Fiat Punto Accident: B-pillar damage

[Samartha]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

Hi this is quite similar to what my baby went thru. But I'm surprised to know the amount you are being asked to pay. I paid 100 bucks to the surveyor / insurance guy that too of my own volition and not as a actual charge. My car was about 3 months old when it happened. check the following link for pics :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...ml#post2419429 (Accidents in India - PICS)

I looked at your thread. Gosh, your baby looks just like mine! And the damage is very similar too. How has the performance of the car post the repairs been? Has it being doing well? I'm very curious.

Talking of repairs, even my car will take about a month. :-(

[WasavaTyres]

No issues with the way it handles. Nor any wheel alignment problems. In fact last month it did a 4600 km run going from Indore - Pune - Bangalore - Chennai - Hyderabad - Indore. Odo reading at the time of accident 2100 kms Odo reading as of date 30600 kms.
But just make sure you pay a visit to the body repair workshop at least once a week if not twice. Keeps the guys working on it in check and also will help to spot a 'chalu' repair before they wrap up things. Keep an eye out for the smaller plastic bits, as they're almost impossible to replace with original ones. My inside door panels are missing the plastic çlip locks ever since they replaced the doors, have to make do with few of them on each door missing. Workshop hasn't arranged for new ones even after a year and umpteen follow ups !! I've given up now.

[dhondusaxena]

Hi Samarth, thank God u are safe.

Dunno how much you have interacted with Oberoi motors but they tend to take a lot of time. I have been dealing with them since past 5-6 months on a regular basis. They need constant followups and an occasional outburst of anger to get them on their toes. My Indica's harness cable had burnt and I had a narrow shave when it caught fire on the move. This happened in Oct and it took them almost 2 months to fix it back.

Regarding your issue, keep pestering them every couple of days. Ranchan Paul might be taking care from the insurance angle. U should meet the GM Mr S Gopalkrishnan. He is a reasonable man and has always been courteous to me.

[Samartha]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

No issues with the way it handles. Nor any wheel alignment problems. In fact last month it did a 4600 km run going from Indore - Pune - Bangalore - Chennai - Hyderabad - Indore. Odo reading at the time of accident 2100 kms Odo reading as of date 30600 kms.
But just make sure you pay a visit to the body repair workshop at least once a week if not twice. Keeps the guys working on it in check and also will help to spot a 'chalu' repair before they wrap up things. Keep an eye out for the smaller plastic bits, as they're almost impossible to replace with original ones. My inside door panels are missing the plastic çlip locks ever since they replaced the doors, have to make do with few of them on each door missing. Workshop hasn't arranged for new ones even after a year and umpteen follow ups !! I've given up now.

So glad to hear your Punto is doing fine after the repairs. Most of the plastic parts on the inside of the doors of my car are fine, so they may reuse whatever is not available. I'll certainly keep pestering them every now and then to make sure they don't lose steam.

This thread has been such a help. I've learnt about cars and have been enlightened about so many aspects of what should be borne in mind while supervising such repairs.

Originally Posted by dhondusaxena

Hi Samarth, thank God u are safe.

Dunno how much you have interacted with Oberoi motors but they tend to take a lot of time. I have been dealing with them since past 5-6 months on a regular basis. They need constant followups and an occasional outburst of anger to get them on their toes. My Indica's harness cable had burnt and I had a narrow shave when it caught fire on the move. This happened in Oct and it took them almost 2 months to fix it back.

Regarding your issue, keep pestering them every couple of days. Ranchan Paul might be taking care from the insurance angle. U should meet the GM Mr S Gopalkrishnan. He is a reasonable man and has always been courteous to me.

There's a new insurance guy at Oberoi now (Surender) who seems to be pretty helpful. He says the doors and the sidebody has already arrived. The rest of the parts may take a week or so more. In fact, he admitted that the chief problem while carrying out Fiat repairs is spare parts. Fiat fulfills spare part orders slowly.

I've met Mr. Gopalakrishnan and he seems very helpful. Will get in touch with him again when I visit the workshop this time.

One general question: The door protector and side beading (accessories) on the affected side have also broken. Will they cover that replacement under insurance as well?

[Samartha]

Originally Posted by WasavaTyres

But I'm surprised to know the amount you are being asked to pay. I paid 100 bucks to the surveyor / insurance guy that too of my own volition and not as a actual charge. My car was about 3 months old when it happened.]

