I was approaching a solid right light today, started to slow down and saw that the car behind me wasn't slowing down enough. Unfortunately I was not able to run the light and got rear ended. Just before being hit I turned my steering all the way to the right hoping that I would not get hit again. Thankfully I wasn't. No one was hurt.

I have a couple of questions to asked. My trunk lid, both tail lights and rear bumper got damaged. All in all the old Jaguar was not too badly damaged. The other car was totaled. In any case I saw a few ads online for replacement parts but would rather give my money to a forum member if they have the parts. So I was wondering if anyone here has the parts I need. I am also wondering how I can get into my trunk?! I do not here the electrical locking mechanism clicking so I assume it is no longer working. Oh, 1 last question, how hard is it to remove the bumper?

Thanks,
Jomo

 

Sorry to hear it but good there were no injuries.

It must have been some impact when the other vehicle is totalled. I'd be doing a careful appraisal for distortion before thowing money at parts - especially the rear longitudinals.





The Workshop Manual has body dimension drawings to check for accient damage.





Apparently "cosmetic" or superficial panel damage can turn out to more serious.

Graham

 

Thanks for the reply. The car need to go to the collision shop for an estimate and they (and I) will look at the chassis to see if there is any damage or the parts can just go right on.

Any idea how to get my trunk open?

 

There is a key hole by the trunk badge.

 

Glad that you are ok and glad that the other car was totalled!
As a matter of interest, what was it?
I hope that yours is salvageable.

 

jomo,

I'm very sorry to hear about your Jag but thankful no one was injured.

Just a couple of additional things to consider: There is no traditional chassis in an X300. The body, floor pan and rigid reinforcements are all welded or otherwise bonded together to form a monocoque, or what American makers call a unibody. The independent rear suspension bolts directly to the monocoque. The rear quarterpanels and trunk floorpan are part of the monocoque, so any deformation will be difficult or impossible to repair.

Another thing to consider is that in a violent rear end collision, the inertia of the engine and transmission resist forward motion to a greater degree than the body, so while the body lurches forward, the engine/trans momentarily remain where they are. This can damage engine mounts, front subframe bushings, the transmission mount, and even things like transmission cooler pipes, fuel pipes, etc., so make sure all of that is inspected as well.

Please keep us informed!

Don