14 K in damage? What a joke, i'd like a breakdown of cost.

 

I bump into a van from a stop with my 05 G35X. I was not paying attention while merging. I accelerated about 3 feet from a stop to the bumper of the van. Could not have been much more than 5MPH. However, the van's bumper rode up onto the hood.

$8600 in damages. No structural or engine component damage. The air bags did not go off. They replace everything forward of the radiator; the composite frame that held the radiator and a ton of stuff, head light units, bumper crush components and the aluminum hood. Most of the damages are just broken plastic mounting flanges, but whole assemblies were replaced. There was as a slight crease on the hood. Because it is aluminum. The hood assembly was replaced. Complete front end was repainted.
The whole front end is now brand new.

 

 

Who the hell names their kid "3 MPH"!?

 

It's not the "worst" bumper, just the most expensive to repair. The trick is... don't hit anyone, if they hit you let them pay for it.

 

i had a number of customers calling about this on the news... thats why we have insurance for... but it's more for the '07 sedan not the previous gens

 

I got tagged twice during my second year. Both times on the rear, one of the times was an offset bump with a rusty SUV, one was a sideways scrape from a minivan. The average bill was $500 for replacing the cover and painting. This is for a reputable shop that I got references for prior to the repairs. $1400 total for four accidents doesnt sound that far out of line if it is replacing the front and rear bumpers with other minor damage (say taillights). Was there a full list anywhere which compares the most expensive with say the 20th most expensive in price? Are we talking 10% more expensive or 50%...
In general most of the cost is paint and labor. This is why the crappy Escort bumper is so cheap to 'fix' its just a unpainted piece of steel. Do the insurance companies really think car manufacturers are going to ugly up their autos to reduce the repair costs? Not unless big chrome bumpers come back into style!

EDIT: should have read the CNN article before posting. 14k, not 1.4k and it had a full list. Their prices seem way off and must include repairs beyond a dinged bumper. Why else would it be cheaper to 'fix' an A4 after a full rear hit versus a rear corner hit unless more was being replaced than a bumper.

Also I would assume that the prices for each area is to fix two bumpers (one at 3mph and one at 6mph) which would bring the price inline with my experiences.