Freak Accident - Petra 1.6 (Expressway)

moralfibre · 25th May 2007, 19:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by RX135

@moralfibre, does B.U. Bhandari offer pick-up and drop-off service? I want to get a spoiler fitted to my car, but don't want to (and can not) spend a day for that alone.

Well at a recent meeting with Fiat officials at B.U. with B.U.Bhandari management + Tata team I raised a point to offer pick and drop service but they said it is risky and I agreed with their point that the car will be entrusted to drivers who cannot be relied upon 100%. They have an alternative to this:

They have a pickup bus which leaves their facility in Wakad at around 9:30 - 10:00 and drops customers / staff to their Pashan showroom from where you can get transport. In the evening their shuttle takes you from Pashan to Wakad service center and this facility is offered f.o.c!

I am not 100% sure about the timings but you can call them to get details.

HotChillyPepper · 25th May 2007, 19:34

Its really good that out decided to avoid police..... I would say that would be the best you can do at that time. If you had relied on them you whould have ended up in paying another 10K to them. And in casr the register a case, your vehicle would have been in police station until the case is settled. Normally that will take another 4 years if your guys not settling outside. Imagine what you would have been getting back after 4 years..... You are absolutely going the best way you can ( In India)

GTO · 26th May 2007, 11:36

If the truck was at anything over 40 kph, I gotta say....the car has held up very well!

esteem_lover · 26th May 2007, 12:40

Considering the way you have described the accident, i was thinking the damage could be much much worse. Great to know there was no casualties too. I think this could be easily tinkered back to shape. but didn't you say something about coolant leak ? how did that happen ??

airfoil · 26th May 2007, 14:00

Sorry to hear about your experience. The fact that you let them drive away scot-free is commendable.

The Petra has held up pretty well, testimony to the legendary build that Fiat offers on the Petra/Palio family.

The damage does not seem that intensive, given your estimate of the speed the 407 was doing on impact. Your car was probably pushed in the direction of the 407's movement which has probably minimized the damage. Would you be able to estimate how many feet your car was pushed?

rks · 27th May 2007, 01:23

Looks like most of the impact has been absorbed by the rear bumper. Only slight damage to the boot. My guess is that the Tata 407 would have been at ~30 kmph to cause that damage to the bumper. Note that the Tata guy may have been approaching fast, but he would also have been braking hard.

No way the boot would have escaped major damage if the impact was at 60-70 kmph; you cannot expect the rear bumper (of even a Petra) to absorb such a major impact from a heavier vehicle and protect the boot. At least that is my guess.

akroy · 27th May 2007, 06:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by rks

Looks like most of the impact has been absorbed by the rear bumper. Only slight damage to the boot. My guess is that the Tata 407 would have been at ~30 kmph to cause that damage to the bumper. Note that the Tata guy may have been approaching fast, but he would also have been braking hard.

No way the boot would have escaped major damage if the impact was at 60-70 kmph; you cannot expect the rear bumper (of even a Petra) to absorb such a major impact from a heavier vehicle and protect the boot. At least that is my guess.

, the truck was not more than 30kmph. Still due to higher momentum it caused that much damage to the car....

Abhi

spadival · 27th May 2007, 08:51

The quote for repairs seems to be a bit high.. looking at the damage. Have you asked elsewhere?

flipsyde · 27th May 2007, 10:54

i'm glad u and the other passengers in the car are safe. the way you put it seems like letting the truck guy go was a good thing to do. the cops wouldn't have been of much help anyways.

now coming to the car..... are u certain he rammed into you at such high speeds?? i know a lot of you who'd jump up and say fiat build quality and all..... but from the looks of it seems like the car was hit at not more than 40-50kmph max! anyway.....from the looks of it structural damage doesn't seem possible. your probably looking at a new rear bumper, a set of tail lights and a new boot lid. i dont see any damage done to the rear right and left fenders. and as u said maybe a new radiator which seems to have taken a beating.

mchulet · 28th May 2007, 15:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I think this could be easily tinkered back to shape. but didn't you say something about coolant leak ? how did that happen ??

because of the impact I think the radiator assembly could'nt hold together and broke apart. resulting in coolant leak, I am just curious if the shock caused any other damage, have asked the mechanic to check that...

mchulet · 28th May 2007, 15:31

Quote:

Originally Posted by flipsyde

i'm glad u and the other passengers in the car are safe. the way you put it seems like letting the truck guy go was a good thing to do. the cops wouldn't have been of much help anyways.

now coming to the car..... are u certain he rammed into you at such high speeds?? i know a lot of you who'd jump up and say fiat build quality and all..... but from the looks of it seems like the car was hit at not more than 40-50kmph max! anyway.....from the looks of it structural damage doesn't seem possible. your probably looking at a new rear bumper, a set of tail lights and a new boot lid. i dont see any damage done to the rear right and left fenders. and as u said maybe a new radiator which seems to have taken a beating.

