Front Bumper Minor Damage Advice?

[garygttdi]

Hi Guys I would offer the following from a recent experiences although this one was entirely my fault. However I have found some interesting and worrying aspects to the MK 6 and I suspect most modern cars.

• Rolled into the back of a coach on the motorway in a stop go que,did the normal took my eyes off the road for a second to adjust air con and bump, stupid I know and the first time its happened to me.

• Did not stop as on Mway and thought it would have just scratch bumper, stopped at services and you would think I had hit it with a sledge.

• Being all rigid plastic it has no give and just shatters if taken beyond its stress limits, and worse was to come.

• Drove car all weekend end then popped the bonnet on Sunday night to fill washer bottle, Fatal mistake the whole front of the car moved as it was being held in place by the bonnet, all the fittings inside including headlight fasteners were broken ( all plastic) Bonnet catch had moved once released so bonnet will not close although nothing wrong with it. Oh and by the way if bonnet is not fully closed wipers do not work neither do washer!!!

Apparently they are so bad even the crash repair companies prefer to strip them before they do estimate as so much breaks and cracks and they have been caught with uncovering damage they never expected to find. So better fuel economy and better emission is great but in order to do it cars are becoming more and more fragile, I can only see insurance cost going ever higher as the industry struggles to cope with very fragile cars. Bet my bills tops out at £2K for a minor bump, you have been warned.

Bet I was doing not more than 3MPH !!

[vwcabriolet1971]

It is a amazing how much damage was done at such low speed . We use to have 5mph bumpers that absorbed any impact without damage . This requirement originated from the american market due to their "bump parking" technique. I was obviously naive in thinking that the MK6 was better than most in this respect.
The lower sharp "crease / corner" lines of the MK6 front bumper must reduce the flexibilty to some extent.
The whole emphasis on todays car designs seem to be on safety ( 5 star rating) and emissions. Durabilty & ease of repair seem to have a much lower priority. I suppose this must reflect in the MK6s' insurance rating.

What this example says to me that it's important to get VW to effect any front end repairs rather than trust the insurer's nominated approved repairers. These repairers will often take short cuts on the normally unseen damage to keep their insurers happy and also do not have VWs' quick part identification & ordering systems.

[Ravens]

A friend of mine has a BMW series 7. Parked in a Hotel/Golf Club car park thrre weeks ago. A hotel guest practising golf shots in the wrong place hit the car with a Golf Ball on the passenger front door leaving a large depression. Witnesses aplenty. Hotel guest told my friend the hotel would supply his address. Guy was not interested and did not pay. An ex-policeman present said the police would not be interested. He did suggest relieving the guy of his golf clubs but things would then get silly! Really it comes down to personal reponsibility Some people just don't give a damn.