[el lobo 6061]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

On a different note, I need some quick help from all Ventoheads out here. My Bajaj Alliance insurance is up for renewal and have quoted Rs 24,493 for the same. I remember having bumper to bumper and zero depreciation but I also read somewhere either here or in one of the ownership threads that while renewing one has to explicitly ask for the zero depreciation. Can some member please throw some light on this?

EDIT: On doing a search on the Vento threads I noticed the premium quoted to me is higher than others have got. I also noticed that the IDV value as Rs 836690. I wonder how they arrived at that figure and that too seems higher than what others have. Since I am mostly a noob in this field would like to hear your opinion on the quote. I can shop around as I still have some time to go but my preference would be to continue with this one if the competitors cannot offer me a significant better deal.

My views:
1. Since you haven't claimed any claim on your car for the whole year, you are entitled to 20% No Claim Bonus(NCB) at the time of renewal. Which means you get 20% discount on premium.
2. You need to specifically ask for Zero Dep policy otherwise they can pass on a normal comprehensive policy to you.
3. Bajaj Allianz have Zero Dep policy for 5 years, last checked when I renewed my policy in Apr'12.
4. Its good to have high IDV value. As yours is Rs. 8,36,690/-, you can assume a 10% depreciation and so your IDV value should be Rs. 7,53,021/- at the time of renewal.
5. Always ask the IDV value to the insurer as they might reduce the premium in the name of low IDV. Its always better to have high IDV value as that's what you get when your car is totaled/lost.
6. Lastly its always better to have a insurance policy which has a tie up with the VW Workshop you get the car serviced, which means less hassle.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

My views:
4. Its good to have high IDV value. As yours is Rs. 8,36,690/-, you can assume a 10% depreciation and so your IDV value should be Rs. 7,53,021/- at the time of renewal.

If its a zero depreciation policy why should there be a 10% depreciation on the value? Sorry about the noob question .

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

5. Always ask the IDV value to the insurer as they might reduce the premium in the name of low IDV. Its always better to have high IDV value as that's what you get when your car is totaled/lost.

Yes that's what I felt too. A higher IDV would be better but the flipside is the premium would be higher. Does the premium amount look competitive to you?

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

6. Lastly its always better to have a insurance policy which has a tie up with the VW Workshop you get the car serviced, which means less hassle.

Yup. Agree 100% though I do hope that I never get in such a situation. Don't want to get too OT any more on this thread.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

If its a zero depreciation policy why should there be a 10% depreciation on the value? Sorry about the noob question .

One year up - the car has to depreciate, no? Jokes apart, the depreciation figures might be a tad different - just check it up your insurance booklet.


And for your earlier post, BA refers to zero-dep as Drive Assure package I believe. Tata-Aig refers to it by a different name. Basically the policy would clearly mention about a depreciation shield.

Also a higher IDV might not always equal to a higher premium quote. So do bargain/shop around

@Rohan - are you sure about the 5 year thingie by BA? I believe they do offer it only for 2 years. That's mostly the industry standards.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

One year up - the car has to depreciate, no? Jokes apart, the depreciation figures might be a tad different - just check it up your insurance booklet.

Conventional logic says yes but the terminology is pretty confusing. To top that, nowadays a diesel Vento actually is appreciating in value . From what I could gather from some quick reading is the zero depreciation cover ensures that depreciation is not charged to the car and its parts which would indirectly mean that the IDV of the car remains the same, shouldn't it? Sorry about sounding so confused .

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

And for your earlier post, BA refers to zero-dep as Drive Assure package I believe. Tata-Aig refers to it by a different name. Basically the policy would clearly mention about a depreciation shield.

Also a higher IDV might not always equal to a higher premium quote. So do bargain/shop around

@Rohan - are you sure about the 5 year thingie by BA? I believe they do offer it only for 2 years. That's mostly the industry standards.

Yeah I will perhaps need to do some more than casual research in the insurance threads now. I saw Bharti AXA offering 5 years in their website so the competition would generally have the same standard. Will check with Bajaj about their deal.

