Front Bumper ?

fogey · June 11, 2016

So where is it eh ?

That front is a rum do isn't it eh ? so not sure why more people here are not talking about it ...

Well I have just got some new specs and am now looking to see what is supposed to protect the front of the car from minor impact collisions, which is what the front bumper is intended to do isn't it ?

I remember someone here running into the back of an old Honda Civic at around 5 mph and sustaining over 3k of damage. This is the sort of incident that a good bumper design should protect against and it seems the old Civic was able to do this, as it showed no sign of damage at all. Had thought about adding this to that post but it didn't really seem to fit now ... as that post had moved onto different subjects altogether, such as mpg and 200T !

So ... just let me know when I am doing anything wrong with my posting here please

should I be linking to that earlier post ? ... but its very easy to find I think ?

NX Back from hospital
Started by DJP, 18 February

... so here lets see ... its more about front bumpers now eh ?

My trusty 1940 Austin 10 had a sturdy bar running across the whole front of the car and it was bolted to the chassis in two places. It was positioned a few inches ahead of the rest of the car and so protected it from minor collisions. Well as the car only had cable operated drum brakes all round it was rather essential you see.

It was also chrome plated to give a pleasant appearance, but needed regular polishing to remove surface rust.

Come to think of it, nearly all the cars I owned in the last century had front ( and rear ) bumpers like that and they were quite effective at doing what a bumper is supposed to do.

... so really smart thinking in those days eh ?

Well except for the Chrysler Alpine, which had a sort of composite material bumper and was a sort of cream colour, so I remember cleaning it with windolene as chrome polish didn't work too well on that. But it was a very effective bumper and you could easily see the paint colour of any other car that had come into contact with it.

So why is the Nx not able to do this simple task eh ?

Well perhaps the front bumper has morphed into something else eh ? Looking around at other modern cars I find it difficult to see where their front bumpers are too....

So there seems to be something here which has changed ... so here I am thinking of how the full size spare wheel has slowly morphed into a can of fix-a-flat with a shelf life of 5 years...

now that's really smart thinking for today eh ?

Fortunately Lexus haven't followed the lemmings over the edge of the cliff on that one ... yet !

Now then where are we now eh ? Perhaps someone else knows eh ?

Eccles where is the front bumper eh ?

"Umm just a minute I got it written down here on a piece of paper ...

A nice man wrote it down for me this morning in case anyone asked for it ...

Aha It is writted on this piece of paper .... morphed into spindle grill ... "

Spindle grill eh ?

What is that supposed to be eh ?

Well it seems it has changed the front bumper into something as useful as ...

.... a 5 year old can of fix-a-flat ....

so yet even more smart thinking for today eh ?

Update ! .... shame it is not possible to fix this by sticking a properly designed front bumper to the front of the car using sticky pads eh ? ...well some things you can fix easily and some you can't eh ?

Always pleased to see lots of useful solutions to problems here

Bluesman · June 11, 2016

Hi John and welcome to the LOC, we are a friendly bunch and some of us even know how to pull them to bits and put them back together again, with of course the one bolt and washer left over.

I cant help with your present queries but I'm sure someone will be along ASAP.

We recommend you spend a couple of mins looking over the rules of the LOC, we will be asking questions later

http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/terms-conditions/

Regards Mike.

DJP · June 11, 2016

Not entirely sure what to add so how about a pic of the damage to my 'bumper'

I could just have left it, perfectly drivable and pretty sure the integrity of it hadn't been compromised but I decided it should be repaired. Except Lexus said it wasn't repairable to their required standard and so had to be replaced.

The bill was £3.5k so I put it through my Insurers. My renewal is due shortly and I've gone to the market and even with the claim I can reduce my premium against last year. Pleasant surprise that is [emoji848]

My first car was a Hillman Super Minx and that had a proper bumper. Mr Honda wouldn't have escaped uninjured I don't think!

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rayaans · June 12, 2016

You see that plastic piece behind the number plate and grill? Behind that is a proper crumple bar.

Dont see an issue with it - if it costs too much to repair just go through insurance

DJP · June 12, 2016

You see that plastic piece behind the number plate and grill? Behind that is a proper crumple bar.
Dont see an issue with it - if it costs too much to repair just go through insurance

Yes that's what I did and all was sorted a couple of months ago. I was responding to the OP's post seeing as it was his first and I was quoted [emoji846]

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fogey · June 12, 2016

Aha a proper crumple bar eh ?

Behind the number plate and the grill eh ?

