[figo_united]

Oops! thats a bad sight :(
But glad to know that everyone was absolutely safe, and your confidence in the safety features was proved right!
Wish you luck with all the future proceedings

[Fauji]

Androdev,

Sorry to hear about the accident and also glad that nothing happenned to anyone as they were all wearing seat belt. Seat belts are real saviours.

I had a similar accident in March in my Scorpio this year and it was a empty tanker in this case which came into my lane suddenly while i was driving on NH 4 bewteen Chitradurga and Hiriyur. I applied brake but since the gap was less - the guy was driving slow and i was at 120 - i banged against its rear. Nothing happenned to any one of us - self, wifey and in laws - as all of us were wearing seat belts. Thanks to Scorpio being a taller vehicle it did not go under the tanker and the brunt was taken by bonnet.

See pic of car after accident



Though it was the tankers fault, the owner - who was in Madras - did not bother at all. When asked to compensate, he told us to keep the tanker with us if we want. The cops were helpful - i heard a friend of mine had to pay Rs 8000 as bribe to Andhra Police to get police report when his Xylo turned turtle near Ananatpur after tyre burst and this was after bargaining from Rs 18K - and advised us to book the case as hit and run to avoid complications of running around circles in courts.

Initailly i wanted to book case and wanted to include the reg number of the tanker in that. The cops said that if i insist on this course, then they have to book case against me for rash driving based on the complaint given by the tanker driver, seize both vehicles, produce before RTO and then i have to justify my action in court after which the court will release the vehicle . This would have taken me four days as it happenned on weekend and i had to run to Chitradurga for that!!!

The other option they gave is treat the case as "Hit and RUN" saying that

"I hit the tanker and before i could come out shock, the tanker had vanished and i could not note the reg number".

This was acceptable with Insurance guys - we were in constant conversation else these guys will back out and create trouble later - and the case was resolved. This made sense to me unless one is willing to fight prolonged battle in courts.

I have ICICI Lombard policy and the guys were very quick and helpful. The garage guys - SKS Automobiles - were excellent and very helpful and the car was back after two weeks. Total damage Rs 1.05 lacs. I had to cough up Rs 20K.

The expenses in your case looks high and it is better write off as your car is already four years old. Most of the times, the insurance fellows don't want to do that and you have to fight it out with them.

[GTO]

Androdev, I am just really glad that your folks & the chauffeur are safe. One person had to be on the back seat, and his / her wisdom in buckling up even at the rear (which most people don't do) paid off.

How much ever we complain about European car reliability, in such a situation, you don't want to be in any other. The Laura seems to have done its job well....that is, of absorbing the impact completely.

Originally Posted by androdev

Apparently the auto does not have proper documents and the driver does not have a DL

Have this recorded in the FIR. The Police' job is to investigate; well, push them into doing just that.

Rough estimate 6-7 Lacs:

Put in another lakh or two and you could have a 4 year old accident-free Laura in your garage.

Either that, or you might want to consider getting the Laura repaired at a very good body shop. Buy / import the parts (especially airbags, compressor etc.) yourself. It shouldn't cost more than 2 - 2.5 lakhs (tops) to get her back on the road.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by Fauji

I had a similar accident in March in my Scorpio this year and it was a empty tanker in this case which came into my lane suddenly while i was driving on NH 4 bewteen Chitradurga and Hiriyur. I applied brake but since the gap was less - the guy was driving slow and i was at 120 - i banged against its rear. Nothing happenned to any one of us - self, wifey and in laws - as all of us were wearing seat belts. Thanks to Scorpio being a taller vehicle it did not go under the tanker and the brunt was taken by bonnet.

Sorry to hear that my friend. Scorpio took the impact well. I too got into such conversations about the FIR. They told me they wont register case against the auto because my car is a bigger-CC. It was absurd. One of these days I hope to get more info on how to file an FIR that is 'true' instead of this jugaad stuff.

[androdev]

Originally Posted by GTO

Androdev, I am just really glad that your folks & the chauffeur are safe. One person had to be on the back seat, and his / her wisdom in buckling up even at the rear (which most people don't do) paid off.

I have brainwashed all my family members to wear seat-belts. So far they have been doing without believing but now I am sure they are believers!

How much ever we complain about European car reliability, in such a situation, you don't want to be in any other. The Laura seems to have done its job well....that is, of absorbing the impact completely.

Completely agree. Looking at the car, one won't be able to guess the magnitude of the impact. The median is totally damaged and steel barrier bent, etc. The road construction contractor logged a complaint at the same police station claiming some 20K worth of damages.

