Low speed parking bumps and modern cars

[Urban Sports]

I was parked up today in a large busy retail park car park, as I was getting my little boy into the back of the car a bloke in a shogun started reversing into the space in front of me, I don't know why but I absolutely knew he was going to reverse into my car, he did and the crunch was sickening!

I asked him to move his car forwards so I could inspect the damage which he was happy to do, there was none, not a mark, nothing, he hit it hard enough to actually move the car but absolutely no damage.

I took the car to my Dad who is a retired mechanic and bodywork specialist and he said no damage at all.

The same thing happened a few years ago with my MK 2 MX5 and it was scarred.

Amazing how resilient the car was, I wonder how many peoples cars are bumped into when parked up and they know nothing about it?

[triggerh4ppy]

I guess bumpers are designed to have a little "give".

I was hit by another car from the back at approx 10mph. No body damage at all just paintwork.

Saying that due to crunch zones in modern cars I wouldnt expect it to be as structurally capable of taking a high speed shunt.

[HertsBiker]

It's weird, a tiny bump can be expensive, a medium sized one no damage, and just a bit quicker means a write off. Think we should go back to cheap metal bumpers that actually protected the car. Not body styling plastic cladding..

[Mastodon2]

Urban Sports said:

I was parked up today in a large busy retail park car park, as I was getting my little boy into the back of the car a bloke in a shogun started reversing into the space in front of me, I don't know why but I absolutely knew he was going to reverse into my car, he did and the crunch was sickening!

I asked him to move his car forwards so I could inspect the damage which he was happy to do, there was none, not a mark, nothing, he hit it hard enough to actually move the car but absolutely no damage.

I took the car to my Dad who is a retired mechanic and bodywork specialist and he said no damage at all.

The same thing happened a few years ago with my MK 2 MX5 and it was scarred.

Amazing how resilient the car was, I wonder how many peoples cars are bumped into when parked up and they know nothing about it?

I don't know about new cars or old, I think luck of the draw is everything. A friend of mine took a rear shunt in her 2001 Ford Ka this morning, her rear bumper had some scratches in the paint but didn't appear to have any dents or deformation, the bloke who hit her came off much worse, couldn't get his bonnet open, front grill mangled etc. Consider it a lucky escape.

[divetheworld]

Sometimes the bumper will appear undamaged but the crash cans could have been deformed.

[Mound Dawg]

Plastic parts bounce back out in low speed accidents. Steel parts don't. You often see car's with "undamaged" bumpers but the tailgate all stuffed in.

[creampuff]

divetheworld said:

Sometimes the bumper will appear undamaged but the crash cans could have been deformed.

Yes this. I think there is permanent damage from greater than 2.5mph (although that could be against a rigid object so perhaps 5mph if another vehicle is involved). Also after a couple of years the paint may flake off.

[Urban Sports]

divetheworld said:

Sometimes the bumper will appear undamaged but the crash cans could have been deformed.

It was the grill he hit, the bumper of a shogun is a fair big higher than the bumper on my car.

[Welshbeef]

S2000?

[HaloGen8]

Thread revival!

Well if it was a Mk1 Mondeo the post wouldn't have read that way

[Dog Star]

HaloGen8 said:

Thread revival!

Well if it was a Mk1 Mondeo the post wouldn't have read that way

Those bumpers are unbelievable; so brittle now that you could probably poke your finger through. They look terrible.

There's a website for spotters of them, I'm sure "gaffer tape Mondeo bumpers" will yield results on google.