So did this crumple much in this instance I wonder, or is it intended to cope with much more severe direct frontal impacts ? As the damage appears restricted to the drivers side, perhaps the impact was not a direct head on collision, but more angled towards the driver side of the car ?

It seems in this case that some of the impact energy was taken by the flexing of the huge spindle grill surround at that side, which then caused it to crack in several places and rack up the repair bill considerably.

So yes, I had seen that bar but could not see how it could protect the front of the car from a very expensive repair bill, even in the event of a very minor collision. The main issue here is that it cost 3.5k to repair the Lexus but absolutely nothing for the old Honda.

I had read earlier that it was also necessary to feather in the wing with new paint too and I am not sure why that was needed, unless the impact had also damaged the wing in some way ?

Only 3.5k eh ? Understandably the insurer was very surprised at the cost of the repair, given the nature of the collision and presumably very relieved to learn that the Honda had suffered no damage at all, as that would have been an additional cost for them, given the cause of the collision.

If this happens too often then expect the Nx insurance premiums to creep up further.

In any case, it looks essential to pay for NCD protection every year and then change your insurer if you have to claim for this event, in order to contain the follow on costs.

So now factor this into the annual running cost of your new Nx eh ?

On this matter I don't have NCD protection as I have had no need to claim for well over 20 years now, but even so, my insurer wanted to increase my premium by 25% this year.

I found a new alternative quote for less than I was paying for the previous year !

Nice eh ?

Aha yes, the Hillman Super Minx, a great car with a nice chrome front bumper eh ?

My father had the series VIII with a two tone blue and cream finish

... and later on the Series V. Nice eh ?

I had two of the follow on Hunters, the first of which took me over 100k miles....

Another great car with a very strong chrome front bumper.

They don't make then like that anymore do they eh ?

rayaans · June 12, 2016

The only reason it cost £3.5k is because DJP took it to Lexus.

Im sure any random bozo on the street could do it for £150 but I doubt DJP would have been happy with it.

DJP · June 13, 2016

The only reason it cost £3.5k is because DJP took it to Lexus.
Im sure any random bozo on the street could do it for £150 but I doubt DJP would have been happy with it.

Spot on. Insurers wanted me to take it to their 'approved repairer'. I doubt they even know what an NX looks like, much less ever worked on one. There was no way my 6 month old car was going anywhere apart from Lexus.

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Goggy · June 13, 2016

Quite right, stick to Lexus approved repairers only.

fogey · June 13, 2016

Just a £150 repair job then eh ?

Well if the insurers could get it bodged it up for that, then get their repairers to mark the cost up a bit, they might even make a profit out of it, as I think the compulsory excess on this new Lexus Nx would probably be more that that !

To do a decent job at that price you need to find someone very special indeed eh ?

Someone who works for next to nothing as he enjoys the work so much.

Someone who can repair cracked bumpers with a few layers of fibreglass and then paint them up so they look like new eh ?

Such a miracle worker would soon be very famous indeed and he would probably be called Edd China

Edited June 13, 2016 by fogey
whoops typo should be Edd sorry about that ...

rayaans · June 14, 2016

Not hard at all. A cracked bumper just needs heat, moulding and paint. They don't care if the work is off, they just look at it from a financial view

I had my rear bumper on my previous RX done for £120.

fogey · June 15, 2016

That's good to know eh ?

My wonderfully quiet and comfortable Rx 400h is already approaching 8 years old and I am planning on keeping it for a few more years. Nice eh ?

Lexus haven't yet lured me into the new Spindle Grill Image they are promoting to try and entice younger drivers into the brand. I am thinking of creating a new post on the Rx forum as to why I am thinking this way at the moment, so Lexus won't be seeing any more of my cash for some time yet !.

From what I have seen about your comments here, I suspect you may be thinking the same way at the moment eh ?

Bad new for them eh ?

I hate paying for Car Insurance and as I always buy used now, I opt for the maximum voluntary excess on top of the compulsory excess to get the lowest quote. Protected NCB is also out too, as I see all insurance money as dead money, being used to subsidise other people's prangs. The bumpers are usually the first things to get hit, sometimes when you are just parked and my luck may well run out soon. In this case it would definitely not be an insurance job, if I could get it fixed so cheaply at my own expense.

But I can see why you would not want to go down this route on a nearly new car, with the crack in a much more prominent position, the cracked Nx chrome inlay would probably look even worse on a low cost repair.

However if you bought an older used Nx in a few years time you might well prefer to go down the low cost route, or even just leave it. The older a car gets, the less you worry about the dings and scratches that eventually come with age eh ?

rayaans · June 15, 2016

Dont know what you mean about us not liking the Spindle Grill image.

