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-   -   Help Please : Total Loss or Repair (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street-experiences/100354-help-please-total-loss-repair-5.html)

I am not a big fan of authorised service centres, but an independent garage may not have the required tools, equipment and expertise to rectify such a badly damaged car.

Your chassis would be badly bent. Ask the following questions to the independent workshop and post his answers here. We will at least get an idea about his level of knowledge and expertise.

1. How will he measure the bend in the chassis?
2. If he can, how accurate will his measurements be? (1mm, 10mm, 100mm or more)
3. How will he straighten the chassis? See the equipment and take pics if you can.
4. After straightening, will he be measuring the chassis again?
5. How will he know if he has straightened it correctly? Does he have the correct Fiat OEM database to compare the repaired car with the original car?
6. From where will he source parts? For Fiat authorised workshops itself it's a challenge to get parts. How will an independent garage get the parts?


95% of accident vehicles will end up with permanent steering pull issues. Keep that in mind.

Ashwin, feels sad to see your car in that state. But I'm happy that you are safe.

I don't want to say anything on insurance non-renewal thing, you would have learnt the lesson already.

Coming back to the car and the current state it is in - My opinion will be to repair the car in a private workshop and sell it off.

You will lose a considerable amount of money and time in this whole ordeal, but you are alive and that is priceless. Things will change soon and you will get back to normalcy.

Drive safe and never procrastinate critical things such as insurance renewal, changing tyres, etc..

I wish, you overcome this ordeal soon..

Being an owner of T-jet says that you are one of the driving enthusiasts. No matter how good the mechanic (A.S.S or local), they will never be able to bring it back to factory fit and finish. There will always be some problem (at least in your mind). Whenever you use that vehicle you will notice some difference and if you are ok with it, carry on with repairing it. Here again I am not sure how long will it take to get it repaired from an A.S.S, you will have a tough time finding spares. Forget about getting repaired from local garage for the same reason mentioned above. When A.S.S find it difficult to lay their hands on the spares, you need to be very alert if the local garage owner promises to finish the job in few weeks and also check if the parts used are original spares.

If you are planning on selling your car, do not get it repaired. Salvage as much as you can and also claim life tax. These will minimise your losses.

Linea will not fetch you a very good resale amount and resale value will take a plunge if you are honest with the buyer about the accident and please do mention about the accident to the potential buyer for, the person is also most likely to be an enthusiast. By doing this you will also enjoy a peace of mind.

Hope you have learnt some valuable lessons on safe driving and keeping a valid insurance.

Happy motoring.

Dear Ashwin,

As a fellow Bhpian, I am extremely upset to note that you were driving without a valid insurance. This is something not expected from a Bhpian:Frustrati. You had not only put your life at risk but others too. A third party damage could have proved to be disastrous for you.

This thread should fall under a new category " Risky Drivers who can't be spotted".

If I am to advise, I will suggest that you should go in for the repair from only an authorised service station. This is no doubt an expensive affair but will give you some satisfaction of getting the job work done with exact and accurate precision and genuine spares.

You should not loose heart by thinking to sell the car after repairs. Accidents do happen. Take a look at this thread and see how a good repair job can put the car back on track.

Link:

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...sion-tree.html

Once you have got the repair work, think on the lines of retaining this car. I am sure it will serve you for many years. Think positively, the car took major impact on itself and shielded you inside. The car is lucky for you that way.

Best of Luck, and keep on updating the thread.

Apologies for being critical at the beginning, but be very-very careful please:. I am sure you would be having many well wishers who want to see you reach home safely.

At least, I wish to see every individual reach home safely everyday.

Best Wishes

mints21

@funkykar- Appreciate your reply. I have never missed car insurance before ever however like they say when it is destined to happen you commit mistakes at all level.

I have been traveling a lot out of country in the past 6 months and due to this unfortunately I failed to renew the insurance and what happened, happened. Anyways if this case helps people to realize that insurance renewal is important at least it would be of some consolation to me as i learnt it the hard way!

I am now getting inclined towards repairing the car at FASS and continuing to use it rather than selling it or even worse than that sell it as scrap.

