[nik0502]

Hi Folks,

I met with an accident 3 weeks ago. Car in question is my 2020 Ecosport AT. I was driving at a steady 50-60 KMPH in Chandigarh when a white Brezza hit my car from behind while I was slowing down on a red light. The driver of Brezza was distracted and never noticed that the car in front of him had applied the brakes. As a result he rammed straight into my car without even reducing the speed. The impact was such that I was shaken for rest of the day. Couldn’t concentrate on work and only felt better the very next day after a full night of sleep.

https://youtu.be/NYo8TQKVv08

Now coming back to the accident, I got down and I was furious. The gentleman literally banged my stationary car with full force. My car is in top shape and has only covered 17000 kms so far. I asked the driver what he had done to which he replied I applied the brakes all of a sudden and he didn’t get a chance to react. I pointed to the dashcam and told him it’s all recorded and I didn’t stop all of a sudden but I slowed down gradually. The driver looked old and had his parents sitting with him. His father must have been 70+ and he got down from the car. At this moment all my anger went away. I requested his father to be seated in the car and not to worry. I assured him that I would not fight with his son and we will solve the matter with dialogue. I decided to call the police. I dialled 100 for some 7-8 times but the call didn’t go through. At this time the driver requested not to involve the cops and said he is ready to pay for the damage. I parked my car on the side of the road and helped the other guy to park the car on the side also. His parents had a doctors appointment so me along with another fellow on the road found an auto for the parents and sent them for their appointment.

The damage to the Brezza was substantial and I advised the driver not to drive the car since it will damage the engine. He asked me if I had a number for towing service. I searched on the web and shared a number. The other driver called and told me the charges they are quoting are on the higher side. I told him that I am heading towards office and Maruti Service Centre is close by. I could drop him there and he can get a contact from them. Meanwhile two cops arrived and asked me about the incident. I told the cops that I didn’t wish to file a complaint and we both drove away and I dropped the driver where he could find a towing vehicle.

I dropped my car at Tricity Ford Panchkula. The car is 90% repaired. However I am not satisfied with the work. The boot floor had caved in a little and they have fixed it and have covered it with white paint however original colour inside the boot was grey. Now the boot is painted in two different colours and it is looking weird. I asked SA to paint the entire boot in white to which the SA denied saying he would have to remove the entire carpet from the boot and he is not willing to do that. I am not feeling happy about taking the car in this state. The car is almost brand new and the SA is cutting corners. Also one of the tail light is broken now which was not the case before. I pointed it out to the SA and showed him the accident footage where the light is absolutely intact. I had gotten the quarter panel painted for my car from the same SA and the colour didn’t match. The SA rubbed it off saying it’s very minor difference and will go away post rubbing. But the paint mismatch is there to date.

I am looking for advice on two things.

1. Am I making too much fuss about the work done. Should I accept the car with boot floor painted in two different colours. If not what are my options. The picture I have attached the area between the red lines have been painted white and the area outside the red line is in grey colour and it’s giving me OCD. Also they haven’t finished the dent properly. The dent is very visible on the corners of the tool holder cavity.


2. What should I do about settlement with the other driver. While I am feeling that I should let it go and accidents happen. I have been in such situations before also and I always let things go. But his time what is bothering me is that my almost new car has depreciated significantly because of somebody else’s fault.

Please suggest what should I do.

[libranof1987]

Originally Posted by nik0502

1. Am I making too much fuss about the work done.

Absolutely not. This is shabby work.

Should I accept the car with boot floor painted in two different colours.

My guess is, they cut out the damaged part and welded in a new section. Insist on the floor bed being in the same colour; this is not acceptable.

2. What should I do about settlement with the other driver.

A very personal choice, but a middle ground can be to ask the person to bear your liability in the bill (should be 2k max if you have a 0-dep policy).

PS: when you take delivery, take an extensive test drive and go over rough roads. Because the EcoSport has a tailgate-mounted spare wheel, it often develops some play because of the weight. Any repair to it especially, is not always done well and there's quite a rattle from the locking mechanism / hinges. Get a bodyshop (not from the service dept) mechanic along for the road test and ensure there aren't any rattles.

[nik0502]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Absolutely not. This is shabby work.

My guess is, they cut out the damaged part and welded in a new section. Insist on the floor bed being in the same colour; this is not acceptable.