Ive got 2 and you're the only one on this thread without the so called Spindle Grill!!

Not too sure about the excesses either - sometimes it makes £10 difference to put £500 instead of £250.

fogey · June 15, 2016

Well I suppose I really belong on the Rx forum, as all I own is the 2008 Rx and I am not lucky enough to own more than one Lexus.

I spent a lot of time there, as a visitor, before buying my 2008 Rx and have only just returned there in earnest today, as I see you now already know eh ?

But I have been spending nearly all my forum time here recently, just browsing the Nx posts, as I am still not ruling one out entirely ... that's why I am here asking awkward questions about the clock and the "front bumper" as these are things I don't like at all, so I need to talk around them to see if people can change my perspective !

I also have other issues, but have not raised specific questions about them here yet.

As I have spent most of my motoring life in the last century, my perspective is strongly influenced by this. I think most people here are younger than me, and for some, by one or two generations, so they do not always understand what I am talking about, as I have already seen some replies of ..." ??"

.... and so they may just think I am making a fuss about nothing eh ?

But I expect that and that's why I am " fogey" and it's not a problem here for me.

Aha yes, I think the first "spindle grill intrusion" into the "proper Rx bumper" started with the later 2012 model ? ... which I guess is the one you have eh ?

So when I talk about the Spindle Grill Image, I am really thinking about the new Nx and Rx, where this now seems to dominate the entire front of the car. I believe you do not yet own either of these at the moment, but I sense you may have reservations about them for reasons other than that massive grill eh ?

I call it an image as I believe it is a new way in which Lexus hope new ( younger) potential customers will see their latest cars, and so change the earlier perspective which mainly attracted the older generations, such as myself.

My view on this of course is just my own personal opinion on this particular thread and obviously people who may have already bought into this will not agree with me here.

On the matter of the insurance, I always opt for the lowest cost option, as my last claim was well over 20 years ago now and now I can't even remember what it was for !

Great situation to be in eh ? , so I will be looking to see if my next car has any weak spots where I might be forced to claim due to other people hitting it, perhaps when I am not even there.

Let's hope we do not invite the wrath of the moderators here by going too far off topic.

Sometimes it's the only way to make progress here, isn't it eh ?

rayaans · June 15, 2016

To be fair, the spindle grill on the 2012 RX is pretty big, although it has a partition in the middle unlike the IS which completely dominates the front but I think it looks good.

I am looking for a 2016 RX450h currently but being very particular, it appears there arent many in the combo I want! Im not going down the new route this time simply because they lose half their value in 3 years so will go for a demo! Im looking for White/Red, pan roof and Heads up display and Mark levinson too but there arent many around!

Ill wait another 6 months, could probably live without the Mark Levinson anyway!

DanD · June 20, 2016

Personally, I love the spindle grille, although I accept that it is very a much a love it / hate it feature. At least, it means that recent Lexus models stand out of the crowd, which to me is not necessarily a bad thing... I guess plenty of Nissan Juke owners would agree! I suppose new designs will often divide opinions but it is better than disappearing into oblivion within a couple of years. I suspect that the colourless rear lights of the RX300/400h must have caused controversy as well when the car was first launched...

fogey · June 21, 2016

Yes there is a lot of clever psychology at work here.

In the past, the grille at the front of the car was used to define the status of the car, so something as mundane as a BL Allegro could be upgraded to a Vanden Plas by swapping the front grille and then doing little else!

Some marques such as BMW and Alfa Romeo have already done this for a very long time, but Lexus have just relied on their special L symbol and managed to increase their market share based on their reputation for producing very reliable and high quality cars. The spindle grille is a new way of increasing their market share by creating a new brand image, essentially by using a new funky huge grille that dominates the front of the car.

This caused a very strong reaction at first and so gave Lexus a lot of "free advertising"

In the comments columns below the press reports many existing Lexus owners expressed strong disapproval and several commentators remarked that Lexus might end up "falling between two stools", meaning that they would not attract sufficient new buyers to replace those that they might lost due to such an outrageous "face" at the front of the car. It seems that this has yet to happen of course !

However at the moment there appear to be some sort of contest going on to see who can produce the most funky new car design, so Lexus are already into this game before it really took off, and in doing so they are already "ahead of the curve"

The influence of the media can eventually be so strong that it effectively tells people what to think. Lexus are depending on this, using their persistence of propagating their new image throughout the whole range. So after a while it becomes accepted as the norm, especially when everyone else is in the same game. This is what good marketing is all about of course.