[AutoIndian]

When I removed the puncture of my tubeless tyre last week, I had exhausted all the strips that had come along with the tubeless tyre puncture repair kit. So I just needed to buy the strips & not the whole kit. Put this query on the TBHP thread of diy-guide-how-repair-tubeless-tyre-puncture. Got immediate reply that I can get these strips home delivered if I place the order on Storeji.com (ebay.in). Placed the order on 13th May & today I received the courier, Rs 98/- for 10 strips & Rs 15/- courier delivery charges, totally worth it. Further details on the thread below (message # 153

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/tyre-a...t2782002strips

[AutoIndian]

Today morning I had a very nasty lateral shunt (left side) from another car @ 8:00 am. I was returning from Dombivli where I had gone over the week end to drop my wife & kid. Started early in the morning (05:45am). The 125 kms journey was absolute charm, no traffic at all (took the old NH4). I was just 1.5 kms away from reaching my home, when I took a right turn at the Akurdi roundabout to go towards Chinchwad. Signals were not working & a speeding white Accent rammed in the centre of my left side. I felt the jerk but I was in full control. Stopped at some distance ahead. The driver of that car came out to gauge his damage, His front bumper was gone, don't know @ the radiator or other stuff, but his damage would have been substantial. I didn't care to get down to look at my damage, neither did I enter into any kind of brawl/argument for whose fault it was. Drove straight home, got down & only then could I realize how serious the impact was. Left front door has been damaged beyond repair, rear door too has taken a serious beating. The "B" pillar has taken a major hit & has been crimped at many places. Called up my friendly garage & he told me to come with the car. His mechanic assessed that this was a major damage & front door has been damaged beyond repair & needs to be replaced. The left side runner also needs to be replaced. Left rear door can be repaired (denting & painting). I enquired with Pandit Auto, they don't have a door in spare, I have to order one by paying the amount in advance (approx Rs 9,800/-). The garage guy checked with some vendor in Nana Peth, where a no damage door of a used car can be sourced for Rs 3,500/-. Runner of a used car is difficult to source & I believe I will have to place an order for it. It costs in the range of Rs 800/-. I have taken the pictures, but cannot upload as of now as I don't have the camera cable, will try to do it tonight.

Any suggestions inputs from members are most welcome.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Today morning I had a very nasty lateral shunt (left side) from another car @ 8:00 am. Left front door has been damaged beyond repair, rear door too has taken a serious beating. I have taken the pictures, but cannot upload as of now as I don't have the camera cable, will try to do it tonight.

Here are the pictures

Front door has been damaged beyond repair , needs to be replaced


The major damage is at the central portion. The B pillar has also taken the brunt at many places.





The seat belt plastic cover has also cracked

[discoverwild]

Looks like we are running on parallel tracks. My Vista took a lateral shunt on the right side, when some idiot in a Fiesta cut across my father from the opposite side. Replacement of the front door, fender, bumper, tinkering and painting. Looking at 30k in damages. Thankfully insured.

Glad that you are safe.

[amitwlele]

@Autoindian - Sorry to read about this but thank god that you are hale and hearty.

So do the doors don't close and lock properly now? Have you got it checked with the dent repair guy already to check if he would be able to his magic.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by discoverwild

Looks like we are running on parallel tracks. My Vista took a lateral shunt on the right side, when some idiot in a Fiesta cut across my father from the opposite side. Replacement of the front door, fender, bumper, tinkering and painting. Looking at 30k in damages. Thankfully insured. Glad that you are safe.

Yes indeed, we are running on parallel tracks, not so pleasant ones though. Sorry to know @ your accident. I think your damages are more severe than mine, costing a whopping 30K. Did you file any FIR? How are you going about claiming your insurance? How much of the 30K are you likely to recover in the claim that you would file? Would appreciate if you can post pictures of your damages.

Originally Posted by amitwlele

@Autoindian - Sorry to read about this but thank god that you are hale and hearty.

So do the doors don't close and lock properly now? Have you got it checked with the dent repair guy already to check if he would be able to his magic.

Thanks for your sympathies Amit. I am fortunate enough, no damage to life or limb, just material damage, which can be recovered. Yes the doors don't close properly & cannot be locked. At least the front door can be opened, the rear one is refusing to open.

I have spent the last 2 days in the garage. Today morning with the help of the garage owner I brought a door of a used car (probably a scrapped Indicab, since it is white in colour) from a dealer in Nana Peth, costed me INR 3K. Now the real skill would be to get the "B" pillar back in shape & the rear door to be brought in its original shape. Keeping fingers crossed. Luckily one of my office colleagues have loaned me his Alto, which was lying unused in his garage. This has at least resolved my problem of the daily 64 odd kms office commute. So now even if my car remains in garage for the next couple of days, it won't cause me much inconvinience.

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Yes indeed, we are running on parallel tracks, not so pleasant ones though. Sorry to know @ your accident. I think your damages are more severe than mine, costing a whopping 30K. Did you file any FIR? How are you going about claiming your insurance? How much of the 30K are you likely to recover in the claim that you would file? Would appreciate if you can post pictures of your damages.

Been extremely busy, so didn't take any pictures. I have a zero% depreciation policy on the Vista, so I guess my out-of-pocket expenses should be very low. No FIR was filed. Traffic was at its peak and so dad decided to let the matter go. The other person admitted to his mistake and was willing to compensate. But dad decided that the guy had plenty of repairs on his car as well and asked him to drive carefully hereon.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by discoverwild

Been extremely busy, so didn't take any pictures. I have a zero% depreciation policy on the Vista, so I guess my out-of-pocket expenses should be very low. No FIR was filed. Traffic was at its peak and so dad decided to let the matter go. The other person admitted to his mistake and was willing to compensate. But dad decided that the guy had plenty of repairs on his car as well and asked him to drive carefully hereon.