Put in another lakh or two and you could have a 4 year old accident-free Laura in your garage.

Either that, or you might want to consider getting the Laura repaired at a very good body shop. Buy / import the parts (especially airbags, compressor etc.) yourself. It shouldn't cost more than 2 - 2.5 lakhs (tops) to get her back on the road.

Will have a plan after I hear the numbers (estimate and insurance coverage). Will update the thread as the details emerge!

[amitoj]

Ouch!
But glad that everyone was safe.

OT: Androdev, the last few pics of your car before the accident are at a homestay in Chikmaglur, right? If it is that one, then i have also been there. Had a nice experience there.

[Guna]

That's nasty accident and it is nice to know that the occupants are safe.

The repair expense for airbags (2.5 lakhs) seems very high. Is it because it involves putting a new dashboard and steering? (It is also interesting that the airbags have popped through a small cap like opening rather then ripping apart the entire top of the dashboard/steering pad.

[libranof1987]

What is synchronous with German cars : costly spares, low FE etc.; well, I don't give a damn. Because they make exceptionally sturdy and well-built cars. I bet it must have been a huge relief to have all passengers come out safe and sound.

Hope you get the car quick and in good shape.

Btw, you mentioned that the IDV is 9.66 lakhs and the repair estimate is ~7 lakhs. Now this figure is coming dangerously close to 75% of IDV. Any chance the Insurance guys could go for total loss? (Quite an irony considering the damage but repair estimate is huge!)

[androdev]

Originally Posted by amitoj

Ouch!
But glad that everyone was safe.

OT: Androdev, the last few pics of your car before the accident are at a homestay in Chikmaglur, right? If it is that one, then i have also been there. Had a nice experience there.

OT: Yes it is chkmaglur. Lovely place. The 3rd photo is same Tata homestay but in Coorg (called Cottabetta) equally good if not better.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Btw, you mentioned that the IDV is 9.66 lakhs and the repair estimate is ~7 lakhs. Now this figure is coming dangerously close to 75% of IDV. Any chance the Insurance guys could go for total loss? (Quite an irony considering the damage but repair estimate is huge!)

For the total loss to happen, the insurance liability should exceed 75% of the IDV and not just the repair cost exceeding 75% of the IDV. Assuming insurance only pays 60-ish% of the total repair cost, it will be considered total loss only if the repair cost is significantly more than IDV so that insurance portion is more than 75% of the IDV.

Got an update from the a.s.s: Engine bedding, turbo inlet, etc. are also damaged and still counting :-) This is to be expected, the bulk of the damage is inflicted on the underbody by the median which is not evident unless one has access to the underbody.

[vb-saan]

Androdev, quite a bad sight indeed. But happy that the family + driver emerged safe out of the mishap. As GTO mentioned, we often talk about the niggling issues of European cars, but safety is one overriding factor over all those issues.

Hope you will be able to bring the car back to your garage, with all the glory restored.

[luky_13]

Androdev, great to hear that no one was seriously hurt. Thanks to their wisdom in taking precaution and wearing sear belts. Superskoda.com has a Skoda Octavia II steering at 350 Euros, you might want to run through that site to check on the cost of some spares and it might make sense to import and get that black beauty on road again.

Octavia II - authentic SPORT EDITION from FACELIFT model steering wheel incl. airbag : Skoda Tuning = superskoda.com

Godspeed.

[ku69rd]

Originally Posted by androdev

Got an update from the a.s.s: Engine bedding, turbo inlet, etc. are also damaged and still counting :-) This is to be expected, the bulk of the damage is inflicted on the underbody by the median which is not evident unless one has access to the underbody.

Sorry to such a beautiful car crippled but at the same time glad that all occupants are safe, healthy and sound.
How is the chassis of the car looking like? Is that bent as well or yet to be ascertained?

[download2live]

Time to be pragmatic. The car would never be the same after an impact like that. Harden your heart and move on. If memories are to much to handle then get another new one. Not worth spending so much on this one. Get a new car for yourself.

As the song went: But Life still goes on...

[slackyboy]

What an accident. Glad to know that all involved are safe. You should consider this over anything else and go ahead and get yourself a new Laura or any other car that you want and try to move on.

[sachinj12]

Thank god that everyone is safe. Laura surely is built like a tank!

I am showing this thread to my folks. I hope this thread at least puts some sense into my folks' head. I am always the but of the jokes for the seat belt