[srishiva]

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Conventional logic says yes but the terminology is pretty confusing. To top that, nowadays a diesel Vento actually is appreciating in a value . From what I could gather from some quick reading is the zero depreciation cover ensures that depreciation is not charged to the car and its parts which would indirectly mean that the IDV of the car remains the same, shouldn't it? Sorry about sounding so confused .

Good observation
The parts (or whole car in case of writeoff) in case of accident don't depreciate. The whole car without accidents depreciates
We can use it to replace some parts without any cost ?

[volkman10]

VW India builds the first LHD Vento for Exports!

[ninjatalli]

While I was browsing on the net, found this ad for a Vento Tdi on ebay. By the description and the accessories (Kagu mats, Ipod MDI cable, 3M films, Osram bulbs, etc) bought by the owner, seems to be a BHPian vehicle (maybe). With a price tag of 11L and 5k kms run, doesn't seem that bad an offer for a Karnataka based vehicle.

[Swift Express]

Originally Posted by srishiva

Good observation
The parts (or whole car in case of writeoff) in case of accident don't depreciate. The whole car without accidents depreciates
We can use it to replace some parts without any cost ?

. In Case of theft the depriciated value is paid. My second year premium on Vento has come down (NCB plus Reduced premium for lesser IDV)

Good Article on Zero Dep Cover Basics - Vehicle owners drive in 'zero dep' policy cover - Times Of India

[evilshantanu]

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

While I was browsing on the net, found this ad for a Vento Tdi on ebay. By the description and the accessories (Kagu mats, Ipod MDI cable, 3M films, Osram bulbs, etc) bought by the owner, seems to be a BHPian vehicle (maybe). With a price tag of 11L and 5k kms run, doesn't seem that bad an offer for a Karnataka based vehicle.

This is KA-19 seems to be a Mangalore vehicle
But true doesnt look like a bad deal.

Now a question for all the DIY punters! I am going to drive from Bangalore to Pune on saturday, do I need to do any check on the vehicle before that? Also, how easy is it to clean the air filter, if I want to do it myself.

[joslicx]

Originally Posted by evilshantanu

how easy is it to clean the air filter, if I want to do it myself.

Read somewhere that you need to disconnect battery to do that. But then, all the VAS features would need to be enabled after that as disconnecting the battery would disable them!

So short answer would be - go to the workshop!

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by evilshantanu

This is KA-19 seems to be a Mangalore vehicle
But true doesnt look like a bad deal.

Now a question for all the DIY punters! I am going to drive from Bangalore to Pune on saturday, do I need to do any check on the vehicle before that? Also, how easy is it to clean the air filter, if I want to do it myself.

Two points -
- For basic checks refer to @noopster & @el lobo's posts on my thread - pretty much covers up all that might be required.
- For air filter - if this is for this trip - trust me, the AC was hardly used during my entire trip. Even though it ain't raining across these states, the weather is quite cool. But if this is a generic requirement/need, then ignore my thoughts on this.

[samarjitdhar]

Originally Posted by Swift Express

. In Case of theft the depriciated value is paid.

So basically it might be a better idea to get the car totaled when faced with a theft . By the way do the insurance companies also offer insurance on the ex showroom price of the car even if the car is one year old? Tata-AIG was ready to give me an offer like that for an additional 2K.

My Vento will reach it's first birthday next month. Will update my first service experience soon. Plan to get the shorter version of the mud flaps then. I have also noticed that my Vento is growling a little louder than other TDI Ventos at idle RPM. Need to get that checked too.

[el lobo 6061]

We all might be going a just a bit off topic but its all in the interest of our beloved Vento after all.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

If its a zero depreciation policy why should there be a 10% depreciation on the value? Sorry about the noob question .

We all are noobs here, even me, everyday something new to learn.

A normal comprehensive policy gives your car a insurance cover. But when there is a accident, you give your car for repair. Workshop guy estimates and tells sir your front bumper & bonnet needs to be changed and cannot be repaired and you need to pay 50% depreciation cost on metal and plastic parts, just an assumption.

