My wife was in her '07 Corolla S, automatic, < 30,000 miles. She was stopped at a red light and the Chevy Cavalier behind her let off the brake and bumped into her. She said it was enough to push her head forward and back. The car moved on its suspension, but the wheels didn't travel. We're probably talking 2 or 3 mph at most, probably less. She got all his insurance info and checked out the car. She said there is no damage to her bumper at all. Also, when she drives, she says everything rides and sounds normal.
I called my mechanic and asked if he suggested I bring it in for a quick peek. He said it probably didn't need to come in, but I should crawl under to make sure the exhaust didn't get bent anywhere and that the bumper cover is lined up properly.
A friend of mine had a similar situation and when they took the car in, something (I forget what) was badly damaged, even at that low speed.
My question to the Corolla experts here - is there a need to take it in the shop for "hidden" problems? Or, would a quick visual inspection underneath be sufficient? I'm guessing cars get tapped all the time in parking lots on the bumper and nothing ever comes of it.
Thanks!
Mike
Dan_H
Make sure the trunk opens, closes, latches, and seals properly. Mine was hit in a similar scenario (probably a little bit faster), and the trunk didn't close quite right. It was just a tap on the bumper, so I assume the structure bent slightly. I just needed to lower the latch <1/16" to make it close without a gap. Exhaust and everything else was fine.
I had a similar experience with a guy who rearended me at a stopsign on the way to school one morning... Probably a 4 or 5 mph impact. I checked out my car very thoroughly below and above and looked for any kind of damage, and nothing at all was hurt. (Lucky break!) My car is a 1996 model though.
And guess what?? THE CAR WAS A CHEVY CAVALIER!! Funny coincidence, huh? We probably need to give Cavalier drivers some lessons. ;D
^^^ Yup, check for trunk functionality, note where the latch is touching, see if it is close to the middle of the "loop". Also check the trim inside the trunk as well under the car. Might not be a bad idea to check the spare tire well for any distortion, peel off the trunk interior and inspect the body seals. Double check the mounting points for the bumper cover - under the car, inside the trunk, by the rear fender well - see if any clips where popped off, bolts or mounting points stretched or torn. Inspect the bumper cover for paint damage, sometimes the paint will crack and craze from an impact like that - should be able to see a distinct pattern in the paint. That should point to possible damage points, as more paint crazing, more likely to have severely flexed the paint in that area.
Doesn't have to be a hard impact to cause damage. Not like the older 2.5 MPH and 5 MPH bumpers from 20-25 years ago - the soft bumper cover can take quite a bit of distortion from an impact and not show it. Better safe than sorry - I'd have it double checked, especially since other person is as fault.
Thanks for all the ideas! I'll check all those. Thing is, it happened in Maryland and we live in Pennsylvania. He would rather pay for damage himself than get insurance involved. I'm always afraid I'm going to take the car to the shop and then he'll deny everything and not pay. Then I'm stuck for the diagnostic. But, then I guess I would get insurance involved.
Thanks again everyone!
Mike
On June 14, I took a Plymouth Voyager up the rear of my '03 Corolla. It was doing maybe 20 MPH by the time it connected, and I got pushed into the Mazda MPV I had just milliseconds before had avoided rear-ending myself when traffic "bunched up" near a choke/merge point. The rear-ender did $5K worth of damage to my Corolla -- just $2K short of totaling it, according to my insurance company.
My Corolla was repaired. BTW no injuries to myself or the girl that hit me; the lady in the MPV I struck at probably < 3 MPH was taken to the hospital by ambulance, but I never heard anything from them.
In the case of your minor rear-ender, I doubt anything more than possible displacement of the rear bumper cover is likely.
i had so many rear enders, the last one, a week ago, it happened in the dark, I just let the
woman go. Usually, I ask them to pay $500 bucks for a paint job or go to insurance.
But could not be bothered. Just a 2mm scratch from a Sienna of all cars.
I hate these dumb knuckleheads. They could cause serious injury esp if running into pedesterians.
