Rear end impact damage

[Dale_Stevens]

A quick question about damage repair please...

 

The wife was rear ended yesterday (ooh err missus) whilst driving the Yeti, car went into the back of her whilst in slow moving crawling traffic. She said she felt quite a jolt..

The other driver was a young lad and seemed very decent, obviously he is keen to avoid insurance companies as his premiums will rocket, so he wants to settle cash, fine by me.

 

Thankfully it just looks like the body panel needs clipping back in, which I should be able to do myself, however Im more concerned about any potential damage behind this panel, particularly to the detachable tow bar assembly which I can't really see.

 

Going on these photos, is there anything that could be seriously damaged behind that panel that I can't see? Dont want to find out next time i try to tow that theres a problem, insurance companies probably require you to report non fault accidents within 24 hours??? But don't want to report it if theres nothing to report as it will be logged as a non fault accident on my policy etc.

 

 

 

 

Edited 14 January, 2021 by Dale_Stevens

[Urrell]

Have you put the tow-bar in to see if that's OK?

[Llanigraham]

I would be looking very closely at the condition of the tow bar mounting, which unfortunately inside the bumper, and also any ripples in the floor of the boot. Also check that the tow bar still fits properly and all the electrics still work.

[BigEjit]

Plus checking the rear hatch door releases, opens and closes the same and has equal gaps all round including lights. 

 

Deffo be taking the bumper off to get a better view of what’s going on and see everything affected. 

 

 

[Dale_Stevens]

Thanks for the advice.

 

Everything seems to be working ok, checked the rear lights, rear parking sensors, boot opens, all looks good.

The panel should just click back into place.

I'll have a go fitting the tow bar tomorrow in daylight, along with the boot floor.

Also going to take it to a recommended body repair shop for them to give ma their opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

[J.R.]

Remove the panel before clipping it back into place, that will give you access to confirm that whats behind is undamaged, I'm sure that it wont be, on a non towbar vehicle there is a large metal crashbar behind it, not sure whether its retained with the factory towbar but its removed for an aftermarket one which is a loss.

 

I see that you have parking sensors, that is definitely something you want to check throughly.

 

While the panel is off you can check that all the clips & the engagement slots in the bumper are in good order to refit, there might be a little reforming to do but it should all go back perfectly, an insurer would change the panel and the bumper.

 

Bumper comes off easily if you see something that needs further scrutiny.

[Dale_Stevens]

1 minute ago, J.R. said:

Remove the panel before clipping it back into place, that will give you access to confirm that whats behind is undamaged, I'm sure that it wont be, on a non towbar vehicle there is a large metal crashbar behind it, not sure whether its retained with the factory towbar but its removed for an aftermarket one which is a loss.

 

 

I have kept the crashbar that was removed when I had the tow bar fitted. If it wasn't for lockdown, I'd drive to the tow bar centre I used to get their opinion, but it's too far to travel.

[J.R.]

In which case seeing that the plastic bumper is not deformed or scratched and that there is just some scratching to the lower panel I would be 100% certain there is no damage behind.

 

My reasoning being after repairing my front end damaged Yeti that had the crashbeam and the foam infill between it & the bumper, the impact was sufficient to deform the primary crumple zone (the longeron of the crashbar) deploy the airbags and write the vehicle off, the bumper had no more than minor scratching.

 

That was because the impact was transmitted through the bumper & foam to the crashbar with no space between the elements, removing the rear crashbar leaves a massive empty space and any significant impact would muller the bumper.

 

The lower panel is very flexible but fixed on the lower edge, I think he has nudged it and its pulled from the clips before springing back to shape.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, Dale_Stevens said:

car went into the back of her whilst in slow moving crawling traffic. She said she felt quite a jolt..

The other driver was a young lad and seemed very decent, obviously he is keen to avoid insurance companies as his premiums will rocket, so he wants to settle cash, fine by me.

 

If you're risking invalidating your insurance as well as having broken the law by not reporting the accident within 24hr, do you reckon it was a wise decision to post a picture of your damaged car along with the registration plate on a public website?

 

You may be fooled in to thinking the young guy is decent, what he is tho, is a fraudster.  All I can say is you're opening up a whole can of potential pitfalls for yourself going along with his scheme.

