i think the rear bumper is a magnet

[bluelion]

some of you may have seen a thread i started back when the car was a month old... wife's Z was hit... :(

well, it got bumped again today. i was stopped at a traffic light that was backed up with traffic for a good half mile....talking on the phone with my wife...when i felt the car jerk, i threw the car in park and jumped out....PISSED! now to give you a mental picture of how i'm looking nowadays...i'm about 5'6, 235lbs, and a full beard that i havent touched since we found out my wife was pregnant. well i jump out and started say "WTF you doing!!!!" the poor kid was about 5'4, and maybe 150lbs....he looked terrified.

got to looking at the bumper and we now have two vertical dents underneath the license plate area caused from the area where his license plate should've been. there wasn't any scratches or paint transfer, he was going just fast enough to leave nice indentions...the guy tries telling me that you can barely see the dents, and i said i can see them just fine. he fumbled around his filthy grand prix looking for insurance papers only to come out empty handed....i immediately called the cops so they can come run his license plates to see if he has insurance....meanwhile, i've already jotted down all his info from his license and license plate #.

cop shows up, and says he won't file a report because the damage was so minor, and for us just to exchange info. i'm going to stop by the body shop that fixed the bumper from the last incident and see how much to fix it....

[Noc]

I dont know if anyone do this but i tend to leave maybe 2-3 feet of space infront of me when i am at a stop light or in situations where i have to stop. I will be constantly keeping an eye on cars behind me and i will release my break so my car inches forward a bit if i sense that cars are coming a lil fast or getting a lil close.

Just trying my best to avoid situations like that.

[ZOLE]

Originally Posted by Noc

I dont know if anyone do this but i tend to leave maybe 2-3 feet of space infront of me when i am at a stop light or in situations where i have to stop. I will be constantly keeping an eye on cars behind me and i will release my break so my car inches forward a bit if i sense that cars are coming a lil fast or getting a lil close.

Just trying my best to avoid situations like that.

I hear ya. I'm so paranoid about people flying up from behind me when I'm stopped. This goes back to 4 years ago when some a$$hole hit me from behind in my eclipse (I was stopped and he was doing 50mph, he was on a cell phone not paying attention) and ultimately I wound up with a herniated disc and 2 bulging discs in my neck. I didn't see a doctor after the collision because I felt fine, but a year and half later my disc ruptured in the middle of the night.

My physical therapist told me she's seen this happen to alot of people, and that what happens is the force is strong enough to weaken the outer disc material and it may not rupture until some time later (in my case 1.5 years).

This is a warning to anyone who gets rear-ended. Go see a doctor even if you feel fine. That way you have something to back up a claim if you need to get medical compensation later. I wish I had.

[Lemers]

I would have told the cop to have him produce insurance or do his job and file a report. As soon as the cop leaves with No report than the kid changes his story and it never happened I've always been told that any hits to these "5 mph" bumpers is automatically $5000.

[11Thumper]

Originally Posted by Lemers

I would have told the cop to have him produce insurance or do his job and file a report. As soon as the cop leaves with No report than the kid changes his story and it never happened I've always been told that any hits to these "5 mph" bumpers is automatically $5000.

Not likely the kid could change his story since you had damage at the rear. Did you take a picture with your camera phone showing the placement of the cars? Pictures tell EVERYTHING!

Did this kid ever show the cop proof of insurance? Maybe you should have thrown some flour on his face and told the cop he was sniffing coke. Either that or carry a stash of weed and throw it in the car of anyone that hits you right when the cop is driving up.

[Arc]

After hearing about people getting rear ended in their 370Z, I've been watching my six and so far I've seen a few people get up too close to my rear.
They must really like looking at it or they have poor depth perception and can't tell that they're too close to me.
I don't want to get any closer to the car in front of me either because that car can kick a rock into the front of my car and hit either the front bumper, the hood, or the windshield.

I'm about the same height as you, but 60 pounds lighter, LOL!
I would be pissed too if someone bumped me and left an indent in the rear of my Z.