They used a puller machine to pull the boot floor and then removed the dent using the hammer. The hammer impact is clearly visible under the new paint. They didn’t even use filler to even out the surface after denting. All this when I had given clear instructions that boot floor should not be painted without my approval. I had asked SA to show me the corrected area after denting and I will most likely will cover this area with some kind of 3M taping material (Area around tool box cavity).

PS: when you take delivery, take an extensive test drive and go over rough roads. Because the EcoSport has a tailgate-mounted spare wheel, it often develops some play because of the weight. Any repair to it especially, is not always done well and there's quite a rattle from the locking mechanism / hinges.

The boot door has been changed with a new one along with the spare wheel mounting bracket. I am more worried about the wheel itself. The wheel had taken the impact. I am worried if there’s any issue with the alignment of the wheel. I had asked the SA to balance the wheel first and let me know if there are any issues. However I am yet to receive a confirmation.

[PrasadS]

Slightly out of topic but:
I couldn't see the airbag being deployed in the Brezza. Is it supposed to in such incidents?
Painful to see a 70 yrs old person jostled around without seatbelt. When will these people learn
Happy to hear that there were no injuries and thank God for your Dashcam

[nisshith]

Originally Posted by nik0502

2. What should I do about settlement with the other driver. While I am feeling that I should let it go and accidents happen. I have been in such situations before also and I always let things go. But his time what is bothering me is that my almost new car has depreciated significantly because of somebody else’s fault.

Are you using your insurance to do all the repair work? I think you can use the Brezza owner's third-party coverage to cover your losses. This will take care of the settlement part for you. But I think that would require a police report to be registered (not sure though).

[Apex1815]

Glad to know that nobody was injured.

I had a similar experience in Mar 2023 where a speeding Eicher Truck (Payload capacity 20 Ton) Fully loaded, had Rear Ended into my TATA Nexon 2021 Model (17000 km odo reading) exactly at similar point like your Ecosport.

It was a down gradient in city centre and I was approaching a Speed Breaker. The speed of my car would be around 60 Km/hr and I was slowing because of the speed breaker ahead, In the middle of the speed breaker this Truck hit my car from behind twice as result there was a minor (surprisingly) dent on the Boot door, LH Tail lamp broken and Bumper slightly misaligned from Left Hand side.

The driver of the Truck gave the explanation that the Truck's brakes had malfunctioned and he could not control it. (Actually, The Truck appeared to be very old and in a bad shape).
I spoke to Truck Owner (Transport Company) but no use. Transporter started quarrelling with me and asked me to claim the Insurance. I was totally shattered with this and feeling helpless. I called Police as well but not much use.

Anyways, I had Zero dep insurance and claimed the damage from my Insurance. Total expenditure 12 K (Out of which I paid 1K).

In your case I suggest you to let it go if the bill (which you paid) is nominal.

[maheshm619]

Originally Posted by nik0502

1. Am I making too much fuss about the work done.

Since the car involved is a Ford , have you tried raising your feedback regarding work done to Ford Customer Care? They are quite proactive and has good control over service centers. Regarding boot color, I wouldn't mind much as the area is under carpet; but this would surely raise a red flag if, in future, when you try to sell this car.

[livetodrive]

Originally Posted by nik0502

His parents had a doctors appointment so me along with another fellow on the road found an auto for the parents and sent them for their appointment.

Learnt from this post how to disjoint two different issues and prioritize them. Sorry for your loss, but thank you for the eye opener.

[frewper]

Originally Posted by nik0502

Hi Folks,

2. What should I do about settlement with the other driver. While I am feeling that I should let it go and accidents happen. I have been in such situations before also and I always let things go. But his time what is bothering me is that my almost new car has depreciated significantly because of somebody else’s fault.

Please suggest what should I do.

I am only going to answer this, from all the other doubts that you have highlighted, because everything else is materialistic.

Let it go. Forget it. Tell him to be careful from next time.
You have healed. Let him heal too. And then we all will strive for a peaceful world.

We all have been in this place and have fought for our rights, ego and what not. And end of the day we all know what matters is what Master Ping Xiao Po said all this while. Inner peace.

I know its hard to let go. Calm the ego. That urge to prove ourself right, when we are. But the fact is, it costs us our metal peace, time and money.
Will the compensation that he will pay be enough? Will that money buy you peace?

I know when someone bangs into my car, I have lost my temper at times and I get all ready to give it back to him. But I am lucky to have people in my life who tell me to take a chill pill.

So I am here to give it back to you straight, Chuck it. Use the insurance money you paid, and put it to good use. And call up the guy and ask if he and his folks are keeping well.