 

I'll give you an example. Back in 2019 I hit a deer, the car was taken away to the repairer, they fixed it, I paid my £150 excess and the car was returned. The actual repair bill was horrendous given the level of damage - I had all sorts of cameras and sensors that needed re-aligned.

 

A week later I noticed my rear-traffic alert wouldn't retain it's settings. I returned the car to the repairer who then had to send the car back to Skoda as they didn't have the proper equipment to investigate / repair the fault. Skoda eventually found the problem and re-coded the software. No skin off my back as I'd already paid my excess, but that was an extra unexpected £400 on to the already substantial repair bill.

 

So what arrangement are you going to make with this guy? Are you going to have the car repaired first then get him to refund your money ( and take the chance he'll pay up ) or are you going to get the money off him first. If the latter then beware of what I've just said because if any future issue with the repair crops up, you'll either have to go back to him with your begging bowl or take the hit yourself.

 

Given you don't even know what damage has been caused, I think you're crazy to go along with his scheme. He's the one who caused the accident so why should you risk invalidating your insurance and getting yourself in trouble by helping him out?

 

If I were you, the first thing I'd do is cover my own backside by doing the proper thing and reporting the accident to my insurer.

 

 

 

 

Edited 15 January, 2021 by Guest

[Halford]

personally I agree with the above,

 

also I believe that you are required to tell your insurance company of any accident,  even if you don't claim through them for the repairs (nb your reg plate is now out for public view),

 

and in doing so your own insurance premium will rise a little even though it was not your fault (but the insurance co still considers you a liability and hence charges you more)

 

its more than just a supermarket scrape to get sorted yourself, and you could be looking at several hundred pounds to fix, will the other party pay this ?

[Dale_Stevens]

8 hours ago, Scot5 said:

 

If you're risking invalidating your insurance as well as having broken the law by not reporting the accident within 24hr....

 

 

No requirement for me to tell the police, the only requirement when subject to a non injury road traffic collision under the RoadTraffic Act 1988 is to 'stop' at the scene and exchange the following..

 

Name and address of the driver

Nam eand address of the owner (if different to the drover)

VRM (vehicle registration number)

 

'Stop' means just that, so that the relevant information can be exchanged to anyone who reasonably requires it.

 

The 24 hr rule is if it's an injury RTC and drivers aren't able to exchange insurance details at the scene. They then have 24 hrs to give their insurance details to the police.

 

My RTC is not a police matter whatsoever and reporting it to them would be a complete waste of time for me and them.

 

My registration number is already posted widely on this and other forums. I don't understand the obsession folk have hiding it. Do you think the police and insurance companies trawl the internet for talk of accidents? 

Edited 15 January, 2021 by Dale_Stevens

[longedge]

27 minutes ago, Dale_Stevens said:

I don't understand the obsession folk have hiding it. Do you think the police and insurance companies trawl the internet for talk of accidents? 

 

Harks back to instances in the past when people started getting parking fine notices etc. in respect of their vehicle when they know they were far away from where the alleged infringement took place , a cloned reg. no. on a vehicle, perhaps stolen of the same make/model.

 

p.s. In these days of ANPR I'm not sure whether systems are sufficiently developed to pick up on 2 vehicles running around in different parts of the country with the same VRM

Edited 15 January, 2021 by longedge
afterthought

[Dale_Stevens]

Just now, longedge said:

 

Harks back to instances in the past when people started getting parking fine notices etc. in respect of their vehicle when they know they were far away from where the alleged infringement took place , a cloned reg. no. on a vehicle, perhaps stolen of the same make/model

 

My car reg is on display 24/7 for anyone to clone who wants to. No point hiding it on the internet. I think folk hide it without really knowing why they are doing so, they just think they should.

[longedge]

Quite so. Pointless locking doors and windows as well. I was simply saying what I think is the reasoning behind hiding the VRM.

Edited 15 January, 2021 by longedge

[Ootohere]

loss adjusters and others do actually check Social Media and forums regarding car accidents and claims.    It is not unknown where someone has posted on forums their Project build or just mods to get asked if they want to withdraw  their fraudulent claim.  Just as happens on occasions with Warranty claims.   Not an internet myth.  So there was a member on here who posted vids of their mods and then trips abroad to drive the modded car on a public toll road that was not a case of racing or rallying yet the finance company reposed the car.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited 15 January, 2021 by e-Roottoot

[MikeTheThinker]

10 hours ago, Scot5 said:

having broken the law by not reporting the accident within 24hr

 

When  I last checked on this the law only required the 24 hour report if there was either injury to a person or damage to an absentee third party, so the situation where both parties were present and had exchanged details would not call for a Police report.

