Regarding claiming total loss

[hellstar]

I am posting on behalf of my friend , read ahead to his mail

Hi,

Car - maruti alto,
Manufacturing yr 2005 Nov. So less than 2 yrs.
Insured value 1.99 lakhs

Insurance : Royal sundaram

I was driving and a boy crossed the road and inorder to avoid hitting him, I had to turn fast
and hit had on on a divider. My car was towed to the maruti service station.



First the maruti service , seeing the external damage said that the cost will come to 80, 000 and my contribution will be 6000.

But next day they said, they had a thorough checkup with the surveyor and called me up and said that the estimate for repair is coming to 2 lakhs. so the insurance surveyor asked me whether I want to junk they car, they will make a cash settlement. i said, i am very attached to the car and want to get it repaied.

So next day they called up and said, they estimated based on external damages and the estimate is 1.1 Lakhs and my part will be rs 15,000.

So today I went to maruti service station. met the insurance surveyor. He said, repair is just an option and they are not ready for it, since the repair will come to about 1.8 Lkhs and they dont want to pay that much. They said they will give a cash settlement and rest of the money I have to give if i go for repair. or else they will will provide me an amount + sell the car without repair and pay the value they get.


I am wondering , how much I can claim from insurance.?
How much they should provide me for repair.?
what should the insurance company pay me if they decide to write off.?

The maruti guys are not telling exact figure of repair cost, since they havent opened the parts yet.
They says that they will start only after insurance ppl gives go ahead for repair.

Please advice.

thanks
Jay

I am posting some of thelow res pictures i clicked with my mobile below for your reference

[vid6639]

You need to upload the pics using imageshack. Direct links from your pc wont work.

ImageShack® - Hosting

[ramie2400]

sad to hear about your friends car,mate the links for the photo's are not working,could you post it again please.

[mclaren1885]

If the repair value exceeds 75% of the insured value the insurance guys will prefer claiming total loss. Also, according to the rules Maruti should make a list of all the parts that need to be replaced and produce a copy of the estimate to the Insurance people. Only then will they be able to take a call. In case your friends wants to get the car repaired at any cost, he might have to shell out some additional money out of his own pocket. Though this is not advisable as the chassis might have some damage to it as well. Also damage to certain parts might not be visible at the moment.

[hellstar]

Oops sorry Mods , i was in the process of doing that !

Anyways here they go ....

[img=http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/6728/hellstark700i1jn4.jpg]
Shot at 2007-08-16

[img=http://img367.imageshack.us/img367/4213/hellstark700i2mm2.jpg]
Shot at 2007-08-16


Shot at 2007-08-16

[img=http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/6138/hellstark700i4uh5.jpg]
Shot at 2007-08-16

[anandpadhye]

In case you go with the insurance company's preferred choice (i.e. junk the car), how much are they willing to pay you? Ideally, it must be close to the IDV. In that case, that's your best option for 2 reasons:

1.
If the damage is so big, the workmansjip issues will crop in and the car will never feel the same again.I had a minor accident involving my left fender, front bumper and left headlight and after repairs, the left side panel gaps are big and uneven compared to the right side (which is factory fit). They once again tried to fix the gaps but ended up having misaligned headlight and now water get into it thereby fogging it...This is only about exterior repairs. Internally, if stuff like wiring harness, etc has sustained damage, the patch work needs to be of high quality and insurance company generally has reservations regarding costs of these parts.

2. If you don't go by insurance company's preferance, they may make it more beurocratic for you...

My 2 cents...

[Zappo]

In certain cases things like emotions and attachments are best left on the shelf. If the car is so badly damaged as to make the surveyor press for the write off then I guess it has to be real bad. Even if your friend gets it repaired after paying a substantial amount (insurance or no insurance) you can be pretty sure that the car will keep giving nagging problems and will have a new issue every month. And then even selling it after spending so much won't fetch you anything very different from what you will get now as a final settlement. I would say it is better to accept the car as Totalled.

[hellstar]

Hi mcl .The visible damages are that the chassis is bent, thats pretty evident and the engine position has been tilted ,with the bent chassis , the AC Compressor is broken, both transfer cases are broken and well the exhaust manifold is cracked so is the windscreen.

[madan80]

not to mention - that given the damage to chasis - the next time there is an accident- the car might not protect as it is mean to.

[kpzen]

Its better if u dont get it that repaired if the chassis has been bent.
Anyways i had a similar experience with an Alto (South trip/ My horrific accident in Kerala- my second life)here[/url] and i got 2.1 lacs from the insurance company. The insured value was 2.28lacs.

[Absar]

Wow! That's such damage. Observing pictures, I can also tell that the chassis has been affected to such an extent, that repairing wouldn't sound a wise decision.

Sorry that your friend was attached to the car, but its best he leave this car, and have memories, because if he'd take the repairs way, it wouldn't be the same like before. Issues would come up now and then.

cya
A

[mclaren1885]

If there is damage to the chassis its best to let go of the car. It makes more sense to value ones life than emotions for the car. Just ask him to let it go, at some point we all have to. I had to, so I know how it feels. Read more on my story HERE.

[hellstar]

@kpzen - my friend has been very lucky he escaped unhurt except for bruises due to the seat belt which saved his life . but thats nothing when compared to the kindda injury he might have had if he had not worn the seat belts ...

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

If I were your friend, I will never have waited - I will simply go by the surveyor's report.

One option is to get a new one. I know it is a bit embarassing, but I suspect there is severe under body damage and critical components like steering and suspension assembly, engine block/parts are likely to have taken a hard knock. Being solid metal, the impact will weaken the engine block, and most of the under body.
Remember that when auctioned, you have the option of buying the car yourself, and then repair it.

[Jaggu]

if its severe damage its better to replace the car. yes one can get complete body shell but then again lot of pain in ensuring everything is fit while putting back to place.

loss is unfortunate and can be substantial, but better pull out as with the minimal loss.