Your question lingered on in my mind, since I was worried I was being fleeced by the insurance guys. I just called Future Generali and they explained things to me. Basically, if a car is 0-6 months old, it is considered brand new and no depreciation charges are levied. That is the possible reason why you ended up paying only Rs 100.

Unfortunately for me, my car has already been on the road for 8 months. Therefore, I'll need to contribute depreciation as follows:

• 5-10% on metal parts
• 50% on plastic, rubber, and vinyl parts
• 30% on glass parts other than windscreen and window panes
• 0% on panes
• Rs 500 "compulsory clause" payment over and above the depreciation charges

I have been advised to get in touch with the Xylo's insurance company (Oriental Insurance) and claim third party benefits from them (as some have advised in this thread). I am going to do that today.

[kpzen]

Samartha,

All Body Shop equipments seem to be good.

- Roof Panel change : I would suggest you to get it repaired because if they change it, they might have to paint the whole roof. Confirm with them & IMO, its better to avoid the whole roof re-paint.

- Rs 9500 for lock assy - Are they changing the whole car's lock assy ?

[Samartha]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Samartha,

All Body Shop equipments seem to be good.

- Roof Panel change : I would suggest you to get it repaired because if they change it, they might have to paint the whole roof. Confirm with them & IMO, its better to avoid the whole roof re-paint.

- Rs 9500 for lock assy - Are they changing the whole car's lock assy ?

Much thanks. The roof is fine, but has a dent. They're taking out the dent and repainting the roof. I'll talk to them again? Why is it not advisable to get the roof repainted?

The lock assembly thing is ? as of now. It may be reused. I will check with them.

Much appreciate your inputs and pointers.

[kpzen]

Originally Posted by Samartha

Much thanks. The roof is fine, but has a dent. They're taking out the dent and repainting the roof. I'll talk to them again? Why is it not advisable to get the roof repainted?

Original is original !!
Its always to better not to mess around with parts which are not damaged.

Originally Posted by Samartha

The lock assembly thing is ? as of now. It may be reused. I will check with them..

I think they won't have one lock separately for one door. It comes as an assy.

[BuRnT RuBbEr]

hooked to the thread. I want to know about their paint match skills. my linea's bumpers are all scratched up and I so want to get them repainted.

Originally Posted by Samartha

The lock assembly thing is ? as of now. It may be reused. I will check with them.

i suggest that you don't go for reuse. punto/linea lock assemblies are ridiculously easy to screw up. they might work right now, but will fail all of a sudden later. apart from the cost, you might have to wait around for the same. better to get new ones under the already-in-process claim.

[Samartha]

Originally Posted by BuRnT RuBbEr

hooked to the thread. I want to know about their paint match skills. my linea's bumpers are all scratched up and I so want to get them repainted.


i suggest that you don't go for reuse. punto/linea lock assemblies are ridiculously easy to screw up. they might work right now, but will fail all of a sudden later. apart from the cost, you might have to wait around for the same. better to get new ones under the already-in-process claim.

What color is your Linea? I can vouch for the paint matching job that I got done earlier. When the car was barely a few days old, a valet driver scratched its side while parking. I was pretty particular and got the whole panel repainted. Oberoi did a top notch job. Mine is a Tuscan Wine-colored Punto.

And yes, point taken for the lock assembly. I will push them to replace it.

[BuRnT RuBbEr]

Mine's tuscan wine too.thanks for the feedback!

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by Samartha

Thanks for bringing in this very important angle. OK, so here is how things went. After the collision, I made a few important calls (called Fiat Helpline and had them send in a crane, called the police, called my folks) and headed to the nearest hospital for a quick chest X-ray and vital stats check. When I returned to the spot, the police was there and so was the owner of the cab. The driver of the cab had meanwhile "went missing".

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you on the advice. Have been busy and out of town for a while now.

Firstly have someone from your family have a look at the "agreement" you and the Xylo owner signed. If it is a completely legal document then ensure that you do not ask for something which you have given up in signing that. By which I mean, if you say that the case has been settled out of court and after the payment of 11,500, you will not ask the Xylo for any more expenses, then the Xylo's insurance will turn around and say that they are not responsible as there has been an out of court settlement.

