Rear-End Collision Repairs
It may surprise you to hear that a large number of people involved in rear-end collisions don’t have their vehicles checked or even go in for rear-end collision repairs by a panel beater.
Rear-end collisions happen in all types of conditions. Sometimes drivers will hit each other when they’re driving at high speeds on the motorway, and one driver makes a sudden move or brakes quickly. However, rear-end collisions also frequently happen in extremely slow traffic or in peak hour traffic. For instance, when people are actually less diligent because they’re just crawling along. When people are bored or frustrated in slow-moving traffic, they often cause more collisions than when driving faster. Unfortunately, more people tend to use their phones when they’re in rush hour traffic jams, causing accidents.
Please note, Mt Roskill Collision Centre is a strong advocate of putting your phone away when driving a motor vehicle. If you need to use your phone for navigation, we suggest turning notifications off while you’re driving.
What should you do after a rear-end collision?
According to information published by the New Zealand Police, an accident only needs to be reported to the police if there is personal injury. If no one is injured, it is suggested that the drivers exchange names and contact details.
Therefore after a rear-end collision, most people get out of their cars, check for visible damage, exchange details with the other driver(s) involved, and then drive on. (If their car is still able to be driven).
If there is no visible damage, many people don’t even exchange contact details with the other driver(s). They assume that if they can’t see any damage to their car, all is fine. They also think there is no need to proceed with an insurance claim.
But there are several easily missed problems caused by rear-end collisions
Just because you cannot see any damage, or perhaps there are only minor scratches or dents. That doesn’t mean that everything is okay with your vehicle. You may still need to go in for some rear-end collision repairs.
Bumpers are designed to be bumped, so on modern cars, they bounce back after impact. That is what they’re designed to do. Bumpers are also designed to absorb the impact of a bump or a fender bender. Yet, there may be underlying damage that has occurred on impact. So it’s always best to have your car checked over after a collision, no matter how minor you think it is.
Commonly missed problems that can result after a rear-end collision include:
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Broken or faulty taillights
If a taillight cover has been cracked or broken, you’ll likely notice it at the time. But sometimes the cover will still be intact, but the light won’t work properly. Before you drive off, ask the driver behind you (or your passenger if you have one) to check that your rear lights and brake lights are all working. Even if your lights appear to be working just fine, there may be other electrical problems that begin to cause issues after you’ve driven away.
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Electrical issues
There are a lot of wires in the rear of a vehicle. Some wires control the vehicle’s rear lights and internal or boot lights. Other wires connect to the electric or remote boot release, cables that connect to a tow bar or trailer. Any impact to the rear of your car may affect these and cause electrical issues.
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Damaged boot closure
This is common, especially if the vehicle’s height hits you from behind rams straight into your boot. Unfortunately, it’s not something many people check after they’ve been rear-ended. You won’t know it’s been damaged until you next try to get into your boot. If you have an electric or remote boot release, the cost of repairing this can be more than you expect.
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Cracked or weakened tow ball
You don’t want to find out the hard way that your tow ball is damaged. It’s best to have it checked and tested before you head out again with the boat or trailer.
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Wheel alignment issues
Sometimes a light knock is all that is needed to throw your wheel alignment off. This is particularly true if it’s not the first collision your vehicle has been involved in.
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Bent or cracked frame or chassis
You may not be able to see all parts of the chassis system and its components. However, if there is damage here, it can mean your car is no longer safe to drive (read more about chassis straightening here).
Collision Repairs Auckland
At Mt Roskill Collision Centre, we’ve seen all of these issues arise after seemingly minor rear-end collisions. Often, it’s not the force of impact that causes the problem. It may be the angle of impact, the height of the other vehicle’s bumper, or pre-existing damage worsened by the new collision.
We cannot enforce strongly enough how important it is to have your vehicle checked after any type of collision. Whether you’ve hit or been hit by another car, bumped into a wall or pole while parking. Or simply hit something in your driveway while reversing. Just because you cannot see any damage doesn’t mean that all is fine.
The Mt Roskill Collision Centre promise
If you find yourself in a car accident and think you may need to be looked at. Come over to Mt Roskill Collision Centre, where we can provide excellent rear-end collision repairs. Our goal is to have everyone on New Zealand roads driving safely. We offer a lifetime guarantee on our car repairs from our panel beating and rear-end collision repairs service centre in Mt Roskill, Auckland. Contact us online or call us on 0800 227 762 for a free quote or to book an appointment.
