Rear-ended... Anything I should look for in terms of damage under the car? - Toyota Nation Forum : Toyota Car and Truck Forums

islandboy57 · 10-01-2005, 07:35 PM

Yeah.. My mom and I were stopped at a light when a guy rear-ended us. He hit us pretty hard because the noise inside the car (windows up + AC on) was super loud. I got out expecting the worse because of how loud the noise was. To my suprise other than a few scratches to the bumper and a mark where his license plate hit, there was no real damage.

I'm just wondering if I should be concerned about anything underneath the car, or the frame? I only ask because it really felt like he hit us hard. He said that he hit the gas instead of the brake (!!) when he was slowing down. He was nice, got out, asked if everybody was okay and immediately offered a couple hundred to cover the damages. Decided not to do that, and called the police because inside the car, both my mom and I flew forward. He hit us hard enough to make the ashtray open all the way (FULL of coins too) and the cigarette lighter thing popped out too. Good thing we had our seatbelts on! My neck isn't sore, just feels a bit tight.

I'll post pictures in a bit. I mean, other than a few scratches to the car, I feel very fortunate that the Camry kept us safe. AND I'm glad I didn't hit the car in the front..my foot was on the brake and thankfully I didn't let go when the guy hit us.

I

my Camry! Kept us safe

nodrogkam · 10-01-2005, 07:52 PM

Take it to a body shop or to toyota to get it checked out. there are things that could have broken, gotten fractured etc on the car. And as for yourself, dont tell everyone that you're feeling okay cos the injuries suffered from an accident may settle in later. i hope you and your mother are fine tho. Just for insurance reasons, dont say everything is all good.

Good luck and im glad that there were no serious injuries.

islandboy57 · 10-01-2005, 07:58 PM

Thanks for the tips. Yeah an aunt of mine was in a minor fender-bender and within a few days, her neck got sore so she had to go to a chiropractor. Never would've thought that based on how little damage. Yeah I called a local body shop but they're closed, so I guess I'll wait till next week or go to Toyota.

The other driver said that if we wanted to get it checked out, to not mention it's an insurance thing otherwise they'll just make things up..and that if they charge to check out our car, he'll pay for it. The body shop is going to want to know what happened so they can check the appropriate things, so there's no avoiding saying what happened.

Thanks for the concern, we're just going to rest. I'm worried though because we really flew forward..

islandboy57 · 10-01-2005, 08:16 PM

As you can see, damage to the car was minimal. That spot where the paint is cracked cocerns me though..I hope it doesn't flake off or anything. On the left of the top picture, that's existing damage. I told the cop that and he didn't write anything at all on the police report on the damage (or lack of) caused by the accident, or pre-existing damage. He was really unhelpful and a bit rude. Don't ask me why I put a picture of under the car, I just decided to take one. Heh.

The last picture is of the guy's car (it was a rental) - in this picture I noticed that you can see the imprint the black plastic license plate holder made on his bumper..looks like it went up by an inch when he hit us.

I am really suprised at how little damage there was, compared to how bad it could have been cuz the sound was deafening on the inside of the car.

touringcamry · 10-01-2005, 08:26 PM

Check the tail lights...I had an old Dodge Colt that was rear ended and the tail lights cracked and started to have condensation inside afterwards. I guess it broke a seal somewhere that let water in. There was no visibile crack by just loooking at the outside of the tail light.

skewe · 10-01-2005, 08:27 PM

honestly, i would take it to the shop and get it repaired.

it would cost the other guy like $300 to $500
or his insurance will pick it up.

http://toyotanation.com/forum/t92036.html

wildfire · 10-01-2005, 08:29 PM

That sucks. I had a similar incident a few days ago. A lady in a big ass truck (think it was one of the big super duties) backed into my car while I was at work. The damage wasn't as bad as yours might be. The truck looked like it was lifted so her bumper just scraped over mine and smashed my tail light. She couldn't have hit me too hard, the bulb was still in one piece.

With regards to your incident, since it was his fault, his insurance will be covering everything (including a rental while the car is being repaired) so they may have a certain place that they'll have you go to for an estimate and repairs. Since it'll be a shop that the insurance company uses, they'll more than likely know about you and what happened so you might as well tell them what they want/need to know. The place the lady's insurance company sent me to had a fax with all the details they needed before I even got there. For peace of mind, you can take it to your own mechanic but since it's insurance work, the place his insurance sends you to SHOULD be pretty thorough when they check your car. If something on the car should fail as a result of the accident and they don't catch it, I would imagine they would be in some deep shit but then again I'm not sure of that one.

islandboy57 · 10-03-2005, 05:19 PM

I called one of the local, well known body shops and the guy said because of the foam behind the bumper, there most likely isn't any damage mechanically. He did say that an estimate is free though so might as well take it down.

