2009 Nissan GT-R: Smacked in Its Rear

For that much money you just leave it...but that is extremely telling at just how fragile this car is. Whatever happened to 5 MPH (or 2.5 MPH) bumpers?

I could have seen that price tag coming! Perhaps his GTO needs to be swapped out for a G5... now that's punishment.

clarkma5: Modern bumpers are getting worse and worse, and for a limited production specialty car like the GT-R they are not going to be designed with fender benders in mind. Most bumpers are designed to be hit once, then the styrofoam like padding and framework needs to be replaced to get back to the original strength. If you leave it, and live with the cosmetic blemish, the next time you get hit in the same spot it will be a lot worse.

I would just leave it if it weren't a GT-R.
The Dealer wants to replace the entire rear fascia and the rear bumper assembly probably.

$3,600 sounds like merely the price of bumper cover + bumper. For a normal vehicle that's about $800.

There's prob like 2 bumps on the real bumper itself. And the fix for that is replacing the whole thing!!!! Hahahaha!

It probably isn't actually fragile. It's just that if you want pristine new from factory look, the fix is "replace it all." I'm sure it's bumper function is still 99% capable.

"Whatever happened to 5 MPH (or 2.5 MPH) bumpers?"

I was wondering that too. Bet it would save a fortune in insurance costs if all cars had 5 mph bumpers.

When cars had chrome bumpers, they all lined up, so you could tap and push cars gently without hurting them one bit. Now bumpers are painted and come in varying heights so tapping or pushing causes enough damage for owners to care.

This is the reason why my brother keeps his hitch-mounted bike rack on his van all the time. Makes people think twice about bumping him.

This kid is going to get it, and rightfully so.

altimadude00,
ha that's a good idea, attaching road legal spikes to the rear of the vehicle... I'm gonna look into what I can put on my car hahaha.

I like that road legal thing myself. I've been rear ended enough times that I joke about getting a rear bumper guard made of railroad spikes and sharpened rebar or just attach a small gas line and spark plugs to my dual exhaust to shoot flames at people who ride my tail while I'm driving.

Modern bumpers (actually they are bumper covers) on all cars, not just the GTR are there for cosmetic, aerodynamics and engine cooling functions. They don't protect the vehicle at all. On most cars the bumper cover can be removed in less than 5 minutes. Manufactures are more focused on high speed crash test than simple fender benders. And I must say surviving a crash is more important to me than cracked bumpers.

A GTO hit Godzilla? Man, if that were my car I'd be furious. Hope you got his insurance information. If he's uninsured I'd take his GTO away from him GTA 4 style! LoL...man I've played that game too much. I'm such a nerd.

That is unreasonable for a minimal impact. I assume it was under 5 mph by that description. This GTR is a faberge egg, and an ugly one at that. This thing looks like an assualt landing craft. You would consider a pricetag like that on a Ferrari, but this thing would appear to be indestructable by the blunt looks. I wish repair costs and ratings were somehow included in assessment of car ownership, so automakers have some incentive to make cars durable. On the other hand, medical coverage is the far greater expense, so perhaps modern cars are getting right what is most critical.

I agree that as long as the car protects the occupants, that's all that matters. However, $3,600 is a big chunk of change, especially for just getting rear ended.

Hmm thats a hefty pricetag. Im guessing they're going to replace some of the carbon fiber bits underneath at that point.

Believe it or not this it not a lot of money to repair damage like that. Take a look at this report from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety:

http://www.iihs.org/news/rss/pr090408.html

From the report is the following: The worst performers are the Hyundai Elantra, Toyota Prius, and Volkswagen Rabbit, each sustaining about $4,000 damage or more in a single test.

A Goat beat down Godzilla? Revenge for Bambi?

carguy622,
wow $4000 for a battery smack. All Prius drivers should consider adding a hitch mount bike rack.

What??? My wife's Sienna ltd was rear ended last month, new rear bumper, new parking sensor, some body work on the tailgate...2,000$

Funny. They should not call these things "bumpers" anymore. That implies some sense that they can actually be bumped...you know, without damage!?! That kind of hit happens frequently in parking lots. Gotta love those that park by the brail method! Bastards!!!

$3600 seems reasonable to me. If it was my car, I would want everything replaced with new parts. Most high performance sports cars will be at least that expensive. If it was any other car I probably wouldn't care.

Just be happy he didnt hit one of the exahust pipes or somthing like that. Then you would have to replace the entire engine at a cost of $23,000.

Unbunch the panties, everyone. That $3600 estimate was from the dealer. Go to a good independent shop, pay them cash, and I bet the cost will be closer to $2000, which is reasonable considering that you'll have to replace a bunch of super-rare parts.

$3,626.18 !!?!?!? no way, get a second opinion, your getting jacked sun!

$3600 does seem high, but that's not the actual price.

Actual cost = $0. The GTO driver's insurance will take care of it. I'd get it done.

BTW, a girl in a brand new Tahoe (w/ backup camera I might add) backed into my S2000 at less than 5mph did about $3500 damage. At least she waited and showed me when I came out of the Starbucks. The hitch was the main culprit. So those of you that are advising hitch bike racks and other things to dissuade tailgaters remember, it could go both ways...

Yikes that's a lot of money for a little luv tap. I guess the GT-R will be very expensive to insure, given that it costs so much to repair.

lukemc01, hitches on SUV's and trucks do a lot of damage. My front bumper of my M3 got scraped by a hitch and the owner didn't even feel it. Hitch receivers are bad, but people who leave the hitch ball in are only adding to their truck's length and potential for more damage to other cars.

It's not really surprising to me how much it cost to repair the bumper, the price of the car is a direct correlation to the repair/maintenance cost of the car. Parts for a $40,000 new Lexus are the same even if it is for a $14,000 used Lexus.

Doh! on the part of the GTO driver.

Guess you can't knock the ugly off the Nissan.

m_thrizzle:

Yup- definitely not good times. but on the plus side I got rid of all the rock dings and stuff that was on my bumper...

Good thing it didn't happen in a parking lot. Insurance companies will almost always screw you over if somebody hits you in a parking lot.

It's interesting that your AWD GT-R's license plate says FWD.

Was it a real old school GTO or was it the new one?

By m_thrizzle on March 18, 2009 9:41 AM - Yeah. My wife rear ended a 4runner with my Mazda 6 a few years back. My car's grill(and headlight and hood and radiator support and...well, you get the idea!) ate the 4runner's hitch to the tune of $3200! The 4runner? $156 bumper trim cracked. The hitch and everything else was ok.