Secondly, ask one of your lawyer family members what the complete procedure is if you wish to have the Xylo's insurance cover all the costs of your damage and then follow it to a T. Of course, this assumes that point 1 permits it.

Anyway, how is the work going on in your car. Hope the repairs are going well and there are no issues.

Look forward to the after pictures now that we have seen the before pictures.

[Samartha]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

Sorry for taking so long to get back to you on the advice. Have been busy and out of town for a while now.
================================
Look forward to the after pictures now that we have seen the before pictures.

Much thanks. I will bear these points in mind.

The 'after' pictures will take some time - probably a week more. The parts are arriving in consignments and hopefully I will have my car back soon.

[Autocop]

I won't suggest filing an FIR and trying to get the claim settled thru the Xylo's insurance provider. The procedure for that in INDIA is just too complicated.

1. Since there is no human damage, police will not and would not have registered FIR for this accident. Such acccidents are usually categorized as minor road accidents and the max police would have done for you is register your compliant (a narrated description that due to the fault of this Xylo driver, the accident happened and your car was damaged) and provide you copy of the same.

2. You can use the same complaint copy to settle the claim thru your insurance provider. Alternatively, you can approach court and file a case (after appointing the lawyer) against the driver and request the driver and/or his insurance company to settle your damages.

3. Whenever your case comes up for hearing in court (knowing the number of pending cases in India, you can't be sure when your case would come for hearing, unless you pay a good sum or have good contacts) your lawyer has to prove to the Judge that fault was from the Xylo driver.

4. Once the judge is convinced and server his written order to the Xylo person's insurance company, only then they will settle your claim.

I think you did the right thing. Luckily the police did the job for you and you got 8K and I think you should be happy for it.

The damage is repairable and the quote for 45-50K seems fine to me. Please get it repaired from the workshop and move on. Things happen. Don't worry too much.

Caution:-

1. Tell the workshop guys now itself to perform through checks during repair to ensure there are no water leakages.

2. While taking delivery of your vehicle from workshop, please make sure there is no leakage of water from anywhere. Ask them to roll up windows and spray the car from various angles onto panels/joints/gaps etc and make sure there is no water coming inside from anywhere. Tell them this was a basic test. The real test would come when the monsoon begins and if you spot any leakages they would repair FOC.

Originally Posted by Samartha

Thanks for bringing in this very important angle. OK, so here is how things went. After the collision, I made a few important calls (called Fiat Helpline and had them send in a crane, called the police, called my folks) and headed to the nearest hospital for a quick chest X-ray and vital stats check. When I returned to the spot, the police was there and so was the owner of the cab. The driver of the cab had meanwhile "went missing".

The police pressed hard to negotiate. When I finally said I was going to file an FIR, they said that both the vehicles would have to be towed to the police station, where a technical inspection was to be held. The cars would be released the next day. Since the towing crane was already there (at my expense of Rs 2k) and after I realized that the cab owner seemed like a seasoned player, I went with what seemed to be the best option available at that time -- the police handed me over 8k from the owner. Since I was still under shock, one of my friends wrote the "agreement letter", which I later signed. I was shocked when the friend told me later that the amount in the agreement letter was 11.5k and that the police had pocketed Rs 3.5k for their "efforts".

I do have the contact of the cab owner and also a copy of the insurance certificate of the cab. The cab owner had also said he would supply the driving license of the cab driver whenever I wanted it. Is it still possible to use their third-party insurance to carry out the repairs? Would I need to file an FIR for it? If yes, would the car need to towed all over again to the police station before things can be finalized?

I know I might have acted like so many of us who are afraid of legal procedures (this despite the fact that I come from a family of lawyers, but not based in UP), but I wanted the altercation to end as soon as possible. I was gasping for breath after the seat-belt impact and not really in peak form. Also, the least I would have lost at that moment (in addition to accidental damage) was 2k for the crane.

Practical advice is welcome.

[Samartha]

Originally Posted by Autocop

I won't suggest filing an FIR and trying to get the claim settled thru the Xylo's insurance provider. The procedure for that in INDIA is just too complicated.
-------------------
. Tell them this was a basic test. The real test would come when the monsoon begins and if you spot any leakages they would repair FOC.

Much thanks for your practical advice. I'll certainly ensure water proofing before taking delivery of the car. This week is when I'm hoping most work will be done.