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Are you sure they will replace the fender?
More specifically, will the Insurance company allow that, if tinkering can be done?
Or does the customer (us) get the freedom to insist on replacement.

Moderator note: Back to back posts, please use Multi Quote (Quote+) instead. Thanks.

Tried my hands on the grille design too.
Inspired by the Fiat and Jaguar:)

By my experience, minor polishing and repaint, nothing more than that as far as body work goes. They are trained in service and keep a painter in their payroll, rarely keep skilled labor for tinkering kind of works.
They usually go for a replace. Less labor more money clap:

Very few body shops will be able to get that sharp crease back into shape. I would go with getting the panel replaced and decide whether to go for insurance based on estimate.

When you go to the work shop, ensure you tell the guy that I don't want insurance. The estimate automatically will be lesser.

You can also do without getting the bumper repaired. If the holding clips have not broken, all you need to do is give it a nice rubbing with compound and it should be much better.

Crazydrive this is doable by paint less procedure look at Shankar Balans yeti done at trend automobiles in Bangalore tbhp directory. Here the line in metal panel is depressed and pulling it out will cure the debt.
However very few specialist for this kind of jobs exist go to A.S.S of you can't find any.
If your insurance is not bumper to bumper then for plastic fender scratches you will get 50% .

@crazydriver
You will get a lesser value for bumper replacement, but in my opinion rubbing and paint job should do, unless broken.
Fender is metal, you will lose only marginal here. Compare the financial impact including the loss of no-claim-bonus.

However, looking at the damage, and the emotion of repair on just out of showroom car. To me it looks like Insurance will be a better alternative.

Hi Guys,

Need input on this one. My 1 month old Duster is showing signs of rust on the muffler tail end joint. Is this kind of welding common or a bad job on mine?
I tried cleaning the yellow off with mild detergent, nothing happened.

I think it is a very common thing, as the exhaust muffler is Galvanized mild steel only. Generally such rusting happens in areas that get wet often (Under chassis) and this will not cause any major setback in next 4 to 5 years I suppose. Are you near sea shore by any chance?

Thanks for this tip Vid, I felt the same so just went and dropped it off at the official workshop. They gave an inflated estimate and time period (7 days!) but since insurance is picking it up fully ( I have zero-dep), I'm not very concerned on that.

What the SA told me Sumesh is that the insurance company might recommend tinkering first. However, if after tinkering the panel is not aligned properly or the crease is not proper, then it can be recommended for panel replacement. Depends on the insurance surveyor completely. They workshop tried to get me to sign the Inspection Order in advance but I refused and said I would only sign after I was completely satisfied with their work. They didnt push the case

The Bright Auto guys are supposed to very good based on what I've read here, but its that sharp crease pointed out by Vid that I'm worried about. Also, dont want to test them with something like this on my first job with them, so decided to just entrust it to the official workshop. I have zero-dep insurance so bumper replacement is not a problem but thankfully all clips are in place. So SA said they will just to rubbing and repainting, which is fine with me as long as it looks as close to new

Thanks HillMan, I've decided to go with insurance only. I got a good deal on my insurance for the Duster, so with loss of 20% NCB I will lose 6K next year. Minimum quote I'm getting from local body shops is 9K + my fear that they will not be able to handle the sharp crease on the dented panel!

Good to know @crazydave. I am sure you will get back your brand new finish. Do update us back on your experience with the A.S.S.:thumbs up

So surprisingly, heard back from the Service center this evening itself as the insurance surveyor came and assessed the damage pronto. They are going with full panel replacement for the dent, and rubbing +paint for the bumper as clips are all fine. What I expected to be honest. There was also a small dent on the rear quarter panel, which they have recommended for denting. So will need to keep an eagle eye to ensure that it is done properly plus that the new panel alignment is done properly too. Disappointment was that they are expecting 6-7 days to finish the work which is surprising given that a panel is being replaced, and then the remaining work is just small denting + rubbing/painting

Another surprise was the proprietor of Bright Auto calling up and making a pitch for why he should be given the work. He said that first, you will lose NCB and second, value of the car will go down if its known that an insurance claim has been made and panel replacement done. Thats an interesting argument I have not heard before. Had to convince him that I've settled on the official workshop route as I've no plans of selling the car in 4-5 years even


@himadrimondal, as you're evaluating the possibility of a metal skidplate, do you think engine guard and transmission guard options should also be evaluated for off-road use? Came across this option on shopdacia which looked interesting - something that is detachable/semi-permanent would be best so that you only have to bear the weight gain/mileage loss when you really need off-road protection!

Hello Crazydave, nice to know you have sorted out the accident damage issue.
With the fender being replaced, you car is new as it was before the accident.
How does the replacement devaluates car value is a mystery to me too.

Regarding the engine guard, there is already one in place though I think the gauge of the one you have pointed out should be lower(the lower the thicker) and suits real off roading. This would indeed be helpful if I go for that upgrade too.

Work on the skid plate is in progress, lets see how that turns out.

Just preserve the bills and records to prove to next buyer what actually was the accident.

Service history of vehicle is a big selling point and one can get service history
as part of evaluation exercise at an A.S.S, this service history is one or two page printout with headline items against date and kilometre reading which are generally like running repairs , regular service etc.

Many times CRM systems of these organizations just enter a generic headline like "Accidental damage" or "windshield change" so if appears like a red herring.
Wind-shield change is very common in Bangalore vehicles due to falling coconuts if vehicle is parked under a tree but it could also mean a a nasty collision in few cases.

Waiting to see pictures of the real thing. You have come up with a good looking design. I feel integrating daylight LED on it might Up the charm. Its a personal choice thou.

Don't worry about the car value going down. End of the day it depends on the NVH, drivablity and the presentation of the car for sale. Who knows you might land up getting good exchange deals when you want to sell. And as far as his sale pitch is concerned, no tinker can get you the showroom finish like a replaced part. The modern cars are made with delicate sheet metals, just enough to hold the structure :D

I checked with 3M JP Nagar, and they quoted around 4.5K for the rubberized anti-rust coating.

Got my self 3M Scotchgard PPF for the ORVMs there. Though a bit expensive, I believe it will prove its worth one day.

The fit and finish is Ok. I wasn't very happy with the workman ship thou, they damaged my paint on ORVM by mishandling :eek:. Actually a small piece of paint came off when they pulled out a tape they had put. The owner Ashok is a good guy with lot of patience. He himself removed the bad fitting and offered to repaint the ORVM. I opted to go with a black strip on the edge.
My comment is restricted to the PPF work alone. His polishing and cleaning guys seemed to be very dedicated workers.





The tape to conceal the damage.


Thats how The Grey Hound parks. Had to extend my garage for the party. It was designed way too big for the Padmini, never imagined to house a beast in there :D

Who here was having to listen to the sound from the front of the vehicle which was described with the help of a wooden scale on table top experiment? I forgot the post in which it was mentioned.

You might want to look at the head rest on the passenger seat of it has been extended out a few notches. It makes the same noise of a vibrating wooden scale on a table top edge when the car is at low revs or when the clutch is engaging. Just check. it acts as the portion of the wooden ruler extended out of the table's edge.