[RaviKBobba]

Originally Posted by nik0502

asked the driver what he had done to which he replied I applied the brakes all of a sudden and he didn’t get a chance to react. I pointed to the dashcam and told him it’s all recorded and I didn’t stop all of a sudden but I slowed down gradually.

Please suggest what should I do.

If you observe the video closely, the person driving the brezza was actually distracted by mobile phone usage. You could observe that on the video at 0:20 seconds.

[silverado]

Originally Posted by RaviKBobba

If you observe the video closely, the person driving the brezza was actually distracted by mobile phone usage. You could observe that on the video at 0:20 seconds.

Yes the brezza needs to pay money for this very reason, do not let him off.
He not only needs to pay the extra amount but also pay your NCB amount.

[bhakal22]

I had a somewhat similar incident last month, coincidentally on EcoSport AT 2021, with almost 17,500 KMs on the ODO. I was returning to my residential cum work campus in Ranchi (one of the subsidiaries of Coal India Limited) and was driving at about 15 KM/hour. This low speed was due to the steep upward incline after entering from the main gate. About 150 m after entering the gate, I was taking a left turn with trees on my left and flower pots on the right (serving dual purpose of road divider and road beautification). A speeding Suzuki SX 4 was coming from the opposite direction and upon seeing it, I stopped my vehicle so as to give me more time to stop. But by the time he was able to spot me and apply brakes, his vehicle rammed into my vehicle front- approximate speed of 30 KMs at the time of impact. I was jolted and very upset at this accident, within the residential campus and so close to my house. The driver was aged (about 55) and was very apologetic. Both our vehicles suffered damages to front bumpers with his vehicle suffering more physical damages. The vehicle was owned by CMPDIL (another subsidiary of Coal India) and the driver was an employee of CMPDIL. He was elder to me and was apologetic and I didn't exactly think of what else to say to him or demand from him.
I later attributed this to my destiny that perhaps some message was being conveyed to me and that I should be thankful there was no major damage to life or property.

I took the car later to Diara Ford Ranchi where they took about 10 days to repair the damages and get the claim from insurance. Their initial estimate was for about 4 days of work but the final invoice amount was about Rs 44,000 of which they asked me to pay Rs 3,500.

Although I am not fully satisfied with the bumper repair work, I have taken the vehicle back and sometimes wonder if I could have avoided the accident! If I could have handled the driver differentky or if I could have avoided taking it to Ford garage and claiming insurance (to save on NCB and keeping the vehicle history 'clean')!

[gharika]

Originally Posted by Apex1815

Glad to know that nobody was injured.

I had a similar experience in Mar 2023 where a speeding Eicher Truck (Payload capacity 20 Ton) Fully loaded, had Rear Ended into my TATA Nexon 2021 Model (17000 km odo reading) exactly at similar point like your Ecosport.

It was a down gradient in city centre and I was approaching a Speed Breaker. The speed of my car would be around 60 Km/hr and I was slowing because of the speed breaker ahead, In the middle of the speed breaker this Truck hit my car from behind twice as result there was a minor (surprisingly) dent on the Boot door, LH Tail lamp broken and Bumper slightly misaligned from Left Hand side.

......

Anyways, I had Zero dep insurance and claimed the damage from my Insurance. Total expenditure 12 K (Out of which I paid 1K).

In your case I suggest you to let it go if the bill (which you paid) is nominal.

The insurance companies are fleecing us with both hands, it's rare that the 3rd party insurance gets invoked by the party in the right

[gck_tourer]

I own a Ford Aspire and had one accident repair at Mody Ford ASS Hyderabad 3 or 4 years back. Even I wasn't satisfied with their work. Post repair work, mudflaps of the car were missing, the alignment of the front bumper was a little off. A couple of my friends who have Ecosports have also complained of unsatisfactory body work on their cars by Ford ASS at Hyderabad. However, the normal services have been a breeze and really dead cheap. If I have any body work on my car, i would get it done outside the ASS. Having said that, Ford India takes feedback very seriously. You can choose to raise a complaint with them directly bypassing the dealer. Probably the ASS will fix all your issues to your satisfaction then. I didn't do it out of lethargy and lack of time.

[StableRide]

This thread has made me think.. what if cars had a sensor to sense fast coming vehicle from behind (crash likelihood) and they flash rear lights, sound horn (backwards) to warn the driver coming from behind.