The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety just released a report about low-speed damage done to the bumpers of entry-level luxury sedans. Of the 11 vehicles tested, the Infiniti G35 performed the worst, with a total of $13,983 accumulated from four different tests. Those tests included full-width frontal and rear collisions at 6 mph, and front and rear corner collisions at 3 mph. In the full-width frontal (sounds fun under different circumstances), the G35 sustained $5,223 in damage, which was topped only by a last-generation Mercedes-Benz C-Class...
In total, all of the luxury sedans did poorly in this test, as those sculpted bumpers dent and break easily. Considering the G35 got a "Good" rating (the best possible) in the IIHS' frontal offset crash testing, the Infiniti is certainly a safe car -- it's just a really expensive one should you inflict low-impact damage to it. Hopefully we'll never find out first-hand.
For more information on how the G35 and the other models performed, here is the full IIHS Press Release.
James Riswick, Associate Editor
stingray454 says:
09:11 AM, 08/ 2/07
That kind of expensive damage is reflected in the insurance premiums for these cars. My '03 G35 Coupe was more costly to insure than my '02 Corvette Z06, due to the higher repair costs of the G35.
redliner says:
12:19 PM, 08/ 2/07
oooohhh, the pain of being rich....
simplycarcrazy says:
12:22 PM, 08/ 2/07
so in this test, would the whole bumper have to be replaced or was it just the cost of repair to patch/reform/paint? i ask because when someone rear ended me in my pontiac vibe, i had to replace the whole bumper because of some light scuffs and a couple of small holes.
pengwin says:
02:51 PM, 08/ 2/07
it does sound fun under certain circumstances
aspade says:
04:39 PM, 08/ 2/07
Not just the pain of being rich, if you barely nudge one of these things you (or your insurance) get to feel the pain first hand. Egalitarianism in action.
There should be a cutoff on liability for low speed collisions. Parking lot love taps are going to happen, and if someone chooses to take a gold plated eggshell into that environment they should bear the consequences regardless of who did the tapping.
desmolicious says:
05:41 PM, 08/ 2/07
See now, one person's gold plated eggshell may be the next person's beater. It all depends on income level. So the innocent party should not have to bear the consequences of someone else's behaviour.
Try and ding Karl's Ford GT and tell him too bad..
bimmerjay says:
06:08 PM, 08/ 2/07
Furthermore, if you can't avoid bumping or dinging someone's car in a parking lot at < 10 mph, you shouldn't be allowed to be driving said car at 70 mph! If you damage someone's property, whether an '87 beater or an '07 bimmer, you are responsible for the damage. Sorry, I just really dislike the "it's just a door ding" 'tude.
simplycarcrazy says:
07:54 PM, 08/ 2/07
i agree with you bimmerjay. i think dinging someone's car in a parking lot is careless and discourteous. especially when opening a car door too wide and too fast. and not leaving a note. that happened to a friend of mine and i wanted to let out the air of the offending car's tires so badly! O:-)
ewilfong says:
09:03 PM, 08/ 2/07
Ditto to the three before me! How could anyone think "barely nudging" someone else's car is ever reasonable? Am I to bear the responsibility for your carelessness just because the damage is light?
aspade says:
10:04 PM, 08/ 2/07
Not no liability at all, a cutoff on maximum liability in collisions under 5mph. Dinging people's anything and just driving off is never acceptable. A liability cap at something like $2-3,000 would cover typical repairs for non-luxury vehicles.
But if someone chooses to drive a faberge egg to which a 3mph nudge will do 3 months of salary in damage, they get the $2,500 and the other $15,000 should be their problem. Your vanity should be your own assumed risk.
langjie says:
07:17 AM, 08/ 3/07
a liability cap is just plain stupid. why bother purchasing insurance in the first place? insurance companies make out when you get into these little accidents. if you get $3000 worth of damage in your car and you're at fault, here is mass, that would be a 3 point increase. 3 points for any luxury car will equal to about a $700 increase in premium for the next 3 years if you're a good driver, 5 years if you're a bad driver.
insurance companies get the money back, don't worry about them, i don't even see why you're fighting for them
actualsize says:
08:17 AM, 08/ 3/07
We have it easy here. Have any of you driven in Paris? Parallel parked? The cars are wedged so tight you can't walk between them. All of the Smart cars I saw had shredded front and rear "bumpers".
You are advised to leave your car in neutral with the parking brake off so others can get out. I watched a guy in a 3-series alternately ram (gently) the cars in front and behind to open up space to depart. And he wasn't even pissed. Happens every day, apparently. Their bumpers have to get really ugly before they have them repaired.
ewilfong says:
11:01 AM, 08/ 3/07
Now that's funny! I guess living in suburban USA gives my vanity space to stretch its legs.
With the cost of cars, repairs, and insurance, I'd have to rethink ownership options if I lived in a place like Paris. The idea of leasing a high-dollar car and trying to keep it pristine doesn't sound like it would work well there. On the other hand, I guess you could trash your bumpers for three years, get them repaired once, then turn your vehicle in.
Still, in the States, you take me as you find me. Eggshell skull and all that.
jriz says:
04:30 PM, 08/ 3/07
If driving anywhere in the U.S. gets to the level of Paris, I'm moving back to Canada.