I guess it is worthwhile to go for the zero% depreciation policy especially on a new car. Hats off to your dad for showing his presence of mind & immense maturity. The culprit also seems to be a good person as he admitted his mistake & was was willing to compensate (may the tribe of such good people grow by leaps & bounds)

[discoverwild]

Thanks! Dad has almost been driving for 45 years now. Always sedate, always the gentleman on the road. I guess a lot of his attitude has rubbed on to me.

Always make it a point to use all the three rear-view mirrors.
Parking the car with the least hindrance to the adjacent car or traffic.
Allowing two wheelers space to navigate potholes on the road.
Making no splashes if it rains, to avoid inconveniencing others.
Low beam always except on the highway, switching over every time he spots a two-wheeler.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by discoverwild

Thanks! Dad has almost been driving for 45 years now. Always sedate, always the gentleman on the road. I guess a lot of his attitude has rubbed on to me.

So nice of you for adopting your Dad's virtues. Wish everyone could follow him. It is very sad an unfortunate that such sedate drivers have to fall victim to others mistake.

Originally Posted by discoverwild

Always make it a point to use all the three rear-view mirrors.
Parking the car with the least hindrance to the adjacent car or traffic.
Allowing two wheelers space to navigate potholes on the road.
Making no splashes if it rains, to avoid inconveniencing others.
Low beam always except on the highway, switching over every time he spots a two-wheeler.

The above 5 points you mentioned are the golden rules, which if followed by everyone would make driving on our roads a very pleasant experience. Worth etching on a board & pasting it in the car.

Edit: Forgot to mention, I received a call from the garage owner in the evening that the rear door has been sqeezed a bit more at the bottom which cannot be brought back into shape by denting. He asked me if I want to go for a new door at rear as well. I asked him if this would cause any water leakage during rains. He replied in negation. Will be visiting the garage tomorrow morning while going to office, will assess the condition & then take a call.

[discoverwild]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

So nice of you for adopting your Dad's virtues. Wish everyone could follow him. It is very sad an unfortunate that such sedate drivers have to fall victim to others mistake.

Speak of the devil, a couple of months back, he was driving my cousin's Vista. An empty tipper tried overtaking him at the end of a flyover on the highway, hit the median, turned around and nearly ran him over. Luckily, he suffered only a few bruises and a stiff neck. He recollects the wheels of the truck almost at his face. The truck driver drove away without stopping.

The Vista was thrown around a bit and suffered some damage. But the robust body saved my father's life. I was actually on the same highway driving down from Chennai when I heard this. I was about 3 hours away.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

Edit: Forgot to mention, I received a call from the garage owner in the evening that the rear door has been sqeezed a bit more at the bottom which cannot be brought back into shape by denting. He asked me if I want to go for a new door at rear as well. I asked him if this would cause any water leakage during rains. He replied in negation. Will be visiting the garage tomorrow morning while going to office, will assess the condition & then take a call.

Visited the garage today morning. The "B" pillar & the left runner have been brought back into good shape, metal work finishing is yet to be done. The front door has been fitted. The rear door bottom cannot be brought back in shape & would remain as a permanent accident mark. I have decided to go for a new door from a used car. Today Sandeep (garage owner) was too tied up & could not spare time to source the door. However I have handed him Rs 3K so that in case he gets time he can procure it. Denting work cannot proceed unless the door is bought. It seems it can easily take another 4-5 days to finish all the work. I told him that I am in no hurry & make sure that quality work is done.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

I have decided to go for a new door from a used car. Today Sandeep (garage owner) was too tied up & could not spare time to source the door. However I have handed him Rs 3K so that in case he gets time he can procure it. Denting work cannot proceed unless the door is bought. It seems it can easily take another 4-5 days to finish all the work. I told him that I am in no hurry & make sure that quality work is done.

Today morning visited the garage. Sandeep (garage owner) was not there. Chinu (the painter) said the current door itself can be used & the crimped portion (which is from inside) would not be even visible. Why unnecessarily spend for a new door. He said he can finish the exterior as new. I trust him more than the "Mistry" who suggested to go for a new door. SO now I have decided to stay with the current door. At least there will be some progress in work today. Yesterday was simply wasted for want of a new door.

[AutoIndian]

Originally Posted by AutoIndian

SO now I have decided to stay with the current door. At least there will be some progress in work today. Yesterday was simply wasted for want of a new door.

Made another visit to the garage today morning. There was some decent progress of work. Front door was fitted & the rear one was brought back in shape with the denting & tinkering. Took some snaps. I think the sanding & filling up with putty work will start today.

This is the front door of an Indicab that I brought from Nana Peth for INR 3K.


Front door from inside. All the interior mechanism of power window & central locking will be replaced with the original one.


Rear door has been brought back in good shape. Major damage was at the bottom left corner near the "B" pillar. The Mistry seems to have done a good job


Inside of the rear door. The bottom left corner was folded beyond repair but now it is not even visible.

[AutoIndian]

Today afternoon paid a visit to the garage. Both the doors were ready with the first primer coats. Painting was expected to start today evening. Took some snaps, sharing here.

The painter Chinu at work


Rear door after the primer coat


Front door after the primer coat