I wouldn't mind getting that circular mark w/ the paint cracking fixed.. But I also don't want to make a big deal outta nothing cuz the other guy was pretty nice. It was the cop who responded that was less than helpful

Thanks again guys for all the tips!

PS: I've been seeing more and more of the gen 4.5 "Gallery Edition" Camrys on the road lately..those are NICE! After this accident, I'm sold on the Camry. The guy who hit us is lucky we don't have an older smaller car. The front bumper on the '05 Century is on the higher end so he would have slammed into a smaller car's trunk instead of bumper..

islandboy57 · 10-04-2005, 09:35 PM

Went down to get the estimate and the shop said there most likely isn't any damage but if we wanted the bumper fixed, it'd be $600 including labor which is ~$100 higher than usual because we have reverse sensors. Sooo, just gonna tell the guy we're not gonna fix it cuz $600 for something so minor is a bit much.

One thing the body shop did notice was bolts that shifted in the back left (where the guy hit us) under two rubber plug looking things. Should I be concerned? The identical bolts on the right hand side are fine. I'm including a picture of what I'm talking about... Thanks again guys.

***Tercel GTS*** · 10-04-2005, 09:59 PM

Go check the alignment on all 4 wheels to be sure all is fine.

***ModifierMR*** · 10-04-2005, 10:16 PM

how fast was the guy going approx.? Doesnt look like he was moving that fast because the damage is so slight. I see other camrys on the road with HUGE Dents in the rear bumpers because they backed into a sign or a post. Sometimes even from people standing on the bumper.... Thats puzzling that there is no damage

95WhiteCamry · 10-04-2005, 10:48 PM

the thing about 3rd gen bumpers is that they're super tough. if you take it off and see the reinforcement inside you'd see that it covers almost all of the inner volume of the bumper cover. the newer models don't have so much reincofrement in them, hence the weird huge lookin dents.

back on topic, i'd ask what those two bolts are for and then worry about the whole shifting of things. checking your allignment is something worth considering.

p.s. check your front brake pads and rotors for wear. if you say he hit you hard and caused your car to move while brakes were applied all the way in, you might've put serious wear on them.. just a suggestion. best of luck and feel better!

islandboy57 · 10-04-2005, 11:26 PM

I gotta call the guy back tomorrow (he's visiting Hawaii from Oregon) so I guess I'll just tell him I'm going to get a 4 wheel alignment and if he's willing to pay for it, that's all that's really needed cuz I don't want to pursue that tiny mark on the bumper. $100 should cover the wheel alignment right? The front wheel alignment is a tiny bit off from before, but it did occur to me that after him hitting us that the back might have gotten screwy.

Is there an easy way to check for wear on the front brake pads and rotors? It's a V6 Camry too so it has 4-wheel disc brakes.. I mean, is there a simple way to visually look over it? No squeaking (no more than the usual at least) and braking power seems the same.

Thanks sooooo much.. I have no idea what to look for so I really appreciate this. And I LOVE the gen3 Camry more than ever

warlock · 10-04-2005, 11:51 PM

i was hit like that and only had my rear kit. NO bunper support. and everything is fine.
i was hit when i was stock and still nothing i think you will be fine. everything looks inline. if your bumper doesnt look like it is square with the car take it in. but the ins. of the people that hit you should pay for the cheak up so i would do it anyways. and make them fix it all. you could even get them to replace all your rear light bulbs

articledon · 10-05-2005, 07:01 AM

The exact same thing happened to me. I saw it was only a few scratches so the dude ave me $50.00 and we left. Now my runk always has problems closing. you have to close it a certain way or it would not latch. so check that.

Quote:

Originally Posted by islandboy57

Yeah.. My mom and I were stopped at a light when a guy rear-ended us. He hit us pretty hard because the noise inside the car (windows up + AC on) was super loud. I got out expecting the worse because of how loud the noise was. To my suprise other than a few scratches to the bumper and a mark where his license plate hit, there was no real damage.

I'm just wondering if I should be concerned about anything underneath the car, or the frame? I only ask because it really felt like he hit us hard. He said that he hit the gas instead of the brake (!!) when he was slowing down. He was nice, got out, asked if everybody was okay and immediately offered a couple hundred to cover the damages. Decided not to do that, and called the police because inside the car, both my mom and I flew forward. He hit us hard enough to make the ashtray open all the way (FULL of coins too) and the cigarette lighter thing popped out too. Good thing we had our seatbelts on! My neck isn't sore, just feels a bit tight.

I'll post pictures in a bit. I mean, other than a few scratches to the car, I feel very fortunate that the Camry kept us safe. AND I'm glad I didn't hit the car in the front..my foot was on the brake and thankfully I didn't let go when the guy hit us.

I

my Camry! Kept us safe