[bangboy]

Hi Guys,

Yesterday was a bad day for me (:-.Unfortunately,for a Palio,I have a very narrow parking space in my apartment.But that didn't stopped me buying my favourite car.

While reverse parking,the rear left side door of my Palio touched a Pillar and there is a dent in the rear left side
door and a few scratches.Actually, I can't pull down the window glass
more than certain level (due to the dent).

Its a very new car (i bought it last week) and feel very diappointed.I
know all these happensm,but I am thinking of fixing it.

I bought it from Manipal motors, Bangalore.I need your opinion on these.

1) Do I need to fix it now or rather wait until my first
service.Functionally everything isfine except for the left rear side
window glass of the door where there is a dent(it won't pull down
completely).

2) Should I check with the Sundaram guys, since Manipal motors are
relatively inexperienced doing service jobs in Fiat?

3)Do I need to replace the entire door or just paining and dent
correction would be fine.

4) Is it advisable to claim the self accident isurance?In such a case,
i understand that I will lose the non-claim benefit and my premuim
would be higher next year.What will be the average increase (in
percentage) to my premium for next year.

5) I have another place to park my baby with about 60% covering.Is it
okay to park my palio there with a cover?

Guys, your thoughts please?

Thanks,
Dileep

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by bangboy

1) Do I need to fix it now or rather wait until my first
service.Functionally everything isfine except for the left rear side
window glass of the door where there is a dent(it won't pull down
completely).

You can wait, unless there is a lot of exposed metal but it will not rust too much by the time you have the 1st service

Originally Posted by bangboy

2) Should I check with the Sundaram guys, since Manipal motors are
relatively inexperienced doing service jobs in Fiat?).

Sundram are useless apparently. It is not Porsche buta simple Fiat so no issues

Originally Posted by bangboy

3)Do I need to replace the entire door or just paining and dent
correction would be fine.).

From what is sounds, painting and repair is sufficient

Originally Posted by bangboy

4) Is it advisable to claim the self accident isurance?In such a case,
i understand that I will lose the non-claim benefit and my premuim
would be higher next year.What will be the average increase (in
percentage) to my premium for next year.).

If damage is more than your premium, get insurance, otherwise, take the hit

Originally Posted by bangboy

5) I have another place to park my baby with about 60% covering.Is it
okay to park my palio there with a cover?

Learn to park skillfully and you will have no probs. You can use a cover but nothing like fuill covered parking

[bangboy]

I just checked the rear power windows.Both the rear power windows go only up to 3/4 level down,that being one of the safety features of palio.This was brought to my notice by my friends.

Also, the scratch length is about 6 inches above the scratch guard and about 3 inches below the scratch guard.What will be the approximate painting and tinkering cost for these?

[varunroy]

Hi Bangboy,

Dont't worry, I know how it feels to have a brand new car damaged, but these are things out of our control and we have to learn to live with them.

Take your car to Manipal Motors Workshop. They have the best Paint shop in Bangalore and you won't regret it. I can assure you that you won't be able to notice the slightest difference after the job is done. Meet Mr. Raghavendra, manager, Accidents and Paint Section and tell him your problems. He will handle the rest, if not atleast, guide you well.

Don't worry obout loosing your NCB on the Insurance. You cover has just started and even if you have to replace the door the Depreciation would be NIL. Your Insurance premium will not go up in your next renewal. Only thing is that you will not get your 10% discount (NCB). Anyway since the insured value of your car will reduce next year, the whole premium will reduce by atleast 10% if not more.

One thing we should all remember is that one buys an Insurance policy only to have peace of mind from such incidents. Many people do not make a claim for the fear of loosing this NCB which in any case cannot be more than 10% of your total premium. Lets assume that you don't make a claim now for the fear of NCB. What makes you so sure that you won't have an accident again before the expiry of your policy. No matter how skillfull and adept you are, accidents happen due to another man carelessness.

Take care,

So long....

[bangboy]

Hi Varun,

Thanks for your response.Your response make me feel better now.
If I didn't claim insurance and putting my own money will the rates be lower?I took couple of my friends to my car to look at the scratches and dent and it was their opinion that If I didn't claim insurance and putting my own money the rates be lower.What is your thoughts on this.

[streetlife]

you can wait till next service..For the door i dont think any replacement is necessary, just denting painting would do the job...

Hey bangboy, BTW dont you use your side mirror(left one).. This is Standard with all the palios...It really helps.

[jkdas]

Originally Posted by streetlife

you can wait till next service..For the door i dont think any replacement is necessary, just denting painting would do the job...

Hey bangboy, BTW dont you use your side mirror(left one).. This is Standard with all the palios...It really helps.

Good one streetlife. Learn to use the side mirror when reversing and of course when driving frwd .

[Wheeliej]

Hey, dont reverse park until you have gotten used to the idea of having a small parking space. I feel reversing out of a parking space is easier than reversing into a parking space, so i dont bother with reverse parking.

I would suggest making a claim. Make it soon - if you have another accident (god forbid!) while the earlier claim has not been processed, you wont be able to claim for the next accident (thats what the insurance guy told me when i made my very 1st claim in a decade last year), so the sooner you make the claim/repairs the better your coverage.

Re. NCB, you may lose 10% next year, but you will cover your full costs this year. Money in the pocket today is always better than money in the pocket next year, right?

[aZa]

I think you try to go to your local denting shop and get the door opened up and see if it can be mended by "DRY DENTING" dats just denting without scraping off the paint. If it doesn't work out and the dents are heavy and unreachable by the denters hammer and plates then take a quote from ur Dealer for denting/painting. you can stake a insurance claim but ur NCB would be lost.

My santro got hit by a biker on the right rear door, small dents but i got most of them fixed at the local denter, when i took it to the hyundai dealer they quoted 7K for Bumper + Door + C piller + teflon (im getting all nicks and small scratchs removed along with this dent via insurance) . i'll get it done towards the end of the insurance period . I've to pay only Rs700 with the insurance claim.

[Lemon]

i used the side mirrors for reversing and backed into a casurina tree dead on. it plain forgot to check the inside rear view for obstructions down the middle.....
so u can never be too careful

[PRADEEP KUMAR]

There are a few garages (MY TVS in Chennai) who claim to have equipment to remove dents without a repainting/filling job.Has anybody used this anywhere how effective are they.
Cheers.

[bangboy]

Originally Posted by streetlife

Hey bangboy, BTW dont you use your side mirror(left one).. This is Standard with all the palios...It really helps.

I use the both the mirros while driving, but while parking since my apartment has a narrow parking space for a Palio (I have a bike and a scotty pep of my wife too), i closed the mirrors.Moreover, there was no power (and no back up either).

Any idea how much would I need to pay up for the insurance claim with TATA-AIG?
Basically I am interested in deciding whether to go for insurance or not.
This depends on the estimate for the repair.

[varunroy]

No, if you have the work done at an authorised dealer there would be no difference in rates. Probably there could be a slight change if one does the same job in a local garage. Since you won't be required to pay anything (because your vehicle is brand new) why think of other options.

So long....

[bangboy]

Originally Posted by varunroy

No, if you have the work done at an authorised dealer there would be no difference in rates. Probably there could be a slight change if one does the same job in a local garage. Since you won't be required to pay anything (because your vehicle is brand new) why think of other options.

I plan to take it to Manipal Motors workshop tomrrow.

[varunroy]

Great. Please do let us know what happens tomorrow.

So long....