Got rear-ended by cellphone user. Cracked bumper on XC70, now what..

[tribologist]

I was stopped at a red light when I was rammed from rear by a young woman messing with her phone. I asked to see her phone to see if she had texted but it looked like she did not. She could have erased it, who knows? When I got to the car her phone was re-booting so I'm suspicious. She said she was trying to find an address or something. I would have called the cops right away if I knew she texted but I choose to just take her insurance info and driver licence info.

Anyway, the visible damage is a vertical crack on the left side of the bumper and possibly some opening of the gaps around the wheel well.

I got the insurance info and the driver licence info.

How likely is there that there is more damage besides the bumper cover? What is the typical cost for getting it fixed. Am I better off having the body shop weld it so the color match rather than getting a new? What could it reasonably cost? Is she better of paying for it rather than go through insurance? its a XC70 2001 in very good condition.

Ulf

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[JRL]

What's the problem?
She hit you...so she's automatically at fault
You have insurance
She has insurance
Let them handle it since you seem not to know the basics

YOU DO NOT WORRY WHAT OR WHAT NOT IS BEST FOR HER!

[Astro14]

Let insurance figure it out. Always, always, always have police involved. You have no proof now of what happened, only your word against hers (she can now call up her insurance and say " this crazy guy was backing up, I was stopped and he hit me!").

The bumper cover alone is $700. Add a bit of labor, you're over $1K. She might have Ben nice at the scene, but you have no guarantee that she will remain so, or make good on paying for this when the body shop tells her it's over $1000.

[tribologist]

Thanks guys, I probably should have called the cops. The whole family run motorcycles and those &**&&!@### cellphone users are what I fear the most. Having her rear-end me on the Valkyrie with my 10 year old on the back would have been really bad.

I called her insurance company (progressive) and it seems fairly easy to file a claim. I have images, we were three in the car and I bet there is a record at the cell company showing here data traffic so hopefully it is ok.


On the bumper, Mine are pretty good and looks perfect after a rub with back to black but is it going to look funky if I replace it with a new. My car is almost as good looking as a 2001 gets. Are they good at welding them?

Ulf

[Ars Gladius]

The two times I have been rear ended (both people hit me at a relative speed of 40-60 km/h), the damage was about $3000.00 CDN (parts, labour and taxes) each time.

It is not just the bumper cover that is damaged, there are shock absorbing materials behind it as well as antennas (key less remote I believe) and other connecting parts on the sides. Also depending how the the other car hits and slides under yours (doesn't seem to the the case for you) there can be some soft body damage of the pan where the spare/battery sits and maybe exhaust system damage as well.

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[Ars Gladius]

Other collision damage (not form the one above).

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[JRL]

and please stop mentioning welding.
How the hell can you weld PLASTIC?
Yes, they can be glued back together but they never look quite right and you can't match the pebble finish, perfectly!
Besides your crack is quite large

[youropeen]

He can mention plastic welding all he wants because it does exist.

Here ya go Mr. Knowitall. Holy moly, it's plastic welding (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVLBD-uHRgE)!

Though in the OP's application it would not work because XC bumpers are both textured and not painted.

[Blame Me]

and please stop mentioning welding.
How the hell can you weld PLASTIC?
Yes, they can be glued back together but they never look quite right and you can't match the pebble finish, perfectly!
Besides your crack is quite large

Its not easy Jim but its very doable and very similar to welding other materials, though not all plastics can be welded together from memory. For the record I was in the welding industry for 15 years, welding all types of metals and all forms of welding types. Moved on to making UPVC windows and that also involved welding plastic parts together, so yes it can be done.

While in this case, I do think welding is not going to be an option. Best option for the OP is a new part and to let the insurance companies sort it out.

[ssicarman]

My end of the world you are obligated to report to the police all accidents with damage over one thousand dollars. Unless it is a major accident, car disabled, people injured etc. the police don't need to be called to the scene. They do need to know about it. You do want to report all accidents to police if for no other reason that to have a police report.

[JRL]

Apologies on the plastic welding, I never knew what was used to "repair" them.
I'm not sure I would call it welding, but whatever, it works!
However, it still will never look 100% on a rough finished XC bumper
I've had bumpers fixed but was not there to see what was used. However, these were smooth so they could be painted properly

[Astro14]

I don't know enough about body work to know if yours is repairable or has to be replaced. I do know enough to say that body shop needs to work up an estimate.

I was rear-ended a couple years ago in the T5. It looked a bit worse than yours, but not much worse. Damage was hidden that they uncovered.

The young lady's insurance paid $4,000 for my repair. I was out nothing. I declined the rental car because (as you might guess) I had another car to drive, but my car took 4 weeks to be repaired...

PITA day for all involved, including the young lady in front of my car, who was hit when the young lady behind me hit me and pushed me forward (despite brakes), and the state cops who had to handle traffic...but it was all clear cut with insurance companies, and my insurance company arranged for the repair, got the $$ from the other company, and handled all the details. That's what they're for...

I understand wanting to help someone out, but you put yourself at risk of not being covered, or of having to fight a legal battle without that police report and investigation...

[swimNdrive]

OP, no welding as everyone said above. New one will look good on your 2001. It will get dirty and aged as time goes. Use some plastic molding cleaner on your old plastic molding so they will look new to match your new rear end. Let the insurance company handle the case and have a best body shop to fix it. Some Volvo dealer may have a body shop business. They will use all OE parts to repair your car. You should not need to pay anything but your time. I would not do anything to fix the damage myself in your case.

[Tahoe_XC]

"Anyway, the visible damage is a vertical crack on the left side of the bumper"

Any good body shop can fix, if her insurance negotiates will be $1,300. My bigger concern would be did the collision send a force through the exhaust system to the manifold. A stress there may not show until after a couple good thermal cycles. I would recommend driving a little before taking into the shop for this reason.

If it shows up be prepared to argue the "but for" (legal argument) the accident the leak would not have occurred.

[Astro14]

Flex joint on the turbo flange should prevent that. My rear muffler was crushed in my collision....no damage to rest of the system, but the muffler had to be replaced.

[Tahoe_XC]

Flex joint on the turbo flange should prevent that. My rear muffler was crushed in my collision....no damage to rest of the system, but the muffler had to be replaced.

That's what I would have thought also, but our rear ender translated to the exhaust manifold....

[goldxc70]

My bumper was scratched up but not damaged. There was some slight under body crushing but nothing structural. His car was totalled. I went to insurance and, as best I can remember, it was $3,000. He was definitely texting when he hit me. I watched him accelerate towards me but there was nowhere for me to go so I just braced for the collision.

Also, for what it's worth (and this only occurs to me now) but I had exhaust problems about a year later and had the middle muffler swapped out with a straight pipe to resolve that. I wonder if these two issues were related.

[JRL]

I got a good shot way back when in my 2001, blew the bumper right off.
Slight rear underpan damage, they can buckle a bit when hit so take it to a good body shop

[Deneway]

These bumpers are tinted from the manufacturer. So no paint needed.

You are clearly pissed off. Now use that energy positively and see how fast you can get this fixed.