I was stuck in the traffic jam heading into town yesterday, on the H-1 right below LCC. A woman in a Volvo SUV smashed into me while I was stopped. The bumper is scratched and dinged, but doesn't look too bad considering how hard I was hit. The license plate, which is less able to bounce back as the plastic bumper, tells more of the story: it's bent and smashed, and parts of the Volvo's bumper actually punctured and went through the plate.

Anyhow, is there anything that I should have checked besides the bumper and its support? For instance, is the rear suspension sensitive to this kind of impact? I don't want to just have the bumper replaced, only to find the rear tires wearing funny 6 months down the line. TIA for the advice.

 

I was hit low but luckily my exhaust wasn't harmed...

Check it out though...remember, if the exhaust is hit from the back...it translates into possible turbo damage and more...being pushed forward and all...

Mine was just cosmetic...bumper cover and foam replacement...

 

Have a good body shop and mechanic take a look at it.

Most likely the bumper, support and foam stuffies.

Open your trunk and look under the spare tire to see if any sheet metal is dented/bent. Have the body shop check for frame damage and possibly have an alignment shop check your alignment.

That's all I can think of.

 

Is your WRX blue? I think I saw you when I was heading to the bar. I was driving the WRB wagon. Sorry to hear about your accident.

 

dude, brent

you're so locked on. i never would of thought that. but now that i know, it's so obvious. when did you get hit?

 

3X

all cosmetic...twice at a stoplight, another guy with a big Ford Truck runs up on my bumper (my car is parked)...then backs off it...I luckily saw the whole thing...he tries to drive off...and I'm looking at him shaking my head...motioning that I know his plates and I started calling the police already...he then has the audacity to tell me that he didn't do anything and pulls out a measuring tape to measure the height of the scrapes to compare it to the height of his bumper...nuts....after that, he just shut up and waited for the police...heh heh...I guess he had to try...

it's a pain, the time and effort it takes to get your car fixed...but yes, like Blake mentioned above...a good bodyshop like Oka's autobody in Waipahu will do a thorough inspection for you...

You know, prior to moving back to Hawaii, I had not gotten into any accidents of any kind...crazy drivers.

 

Thanks, everyone, for the advice. I didn't think about the exhaust system messing up the turbo, I'll check that out. And I noticed that the trunk sounds funny when closing, I'll have to look in the spare tire well. Good suggestions all around.

Yup, that was me. This is the second time this has happened, in almost the exact same area under the same circumstances. Last time, I was sitting in traffic and my Mazda MX-3 got rear ended by a minivan, got hit so hard the car actually bent in the middle (crease in the b-pillar on both sides). The car was so messed up that the insurance company totalled it. I hope the damage is less this time.

 

Sounds like my experience (2 days b4 my wedding btw)
some guy barrelled into my 2001 SVT Lightning and pulled the i cut him off business. I told him that i saw him coming in my rear view 1/4 mile behind while you were messing with something in his truck. And to add, how do you hit someone on the H3. Needless to say my truck sustained 6800 dollars of damage and was in the body shop from 13 December 2006 till 31 January 2007.


BUT, Classic Auto and Fender in Pearl City Industrial did an amazing job for me. Plus they were customer friendly ie letting me have the old badges to my truck, letting me check up and watch them work in the shop. +1 for them.

Man, I feel your pain bro, good luck with repairs

 

I saw my doctor today for the pain in my neck and shoulders. He told me that basically the same thing happened to him, but before he got hit, he looked in his rear view mirror to see the driver reading a book!

 

there maybe more damage to the bumper itself. You need to remove the bumper cover to inspect it, also inspect the rear doors' edge against the car body- ensuring that the gaps havent change. Observe the doors how they close and open- no drag or binding should be present. Measure the distance of the wheels from the edge of the rear wheel wells. They should be exactly even on both sides. This may sound extreme but its better to know now so your car can be restored to its original state. there are crumple points in your car that are designed to buckle or fold in order to absorb energy during such collision.

 

holy cow... ED !!!!

 

hahaha! how are you??

 

Shameless plug... Subylife hookup

 

Thanks again for the input. I took the car to Frank's in McCully, the guy took a look at it and said that it appears to be just the bumper and the foam. The gaps look OK and there is no damage inside the trunk. Doesn't look like the exhaust got hit either, good thing it was an SUV or my exhaust would've certainly been damaged.