Well this doesnt really seem to be my week. This morning on my way to class I notice the huge amount of traffic and saw a new Civic with its front bumper damaged coming out of the parking lot. I noted to myself that I really have to watch out because of all the new fu**ing freshman that cant drive at our school Well low and behold after looking for parking for about 20 mins I get rear ended by some chick in the truck behind me She gets out and keeps apologizing and I checked out the car and theres only a little bit of paint scratched off it looks like. She hit me at a pretty low speed (about 5-7mph) and besides the paint being a little ripped off I cant see any other damage. Is there anything that could have gotten messed up that I didnt see?? Ive checked all the other body panels and everything looks straight and rear bumper is still aligned. This sucks a lot, first the wheels and now this

 

The car actually handles very low speed collisions pretty well from the rear, if hit "square".&nbsp I've been hit pretty hard on a hill with light scuffing of the paint.



-Ted

 

this thread concerns me, my car rolled off of the back of a tow truck and down a hill . It probably managed to get up to about 10-12MPH before it struck a wall on the passenger side. The impact was enough to twist my rear rim and bend my control arm. The body shop is footing the bill but should I be concerned with concealed damage? Should I be looking for tell tale signs of a more significant problem?

 

yea I think I got hit dead on from the rear. Good thing it was high enough that didnt wreck my cat back. Yea the paints just scuffed but arent there bumper supports and that foam absorbtion thing that could have gotten damaged? Thanks

 

Yes they werent damaged but dented more like it but if there arent any spyder lines or lines on the bumper showing if it caved in then the bumper supports are fine you basically got off easy or the chick did...close call

 

Yes, there is a styrafoam[sp?] "sub bumper", but I don't think it's that big of a deal.&nbsp Unless the bumper "skin" cracks, I wouldn't worry too much about it.&nbsp You could yank the bumper cover off to inspect underneath, but I find that too much of a hassle to go through on a <$4,000 vehicle (blue book).&nbsp If you're going after the other driver for insurance, then by all means get a shop to do a proper "estimate" of the damages.

Side story (LONG) - I had reversed into some old lady's mid 80's Toyota Corolla, hitting is VERY lightly on the black rubber bumper section.&nbsp On careful inspection, there was a slight discoloration of the surface - normal, cause the bitch NEVER put any protectant on the rubber part, so it was all "sotty".&nbsp I was going to just drop my name, number, and insurance info for her to take care of it, but she insisted on a police report.&nbsp I said fine - it was my fault.&nbsp (The bitch WAS parked in a NO PARKING zone!)&nbsp I waited for the cops, and they wrote up the report.&nbsp The cops were all pissy cause this was easily "under $100 accident" which didn't warrant their time - in Hawaii, they frown upon calling the cops for any accidents that look like less than $3,000 in damage.&nbsp Boy was I ******* LIVID when the insurance company called me up to explain that the old lady tried to push through a *$900* claim on me!&nbsp I was MAD - I was yelling at the lady on the other side of the phone; she quickly calmed me down and told me she was just relaying information.&nbsp I told her I deal with cars all the time, and it was just a quarter size "rub" on her black bumper - NO PAINT INVOLVED!&nbsp I told her I noticed a larger dent on the wheel well, but I didn't cause that cause my car was blue and the dent had obvious black paint on it.&nbsp She said she would relay that information to the estimator.&nbsp A couple years past since the whole fiasco, and I found out that the insurance finally settled at $400!!!&nbsp I was just aghast - I don't know what to say I was so mad.&nbsp This is probably why car insurance is so out of control in Hawaii.&nbsp And you wonder why I hate insurance...



-Ted

 

wow close call, I thought it was another problem on the ever continuing list of the FC

 

lol dont worry, I as well hate insurance companies.

 

hey guys any input on my crashing 7 question? would you be concerned?

 

A crash like yours will always cause extensive damage to the suspension.&nbsp I would try and get an alignment shop to see if they can get your rear suspension in spec - this is a good clue to see if there is further damage.&nbsp If you want to be extensive, get an auto body shop to measure spec points in the rear...

The good news is - due to the stock IRS, I doubt any of the drivetrain components are bent, short of the hub itself; a live axle would've been easily bent.&nbsp Worry about that particular corner, especially the shock tower (if the shock was damaged) and the complex subframe - there's a lot of suspension bars that keep everything in place under there.&nbsp If the alignment shop can align the rear to spec, there's a good chance the rest of the suspension is okay...

If you're paying out of pocket, I would highly recommend junking the car and picking up another one.&nbsp If it's an NA, it's a no-brainer - there's just a lot of good, used ones out there.


-Ted

 

The tow truck that dropped it was from a body shop so they will be footing the bill. The shock wasn't damaged just a slight forward angled bend to the front of the control arm. The shop has already replaced the control arm and the bushings and I just want to make sure that they dont get away with anything. They are a reputable place and my friend is cool with the owner.