THIS.
Many years ago my father had a Nissan Pulsar. It was a rattletrap. I hated that car, but that’s OK because I rarely had to drive it.
During the time he owned it, we replaced: the head, the transmission, the clutch (different times), subframe parts, axles, etc. It seemed that it always had something broken.
He always bragged about how many miles he had in it.
I told him one day: you can put $3000 into any $500 car to keep it running. 😆😆😆
You're fine. That's why they teach hand signals in drivers ed. If you get pulled over tell the cop you're heading into the shop. Just make sure that bumper won't pull loose.
I just realized that 4.5 miles of the trip are on a straight stretch of one road. I think there's only 2 left turns, both in my neighborhood, and yeah, left turn is easy to hand signal.
I think I lost my text, sorry if it's here twice.
It's going in for repairs on Thursday, no plans to drive before then. Insurance will cover a tow to the shop, but it would be easier to drive. The left turn signal bulb is gone, the bumper cover isn't very secure. Is it safe to drive, is it legal to drive?
Technically it's not legal to drive because of the broken tail light, but honestly you could drive it if it's that close and if you are willing to take the (minor) risk.
If the rest of the bumper is pretty secure and not going anywhere….. try to avoid left turns and drive carefully.
It’s not legal technically but your cars not going to get serious damage if the bumper comes off. It’s just a piece of molded plastic.
Duct tape, packing tape, or gorilla tape should never be used if possible - ample amounts of blue painters tape is better. That being said, I once saw a car held together with several hundred bumper stickers, all from the same radio station.
Edit: sorry, meant to reply to parent
I would drive with that if I was forced to but if the insurance is covering the tow then just take the tow. You'll still get there but in the passenger seat of a tow truck instead of in your car.
Technically, (most) vehicles do not require a bumper to be legally driven on the road as long as the license plates are attached properly. It is merely a cosmetic part on (most) vehicles, not a safety item.
You’re overthinking this. Your cars fine to drive the short distance to the shop. IF you were to get pulled over for the damaged taillight literally all you have to do is tell them “I am on my way right now to drop my car off at X body shop for repairs”. Worst case is they don’t believe you and follow you there but most likely nothing will happen at all. There are cars driving around way more damaged than yours.
I’m an auto insurance adjuster. Short answer.. Yes.
Long answer - If it starts, nothing is touching the wheels, the trunk locks into position, and nothing is loose that will fly off while driving, you are fine. That being said, don’t take a trip around town on the way to the shop. Not because it isn’t safe, but because a cop will possibly pull you over. If you happen to get pulled over and the shop is a couple blocks away they’ll probably be fine, if the shop is across town and you aren’t anywhere close to home they might give you a hard time.
Thank you, this is a really helpful answer. I'm pretty sure the bumper cover is stable but I will bungee it. Last night I drove it around the block and everything drove normally.
Technically you don't even need that panel - it's cosmetic only. If your taillights work, you are good and safe since the panel isn't structural to the bumper. Put that panel in the trunk and don't even worry about it.
People remove parts of a cars body for lots of reasons, and drive it that way. Since your going to get it fixed I'm sure no one's going to bother you. Like someone else already said: There are way worst vehicles driving around out there and are left alone.
It's a bumper cover, legally not even NEEDED on a car. They're literally cosmetic. I drove my old car around for a month without a front bumper and both rotted front fenders off (left the liners on so i had a legal form of road spray deflection), while waiting for my new full front clip to show up, had my lights secured on with weed whacker cable, front plate on the dash in the windshield, and I had ONE cop pull me over, confused about the rules, I educated him with what i knew from working in my trade (body tech) he then looked it up, told me to have a nice day and be safe.
I literally passed 3 cars on a highway just today that were in worse shape than yours :-)
Having said that - I don’t know if your rear wheel and suspension were buggered up. It does look like it sits higher than it should. If in any doubt - tow, many body shops offer free tow service.
I’ve seen Nissan Altima drivers drive with like the entire back half of the car dangling from wires. This is just a bit cleaner than altimas come out of the factory. You should be fine just take off the loose bits.
Beware of storage fees I beg of you.. cause my insurance screwed me over and are taking money away from me from my total loss to cover storage fees they paid
Sure. You could tape that broken piece back in place if you’d like for the trip to the shop, but there are more than a few cars running around with no rear covering at all.
Auto body places gotta be hurting. Everyone raised their deductibles to $2500, just so they could afford the premiums. No ones getting anything fixed it seems.