 

Has this changed recently?

 

(Later): I see the question has already been answered later in the thread.

 

Edited 15 January, 2021 by StickyMicky
update

[Ootohere]

What matters is The Insurance Policy & Schedule & the T&C's.   So best read them.

For information on Insurance etc there are Forum Sponsors & @DAN@ADRIAN FLUX or another will know.

[J.R.]

Talk about hang em high, assuming that after inspection the damage is no more than it looks, push a plastic panel back in place and maybe a touch up why the desire to boost the coffers of the insurers to the detriment of a young driver who is probably already paying a four figure premium?

 

Given the reactions the young man is very fortunate to have driven into the OP's vehicle, I could see whiplash claims & hire cars from others.

 

I think the breaking the law has been dispelled, what planet does the invalidating your insurance by choosing not to claim for (non) damage come from?

Edited 15 January, 2021 by J.R.

[Ootohere]

Adults are best making their own choices, and if it come back to kick them in the rear end then they just have to deal with it...

[Dale_Stevens]

Well I assumed it would be obvious that if you not telling your insurance company of a non damage incident, then you don't then go on to tell them at a later date. If you're not telling them, then you're not telling them.

 

I think some folk are forgetting or not realising what it's like to be a very young driver, the massive insurance premiums they pay and the even bigger premiums they pay if they have claims made against them. 

 

In this case, the other driver is a real nice genuine lad and I'm all about being reasonable and helpful to people like him, I remember being in his shoes once. My lad will be learning to drive soon and we will be in the same boat as this lad, with us fearing him causing a crash and just hoping the other driver will be as reasonable about it as we are. 

 

My Yeti was inspected by a body shop today, thankfully no damage, everything works, the bumper panel was removed and put back into place. No charge by the bodyshop for the inspection, but I did offer to pay them. So i left them a few ££ for their tea & coffee fund, enough to supply them for a month or so, including biscuits. If anyone wants to report the body shop for failing to disclose the tea fund money to the Inland Revenue then I'll happily supply you with the details 

Edited 15 January, 2021 by Dale_Stevens

[Llanigraham]

15 hours ago, J.R. said:

Remove the panel before clipping it back into place, that will give you access to confirm that whats behind is undamaged, I'm sure that it wont be, on a non towbar vehicle there is a large metal crashbar behind it, not sure whether its retained with the factory towbar but its removed for an aftermarket one which is a loss.

 

I see that you have parking sensors, that is definitely something you want to check throughly.

 

While the panel is off you can check that all the clips & the engagement slots in the bumper are in good order to refit, there might be a little reforming to do but it should all go back perfectly, an insurer would change the panel and the bumper.

 

Bumper comes off easily if you see something that needs further scrutiny.

 

The bumper crash bar is removed and then replaced by a tow bar mounting structure that uses the same mounting points.
I've still got the old crash bar from when mine was fitted in the garage.

[Llanigraham]

5 hours ago, Dale_Stevens said:

My registration number is already posted widely on this and other forums. I don't understand the obsession folk have hiding it. Do you think the police and insurance companies trawl the internet for talk of accidents? 

 

There have been numerous examples in the past of insurance companies doing exactly that.

[Urrell]

I had someone reverse into me years ago with what looked like just a couple of minor scratches, but removing the bumper most of the mounting points were smashed.

[Sad555]

I would be taking the vehicle into an authorised body repair to have it checked fully.on the two occasions we’ve  had rear end damage it hasn’t looked particularly bad on first look but when fully checked by the garage we were shown the full extent of the body damage underneath the plastic,it’s done it’s job once to reduce the  impact and may not stop an impact crash a second time so I wouldn’t take and chances and get the best job done, that’s why we get insurance.

Edited 15 January, 2021 by Sad555

[Dale_Stevens]

15 minutes ago, Sad555 said:

I would be taking the vehicle into an authorised body repair to have it checked fully

 

I took mine to Skoda body repair shop, they were very good.

Edited 15 January, 2021 by Dale_Stevens