I would post more as i learn more from FASS by today or tomorrow. I am hoping that i get an email with the detailed estimates either today or tomorrow.

Sorry to hear about the accident.
Out of these choices I would suggest to scrap b & c. Get it repaired from the authorised service station and retain the car.

Dear Mints21,

I really do appreciate your concern and I am not at all feeling bad for being criticized for not renewing the insurance. Heaven knows how many times I did curse myself for ignoring this and as you can see I am paying a heavy price for it.

The FASS guys haven't been as helpful till now however after 2 private garage owners visited they could sense that I am seeking expert opinion from outside and were more forthcoming during my just concluded visit.

From the initial estimation they have listed a lot of things including the fact that the engine has shifted from it's position. There are major damages to everything inside the bonnet. The front left tire is completely damaged so is the front wheel assembly itself. I am hoping that though there are minor scratches yet the other 3 tires can be retained.

Anybody knows how much do airbags cost? Both my front airbags opened and it was only the airbag which made this a non-fatal accident! Amazingly every car expert who saw the car is surprised that there is not even a scratch to the front windshield at all.

The whole impact was absorbed by the car's front bonnet only, everything else is solidly intact which says loads about the car's superb design.

I am starting to incline towards getting it fully repaired from FASS only with no compromises on anything. Agreed it would be a very costly affair but like you guys suggested, I would at least be able to enjoy the car for long.

Here are some more close-ups that I could manage today!

As a fellow BHPian I do agree that by not renewing insurance I did something stupid stupid: and vow forever to not repeat this mistake again while thanking God that this wasn't fatal to anybody.

As on date neither FASS nor the private garage owners have mentioned anything about the chassis. It seems to be intact and there is no significant damage to the bottom part of the car. As I mentioned earlier the entire impact was absorbed by the bonnet only. I think there still maybe some damage to the Chassis but that will be unraveled only when the car is totally opened up for deeper inspections.

Thanks for the questions though, they will definitely help!

Glad to know that you are OK.

Recently I met with and accident, like in your case, both the airbag got deployed. The estimate was around 1L to replace both. Even for me most of the parts under the bonnet were damaged as I went over the divider. Total estimate was 2.67L, I took the IDV(5.05L) and released the car to a buyer who paid 3.2L for the damaged car, balance was paid by the insurance company.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/street...d-my-life.html

I would say instead of paying 4.5L for the repair work, you can sell this car to a private garage and go for a new one. There are private shops who are specifically in to the business of buying accident cars, doing the repair job and selling it. Also, keep in mind that this 4.5L is just a estimate, it can still go up after doing a test drive.

Thanks for the advice. Would you happen to know any such private shops in Pune?

You can check with the insurance guys(insurance surveyor) as they will be aware of these shops.

Hey Everybody,

I have finally decided to let go of the Linea T-Jet, I was given a long list of parts to be repaired. The total is coming to about 98 spare parts that need to be replaced!

After a lot of searching, googling, team-bhp reviews and owner experiences I have finally narrowed down my choices to the following:

Toyota Innova (VX or the special edition Z)

XUV 500 W8 AWD

VW Jetta 1.4 TSI

Skoda Yeti Ambition 4*2 (The dealer in Pune has promised a discount)

All of these vehicles are coming the range of INR 17.7 Lacs to 18.5 Lacs OTR Pune. So far Toyota guys have been very proactive and I have already completed TD with them. I have traveled a lot in Innova but never driven it before. I was totally surprised by its ride and handling. However being a Diesel it is a bit of disappointment for me. The Toyota dealer said that Petrol Innovas' are made-to-order and usually take 4 months to be delivered. Because of the accident my need is urgent and hence will have to settle for a diesel if I decide on this.

Mahindra's experience has been horrific, there are 2 dealers here. The first one I called immediately started speaking in the regional language and was very unhelpful. I decided to call the other dealer, since Saturday have called them 4 to 5 times and they in return have called me twice today. In all these calls all I have been able to convey is that I want an XUV. Got so frustrated that eventually tweeted to Anand Mahindra and voila got a tweet back from Mahindra's customer care team in 15 mins. I am hoping the service will improve then. The only reason I am even entertaining XUV guys for so long is because i took the pains of reading the marathon 377 page forum here about the XUV!

