Team-BHP - 2012 Volkswagen Passat Highline - The beast finally comes home! EDIT: Now sold!

Finally picked up the car from the workshop yesterday! Almost 20 days to replace a water pump & fused LED!

Got both the jobs covered under extended warranty. Apart from this, a belt was changed since it was showing signs of cracking (cost about 3K). Not surprisingly the car was dirty when the driver went to pick it up. He got the workshop to clean it out properly before accepting the vehicle.

The quality of work done was good, but the time taken to complete such minor repairs is ridiculous! VW really need to take a look at their spare parts distribution system. Whenever I have asked the reason for delay, I have only been told, "Saar, parts are coming from Germany".

Though this could be a dealer issue also. OSL own the dealerships for Volkswagen, BMW and more recently Volvo, in Kolkata. I haven't heard too many positive things about their service at any of the brands. Honestly, I have given up hope and do not bother wasting time chasing them for minor issues. As long as they return my car in good condition, I will be thankful.

I seem to have recovered the amount I had paid for the extended warranty when I bought the car, due to the number of times it has been to the workshop for repairs lol: .

The car was away for so long, I almost forgot I owned a Passat! It felt so good to take her out for a nice long spin last night. :)

On another note, I asked the dealer about the approximate launch time for the new Passat and was told that it should be coming by the end of this year? Can anyone confirm this?

Thanks.

So a new streak of bad luck begins.

Got rammed by a truck while waiting at a red light. The car had been stationary for about a minute or so before impact. It clearly wasn't a case of sudden braking or any silly maneuver. The accident happened in broad daylight, so it was not a case of not spotting the car in the dark. Luckily there was no other car/bike in front of our car, since it would have made the whole situation a lot worse.

My driver nearly beat up the truck driver, but was restrained by a few members of the public. The trucker claimed his brakes didn't work. But it seemed more like he didn't even try to brake. No skid marks or anything. He was a young chap and didn't seem drunk, but you never know. The cops were quick to respond and impounded the truck and took the offender into custody. Now we are going to locate the truck owner and demand compensation.

Thankfully, no one was injured in this incident. My Dad and the driver were the only occupants in the car (Dad was seated at the back). Not a single piece of glass entered the passenger cabin since I had left the rear sun-shade up after having used the car the previous day. Very very lucky indeed! Dad and the driver walked out without a scratch.

Insurance said everything will be covered, and we will have to probably pay 7-10k out of approxmately 3 Lacs. Will be going to the workshop to talk to the service adviser and discuss if it would be better to declare the car a total loss, or to continue with the repairs. I wonder will the car ever be the same considering the amount of damage? Will also try and get an idea about the full extent of the damage during my visit.

Hats off to Volkswagen for building such a solid car. The outcome would have been a lot worse had it been my Corolla or City. The Passat is clearly a very very solid car considering it was driven to the police station, home and then to the Volkswagen workshop after the accident (approximately a total distance of 50 - 60 kms). All through the journey, the car drove like normal and did not face any difficulty.

Any suggestions/tips regarding what I should do? Thanks.

My sympathies but the car took the brunt well. It may not be as bad as it looks as the car is designed to crumple. A friend had a similar incident in a 3 series and it was repaired spot on.

My skoda similarly got hit from one side. Replacement of the side involved cutting out the panel and welding in a replacement. I had my apprehensions but the dealer did a good job but involved a lot of time setting up the panel alignment before welding it it. The new owner of the car might never know if I had not disclosed the fact.

The boot floor might need to be pulled out if distorted. The challenge will be in matching up the silver paint. Watch this carefully

Your only issue will be in VW getting the parts in. Being a low volume car, the parts might not be in ready stock.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordfreak (Post 3697767)

Hats off to Volkswagen for building such a solid car. The outcome would have been a lot worse had it been my Corolla or City.

Don't single out Jap cars like that. :Shockked:

I know someone who got rear ended (in similar fashion) in his 10 year corolla, and it was more or less in the same condition your car is in.

Quote:

Any suggestions/tips regarding what I should do? Thanks.

Depends on the life of your car.

Ideally go for the repair if you think your dealer can handle the job and do it well. Most accident repairs can be done with modern tools and welding techniques, but with VW Jetta, I think the parts availability maybe difficult.

The jab can be done, but it'll surely take time.