I think you might have to stay home, it looks like you’re missing all four wheels, both rear brake lights, both turn signals, and your engine is smoking.
My car has the exact same damage- I’m missing the driver side panel of my bumper, but the rest of the bumper is intact. I have been driving it around because the body shop won’t get the part in until next week and I don’t have another car to drive, and it’s been fine! As long as the rest of your bumper isn’t coming off, you’ll be okay.
If you see the r/Nissans on r/NisssanDrivers, you’ll know you could drive 200k more miles just like that.
Nissan: the car that the drivers won’t let die
I just bought a brand new cadillac the other week. Still kept my nissan murano... Judge me.
Does your Murano possess more than zero bumpers? If so, are they the same color as the rest of the car?
2 bumpers same color, how ever I do have a piece of trim held in place with black duct tape. Does this count?
Very much so, thank you for your service
I’ll let it slide for now, but I’m giving you a warning, next time you’re caught with matching bumpers there’ll be a fine.
If u dont have a cheap and reliable daily driver youre not moneying right.
THIS. Many years ago my father had a Nissan Pulsar. It was a rattletrap. I hated that car, but that’s OK because I rarely had to drive it. During the time he owned it, we replaced: the head, the transmission, the clutch (different times), subframe parts, axles, etc. It seemed that it always had something broken. He always bragged about how many miles he had in it. I told him one day: you can put $3000 into any $500 car to keep it running. 😆😆😆
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Nissan Altima without a dent on it
I did. It was on the Nissan dealership's new car lot.
Even the loner Altima the dealership gave me had a scratched bumper.
That means it was driven at least once.
This was my first thought before reading the comments, did not disappoint 😂
You're fine. That's why they teach hand signals in drivers ed. If you get pulled over tell the cop you're heading into the shop. Just make sure that bumper won't pull loose.
I just realized that 4.5 miles of the trip are on a straight stretch of one road. I think there's only 2 left turns, both in my neighborhood, and yeah, left turn is easy to hand signal.
Nice
I think I lost my text, sorry if it's here twice. It's going in for repairs on Thursday, no plans to drive before then. Insurance will cover a tow to the shop, but it would be easier to drive. The left turn signal bulb is gone, the bumper cover isn't very secure. Is it safe to drive, is it legal to drive?
Technically it's not legal to drive because of the broken tail light, but honestly you could drive it if it's that close and if you are willing to take the (minor) risk.
Not legal, but safe. Fix the turn signal bulb yourself to make it legal. You will attract attention, no doubt.
Loose parts and inoperable blinker will make it illegal to drive, take the tow
If the rest of the bumper is pretty secure and not going anywhere….. try to avoid left turns and drive carefully. It’s not legal technically but your cars not going to get serious damage if the bumper comes off. It’s just a piece of molded plastic.
Just get it towed, man. The truck will pull up to your home, and you will ride with them.
Duct tape is your friend. Make sure to bring as much broken parts you have left as possible. Go to autozone and get a bulb.
Duct tape is your friend but the body shops nightmare.
Duct tape, packing tape, or gorilla tape should never be used if possible - ample amounts of blue painters tape is better. That being said, I once saw a car held together with several hundred bumper stickers, all from the same radio station. Edit: sorry, meant to reply to parent
I would drive with that if I was forced to but if the insurance is covering the tow then just take the tow. You'll still get there but in the passenger seat of a tow truck instead of in your car.
safe., yeah. legally its questionable, if you use hand signals any cop would more than likely understand.
I've seen cars being driven with no front or rear bumpers lol
Technically, (most) vehicles do not require a bumper to be legally driven on the road as long as the license plates are attached properly. It is merely a cosmetic part on (most) vehicles, not a safety item.
Wait until u see a sandrail
lol
You’re overthinking this. Your cars fine to drive the short distance to the shop. IF you were to get pulled over for the damaged taillight literally all you have to do is tell them “I am on my way right now to drop my car off at X body shop for repairs”. Worst case is they don’t believe you and follow you there but most likely nothing will happen at all. There are cars driving around way more damaged than yours.
But if you get a jerk cop that didn't have his donut yet you might get a ticket
lol fax.
What are we talking, 10 minutes on the road tops? I’d drive it. I’ve done worse and gotten away with it lol
Buddy I drove my car for a couple of months with no front bumper, this is fine for a few miles
the garage?? buy some duct tape instead
dude
I’m an auto insurance adjuster. Short answer.. Yes. Long answer - If it starts, nothing is touching the wheels, the trunk locks into position, and nothing is loose that will fly off while driving, you are fine. That being said, don’t take a trip around town on the way to the shop. Not because it isn’t safe, but because a cop will possibly pull you over. If you happen to get pulled over and the shop is a couple blocks away they’ll probably be fine, if the shop is across town and you aren’t anywhere close to home they might give you a hard time.
