Maruti Suraksha service centre - Massive accident repair estimate

[morphean]

Hi All,
God bless for i have a forum to seek advise and let everyone know of a fraudster called Suraksha service centre.

I met with an accident almost 40 days back. I took my car( wagon R ) to Suraksha service centre. They gave me an estimate of 2 Lac. It was kind of expected cos these dealers know that i will claim insurance and thats why they replace everything instead of fixing the car. But i was counting on my insurance surveyor to bring down the estimates.

Now, insurance surveyor(from New india insurance ) took 15 days to come up with the report. His report said the following :-
1) Estimates of 2 lacs are correct
2) My insurance cover has IDV of 90K(The car is 8 years old ). So either I declare total loss in which case the insurance company will take my car, pay me around 60K and cancel my insurance.
3) Or Insurance company pays 50 K and rest will be borne by me.

I was taken aback. I decided to get 2nd opinion on the estimates. Sri Amman ( authorized maruti dealers ) checked my car and gave me estimate of 1 lac and 16 thousand. My suspicion turned correct. That there was a nexus between the insurance surveyor and Suraksha service centre. I decided to move out my car from Suraksha. Now Suraksha rep is saying that I have to pay some "parking fee" of Rs 200 per day plus estimation charges of 1,500. This amounts to 10,000 Rs itself. He says he will not charge if I get the car serviced by them.

Right now i feel like I am dealing with some Mafia. There has to be some way of reporting misdeeds of these guys.

I am also attaching photographs of my damaged car.
I will really appreciate if you guys can guide me from here.

Thanks
Sriram

[ankit.jhamb]

can you just elaborate on the estimate given by the second dealer?how much will you pay out of the 1.16 lakh.?

[morphean]

Originally Posted by ankit.jhamb

can you just elaborate on the estimate given by the second dealer?how much will you pay out of the 1.16 lakh.?

Insurance will cover around 50 K ( like with the previous estimate ), rest I have to pay from my own pocket.

I understand that he was able to bring down the estimate essentially by fixing the less damaged parts of the body. So front of the car (which is severely damaged ) will be completely replaced whereas back and sides will be repaired. Also, he told me that he will use body parts from some other vehicle to repair the vehicle. That will work fine but the only catch is that i will not get a good re-sale price.

[HappyWheels]

Not sure of the nexus and mafia, but then, you might want to compare the estimates between the two by using an independant (and trust-worthy) mechanic and then decide.

It can be the other way around, Amman Auto might be under-estimating for getting the business.

As for the parking and blah blah charges, I reckon it is as per industry standards.

Originally Posted by morphean

... That will work fine but the only catch is that i will not get a good re-sale price.

8 year old vehicle and you still worried about getting a "good" re-sale value.

[bullinb]

No offenses, but I feel "fraud" is way too harsh. What Suraksha is asking seems to be fair, and standard practice. As for the difference in the quote, you've said it yourself - the second service center is going to use used parts. Parts form the junk yard in other words. Their quote will obviously will be lower.

I would suggest you declare total loss of the car and get yourself a new set of wheels. I doubt if you can find a buyer for an 8 year old Wagon R, with a major accident, repaired with used parts. Just my two cents.

Disclaimer: I am no way related to Suraksha, never been to that place, and for that matter don't even own a Maruti vehicle.

[lambuhere1]

Originally Posted by morphean

2) My insurance cover has IDV of 90K(The car is 8 years old ). So either I declare total loss in which case the insurance company will take my car, pay me around 60K and cancel my insurance.

Does it differ by that much ? Nearly 1/3 of IDV is lost in total loss . Is it in reality how the total loss is calculated ?

Why not claim it as a total loss and go ahead with a new one. My personal opinion though !

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by bullinb

As for the difference in the quote, you've said it yourself - the second service center is going to use used parts. Parts form the junk yard in other words.

I don't think he said 2nd service center will get used parts from scrap yard, he meant they will repair some of the less damaged parts of the car.

[bullinb]

Originally Posted by finneyp

I don't think he said 2nd service center will get used parts from scrap yard, he meant they will repair some of the less damaged parts of the car.

From his second post,

Originally Posted by morphean

Also, he told me that he will use body parts from some other vehicle to repair the vehicle

[sgiitk]

One other point. If it is a total loss then the insurance has to pay the full IDV? This business of reassessing at the time of the claim went out quite a few years ago. The courts took a very harsh view. This is why a new car is at 95% and then 10% is knocked off every year.

The law now is that if you have taken premium from me for Rs.x then you pay Rs.x.

[anurag_p80]

Does it differ by that much ? Nearly 1/3 of IDV is lost in total loss . Is it in reality how the total loss is calculated ?

IIRC, only 70% of the IDV is paid out in case of a total loss. So that seems about correct.

EDIT: @sgiitk, that is news to me. Will confirm from my policy.

[finneyp]

In case of total loss, insurance co will pay: IDV - scrap value of the car (will be paid by the scrap dealer).

[lambuhere1]

Originally Posted by finneyp

In case of total loss, insurance co will pay: IDV - scrap value of the car (will be paid by the scrap dealer).

And who pockets the Scrap Value of the car ? Insurance company ?

[finneyp]

Originally Posted by lambuhere1

And who pockets the Scrap Value of the car ? Insurance company ?

The car owner...........

[khan_sultan]

Originally Posted by morphean

...I decided to move out my car from Suraksha. Now Suraksha rep is saying that I have to pay some "parking fee" of Rs 200 per day plus estimation charges of 1,500. This amounts to 10,000 Rs itself.....

Parking charge is something that a workshop is entitled to charge and I don't see anything wrong if a workshop is asking for that. One could always argue if it is high or low and negotiate accordingly.

Originally Posted by morphean

... I understand that he was able to bring down the estimate essentially by fixing the less damaged parts of the body. .... he will use body parts from some other vehicle to repair the vehicle.

There you have it. one reason for this difference. I am NOT at all saying that this justifies the 85K difference in estimates but is an indication.

Originally Posted by HappyWheels

... It can be the other way around, Amman Auto might be under-estimating for getting the business.

Very true. What will you do if after this the Amman workshop says, saaarrr, we tried but this doesn't work and parts have to be replaced etc etc.. and the costs escalate. Be careful and if you are going this route better get it in writing about the costs.

As for the parking and blah blah charges, I reckon it is as per industry standards.

Agree -- though one could discuss & negotiate on this to some extent. But yes, parking charges/estimation charges are something that a workshop has a right to ask for.

Originally Posted by bullinb

No offenses, but I feel "fraud" is way too harsh. What Suraksha is asking seems to be fair, and standard practice.

Similar feelings here. what's the 'fraud' here??' Quote of 2L or asking for parking/estimation charge?

Disclaimer: I get most of my work on my Gypsy done @ Suraksha (Bomanahalli). I am a pretty satisfied customer of theirs.

[bblost]

I don't understand how you can call this dealer a fraud.

>Maruti Suraksha service centre( E city) is a fraud

They gave you an estimate. You did not approve it.
The spare parts price list will be available and you can compare the quoted rates against it.

As an authorized service station, they cannot and should not be putting anything expect an OE part. If a part if suspect then its better replaced than repaired. That is however a call made on the basis of what the part is.

Most service stations do have a parking charge.
Please check if they intimated you about the same in any manner.
You can negotiate the charges with them

But as unfortunate as the incident is and based on the information provided, I think calling them as fraud is not correct.