Why You Should Care About a Bent Bumper

Walking away from any accident is a miracle. Even a simple fender-bender at a stop sign can leave your heart racing and your mind cloudy! And, in instances like these it’s easier to thank your lucky stars as you drive away to get on with your day.

It’s important not to forget to have an auto body specialist take a look at your vehicle, no matter what damage it may have incurred. You might think of a dented bumper as a small souvenir from a crash that could have been much larger, but even something this simple is liable to become a future headache. Even simple auto damages require collision repair in Middletown, NJ.

What’s the harm in a bent bumper?

Your car is made up of many small systems working together. When any one of these systems is damaged, it’s going to cause a disturbance for any number of other systems. Case in point: a bent bumper. Take a look at this simple scenario:

Your front bumper is pushed in very slightly after a near-accident at a stop sign. There’s a decent-sized dent, but everything seems to be working fine, so you pull away and get on with your day. What you’re not seeing, however, is the slow disaster taking shape in your engine compartment.

That crunched bumper pushed part of your radiator back into your engine space, leaving it with a very small crack. But, in addition to slowly leaking fluid, your engine’s serpentine belt is now also rubbing very slightly against the pushed-in part. This is causing it to wear prematurely. In a few days or weeks, you’re going to suffer one or more setbacks: either an overheating engine or a vehicle that simply won’t start! All of this because of a pushed-in bumper.

Seek an inspection and repair

The above example may seem a bit drastic, but it’s meant to illustrate how one out-of-place component can cause a whole lot of trouble in a vehicle. More likely, a bent bumper is going to make it hard to close your trunk or leave you with a bent tow-hitch, but the principle is the same: these are issues that need to be fixed.

After an accident, it’s advisable to seek a professional opinion about collision repair in Middletown, NJ. Talk to an automotive professional and have them take a look at your damages. They could tell you that it’s purely cosmetic, and that fixing the damage is up to you. Or, they might shed light on a problem that could come back to haunt you a few hundred miles down the road. Either way, you’ll have the peace of mind that comes with knowing.

Don’t forget, as well: many insurance companies will fully cover auto body repairs as a preventative approach to vehicle care. If your bent bumper could result in a breakdown in the future, an insurance company would rather cover the upfront repair, as opposed to the unknown (likely expensive) cost of a larger vehicle repair.

If you’re lucky enough to walk away from an auto accident unharmed, avoid testing your luck again. Bring your vehicle to an auto body specialist at Lentz Auto Body and make sure you’re truly in the clear.

Categorised in: Collision Repair

This post was written by Writer