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Yesterday someone drove into the back of our towcar, a Volvo V70. It was at a slow speed and the damage seems to be limited to the bumper. We have of course notified our insurers etc.

However, we are due to leave for our Easter break on Sunday. After several phone calls it has been confirmed that we can have a car with a towball as a hire car. My husband however, would prefer to use our car and have it fixed after the holiday. He intends to take it to a local garage in the morning for a check over.

What would you do? I think that I would prefer the hire car for complete peace of mind. He wants to take ours! Opinions would be welcome please

It is only the plastic bumper that has been cracked and shifted upwards (it has popped out if that makes sense). The impact was slightly from the side, although 2/3rd of of the bumper is damaged.

The towball is detachable but it is on the car as hubby had been to get the van out of storage the day before. It was not hit in any way. I am more concerned about the bits of the towbar we can't see within the bumper. The garage is very reputable and a MOT station so I guess they would be able to see any damage once it is up on the ramp. Or maybe I should also ask hubby to take it to the company who fitted the towbar to check it out........................

If the towball was not involved with any of the impact resulting from a small low speed collision off-centre I see no reason why there should be any risk. The towbar is mounted on the most solid structures under the car and should be undamaged by what you describe. I would get it checked over anyway for a bit of peace of mind and just take extra care when towing. Its always better to be cautious but it takes little impact to move/break a plastic 'bumper' nowadays.

Dave

Just to let you know that we had the car looked at this morning. The bumper and bumper support are damaged but nothing that would stop us towing. He said that the electric cabling had been moved but everything works fine when we hooked up the caravan.

It's booked in to be repaired when we returned. Can look forward to our break now

Thanks for your advice

Thats great news and a weight off your mind, you can go and enjoy your Easter break now.

Dave

It is a very good chance the the towbar took a bump as well, which in turn could have limited the visual damage to your bumper. There is no way on earth that I would use my towbar if my car was hit from behind.

Take the hire car, better to be safe than sorry.

But it your choice?

Quote: Originally posted by jamesA114 on 06/4/2012

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I have had someone roll into my tow bar while waiting at the lights, almost didn't feel it, and hasn't even damaged the Alko plastic cover and reflector. I could only see a small crack on his number plate and have been reassured by a mechanic that all is okay but it does make me a bit paranoid. Will probably be stopping every few miles!

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We did tow with our damaged car in the end and everything was fine. We had discussed it with our insurers and they were happy for us to do so as we had had it checked out by a garage.

The car has since gone in for repair. The detachable tow bar is still in place and they have found no damage to it. The car needs a new bumper and side panel at a cost of £1250!?!?!?

The impact was on the corner of the bumper and did not involve the actual tow bar itself. We were worried about the parts we couldn't see but thankfully all is well.