Devil's Advocate

F**K, I was leaving my parking garage this morning, and while stopped at the exit of the garage waiting for traffic to clear before making a right turn onto the main road, some lady in a ford taurus following behind me rear-ends me. And the damn taurus was a rental!!! she could care less.

I've had my TL for less than 2 weeks, and I don't even have my plates yet!!! In any event, I felt the bump pretty good, and I got out of the car ready to give hell. But I was shocked to see no visible damage to my bumpers (except for a scratch). I looked all around to see that the bumper wasn't dislocated, and all checked out ok. trunk opened without any problems either. thank god. but i took her name and number down anyway, and called my insurance company to put them on notice..just in case I find damage later. I was stupid and didn't call the police to get a police report, but hopefully she won't try something like claim I backed into her.

I'm relieved that there is no visible damage. After all, the car has 5mph bumpers, right? I can't imagine that she hit me going faster than that. Should I be concerned that the integrity of the bumpers has been compromised? I don't know what's behind the bumpers, but could the cushioning or energy absorbing material be wasted from this accident? Should I take it in to the dealer just to have it checked out? I hope they won't try to charge me for the assessment/estimate of damage, if any.

Appreciated any help you can give a freaked out newbie. DA

Black TL

I hear you man, It really sucks bigtime to get hit two weeks after you bought your car. What are you going to do about that scratch? I'd want it gone but then again, is it worth getting it repainted and taking the chance that it will crack or chip later? Those are the only reasons I dont want my bumper repainted.

Rosh

MVMD

just make sure that the edge of the bumper wasn't pushed into the area of the rear wheel well. this is what happened to a friend of mine

bebber

Woah, same thing happened to my brand new TL. I didn't even have my license plates yet, when I was stopped at a fast food drive-thru at the local Mexican grease joint. A Honda Civic bumps me and leaves some tiny scratches on the bumper. I was fuming mad!The 5mph bumper means that no structural damage will occur when the collision is under 5mph, which is was for me.

The sad fact is that there's no way to perfectly repair the damage other than painting the entire bumper. I decided to try to touch it up myself. I charged the Civic driver $100 for my parts and labor, and sent him away with a "warning."

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'01 TL with Navi
Naples Gold Metallic
Everything is stock for the moment
except for a big plush teddy bear in the back seat.

v_i_s_i_o_n

sorry to hear that.. our bumpers are pretty shock absorbant..

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00' Acura 3.2TL Nighthawk Black Pearl
- 18's Lowenharts LGM Chrome (3 piece)
- 225/40 NT555
- Factory Kit
- Factory Spoiler
- ordered Apexi N1 WS coilovers =D 1 more week!

Devil's Advocate

Thanks all for feelin' my pain. I took a closer look this afternoon and only found one scratch, which is barely visible so I'm not too bothered by that (so no need to repaint).

I just hope there's nothing busted structurally or otherwise that I can't see (ie, something cracked underneath or leaking, etc.) The bumper doesn't appear to be pushed in at all. I'm debating whether to take it to the dealer and have them put it up on a lift to check out, to be sure...

but yeah, this is testament to the fact that our TL's have decent bumpers, at least for low-speed parking lot types of accidents.

DA

LORD STANLEY

sorry to hear that dude. I was upset from a small chip in the paint forget about someone rear-ending me. I do know that certain cars have styrofome in the bumbers to absorb the impact (not sure if the TL has this). Even though the plastic looks fine, the stuff inside could be damaged. Happened to my friend's Grand Prix. Thought he had no damage until he took it to the dealer. Needless to say he was shocked when the estimate was over $500 to fix. Do yourself a favor and have it checked out. You'll feel better in the long run.


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2001 Satin Silver TL
- Factory Rear Wing
- Factory Body Kit
- Factory Wood Kit
- Burlwood Shift Knob

Devil's Advocate

Don't scare me like about sh*t damaged behind the plastic. After hearing that, I will bring it back. Just hope the dealer aint going to whack me with a big bill to look over the car.

LORD STANLEY

didn't wanna scare you. just thought it might benefit you to know. like I said before, I'm not sure if the TL has this type of bumber structure but it is very common on many lower model vehicles. if it was my car, I would bring it in. most places give free estimates on collisions but just watch out for them trying to cheat you.



