Just like the title says she got hit at a slow speed (5mph) she says it only scratched things up. But I want to be really careful and get this taken care of the correct way. I know with my 80 it would be a bigger deal because of the rear cross member, but with a 100 is it still the same? Will I still have the same issues? I've never been in an accident so I dont really know what happens next. Any help this body of knowledge could give would be really appreciated.
Thank you in advance.
P.S. She is just fine, a little shaken up and mad but thats it.
The 100 rear crossmember is very similar to the 80's, and also serves as basically the structural strength of the rear bumper. Probably would be the same concerns you would have for an 80.
be sure you notify your insurance if she's not a fault as is likely (and possibly even if she is, just think about it some more). Repairs get expensive very quickly on a 100. And insist on the best body shop with full warranty.
The guy that hit her was reaching in the back seat to get a cookie for breakfast. The insurance is telling us to choose where we want to go. I'd like to make sure everything is alright and just replace it with an aftermarket bumper with the money that they would pay to have it fixed. Is that possible or am I just dreaming?
should be possible.
go to a body shop that works with the insurance co, get an estimate, ask the insur to cut a check for it. They should be fine with that.
(You should tell the body shop that you just want the estimate for now, and don't promise they'll get the job, to be fair, IMO).
Not trying to hijack this thread, but it might help others....
I wasn't aware there was an "issue" with the rear crossmember - or is there? The reason I ask is that there is evidence on my 2003 100 of some minor body/bumper damage that was repaired before I purchased the car. I had it checked out and the indipendent guy I took it too said structurally it looked just fine and that based on the repair it looked like a minor fender denber.... but I'm not sure what he checked really... so, is there a tell-tale sign that the crossmember might be structurally or significantly unsound on my rig? What do I look for? By crossmember you're referring to the last crossing section of frame just behind the bumper cover...?
couple of things:
there are all sorts of bracket's that get bent, even on a minor fender bender, made sure that you take the vehicle to a Lexus Body shop. The Body shop for Lexus here knew alot more than the master mechanic who was asked to perform the initial estimate. After the bumber was removed, additional damage was found and the adjuster had to come back out and take pictures. I also insisted on Lexus Parts. They may get away with suggesting refurbished bumper but try to make them pay for new, about a 200.00 difference. They can cut the check to you or the body shop. Ask them to make it out to you. but do get it thouroughly inspected at a lexus shop that does the work regularly.
The real rear bumper on the 100 is the crossmember. It's quite beefy. The bumper cover is really a cosmetic cover. There's no impact foam padding or anything between the plastic bumper cover and crossmember. In fact, the rear bumper cover is as flexible as a cooked spaghetti noodle. If you stand it upright, it'll flop over on itself unlike the front cover, which remains rigid. This is why you can scrape/bang the heck out of it w/o tearing it apart. Once you've taken the cover off and looked at the crossmember, you'll see there's no way you're going to dent or bend it at 5mph unless it was a semi or train that hit you (or if you left a trailer hitch/ball hanging down and the car slammed into it, twisting the crossmember down [happened to a guy's GX on clublexus]).
An aftermarket steel rear bumper will run around $1200-1500. I got a Kaymar rear tow bumper from Man-a-fre since it looks the most OEM...almost can't tell until you notice the dual pivots. You can get it w/o pivots, but pivots at least give you the future option of running rear tire carriers/attachments. The steel bumper sits about 2" behind the rear crossmember (can see the black crossmember in the second shot). Here's what it looks like w/ the silver checkerplate cover hard anodized black and bumper painted to match. The non-pivot one looks the same minus the pivot and the thing next to the pivot.
Weight-wise, the TJM is the lightest, Kaymar/ARB in between, Slee the heaviest. The weight (at least w/ the Kaymar and probably the Slee) should be okay on the LX's AHC, but keep in mind that you'll lose that much weight off your load capacity.
I'm guessing that to repaint your rear bumper and putty up any scratches, it'll run around $350-400. They'll have to respray the entire bumper. I had this work done to my honda recently and it ran about $330 plus the emblems. Pearl paint will cost a tad more.
