Patches

Wife was stopped at a red light and the lady behind her didn't bother to stop, probably hit her at 5-10 MPH in a rear collision, slightly off-center to the right side of the license plate. Wife reports it was a loud bang, car shook some, and it made her arms hurt from the impact while they were holding the steering wheel.

I've looked over the rear bumper and there's no extensive damage that I can tell, but there is paint, trim damage, and license plate bolts indentations into the bumper. The scary part of this is you see all those news reports about 5 MPH collisions causing thousands of dollars of unseen damage beneath the bumpers of these new cars.

Anyone have any experience to share with this? Can you demand and get genuine Mercedes replacement parts? Any insight on what to look for as far as hidden damage? Car is an E320 Bluetec that is two years old. Has anyone gotten a Diminished value claim, because you know the accident is going to show up in a Carfax report and affect the value of the car for resale.

Thanks in advance