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2001 Satin Silver TL
- Factory Rear Wing
- Factory Body Kit
- Factory Wood Kit
- Burlwood Shift Knob

Edub-TL

I bet the other driver was talking on the phone!! I hate idiot drivers!!

Yeah, get it checked out, it should be ok but it's better to know right? The same deal happend to my sis' Accord. Someone bumped her from behind but it didn't appear to be any damage.. she kept it to herself but then when my dad was loading somthing into the trunk, he noticed some foam particles falling from the rear bumer.. busted!

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Knowledge is potential, Action is power.
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Guest

Sorry to hear about that Devil's Advocate. I would go to the police dept were the accident happened and fill-out a walk-in report, this way if you do find something you can go after there insurance company to cover any expenses.
I had the same thing happened to me, only they took off after hitting me, but I got there license plate number and went to the police dept and filled-out a walk-in report.
The police got there insurance company to pay for the repaint of my bumper and provide me with a rent-a-car.
All I had was a scratch in the bumper cover $400 to fix it.

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00TL

merlyn

Sorry to hear that man...my father had a similar thing happened...and there was only a small scratch. The mph bumpers are awesome that way. When you have time...get under the rear of your car when it's parked...and inspect that nothing is wrong...nothing leaking...nothing cracked. And give it some days, and if nothing is wrong...then you're fine. Only thing to worry about is that scratch i guess.

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Mugen exhaust
now ordering AEM short ram

TLon19s

Sorry to hear bout that, I know what your feeling. Ive been rear ended 2 times in the last 8 months. Glad the last one wasnt in my TL!!!

Guest

I think it would be a good idea to get it checked out. I was hit on the front bumper on my old car when a lady tried to turn left and didn't see me, and I stopped just in time for her to bump me. I got out and checked for damage, verbally reamed her out, and let it go because there was no visible damage at the time. Wouldn't you know it, two months later, after the stress of being exposed to heat, moisture and weather, I saw hairline cracks from where the impact was. I was fuming mad, but by this time, there was nothing I could do. Be on the safe side and get it checked out, you never know.

All the best to you.

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deez3.2TLny

Man I know the feeling but wait and see I had just gotten my 2000 TL while I was driving it to work and I got slammed from behind. The guys Honda looked like shit but no damage so I thought to my TL. when I went to my body guy he found all soughts of sh**t wrong that wasn't visible to me. seems the hit knocked the frame out of whack.They told me they straightend it out but the car never seemed to track right after that.
Hope your turns out better than mines just traded it for a 2001 (I wanted the 2002 but they had great deal on 2001 less than I paid for my 2000)

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yu888

while I am sure the damage was cosmetic, I say get it checked and bill the other driver. her mistake right? Sorry to hear these things, but then again, after hearing about accidents like Snook's and other serious ones, I am glad the TL is so safe, and I'll live with a scratch on my bumper. Mine was repainted the first week, but the dealer did a great job!

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1999 Satin Silver TL Dunlop SP9000 215-45/17-mounted on CL-S 17" Rims
H&R Springs-Axiss MetalMasterPads-Crossdrilled Rotors
-Inspire Tailights-20/30/40 tint

Y2k S2K Honda Roadster
- Mingster Aeroscreen, Smokin Front mesh Grill, Clear Sidemarkers...

Devil's Advocate

Just an update on the rear-end incident... I brought my car into my dealer, MontClair Acura this past Saturday to get them to take a look for any damage from being rear-ended. They referred me to the body shop they use down the road (Clairmont Body Shop), so I had the guy there check it out. He didn't put it up on a lift or anything, but crawled underneath for a quick look and felt the bumper. He tells me that he sees this stuff all the time and reassured me that there was no damage. There was hardly even a scratch comestically. The guy, Michael seems like a cool guy. I offered him $20 as a gesture of good will, and he flat-out refused to take my money. I don't know too many folks like that. In any event, I am breathing easier.

I did notice that there were a few brand new TLs (with stickers on them) in his lot that needed body work. I asked him what the story was, and he said that the cars were damaged coming off the truck. Makes me wonder if a dealer would tell you if the car you're buying "new" off their lot has been through some body work...food for thought.

DA