Rear-ended today

[goldxc70]

This morning, I was rear ended at a relatively low speed (30mph approx) and while there was NO immediately apparent damage to my car, the other guy's Honda was an absolute wreck: hood completely destroyed, front fender, headlights, etc etc. Anyway, exchanged info and got out of there. Examined my car in detail afterwards and found signs of potentially expensive damage. It looks like my rear fender was pushed way forward and all gaps between in and the rest of the cladding are uneven. The two sections of the light clusters seem to be squeezed differently left and right. Inside the trunk area there are indications of some creasing - not much but some. At a minimum, I assume the rear fender will have to be removed, the "foam" replaced, various clips replaced, etc. The light assemblies are undamaged so can be reused as can the fender "skin". I know it's a tough question (and maybe even pointless) but does anyone have any idea how much to repair this assuming minimal damage.

[Ocean Racer]

Take it to a repair garage and ask them.
Kinda pointless asking anyone here with no pictures and without an inspection.

[goldxc70]

The ridiculous thing here is that you have to report the accident to trigger the no-fault insurance arranagement and to do that you have to provide an estimate of damage even though you have no time to have the damage assessed. Talk about a vicious circle! Now I have to go and talk to body shops about the "real" cost of repair and the first question they'll ask: is this an insurance claim?

[budrichard]

Similar front end on a 1999 xc70 cost $3700.
Everthing is designed to soak upnenergy as you saw.
Have other insurer pay?-Dick

[matt1122]

Just to help with filling out your claim forms, the "rear fender" is correctly referred to as a quarter panel. It's really going to be impossible to make any sort of estimate as to cost without seeing what's going on under the body panels. I don't think your estimate will matter, though. The insurance company can't stick a layman with their own estimate of repair costs. Also, when the body shop asks if it's an insurance claim you can certainly say, "I'm not sure yet."

[Astro14]

This morning, I was rear ended at a relatively low speed (30mph approx) and while there was NO immediately apparent damage to my car, the other guy's Honda was an absolute wreck: hood completely destroyed, front fender, headlights, etc etc. Anyway, exchanged info and got out of there. Examined my car in detail afterwards and found signs of potentially expensive damage. It looks like my rear fender was pushed way forward and all gaps between in and the rest of the cladding are uneven. The two sections of the light clusters seem to be squeezed differently left and right. Inside the trunk area there are indications of some creasing - not much but some. At a minimum, I assume the rear fender will have to be removed, the "foam" replaced, various clips replaced, etc. The light assemblies are undamaged so can be reused as can the fender "skin". I know it's a tough question (and maybe even pointless) but does anyone have any idea how much to repair this assuming minimal damage.

You got creasing in the trunk area? Damage around the pillars? That's major body work...

Gonna' be pricey...hope you can live with this car being totaled...

My T5 was rear-ended in December: no creasing in the trunk, muffler bent/damaged, rear bumper cover replaced. Front bumper cover re-painted (I was pushed into the car in front of me...).

$4,000.

with the damage you describe, it will be much more for yours...

[Ars Gladius]

IF is it just cosmetic (ex bumper and impact absorbers, etc) and NOT frame damage. You are looking at about $1600-2000.

http://www.volvoxc.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19497


You will need to have a pro look at the car to make the final determination, especially since you are suspecting body/frame damage.

[Xilikon]

I also suspect some body flexing so it could get very expensive. Wouldn't be surprised if it get totaled.

[matt1122]

Yeah, 30MPH is not a slow speed to be rear ended at. I didn't want to scare you, but since everyone else is, it's not unlikely the car is totaled if you have creasing in the interior.

[JRL]

First, understand automotive terminology.
As was said the rear "fenders" on ALL* cars are called quarter panels (*except early VW beetles as those were removable, thus were called fenders)

Now that being said, if your door gaps are now different, you have frame/unibody/structural damage and it may be totaled.

You did not say what year this is but I am guessing your lower rear pan is also crumpled and if it's an 02-04, you will be close to being totaled.

I was rear ended way back when in my 2001 at a much lower speed (15-20) and my XC had a slight bend in the lower rear floor pan.
If yours was really hit that hard, my guess it has much more damage than you suspect it has

[Astro14]

Fenders cover the wheels.

Bumpers are on the front and back of the car.

With the way bumpers are done on this car, it is a bumper cover, a piece of urethane plastic that covers the structural steel of the actual bumper...

[goldxc70]

First, the good news: all repairs are on the other guy as well as rental etc. No deductibles apply and no impact on my insurance costs. Tomorrow, I have to visit the insurance companies assessor tomorrow so they can assess the damage, take photos, etc. Also, I have been in touch with the shop that my dealer uses and hope to visit them tomorrow as well.

Looked more closely at damage: the rear bumper was pushed up and forward. On one side, it pushed against lighting cluster lens but didn't break anything. Gaps are all wrong. Looking along quarter panels, I cannot see any distortion even with a straight edge.

On the inside of the rear trunk well (battery compartment) there is an almost indiscernible crease. On the outside from underneath, the impact marks from the other car are clear. While there are no perforations, there is definite damage there. The bumper cover is scuffed but not damaged. Rear door gaps seem to be OK and trunk door is operating correctly but not evenly lined up with lighting lenses.

After I visit the two shops (hopefully tomorrow) I'll post an update with pics.

If this is totalled, I'll be talking to you, JRL, for a replacement :)

[goldxc70]

Update: visited two repair shops today neither of which would provide an estimate until they were allowed to do a full strip down. One provided no information at all while the other suggested a minimum of $2,000 based on "the price of Volvo parts". Here are a few photographs of the damage from inside and underneath.