rear bumper accident

[leekman]

hi, im new to the site and just like to say hi, this is my first post. i was in a rear bump and a car ran into the back of my 58 passat estate. did minor damage by eye. but when looked closer found my rear bumper skin was marked and chipped.the rear skin bumper could be pushed forward and could feel alot of play from the skin to the obsorber pack or plunger i don,t know what obsorber system my passat has.i gave this info to my car body shop repairer and they fitted a new bumper skin on but that was it. i colected my car from the repairer and noticed that my car was dirty and had not been valleted out but was happy to take my car home. when i got home i washed my pride and joy and noticed that on top of the new bumper skin there was a chip in it and in the centre there was a pin hole through it. i then pushed the skin and noticed that it was travelling the same distance as my old bumper skin. i then phoned my repairer up to complain about the repairs .i was told to bring it back to the body shop for inspection which i did. the manager came out and inspected the bumper and said that it was new and that i had done the chip in the new bumper skin i got angry with the manager .i told him about the obsorber system have you looked and repaired that he told me it was ok. but beside my passat was another passat estate same year so i felt that cars rear bumper skin to see how far that travelled in and it only travelled afraction mine travelled alot more than the car beside mine.the manager agreed at this.so the manager asked for the car to be brought back for the new bumper skin to be took off and repainted and also look at the osorber system. that is the fact,s . i donnot think it is right that the new bumper skin be repainted also if the car has been in a rear bump is it practice to change the obsorber system. any help ide be most welcome as i have no faith in this repairer .by the way the repairer is a main dealer ill not say any names case i get wrong off the mods . and the third party is paying for all damage. paul.

[martin1810]

They don't have an absorber, just some packing to help keep everything tight. Sounds to me like they repaired and refitted the old bumper, not a new one. It's quite common for garages to do this.

[leekman]

i understand they have a obsorber plunger system on a bar across the two plungers. to obsorb the impact. i believe the system has been compressed forward and after impact has not decompressed itself back.i could be wrong but looking on internet sites and getting info on the rear crumple zone this is what i believe has happened to my car. has far as the rear bumper skin is concerned they showed me the old one they removed and i can comfirm that it was my old bumper. the so called new one has a chip out of it on the top pin hole in the middle of it on the crease on the top the paint work as air bumbles going along it and the main dealer says its new i cannot believe vw would let that bumper out of the factory in that condition.so i have had to pay out of my own pocket 189 pound to the rac to come out on tuesday coming to do a post accident report and to check that repairs are up to manufactors standards.i just hope if im proved right about the obsorber system and that the new so called bumper skin is not new i will get my money back. thanks for the reply.

[martin1810]

If you take the rear bumper cover off all you will see is the bumper carrier which is a beam that bolts to the body with 4 bolts each side. A few bits of plastic and some poystyrene help keep the bumper in shape. I have never seen an absorber plunger system. When a towbar is fitted the bumper carrier is removed and replaced by the towbar. Perhaps the packing wasn't put back right so it feels like a bad fit.

[leekman]

thanks martin for your fast reply. the reason i said plunger system is that i was reading and looking at a thread in another forum and seen pictures of plungers off a passat saloon new shape . it will prob be like you have explained but there seems alot of travel between the bumper and the bar .

[leekman]

this is the site i seen the plunger system mine is a 58 estate is it the same system. http://www.tampabay.com/specials/200...os/index.shtml

[martin1810]

Thats an old b5.5 model, yours is a b6 which is different.

[leekman]

thanks for the reply martin and putting me in the picture.saves abit of embaressment at the main dealer. so can the beam not be push forward and bent in the impact.if so that might explain the travell distance between the bumper skin and the beam. or like you said they have forgot to add packing to the bumper skin.

[martin1810]

The beam could easily be damages as it is designed to soak up some of the impact by deforming. My guess is some of the polystyrene packing may be missing or squashed.