As if the unusually cold winter in eastern Canada wasn’t bad enough, body shops are reporting having to fix more than the usual number of car bumpers at a cost of about $1,000 each.
In the good ole days bumpers were made of steel and were very sturdy. Now they are basically a reinforcing bar covered by a flexible bit of plastic called “thermoplastic olefin.” When the temperature dips below -20 C the plastic shatters easily. If it only cracks, it is difficult to repair and the whole bumper still needs to be replaced.
Mirrors, headlights and tail lights are other vehicle parts that are just not made for this record-setting winter with its low temperatures, says Ottawa body shop manager Aleks Koundakjian.
“It’s just the nature of the plastic itself,” he said. “There’s really nothing you can do about it.”
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