VW obviously is so arrogant that they don't want to sell cars, they expect people to call, follow-up and eventually buy cars. When speaking to their Sales Rep I was feeling as if I am a cheap person trying to convince a very aristocratic company to allow me to buy their cars (Remember those fables on Rolls Royce selling only to those who matter!).

SKoda were equally horrific since the dealer is new and for every inquiry I was being told that "Wait we will call you back" but at least they are trying and calling back although with half information or wrong information. Much to my disappointment the new Skoda Octavia 1.8 TSI (with those rear suspensions!) has a 4 month waiting period. Strangely they are only selling Elegance Trim in the Superb versions so all that remained was Yeti and I was delighted that there is a discount. How much? Well I am waiting for them to call back!

So guys it would be helpful if all the esteemed members, experts and first hand owners of these cars help me make a decision. As for my needs-

1. I am a petrol head but 1.8 TSI is not available. So i can make do with Petrol or Diesel engines as long as the car justifies this particular compromise.

2. I have owned a hatchback (i10) and a sedan (T-Jet) so am inclined towards an SUV types vehicle. Hence only the Jetta is the odd one out in my list.

3. My Office and home distance is just a 5 min drive so no issues. However weekends can be horrendous Pune traffic (at par with B'lore now) Or quick trips to Mumbai via express way or any scenic spots in the Sahayadri mountain range.

4. Budget is inside of 20 Lacs.

Thanks in advance for all the help.

PS: To the MODs if once again I am posting this in the wrong thread then i would request you to move this query to the appropriate thread.

You made the right choice in letting the Linea go. It would have never been able to return to its full glory. Now coming to your current set of cars:

If you are going to be driving this car then forget about the Innova. Yes it has a very car like handling but things only go downhill from there. Highly underpowered engine, too much noise and not so great FE. Plus don't see the point of lugging along all those extra seats at the cost of driving pleasure all the time. Same goes for the XUV also although I am told that it fares much better in engine power and can easily cruise on 3 digit speeds without making a fuss about it. If at all you are interested in a SUV then my advice would be to stick to those Mini SUVs like Duster/Terrano or the Yeti ( at your own risk).
Having said that I would still suggest you to stick to a sedan. After experiencing the pleasure of the Tjet, I can think of only one car in that category that will bring that smile back and might even better it: The Chevrolet Cruze. Take a TD and you will be blown away be the sheer power of that car. And the icing on the cake is that in your budget you can easily opt for the AT variant which is fully loaded, powerful and yet gives you the added advantage of AT in peak traffic conditions. After having driven my first AT car in form of the bimmer, I have become a huge fan of them.

Dear mate, With due respect to your decision I am suggesting you to stay away from Skoda vehicle. You will repent later for sure if you go in for this brand. I am hereby giving you a link from our forum regarding the attitude of a Skoda dealership. http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...new-delhi.html

I believe XUV 500 should be a good choice because unlike foreign brands Mahindra is much more accountable to its customers. Secondly, XUV 500 in the long run shall be useful for long and outstation drives and even in the city traffic it is far more comfortable.

As far as the VW brand goes; In my personal opinion it is also a attachment of SKODA only but their vehicles are far superior than SKODA in terms of reliability and maintenance. But as you mentioned your point of view so going by that I recommend you to make the decision very carefully.

Thanks

AD

Well i was wondering when would someone bring up the Cruze. Any suggested threads where i can see first hand experience of Cruze owners? Also any idea on their ASS, it must be better than Skoda but is it better than Mahindra's?

I wish they had the 1.8TSI Skoda available immediately then this whole exercise would have been a no brainer (Skoda's pathetic attitude and service not withstanding).

Is Cruze as good as the 1.8TSI Octavia or the older, legendary Laura Sports? Also I am not a great fan of American brands (especially the models present in India) but Cruze i have heard is an exception. Would i get the same safety and performance as delivered by the Italians or the Germans?

Thanks!