[KishoreC]

Hi Guys,

It had to happen some day and finally it happened on the day of Diwali 2009. My Fabia has been hit from behind.

I was returning from Hosur after buying firecrackers. On Sarjapura road in front of a speed breaker a WagonR banged my car from rear.The guy was speeding with a total of 7 people(1 child, 6 adults) in the car and could not stop behind me in time. I stopped behind a bus which stopped to pick up passengers.

Anyway, No one got hurt. The extreme right side of my rear bumper has been damaged. It caved in and created a crater of around 6 inches diameter. It has not broken but paint has come off the actual impact area. Also the lining of the bumper is now a little displaced and created an uneven joint there.

This being my first experience of an accident in India, I was not sure what to do. From my readings in TeamBHP i could recall to ask the guy his insurance info and other personal info like name and cell number. I noted those down and came back home.

Now what do I do next ? My insurance is taken through the dealer (as there was discounts on it).

1. Should I get in touch with the dealer and ask them to deal with the insurance company ?
2. Should I try to claim the expenses from the other guys insurance?
3. Mine is a Skoda Fabia, any idea of the expenses to fix the rear bumper ?

Any help is highly appreciated.

[karthik247]

If its just a rear bumper dent, you're better off NOT claiming insurance as it wouldn't cost all that much to fix and you can save your insurance's NCB.

[phamilyman]

+1 to that. Find out your local bumper repair guys

[Rudra Sen]

Is it possible to post some snaps? Plastic bumpers can be repaired but getting back that original finish is tricky. Also check out as what would be the cost for a new bumper from Skoda.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Is it possible to post some snaps? Plastic bumpers can be repaired but getting back that original finish is tricky. Also check out as what would be the cost for a new bumper from Skoda.

but the final cost will be way higher than just the cost of bumper. the cost escalator will be labour and painting!!
check this out : spark bumper:- 900/- (unpainted)
same bumper with body coloured painting:- 3000 /-

skoda is more expensive for sure.

[zaks]

Why dont you call up that guy and ask him to foot the bill? You should have taken some amount then and there itself.

[highsteem]

Kishore, there are many ways to deal with such situations. 1. you can pay the bill OR 2. the other party will pay the bill. Did you ever wonder why people fight after an accident? It is because it is an accident and nobody is sure whose fault is it. But if both the parties agree that the fault lies with one of the persons involved, then that person will pay the expenses. In this case, if the other party agreed that it is his fault then ask him to pay the expenses. (He can decide to pay from his pocket or from his insurance) Otherwise... it is time to pay the bill from your pocket! (either your insurance will have to take care of the expenses or your pocket) When it is not a major accident and no loss of life then police report is not required to claim the insurance otherwise the first step is to report it to nearby police station and get the first hand report. In this case I think no police report is required to claim the insurance amount.

[KishoreC]

Here are the pictures

The dent (or whatever we can call it)


The paint has come off


from top


from side


the joint which became uneven


the other side for comparison with the original

[null]

I suggest you to take it to a local mechanic/tinker who would press the plastic from inside & bring it back to shape in no time. Get a quick touch up done with paint on the peeled out region. I know it wont be looking like a new car, but it is better than shelling out 7-8k (min) for the bumper replacement. Also, as others have mentioned, insurance clam would just eat into your no-claim bonus & not worth it.

Point to check: See if there is any damage to the body/frame behind the plastic. In that case, get it to the service station & get it fixed through your insurance.

Do not leave it in that shape for long - else it would not be easy to come back to the original moulded shape by tinkering/pressing & you would have to replace it.

I too had faced this incident where a bus touched my car bumper some time ago. On visual inspection, it ws found that only the bumper was bent, and no other damage to the chasis / structure & hence had got the dent removed by the local technician by paying Rs100.


BTW: the rear wheel looks strange in the 3rd picture (from the top view). Wonder how you took that photo

[highsteem]

Originally Posted by null

BTW: the rear wheel looks strange in the 3rd picture (from the top view). Wonder how you took that photo

the pillar is covering a part of the wheel ... that's it and hence it looks like twisted.

[karthik247]

Originally Posted by zaks

You should have taken some amount then and there itself.

He can always ask the other person to foot the bill, but i don't anyone would pay up about ~7-8k (the bumper+painting should cost about that much) on the spot just for a dent on the bumper, no?

You can save some money by just picking up the bumper from Skoda and getting it painted at a good paintshop elsewhere. AFAIK, a good paint job for a bumper wouldn't cost more than 1.5k.

[shajufx]

I had a similar dent on my previous car (wagonR silver colour), that was the result of a pitch dark (and heavy rain) reversing with nobody to help from outside. It was similar to yours or bit more pushed inside than what I see in your photo. Nexus guys promised me a 100% clean work for Rs.500 but I did a big mistake believing them. It was the worst job I ever got done in my life. They overheated the bumper, although the dent came back to normal shape, it defigured itself due to excess heat of the gun. When they returned the car same afternoon, I really felt bad for not giving it to a tinker whom I knew very well, who does most of this works on expensive cars without a sign of any damage.

I know Skoda through my in-law's history of services, they overcharge you for everything. Perfect finishing of the work or repairs is pure luck. Even a WagonR rear bumper costs 3000, so I can imagine a Skoda fabia to be well above 5k. Most of the brands will quote you the price without painting, so double check the total cost.

[KishoreC]

Thanks guys for all the info.

What I came to understand is, not to get it done from the A.S.S as they will charge a hefty amount and also will try to convince me to change the bumper which will definitely cost quite high. The normal service of the Skoda costs quite high and I'm sure the parts will be pretty costly.

Got info about a shop on Hosur Road from condor today and will try it out.

Hoping for the best.

[kiranpashtakar]

Did you try pushing the dent from the inside your self, its relatively easy and does work most of the times and with a little rubbing compound it will be good as new, but the paint that is peeled off may not be restored, anyways you can camouflage that with an impressive sticker

[sid1509]

Hi Kishore,

My NHC was also rear-ended by a Mitsubishi Cedia at Gurgaon couple of months ago. I too had a bumber that was little misaligned and bumped on the inside. I took it to a local denting shop that specializes in repairing bumpers. I was jittery as to if they could fix it. To my surprise, it took them exactly 30 minutes to take off the bumper...they used a heating torch (think it was a torch like the one used with a welding machine)..on getting heated up, plastic bumper assumed its natural position and then they fit it back in place. Luckily the brackets on which the bumper is mounted were intact and didn't require any hammering to get back in shape.

However, becuase of the heat, at the point of impact, there was a circular pattern on the paint (because of all the crumbling it was subjected to). It just required a touch-up which I skipped as it was barely visible from a few feet away.
The cedia incident happened in the morning...I went to the denting shop the same day in the evening and was happy to park my car back in the drive-way almost the same as I had taken it with me in the morning.

And before I forget...all it cost me was Rs.200....

I have now sold my NHC and I have recently picked up a scorpio mhawk with rear bull bar....now I dont have to worry about such rear-end shunts.

Cheers
Sid