So sad to see your car in such a bad shape. My heart sunk the moment i saw that rear end photo but glad that no one was injured. Was expecting some good post on a long drive as you had got your car back after a long time but the bad luck really continues :Frustrati

Hope to see your car up and running soon, this is a slow mover so VW would take its own sweet time to procure parts.

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordfreak (Post 3697767)

Hats off to Volkswagen for building such a solid car. The outcome would have been a lot worse had it been my Corolla or City. The Passat is clearly a very very solid car considering it was driven to the

+1, VW cars do have their fare share of niggles, reliability issues but when it comes to build quality and safety, there is just no compromise. Even a Polo seems so well built so i am not surprised that your Passat took the impact so well. Driving the car around after such a big hit speaks about the build quality.

In a similar accident a few months back, me and my friend were driving on NH1 at night in a Rapid. A drunk Innova guy hit us from behind at 100+, we were pushed forward with a lot of force though the car maintained straight line. We came down only to see a slightly dented boot and a few scratches on rear bumper, i was amazed at how well the car took this impact. Had it been some other light build car, we would have had to carry the rear bumper back on our shoulders lol:

Quote:

Originally Posted by D4D (Post 3697823)

Don't single out Jap cars like that. :Shockked:

I know someone who got rear ended (in similar fashion) in his 10 year corolla, and it was more or less in the same condition your car is in.

Probably the only japanese car that is an exception to this is the Corolla. Every other japanese car would be nano size after that impact. Even then the Corolla doesn't come close to a Passat in the build department. It's just one of the better built jap cars.

I also own a Passat and sorry to see your car in this condition. Thankful that no one was injured. I had a corolla which had a similar, in fact much worse impact with front also getting damaged . Hit from behind by a truck and my car went and banged into another truck in front. All happened when I was waiting at the traffic light. The Car took the hit very well , there were extensive damage to front & back but it was repaired without a trace by the dealer.

So I agree 100% with what Vid6639 says, Corolla is one safe car.

Regarding your car, I don't think it is a total loss. It is very much repairable but it may take time with VW spare parts availability , though it has improved of late, still could be a month.

My suggestion - get it repaired and drive it. A great car to drive and enjoy

Dear fordfreak, sorry to see the Passat all beaten up. But being a VW I guess it saved the occupants from injury. My two paisa worth is to take it to the authorized dealer and get her rebuilt. Our Skoda Laura had a similar crush by a Tata 1210 truck which was driving on the wrong side of the Delhi-Jaipur highway in 2006. The front right hand side got totaled. But being a German car the occupants - driver and my wife (rear left) were uninjured. It was a slow speed crash. Skoda repaired the body, did some structural repairs that were essential and covered some damage to the brakes and suspension and the car ran for another 100,000 plus kms with us till November 2014. I was amazed at how Skoda did the paint with perfect matching. I am sure your Passat can be put back in perfect shape - by looks of it only the body work is damaged and not any machinery or suspension etc. Best of luck, regards, Narayan

Quote:

Originally Posted by fordfreak (Post 3697767)

Got rammed by a truck while waiting at a red light.

It is unbelievable how often such things happen here. Very sorry to see the state of the car.

I am guessing the damage is limited to body panels, so repair is very much an option. But if you have already entertained thoughts of getting another car prior to this accident, it might be a good idea to do that now to save yourself time and follow up efforts.

This would not be hard to fix . We had an Hyundai accent in family that was rear ended at Chembur Signal In Mumbai by a truck and it looked the same after the accident . It took 2 months to get it repaired with Hyundai but was good later on and served the family for another 50-60K Kms .
This was long back so I don't have a picture now . I also remember that at that time we had got whole car repainted by paying the difference amount ourselves.

Sorry to learn of the unfortunate incident, the good thing is that no one was injured & that for most of us is a huge blessing. No doubt, one gets pained when it happens, but I am sure that VW will do a great job of restoring your car to original. It may be beneficial to do a total paint job rather than just doing the rear. You would have to pay for the non claimable panels - IMHO its worth it.

Generally, the thumb rule with the insurance companies is that if the cost of repairs is > 70% of the IDV or Market Value (whichever is lower), they would generally declare it as a total loss and pay you the IDV or market value (whichever is lower).

Your Passat has many years of motoring left so have it repaired & enjoy her once again :)