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Ken.... Actually, that was interesting! I knew that todays lower priced cars (I've gotta laugh when "lower priced" means umpty-twelve thousand dollars!) were mostly made with spit 'n bubble gum, and when major repairs were needed then the repair shops omitted bubble gum, but somehow your word-picture made the chain of events easier for me to visualize. Thanks! Barb Mallut barb_msn@email.Ms..com -----Original Message----- From: KEn Becker <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]> Date: Sunday, February 20, 2000 6:45 AM Subject: Re: Non-PD: Re: Attack of the / auto aesthetist >Janet, that one is easy! When cars had real bumpers, you could tap another >car and just hear a "clang" and neither car would be damaged. No one lost any >money, but no one MADE any money either! So NOW you tap another car, and the >lump of plastic where the bumper would have been mounted, gets a small >dimple, which crushes the styrofoam inside, and pushes in the shock absorber >which hides behind it, which must be replaced after one collision, or makes >the whole "bumper" crooked other wise. The paint on the "bumper" (maybe it >should be renamed "crumpler"?) matches the other paint on the car, but if it >must be repainted, it will never match exactly, so the entire end of the >vehicle will need to be repainted, if the job is done properly. IF a tail or >head light, trunk lid or hood has been damaged, it may need to be repaired, >or replaced also. SInce these procedures require an estimate, time to locate >and order parts, and time to do the repairs and paperwork involved, the owner >may need to rent a replacement vehicle. If the car that was "tapped" was an >inexpensive "economy" car, it will probably be "totalled", as the place where >an iron frame used to be is now a roll of the same kind of thin metal that >the easily dented doors are covered with, and cannot be straigtened or >repaired, or economically replaced. The owner will then get a check from the >insurance company to replace the totalled car which will be sold for a small >sum to a salvage yard. Then the parts might be sold for large sums of money, >or the car might be sold to a used car dealer, patched with "Bondo" and >given a cheap paint job, and put back on the market as "like new"! So now, >thousands of dollars are made by everyone concerned, EXCEPT for the car >owner, who will pay more for insurance, and may have to pay a large >differential between what the insurance company thought his car was worth and >the actual cost to replace it. He/she might be tempted to buy a good used car >to save the difference. HOPEFULLY not a "totalled" one fixed with Bondo! My >daughter's car had a small rip in the plastic bumper. The dealer wanted about >$700 to replace the parts, paint, etc, and 3 to 5 days. I fixed it with Bondo >and a spray can, toal cost about $10! Bet you are sorry you asked! LOL >Ken