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-   -   3 Month old Skoda Fabia TDI : Total loss Insurance Query (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-loans-insurance/108339-3-month-old-skoda-fabia-tdi-total-loss-insurance-query.html)

Help Please please:

My cousins 3 month old Skoda Fabia TDI got hit to engine oil sump while driving in Agumbe Ghat on water filled puddle...Seems before he could realize the leakage of engine oil the damage has been done... The car stalled and he got it towed to Skoda dealership at Mangalore...

After one month of wait Skoda Mangalore confirmed the engine damage and his insurance Bajaj Allianz (Drive Assure) has declared it as a total loss!! Its unfortunate and sad to have a unscratched new Skoda Fabia being declared a total loss in such a short time....

The insurance company is trying to settle him little less than IDV ( approx 6.5 lakhs).. Car costed him roughly 8.5 lakhs and he has a loan of approx 7 lakhs on the car.. The insurance company wants him to surrender the RC book to them !!

We are confused here on the correct course of action.. By this he has to let go more than 2 lakhs plus.. What about the Road tax of 1 lakh he has paid..(can he get that from RTO by surrendering RC to them?)..
He has a drive assure which covers the engine damage..

Can some one please throw light on this and help us.. Or direct to similar thread...
Also is there any other way out ?

Bajaj Allianz taking your cousin for ride. Be tough with them and get the quote from other Skoda dealers also.

In my opinion expenses of engine repair should not cross beyond 3 lakh. Such damages are not like irreparable and matter of total loss. What is quote of current Skoda after sales service?

IDV excludes road tax computation.

Road tax is refundable in KA on total loss, see :

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ax-refund.html

However, the refund may be on a pro-rata basis.

As per him engine replacement was quoted around 5.5 Lakh but the repair costs more than that, with repair there will be no more warranty i guess!! True I never thought it can be so much !!

My thoughts are:

A huge chunk of that 8.5L is tax. Central excise and RT or whatever.

Even 3L is a pessimistic figure, when you look at the actual, material value.

This is daylight robbery by the Insurance co and the Skoda guys. If the car has been declared a total loss then the Insurance co is liable to pay the IDV amount and not anything less than that. Pls dont settle for anything less, have a look at the policy document and see what the IDV declared is.

I am sure that the engine replacement should not be more than 3-4L, if nothing else is damaged then Skoda must have declared this total loss with a different intention. BTW who is the Insurance company?

@ghodlur, Its Bajaj Allianz with Drive Assure..

The question here is even if we are able to convince the insurance company for the IDV do we have to surrender the RC book? If its not mandatory and we have the intention of getting back the Road tax paid, why is the insurance company insisting on the same..?

They are insisting on the same coz they want to repair the vehicle and sell it off to some unsuspecting chap.

Suggest you to get in touch with androdev who recently faced the same scenario with his Skoda.

Does fixing a seized engine on a Skoda cost more than the car itself???

If so, the insurance co. is justified in declaring the car as totalled. Else, it is a very different story.


They usually sell the car "as is" and the buyer transfers the car to his name.

Road tax refund can be claimed by you from the RTO. Rules vary from state to state. So, get in touch with somebody good at the job - not the typical agent - in your area. Try to meet a senior official at the RTO - like the RTO himself. It will be possible only if the registration is cancelled, obviously. Expect 10 to 30 visits to RTO for refund order, and another 5 to the treasury to get the cash.

In fact this "3 month old" thing might be the reason why the Insurance Company as well as the Skoda guys are behaving in such a manner. It is an attractive proposition for the Insurance Company as well as the dealer( to re-sell the car) at your cost.

IMO you should take up the matter strongly with the Insurance Company as well as the Skoda dealership. If you feel that they are taking you for a ride then take up the matter with the Insurance Ombudsman.

@kiyon,

Sorry to hear what happened to the car. Unfortunately there is no perfect solution for the present problem.

Best case scenario in case you want the car to be repaired:
-Since anything above 75% of the IDV is considered total loss, you ask the insurance company to pay 74.99% towards the repair and you agree to pay the rest. Request the a.s.s to help you in this and extend some good-will as it is almost a new vehicle. Evaluate what is the net-loss with this option, taking into account the fact that resale will take a hit.

Best case scenario in case you don't want to get the car repaired:
-Claim total loss and get the 100% IDV from the insurance co. and claim RTO tax refund. (You need to check rules on RTO tax refund). Evaluate what is the net-loss with this option, taking into account that you have money in the bank and free to buy anything you like (repaired car is less likely to be trouble free).

Remember that insurance claim settlement is negotiable. No need to make a scene and lose peace of mind. Just do your homework, know the rules and use it your advantage.

Hi Kiyon,
I also own a New Fabia TDI (since a year though)..
Would like certainly to know about the consequences & the climax too..
Is the matter settled amicably & most importantly, is the owner satisfied?
Do share in details if possible..
Thanks & regards,

Hi Kiyon,

Yes, please update this thread on how the whole thing was handled.
It will surely help everyone should the need arise in any unfortunate case...

Hello Kiyon,

Say, if you are going for Total Loss option (whatever may be the settlement value) & the Total amount payable to you is Rs. 7 lakhs.

Now there you will be paid in two installments. One part of payment you will receive from Scrap Dealer (Scrap Buyer) who will buy you car as it is currently & pay you the agreed amount say 3 lakhs. Now the balance Rs. 4 lakh will be paid to you by the Insurance Company.

Now, coming to your question whether to Surrender the RC Book or not? If your Car is sold to Scrap Buyer, you will have to hand over the RC Book to him as he will do nothing more but somehow repair the car & sell it at a handsome profit.

On getting refund of Road Tax, you can start the process only if the registration of the Car is cancelled, but the scrap dealer will not do this. Also it will be really time consuming getting refund of Road Tax.

So the best option in your car is to be adamant & demand full IDV from the Insurance company, which I feel they will. Infact you can refer to Ketan's thread where he recently managed to get full IDC value from Insurer:
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ys-truant.html

Also please let us know the latest developments in your case.

Thanks,

Sorry for updating this thread late..

Well after few months of waiting my cousin was able to get into some deal with Insurance company (Bajaj Allianz)

He got around 3.1 Lakh from Insurance (Cash Loss) and scrap dealer where he independently sold got around 4 Lakh .. He had to give his RC to the scrap dealer..

End result he lost around 1.5 Lakh and had some tough time with insurance company. Also heard some good support from Skoda Mangalore though....

He is still hunting around for a new car.. Nissan Sunny Diesel is on his mind after some test driving as of now...