What would you do?

[Miss.September]

Couple of weeks ago, someone ran into the back of my car. Very minor, minimal damage. The tow bar took most of the impact. The tow bar itself (the goose neck bit) wasn't in but the square shape that holds it left a lovely imprint on the girl's bumper.

I want to get the car assessed to make sure the towing kit hasn't been damaged/compromised. We had it all upgraded a year ago, it wasn't cheap and I want to make sure that the car will still tow without an issue.

Can I get it checked/assessed without cost? I know it wasn't our fault (we were stationary at traffic lights and she drove into the back of us) but I feel bad. She was a young girl in a supermarket uniform on a Sunday afternoon. What she would earn in a week would probably be her excess. And I've been in that position and I feel bad that our car really has minor damage (a scratch and the rear grill has dropped a couple of millimetres) and it might cost her. It was low speed and realistically, there is probably no damage to the tow kit but we should probably get it checked. What would you do?

[RainbowRiver]

Hubby hit someone yesterday, so at fault. He has a 4wd and the bull bar was only slightly damaged, but he took to the the local panel shop to see what they said.

Bit different to your situation, but if you or someone you know, perhaps knows someone at a local shop, perhaps they can check it out free for you? Or maybe call your insurer and ask if you can get it assessed to see if a claim is worth it?

[HotI]

you can get a quote for repairs without cost, but depends on the person/business if they will assess it to the degree that you want.

my dh is not car qualified but is an engineer, mechanically minded, and might be able to check it out for you. i can ask him tonight or see what he recommends.

[~Kim~]

could you ring the place that installed it and ask them if they'll have a look. Most places will if you just ring and ask.

[Miss.September]

could you ring the place that installed it and ask them if they'll have a look. Most places will if you just ring and ask.

We talked about that but it's a four hour round trip back to where it was installed.

I think I'll go to the panel beaters and see what he says. Thanks all.

[peanutter]

I would take it to three places, to get quotes for insurance purposes.

Any reputable mechanic will tell you if there's nothing to be fixed.

[~Kim~]

We talked about that but it's a four hour round trip back to where it was installed.

Ah. Buggar.

[HotI]

I read your post to DH and he said sounds like the force of the impact was less than the forces that are applied under normal towing, which it is designed to withstand so he wouldn't be too concerned.

[feeb]

We had a similar incidence not that long ago, I was at lights and someone hit me tow bar took most his bumper fell off and we had small area on bumper that was scratched and bumpted. DH took didn't think was much when I got home ( i was a mess) anyway he took it to be assessed and they said because not a big issues we had to wait 2 months then booked in for full assessment and they had to send it away to get the muffler and tow bar checked and in the end said both needed replaced!!

DH still not convinced was actually needed but as we were not paying reality was didn't matter insurance covered it and the uninsured person who hit me is now paying off a $4500 bill.

[Miss.September]

Feeb, sounds like we had the same scenario. We were stationary at lights, she was stopped behind us. Light went green, we were turning right so moved into the intersection and we were giving way to the oncoming traffic (there was no right turn arrow) and she just drove into us.

I rang the insurance company today, they've listed it as a report and not a claim and told me to go to a panel beater. If they say it needs repairs/replaced then the report turns into a claim. DH rang our mechanic buddy who got DH to look for a few things but it's almost impossible to see without taking the bumper off. He also told us of a new business that has opened up locally that specialises in installing our type of tow kit so we'll ring Monday and go from there.