got out, I thought I would find the Civic's rear would be partly
>> flattened. I was amazed that externally, the bumper only showed
>> scratches. The exhaust system is intact. Is the integrity of the foam
>> etc. in the bumper compromised, though, after a hard rear-ending?
>>
>> The police made their report. I spoke with my insurance company last
>> night. While only once before (on another car 20 years ago) of several
>> rear-endings have I pursued a claim, this collision was so hard that I
>> am concerned.
>
>
> If you are unhurt, just go for the cosmetic repair.
>
> Of course if it were me, I'd be screamin' neck, back and other maladies
> and interviewing sleazy lawyers!
>
> JT

Not to mention, the sudden onset of impotence and insomnia !

z wrote:
>
> good rule of thumb when stopped, always leave enough space in front of
> your car that you can see at least the rear bumper of the car in front
> of you, so that a rear impact won't totally squish your car. you might
> even be able to duck sideways out of the way. practice in your
> driveway at such things helps. stuff you need to know when you drive a
> civic in a world of suvs.

An even thing to do is to stay back so that you are able to see the
bottom of the tires of the vehicle in front of yours. This allows you
enough room to cut your wheels and to drive around that vehicle should
the need arise, whether due to another vehicle approaching yours from
the rear faster than it can stop or if the vehicle in front stalls and
doesn't move when the light changes. This works for any size of vehicle
by the way from a Smart Car or a tractor trailer truck.

Joe wrote:
>
> Why's that?

It's the American way. You must recognize their battle cry, SUE, SUE,
SUE! :^)

On 2009-07-09, Brian Smith > wrote:
> Joe wrote:
>>
>> Why's that?
>
> It's the American way. You must recognize their battle cry, SUE, SUE,
> SUE! :^)
>

I recognize the battle cry, just never understood the selfish
reasoning. People never fail to prove to me that my expectations are
too high. And they're not very high at all...

--
Joe - Linux User #449481/Ubuntu User #19733
joe at hits - buffalo dot com
"Hate is baggage, life is too short to go around ****ed off all the
time..." - Danny, American History X

On 7/9/09 5:44 AM, in article , "Brian Smith"
> wrote:

> z wrote:
>>
>> good rule of thumb when stopped, always leave enough space in front of
>> your car that you can see at least the rear bumper of the car in front
>> of you, so that a rear impact won't totally squish your car. you might
>> even be able to duck sideways out of the way. practice in your
>> driveway at such things helps. stuff you need to know when you drive a
>> civic in a world of suvs.
>
> An even thing to do is to stay back so that you are able to see the
> bottom of the tires of the vehicle in front of yours. This allows you
> enough room to cut your wheels and to drive around that vehicle should
> the need arise, whether due to another vehicle approaching yours from
> the rear faster than it can stop or if the vehicle in front stalls and
> doesn't move when the light changes. This works for any size of vehicle
> by the way from a Smart Car or a tractor trailer truck.

That all sounds great, totally reasonable & in fact, driver's ed in 1965
taught the bumper rule. If you try it around here (Dallas), one of several
things will happen every time: another car will try to pull into the gap
between you and the car in front if that gap appears big enough; the cars
behind you will start honking because you are blocking access to the turn
lane by being stopped so far back; the driver behind you will stop, get out
of the car and come up and start yelling (like they do in D.C.). I have
found the half-car-length rule to be more practical & just as safe.