So if bumper & bonnet costs 10K each totaling 20K you end up paying 10K out of your own pockets. This is where Zero dep policy comes in and prevents any depreciation of parts and saves you the 10K which you were earlier paying.

Moral of the story, in Zero dep policy you are paying nothing other than claim processing fees. Thats is why almost everyone has started using Zero dep policy and for even a small dent on their bonnet ask the insurer to replace it since they have zero dep policy and they pay nothing. Abuse of policy, oh yes in some way.

Other thing, every object value is depreciated, otherwise if my Vento cost wont be depreciated by 10%, after 10 yrs it would have same value as earlier and if I total the car I get the complete amount for which I bought the car 10 years back. Which certainly wont be good for the insurer. So that's why 10% is the standard rate of depreciation for any policy you may own be it comprehensive or zero dep.

Originally Posted by ninjatalli

@Rohan - are you sure about the 5 year thingie by BA? I believe they do offer it only for 2 years. That's mostly the industry standards.

In the month of April'12 when I renewed my car's policy Bharti Axa was giving Zero dep for 3 yrs and Bajaj Allianz for 5 yrs.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

Yeah I will perhaps need to do some more than casual research in the insurance threads now. I saw Bharti AXA offering 5 years in their website so the competition would generally have the same standard. Will check with Bajaj about their deal.

Good to know that Bhati Axa is now offering Zero Dep for 5 years.

Originally Posted by evilshantanu

Also, how easy is it to clean the air filter, if I want to do it myself.

First you need to remove the negative battery battery terminal. Disconnect MAF sensor from the airbox. Remove the screws from the lid. Then you need to move the metal ring on the air pipe going from airbox to engine, towards the left. Turn the air filter in the clockwise direction to remove it. Then again wash it and put it back in anti-clockwise direction. And follow the above instruction in reverse order.

But I did suggest to have it done from Workshop as you need to enable the VAS function.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

So basically it might be a better idea to get the car totaled when faced with a theft . By the way do the insurance companies also offer insurance on the ex showroom price of the car even if the car is one year old? Tata-AIG was ready to give me an offer like that for an additional 2K.

With additional covers the premium keeps on rising. I was getting comprehensive cover for my Vento for less than 13K and I spent 22K to get Zero dep cover.

Originally Posted by samarjitdhar

My Vento will reach it's first birthday next month. Will update my first service experience soon. Plan to get the shorter version of the mud flaps then. I have also noticed that my Vento is growling a little louder than other TDI Ventos at idle RPM. Need to get that checked too.

After the 1st service the noise will reduce, definitely. New engine oil, new air filter, VAS update to ECU will make the car all the better.

[khoj]

There is a cap on the number of claims that one can avail under the zero dep policy depending on the category of the policy. As a thumb rule all companies will allow for two claims per insurance year with no questions asked. Third claim and you can kiss goodbye to your NCB protector(provided you have it in your policy). For those who do not have the higher category packages third claims are almost always refused and are negotiated very fiercely by the insurers. For those with the highest category package it is the same story from fourth claim onwards. Further irrespective of the package that one has, the companies will/may deny the zero dep package at the time of renewal and these days this holds true even if you change insurer at renewal time as all of the claim data is now shared amongst insurers something on the lines of the CIBIL scores that banks share to determine creditworthiness.

Originally Posted by el lobo 6061

Moral of the story, in Zero dep policy you are paying nothing other than claim processing fees. Thats is why almost everyone has started using Zero dep policy and for even a small dent on their bonnet ask the insurer to replace it since they have zero dep policy and they pay nothing. Abuse of policy, oh yes in some way.

[evilshantanu]

In other news, I am driving to Pune this weekend. As alraedy told Noopster, will call him on Sunday and try to meet him.

My team-bhp stickers have finally arrived, yeah I resisted sticking them since a long time, but for now I guess I will just stick a couple of them (the small transparent ones) on the rear number plate