ARLINGTON, Va. -- A luxury car can bring its owner style and prestige. It can also mean thousands of dollars in repair bills to fix damage from minor fender-benders.

Tests conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety show many of the bumpers on luxury vehicles do not resist damage in low-speed impacts.

The institute said that in a series of four tests conducted at 3 and 6 mph, the Infiniti G35, the worst performer, sustained almost $14,000 damage. The Saab 9-3 was the best, with just over $5,200 damage.

Wow.....

 

probably worse for the ppl with aftermarket bumpers that have removed the foam piece. were these tests offset crashes? similar to hitting a wall or pole or what? i figured the more luxury cars would cost more to repair but i guess they hold up better.

 

cato, do you have the URL of the article?

 

http://www.click2houston.com/automot...60/detail.html

 

https://g35driver.com/forums/g35-sedan-v36-2007-08/170383-14-000-damage.html

 

So we don't have 5mph bumpers? $14K must be an offset impact but still that's absurd.

 

I might be totally clueless, but how does hitting someone at 3-6 MPH create $14,000 in damage? I am not sure when our airbags trigger, but that has to be part of the cost. I know on Honda's it is like several thousand to have them reinstall an airbag.

 

http://money.cnn.com/2007/08/01/auto...ex.htm?cnn=yes

Still more

 

Got it now. As seen in the last link posted, the cars are slipping below other cars and damaging much more than the bumper.

 

No, it's not the airbag...airbags shouldn't go off at that low of a speed. The $14K is because it's the total cost in a series of four tests conducted.

 

We have the most valuable parts!! Woohoo!

 

So if we're about to hit someone going 3-6 mph should we speed up?

 

Shoot...I know I should have bought a cheap Honda.....NOT!!!

I'll take the expensive bumpers, since it provides speed, class and ....

 

The key here is "Don't run into anything!" Yea, I don't have the OEM bumper
on my car (it's in the top of my garage) and all that foam stuff is gone but
I love the way my G looks with the new Kuruma Z bumper regardless!

 

anyone have any real life accidents who can vouch for this study. ...as in what repairs were quoted at ohh another study . . .