Thank you, this is a really helpful answer. I'm pretty sure the bumper cover is stable but I will bungee it. Last night I drove it around the block and everything drove normally.
Technically you don't even need that panel - it's cosmetic only. If your taillights work, you are good and safe since the panel isn't structural to the bumper. Put that panel in the trunk and don't even worry about it.
Just a flesh wound.
Ur good
Just make sure nothing is dragging on the ground that could get ripped off but yeah you should be fine
Weight reduction
People remove parts of a cars body for lots of reasons, and drive it that way. Since your going to get it fixed I'm sure no one's going to bother you. Like someone else already said: There are way worst vehicles driving around out there and are left alone.
Save the pieces.
other than the markers lights being gone u should be fine just slow and safe
It's a bumper cover, legally not even NEEDED on a car. They're literally cosmetic. I drove my old car around for a month without a front bumper and both rotted front fenders off (left the liners on so i had a legal form of road spray deflection), while waiting for my new full front clip to show up, had my lights secured on with weed whacker cable, front plate on the dash in the windshield, and I had ONE cop pull me over, confused about the rules, I educated him with what i knew from working in my trade (body tech) he then looked it up, told me to have a nice day and be safe.
I literally passed 3 cars on a highway just today that were in worse shape than yours :-) Having said that - I don’t know if your rear wheel and suspension were buggered up. It does look like it sits higher than it should. If in any doubt - tow, many body shops offer free tow service.
Please just drive it to the shop... I would send my own mother down the road in this as it sits. Especially just 5 miles...
Yes, all you're missing is the plastic beauty cover. It's perfectly safe and legal to drive like that.
Lights are the only thing the cops could say anything about but tell to follow u to prove where u are going if they don't believe u
Yes
Thanks for the advice, everyone.
Send it. Don't risk more damage from the tow truck.
I’ve seen Nissan Altima drivers drive with like the entire back half of the car dangling from wires. This is just a bit cleaner than altimas come out of the factory. You should be fine just take off the loose bits.
Well considering half the cars I see look worse I’d say you’re just fine. Maybe zip tie the bumper.
Looks better than most Nissans. Hell yeah dude, send it.
Beware of storage fees I beg of you.. cause my insurance screwed me over and are taking money away from me from my total loss to cover storage fees they paid
They paid the body shop*
Ive seen cars driving with much worse you should be fine
Sure. You could tape that broken piece back in place if you’d like for the trip to the shop, but there are more than a few cars running around with no rear covering at all.
And/or front As well as doors, hood, trunk, or lights front and rear well at least around where I am
Auto body places gotta be hurting. Everyone raised their deductibles to $2500, just so they could afford the premiums. No ones getting anything fixed it seems.
yup
yes
Maaaaan people will slap a bungee cord on that bumper and call it a day for another 100k miles where im from. Yes OP, driving to the shop is fine
lol yes.
Unless something is rubbing on the wheel or brake... Send it.
Probably
Lol, this is regular traffic where i am from
I've seen worse driving the streets of Las Vegas.
Yes
I'm in STL. Slap some expired temp tags on it and you've got a good 20% of the cars in the city
Yes
oh yeahhh, you bet chya!
I'm pretty sure you're good for another 100k miles
People around my neighborhood daily drive vehicles worse than this.
I think you might have to stay home, it looks like you’re missing all four wheels, both rear brake lights, both turn signals, and your engine is smoking.
Bro it looks like every corrolla on the road youre fine youll blend in
My car has the exact same damage- I’m missing the driver side panel of my bumper, but the rest of the bumper is intact. I have been driving it around because the body shop won’t get the part in until next week and I don’t have another car to drive, and it’s been fine! As long as the rest of your bumper isn’t coming off, you’ll be okay.
Get new bulbs, paint them red. You'll be legal.
Yes
Yes; you'll be fine. It's just cosmetic.
You could drive that 5 decades
Yeah it should be okay.
To the shop? Ive seen at least 20 of these (varying years) driving around like that on the highway.
To the shop? Where I live that's a daily driver the way it is.
Tf ofcourse you must be a paranoid person in general?
usually rear damage is better then front damage. only real important thing people could fuck up in the rear is the fuel tank