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After a Virginia car accident, crash victims have many worries. Who will pay their medical bills? Will they and their passengers be okay? Will it be possible to fix the vehicle? How much is it going to cost to repair?
The last concern is especially troubling these days, as it seems that car and truck repairs just keep getting more and more expensive. It is almost as if vehicle manufacturers are intentionally making cars expensive to fix if they are involved in a crash! This may sound like a crazy conspiracy theory, but the reality is that auto manufacturers can do more to make their vehicles less expensive to fix after a wreck.
Bumper to bumper crashes – more expensive than they should be
If you’ve ever been involved in a so-called “fender bender” accident, you know that even at slow to moderate speeds a great deal of damage can be done to the rear or front of a vehicle. This is especially true when vehicles’ bumpers do not line up as they should.
According to federal regulations, bumpers on passenger vehicles are supposed to line up, so when one care hits another they strike each other’s bumpers and do minimal damage. However, there are some gaps and loopholes in these regulations, and SUV makers are using those loopholes to make SUVs with bumpers that don’t match up to other vehicles.
The reality is that these bumper regulations only apply to cars – not SUVs, pickup trucks, or minivans. These exempt vehicles often have flimsier bumpers that are higher than usual – or they may not have any bumpers at all. This means that if a car is unlucky enough to hit or be hit by one of these exempt vehicles, it can sustain much greater damage than it should.
One especially surprising example from the IIHS: if a Toyota Corolla crashes into a Toyota RAV4 at about 10 miles per hour, a whopping $9,867 can result – just because the RAV4’s bumper is not lined up with the Corolla’s bumper. If a low-speed crash can do this much damage, you can imagine the high repair cost that can result from a more serious collision.
Frustrated by the insurance company? Need to get your car repaired?
Getting a car, truck, SUV or minivan fixed after a wreck in the Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Chesapeake or other Tidewater town can be very frustrating. You may have to fight with the insurance company to get the repairs done right, or to get enough money for your car. Don’t give in to the insurance company games – please contact our Norfolk office today. Fill out our online contact form or call our Norfolk office toll-free at (800) 690-0235 or locally at (757) 622-7740 to speak with an experienced, aggressive drunk driving lawyer.