So, after years and years of good luck, it finally happened yesterday while sitting at a light, totally stopped and unexpected Couldn't believe there was (what seemed) no visible damage. Police wouldn't even file an accident report since there was nothing visible. It was a hard impact I thought, so these things must be built as well as I'd hoped. Will assess further damage today in daylight proceed accordingly.

Anybody else have any fender bender stories?

 

I'm so sorry!!! I'll hope for the best.

Rear-enders are the accidents I most expect, and I've cringed on numerous occasions while looking in the rear-view mirror, bracing for impact.

 

Take it to your dealer and they will put it on a frame rack to make sure there is no damage. It's always possible but unseen to the eye.

 

You're absolutely right. There may be internal damage.

 

The first hidden damage I'd suspect is to the energy-absorbing blocks behind the plastic bumper skin. There are typically large blocks of dense foam that absorb energy as they're crushed.

 

Glad you're ok. Been rear ended twice. Both times, I drove away thinking damage was minor. Both times, totaled!

 

I was bumped at a light also. Got out expecting the worst. And nothing, Yay.

 

Hope you're OK. Rear-enders are never fun. I still have neck pains from being slammed by a DUI from the rear at 50mph years ago (I was totally stopped; Seeing him coming helped little in bracing myself).

Definitely have things thoroughly checked out. As others have just said, there can be significant internal damage with minimal show from the outside--hopefully not. Good luck.

 

Oh no!!!! As others mentioned check the blocks, and check the metal absorption unit if there is one present.
Hopefully all is well.

 

12 months ago, almost to the day, I was T-boned square between the wheels on the passenger side door of my first FTR, by an undocumented driver - No license/No insurance - who ran a red light mid-phase; didn't hit his brakes till in the intersection; and was still traveling about 40 mph at impact.

After taking a few seconds to confirm I was still in one piece and unhurt, I can distinctly remember just how hard I was hit, and how solid - and therefore how safe - the F-Type felt on impact. While my car was pushed about 10ft sideways and slightly rotated, the aluminum body most definitely performed a fabulous job of absorbing the energy of the impact, as I'm sure it is designed to do.

Looking at some of the cut-away models of the F-Type framework, there is an exceptionally stout 6"wide x 8"high tubular frame piece running the full side of the vehicle between the wheels, the top of which forms the lower jamb for the door. Clearly, this is what absorbed most of the energy.

I'll spare the details and tribulations of the aftermath, but because the frame suffered NO DAMAGE (imagine that) its really difficult to reach a "total loss" threshold on a $110,000 automobile.

Needless to say, I gave my insurance company a proud middle finger and went and bought myself an identical replacement.

 

Bummer!!! It happened to me when I was in my 330ci. I made the cop make out a report. Turned out there was $1500 internal damage. I was at a roundabout and she was looking at the traffic flow instead of me. I cringe every day at that location if I have to stop. I'll even punch it to avoid sitting there.

Hope it all works out.

 

Really sorry you had that experience but glad you walked away as you did!

While the insurance company should be our advocate, they're not our friend. Remember, our primary contact is someone with the title "Claims ADJUSTOR". His bonus depends on adjustments going down, not customer satisfaction...

 

Actually, I'd love to hear the details of the trials and tribulations if you don't mind. Are you saying your damaged one couldn't be totaled out and so you sold it and ate the cost difference to buy a replacement?

 

Precisely, knowing how hard I was hit, had no interest whatsoever in taking possession of a repaired vehicle and having to deal with who knows what problems, squeaks and rattles down the road. Even though the car was at the best Jaguar Factory Authorized Structural Aluminum Certified repair facility in So. Cal.

I tend to keep cars a long time.
Fought with insurance carrier for 4 months, escalated up 4 levels of management, who at one point led me to believe they were going to find a way to classify it a total loss, based in part on the fact that some parts were not available anywhere, from any source... Until some pinhead came up with a compromise solution to the part issue that was unacceptable to me but made perfect financial cents to them.

Learned a lot about the gaping holes in auto coverage as a result. I could go on for days on this topic.
Car was 3 weeks new with 590 miles at the time.

 

Out of curiosity, how do they find a compromise around "not available"?

 

Probably with a big hammer and a bucket of Bondo.

 

Have a substitute "one-off" part created by a local artisan.
In this case, we are talking the entire headliner shell, which is a large and rather complex 1-piece molded shape that runs door jamb to door jamb, windshield to rear boot lid, with a molded cutout for the panoramic roof, insulated on the back (top) side and covered with vehicle specific matching leather on the under interior side.

Leather? You ask... Yes, I had ordered my vehicle with a rarely specified option called "Extended Leather Upper Environment", which provides matching leather on the entire headliner, A-pillars, sun visors, and rear pillars, instead of the standard and cheaper (cost wise and aesthetically) cloth.

Next time you crawl into an F-Type Coupe, take a peek at the complex contour of the headliner. You'll understand why I told the adjuster to pound sand.

BTW: the door window curtain airbags live above the headliner, and when my passenger side window curtain airbag deployed, it destroyed that side of the headliner shell.

 

Thanks everyone for the insights. Didn't know about the impact absorbers on the inside of the rear bumper. Will be taking it to my local dealer to have it lifted up and examined after I get back from this trip. Cheers, all!