Hack: Thai way to save on bumper bar repair costs (video)

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When it comes to automobiles there’s nothing truer than the old adage ‘they don’t make them like they used to’.

The increased use of recyclable materials, airbags, and crumple zones mean today’s motor vehicles are not only lighter, more fuel efficient and environmentally friendly than their predecessors, but also infinitely more disposable.

Anyone who has been unfortunate enough to have even a minor collision can be excused for feeling more than slightly light-headed as a panel shop repairer completes line after line on a repair sheet listing the items needing replacement.

While infinitely safer, the modern day automobile is not renowned for its robustness if it should come into contact with anything more sturdy than a feather, the external panels being for little more than aesthetics and wind and rain protection than anything else.

As the first point of impact in most motor vehicle collisions, bumper bar technology over the years has changed, and not necessarily for the benefit of vehicle owners. From heavy chrome-plated steel designs capable of experiencing minimal damage in an 8km/h (5mph) collision, regulations have been watered down at the instance of the automobile industry to now require the same minimal amount of damage from just a 4km/h (2.5mph) collision.

Rather than attempting to provide any real protection, the modern day bumper bar is designed to absorb the force of  impact by crumpling, giving airbags time to deploy.

It also means that in almost every collision one of the first things a repairer writes down on a job sheet is ‘1 x replacement bumper bar’. And lighter doesn’t mean cheaper. According to studies in the USA the easing of standards has seen the cost of bumper bar repair costs increase by more than 400 per cent on models tested.

This video clip from Thailand though shows that one repairer there has worked out a neat trick for saving Thailand motor vehicle owners lots of money on bumper bar repair costs and minimising the time a vehicle involved in a small ‘fender bender’ spends in the shop.

A couple of liters of hot water on the effected area, a little bit of targeting pushing and this car is ready to get back into Thailand’s notoriously bad traffic.

No information on where or when the video was made was posted by the user, nor the name of the talented repairer, but no doubt this hack will enable many people to save on their bumper bar repair costs.

 

 

Feature video ประกายเดือน ชูหอม

 

 

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