Kaius88

After reading Dreyfus' bumper story, I immediately thought of my related-but-different story. I just changed jobs, and my new parking space is really small and dark. It was a real pain squeezing in there this morning, but i did it without hitting the other car *knock on wood*. Right when I breathed a sigh of relief, I felt a "thunk" and realized my front bumper has touched the concrete wall directly in front of it. I still have not examined my bumper. It was basically low impact at 1-2 mph. I am crossing my finger that the car is unhurt, tho i wont know till this weekend when i examine it under daylight.

My question is: has anyone experienced any near-tragic impact but ended up unhurt and unscratched? I think the ES350 should be solid enough to take a good "ummph" without damage. That's what I believe.

onsknht

There's no doubt the car will perform within the 5MPH bumper test guidelines... Toyota's been doing so for years.

Problem is... How close have you looked at that bumper??? Reason I ask is because I'll call you out as a liar right now if you say the bumper is spotless... There's gotta be something in the clear coat at least.

So the question is... Can you live with a scuff?

ES350Bob

Kaius,

I don't know how you could wait, I'd have gotten right out an looked it over, or once home, even with a flashlight.

Kaius88

To tell ya the truth, I am pretty sure some scruff/scratch has occurred. Since I cannot change what happened, it makes no difference to me if I check it out now or this weekend. The parking lot has no lighting, so I couldnt see even if i wanted to. By the time I get home at 8pm, it's too dark. I dont have a flashlight handy. I guess I gotta wait till saturday morning. I need to get my free carwash soon....havent had a wash since dec 10th, and I somehow managed to avoid both storms since december. So no rain-wash either.

dunnojack

probably something that can be buffed out.

but this reminds me of the news clip i saw tonight about the latest highway safety institute bumper tests.

many cars can't withstand 3-6mph front impacts without costing thousands of dollars in repairs. three-six. yes. The new camry racks up charges under $5000.

glock22x

My ES350 took a 5km/h hit a while ago at this stupid parking lot. For some reason they have 'hidden' concrete blocks that are about .5 meter tall in every other spot Sadly, I parked where there was one and hit one while I was backing in (I don't have Parking Assist). I heard a squeek sound when my car came to a sudden stop. Panicking, I ran out into the pouring rain to check my bumper. Luckily, no dent or deep scratch...but I could see a 3cm wide mark of "crumbled paint." However, it's very un-noticeable.

I hope there aren't any structural damage.....

twister

Kaius, I was wondering where you have disappeared. Now, I see you are slaving away at a new job! The company where I work consolidating locations, and my commute going to turn from 20 min one way, to 1hr 20 min Not looking forward to extra car wear/tear and premium only gas usage...

Anyway, in both of the cases with my previous ES350 and new GS350, insurance added a small premium to my payments due to a "safety crumple zone." I was surprised because this supposed to be a safety bonus, and I would of expected to pay less money for insurance like when you have a window etching or automatic seatbelt or anti-thieft system. But, insurance told me that "yeah, this extra safety thing is good for you, but not for us. With even a little collision, car front crumples a lot and more costly repair needs to be done". Yes, their *point of view*

OAKPLANK

glock22X
Refer to the trunk liner removal thread.
This may have help you back up without hiting anything.
Cost is about 100.00 CDN at Costco.
oakplank

garsarno

I thought this post was about the ES350 taking a "depreciation" hit. Sorry....

twister

That is given , along with GS *rattling* reputation