A $5,000 fender-bender

By The Associated Press

Buying an expensive car can bring an owner style, prestige -- and repair bills in the thousands of dollars to fix damage caused by minor fender-benders.

Repairing damage to luxury vehicles involved in low-speed accidents of 3 to 6 mph, which typically happen in rush-hour traffic or in parking lots, can cost significantly more than for other cars, according to new tests by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.

Many of the bumpers are flimsy and fail to absorb the energy in a crash, leading to damage to grilles, hoods and headlights, the institute reported.

"There shouldn't be much or any damage in collisions at these speeds, especially to expensive and presumably well-made cars," said Joe Nolan, a senior vice president at the institute.

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The institute conducted a series of four low-speed crashes on 11 2007 luxury vehicles. It said the Infiniti G35, with a price tag that starts at $31,450, had the highest repair bill at nearly $14,000 in combined damage for the four tests. In one test involving the front end, the G35's bill was more than $5,000.

The Acura TL and Mercedes-Benz C-Class racked up more than $11,000 in repairs for the four tests while the tab for the Lexus ES 350 nearly reached $11,000. Damage to the Lexus IS cost more than $9,500.

Only three vehicles sustained less than $6,000 in damage: the Saab 9-3, Audi A4 and Lincoln MKZ. Other damage estimates included $8,224 for the Volvo S60, $7,554 for the Acura TSX and $6,681 for the BMW 3-Series.

In similar tests of 17 midprice cars in March, damage ranged from $4,277 to a Mitsubishi Galant up to $9,051 for a Nissan Maxima. For comparison's sake, the institute also tested a 1981 Ford Escort, a model manufactured before bumper standards were relaxed in 1982. Its repairs after the same tests totaled $469, and there was no damage at all from two of the tests.

Car companies tout safety

Automakers noted that the tests did not assess vehicle safety and looked only at repair costs. They said it was hard for the tests to replicate the low-speed crashes that typically occur on the road.

Nissan Motor spokeswoman Jeannine Ginivan said it was "highly unlikely that anyone would be simultaneously involved in the four low-speed crash modes under real-world conditions." Infiniti is Nissan's luxury brand.

Mercedes-Benz spokesman Rob Moran said the results did not reflect the automaker's "holistic approach to occupant safety. This philosophy influences vehicle design and development even down to the front bumper."

Acura, the luxury brand of Honda Motor, said in a statement the TL and TSX sedans were "designed to perform well in real-world situations and are not limited to specific laboratory tests of bumper performance."

Bumpers are designed to absorb the energy of a low-speed collision and prevent greater vehicle damage. But the tests found that many of the vehicles would slide under the bumpers of the vehicles they struck, causing extensive damage.

In other cases, the institute found the bumpers were flimsy, weren't large enough or did not extend out to the vehicles' corners to protect them from damage.

Repair costs after four low-speed crashes:

Luxury vehicles

	Frontfull	Frontcorner	Rearfull	Rearcorner	Totaldamage
Saab 9-3	$1,476	$1,076	$1,722	$969	$5,243
Audi A4	$976	$2,038	$918	$1,899	$5,831
Lincoln MKZ	$1,001	$1,966	$2,330	$669	$5,966
BMW 3-Series	$3,658	$1,256	$989	$778	$6,681
Acura TSX	$1,693	$1,274	$3,430	$1,157	$7,554
Volvo S60	$4,517	$543	$2,142	$1,022	$8,224
Lexus IS	$4,695	$2,223	$1,922	$737	$9,577
Lexus ES 350	$3,921	$2,093	$3,709	$1,101	$10,824
Mercedes-Benz C-Class	$5,486	$963	$3,728	$877	$11,054
Acura TL	$4,985	$1,244	$3,814	$1,156	$11,199
Infiniti G35	$5,223	$3,544	$4,035	$1,181	$13,983

Midprice vehicles

	Frontfull	Frontcorner	Rearfull	Rearcorner	Totaldamage
Mitsubishi Galant	$929	$1,138	$1,048	$1,162	$4,277
Toyota Camry	$936	$1,467	$1,480	$1,028	$4,911
Mazda 6	$978	$1,384	$1,202	$1,397	$4,961
Ford Fusion	$1,620	$991	$1,298	$1,121	$5,030
Volvo S40	$2,252	$1,306	$802	$1,240	$5,600
Kia Optima	$1,730	$1,534	$1,715	$756	$5,735
Saturn Aura	$1,032	$1,152	$3,191	$999	$6,374
Nissan Altima	$945	$969	$3,114	$1,431	$6,459
Chevrolet Malibu	$1,268	$1,610	$2,542	$1,226	$6,646
Subaru Legacy	$3,911	$1,287	$1,122	$1,128	$7,448
Chrysler Sebring	$1,084	$2,061	$3,210	$1,099	$7,454
Hyundai Sonata	$4,312	$1,349	$739	$1,165	$7,565
Honda Accord	$3,469	$1,169	$2,767	$605	$8,010
Volkswagen Passat	$4,594	$1,544	$982	$1,139	$8,259
Pontiac G6	$4,588	$1,183	$1,638	$1,510	$8,919
Volkswagen Jetta	$2,598	$1,223	$3,375	$1,824	$9,020
Nissan Maxima	$4,535	$1,732	$1,787	$997	$9,051
1981 Ford Escort	$86	$0	$383	$0	$469

This article was reported and written by Ken Thomas of The Associated Press.