Optra Damaged in Rain and Estimate from National Garage, Bombay

[CarsPG]

A relative's Chevy Optra stopped working due to rains/floods in Bombay last week. They pushed the car to a side and had National Garage (NG) tow it back to the workshop. It took NG 1 week to submit a quote. Also they didn't contact the insurance company. Once I came to know of this I contacted the insurance company on my relative's behalf. A couple of days had already passed since the car had been towed. It doesn't look like the claim will be passed since National had already opened the engine to give an estimate.

The car is 5 years old and has run only 30,000 kms. Does the attached seem like a fair estimate. Should they take the car elsewhere to get a second opinion. It might be difficult to move it since the engine has been opened already. Is it worth spending Rs. 61,000 on a car not worth much more than Rs. 2.5 Lacs?

Thank you for your help!

CarsPG

[profold]

IMHO, if the engine got drenched for a prolonged interval, say three days, (i) it is advisable to change all the filters, seals and gaskets, (ii) some sensors might get damaged and may require change.
It is difficult to understand why change of exhaust valves (1k) and connecting rods (19K) would be necessary. Only under very special cases water would enter in the cylinder and change of piston (3K) would be called for.
May be more knowledgeable BHP-ians would be able to advise.

[GTO]

5 year old car suffering substantial damage is better treated by an after-market specialist. In nearly all cases, it works out atleast 50 - 60% cheaper. Get a second opinion from an independent garage before arriving at a decision.

[k2max6]

Its better to go with the aftermarket option only.I dont think it would cost you more than 30k for the same.
My friend's NHC's engine got ceased and he was qouted around a lakh for the overhaul by the Honda A.S.S. The car had done around 80k.
So he went for an after market option and his job was done for 25k.
It would be similar in your case too.

As far as spending 61k is concerned on a car with this resale value is concerned, you can say it is not worth but sometimes you dont have an option.I dont think some one would buy the car in this condition.Go for the After market option,then if you want you can sell of the car.

Moreover in delhi people tend to buy 2nd hand engines from the Mayapuri market which cost even lesser and are generally in good conditions.I dont know if you have something like this in pune.

[Thomas8700]

dude dont go for aftermarket option. you can kiss reliability goodbye.
no matter what. A.S.S guys will do the job PROPERLY..its costly but yes reliable.

[ImmortalZ]

Not really. There are aftermarket workshops who do jobs with equal or better proficiency compared to the dealerships.

[anujmishra]

Originally Posted by Thomas8700

dude dont go for aftermarket option. you can kiss reliability goodbye.
no matter what. A.S.S guys will do the job PROPERLY..its costly but yes reliable.

GTO is not suggesting roadside mechanics. There are many garages in town who can do structured word and their efficiency is equal or greater that Authorised Service Center. He should definitely go to some other garages who can do these jobs almost 40% less than quoted price.

[ashthedivx]

I would say best option is to get it repaired from after-market specialist. However, do consider sourcing damaged parts from mayapuri or some accidental optra.

Next step, Sell it off. It might sound stupid but still a better suggestion rather then selling off the car as scrap.

[akshay4587]

A friends optra was damaged in a similar way last year in rains.
and he got the work done outside for around 25K

[Thomas8700]

the workmanship will be top class. that depends on the mechanic. where trouble happens is in sourcing the parts. the A.S.S guys will never sell the parts alone. thats the practice usually..

if fake or second quality parts are used, car will be unreliable and yes the afgtermarket guys wont be available to rectify it. i have seen several cases where the after market guys themselves ruin a car and finally advice the customer to get the job done from A.S.S.

and as far as i know you will have to go after the original parts supplier( the same guys who supply to OEM guys. this will be a difficult job.

moreover there wont be all the tools necessary with the aftermarket guys. unless you are talking about reputed aftermarket guys like say for example Castrol bike zone for bikes. Etc.

i didnt mean to disrespect any forum members
please do know that optra be it 1.6 or 1.8 are pretty costly to maintain should something go wrong.

[CarsPG]

Thank you for all the feedback . Do these charges look OK? Any suggestions on some reliable after-market garages in Bombay?

[rjvora_2000]

1. When you had informed insurance company?
2. Which is the insurance company?
3. Since when this is the insurance company for your this car?
4. When the surveyor had done the survey?
5. Did this place is known for heavy Rains?
6. Can you post some photos?

[CarsPG]

1. 3 days after the car was towed.
2. Bajaj Allianz
3. I'm not sure. I think it's been at least 3 years. I will check and get back on this point.
4. 1 week after the car was towed
5. Yes
6. Sorry, I don't have any pictures.

Thank you for your help!

[rjvora_2000]

Claim information has to be within 7 day's (or may be 15 day's a BOOK RULE) of the loss. (You have done it in 3 day's) Bajaj is a good customer friendly company. (As we all know in T-BHP) You are good client to insurance company (3 year's with same insurance company. Surveor was late in arriving (He should have come on 4th day, may be a day more)

I don't see a reason for rejection of a claim.

[vasudeva]

Having experienced GM service in Delhi/NCR since Oct 2003, I can say that a decent aftermarket specialist would be worth considering. My experience suggests that GM service's solution to problems is to replace rather than check whether or not the expense is justified.