[bluelion]

well, i typically DO leave several feet in front of me,,which i did today....and i even remember looking in my rear view before he hit me at one point to make sure he wasn't on my ***....i guess when i looked away it happened.... when i leave several feet in front of me, and someone gets on my ***, i tend to try to slowly inch forward to where they can't tell that i've moved, cause if they see me move up, then they move up....annoying.

[Arc]

Oh man, that really irritates me too when you inch forward and the driver behind you does the same.
I don't see a lot of people who leave plenty of space between the car in front of them. Must be some kind of automated thing in their brain, to move with the car in front of them.

[gbrettin]

Originally Posted by Arc

Oh man, that really irritates me too when you inch forward and the driver behind you does the same.
I don't see a lot of people who leave plenty of space between the car in front of them. Must be some kind of automated thing in their brain, to move with the car in front of them.

Yeah I'm think it's what people do just out of habit. I mess with people when they have their brain set in auto-mode like that and I want some space. I pull up an inch and if they do the same I pull up another inch. I keep doing that until they get sick of doing it.

[Lemers]

Originally Posted by gbrettin

Yeah I'm think it's what people do just out of habit. I mess with people when they have their brain set in auto-mode like that and I want some space. I pull up an inch and if they do the same I pull up another inch. I keep doing that until they get sick of doing it.

I hope you stop before you hit the guy in front of you.


I just throw it into reverse when they see those lights they klick out of autopilot and usually give me some space. Just remember to put it back into drive before to hit the gas.

[bluelion]

didn't get a picture of it right when it happened since we were in bumper to bumper traffic, so by the time we moved off of the street and into a parking lot,,,the placement was off anyway..... no the kid didn't show him proof of insurance cause the police officer was able to pull his insurance info by running his license plates. that is the reason i called the cops in the first place, cause the kid didn't have proof of insurance. i knew cops can run plates and check for insurance that way.

[USNA94]

Originally Posted by bluelion

cop shows up, and says he won't file a report because the damage was so minor, and for us just to exchange info. i'm going to stop by the body shop that fixed the bumper from the last incident and see how much to fix it....

Warning to anyone who gets rear ended like this...No matter how insignificant the damage looks don't just let them walk away! I swear this Z has a magic bumber that is fantastic for hiding damage.
I was rear ended back in December while stopped in traffic. Some lady smacked into the back of me hard enough to give me a good jerk and throw me against the seat belt. After we pull over to the side of the freeway and I get out to see how bad the damage was I was shocked that there really wasn't any. I found one small abrasion. She was like "well, it doesn't look bad at all" and I was like "well, lets see what the police think" and called 911 to get a cop and a report. Cop shows up and says "well I don't see any damage, do you? In cases like this we just exchange insurance info and don't file a report." I'm like ok, whatever lazy ***. Insurance adjuster comes out and takes some pics and writes an estimate of $450 to touch up the scuff. The scuff was so small I couldn't even get a good picture of it. And I nearly pocketed the $450 check the insurance company sent me. Well, glad I didn't. I take it into the Nissan Collision Center and when they get the bumper off they found the inner bumper was bent, the extension from the frame to the bumper was bent, and the floorboards were bent. New total came out to be $4,800.
So, moral of the story: no matter how minor rear end damage looks get it at least inspected.

[bluelion]

well, i'm definitely getting it looked at in the morning after work. and i'm definitely filing the claim on his insurance.

[11Thumper]

Originally Posted by bluelion

well, i'm definitely getting it looked at in the morning after work. and i'm definitely filing the claim on his insurance.

So you got his insurance info from the police? That's good. In most states you're required by law to carry proof of insurance. Problem is...if he denies fault (with no police report) it may be a claim against your insurance. Make sure you get it fixed so that if you ever get hit again the structure of your car isn't compromised. Your safety comes 1st.

It drives me nuts. Once when I was younger I was backing up and hit a parked car. I left my insurance info and took care of the guy's car. I've had a couple cars hit while parked and NEVER was a note left. It's amazing how folks think it's ok to damage property and pretend like it isn't their responsibility. Ok, a little off topic but it's late.

[bluelion]

yeah, got insurance from police officer....i'll call my insurance first thing in the morning, i tried calling after the incident and they were closed already....