Truck guy told me that he was braking hard but his brakes were not fully functional, due to the impact my car had got pushed ahead by I would guess 3/4 feet. Mechnic told me that even the floor of the car mostly in the back passenger section has got damaged due to the impact and that would cost a lot in labor also the rear windhshield has got cracked but not fallen off

I have obtained a copy of the estimate from JayVijay, sadly there is no one else in close proximity to take another quote from..

moralfibre · 28th May 2007, 17:02

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchulet

because of the impact I think the radiator assembly could'nt hold together and broke apart. resulting in coolant leak, I am just curious if the shock caused any other damage, have asked the mechanic to check that...

That is weird because you were hit on your tail and unless this impact could really send shudders through your car chassis to a very very high degree there is no reason why the radiator should leak. Unless ofcourse you hit your nose somewhere in the bargain?

Did you notice coolant leak at the accident spot or was it at the service station? If at the service station then it could be due to towing the vehicle in an improper manner?

mobike008 · 28th May 2007, 17:28

Sad to know about this accident. Even i am wondering if the impact was on the tail how the radiator got effected?

It was a lovely gesture from you side to let the guy go despite so much damage to your car in these days when people will empty your pockets even if your responsible for a small scratch to their vehicles, kudos to you for that !!!

Also AFAIK, there is no police complaint required to claim insurance.

akroy · 28th May 2007, 17:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by mobike008

Also AFAIK, there is no police complaint required to claim insurance.

I too knew the same from my service guys,....

Abhi

Technocrat · 28th May 2007, 18:10

Damn the car seems to have taken the impact well. Also if teh radiator was affected due to this impact then I am afraid that the chasis has taken the impact which I think is not a good news.

25th May 2007, 19:34	#17
HotChillyPepper BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Bang_a_lore Posts: 628 Thanked: 289 Times View My Garage	Its really good that out decided to avoid police..... I would say that would be the best you can do at that time. If you had relied on them you whould have ended up in paying another 10K to them. And in casr the register a case, your vehicle would have been in police station until the case is settled. Normally that will take another 4 years if your guys not settling outside. Imagine what you would have been getting back after 4 years..... You are absolutely going the best way you can ( In India)
	() Thanks

26th May 2007, 11:36	#18
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,535 Thanked: 300,745 Times View My Garage	If the truck was at anything over 40 kph, I gotta say....the car has held up very well!
	() Thanks

26th May 2007, 12:40	#19
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	Considering the way you have described the accident, i was thinking the damage could be much much worse. Great to know there was no casualties too. I think this could be easily tinkered back to shape. but didn't you say something about coolant leak ? how did that happen ??
	() Thanks

26th May 2007, 14:00	#20
airfoil BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 318 Thanked: 81 Times	Sorry to hear about your experience. The fact that you let them drive away scot-free is commendable. The Petra has held up pretty well, testimony to the legendary build that Fiat offers on the Petra/Palio family. The damage does not seem that intensive, given your estimate of the speed the 407 was doing on impact. Your car was probably pushed in the direction of the 407's movement which has probably minimized the damage. Would you be able to estimate how many feet your car was pushed?
	() Thanks

27th May 2007, 01:23	#21
rks BANNED Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: ?? Posts: 1,238 Thanked: 17 Times	Looks like most of the impact has been absorbed by the rear bumper. Only slight damage to the boot. My guess is that the Tata 407 would have been at ~30 kmph to cause that damage to the bumper. Note that the Tata guy may have been approaching fast, but he would also have been braking hard. No way the boot would have escaped major damage if the impact was at 60-70 kmph; you cannot expect the rear bumper (of even a Petra) to absorb such a major impact from a heavier vehicle and protect the boot. At least that is my guess.
	() Thanks

27th May 2007, 08:51	#23
spadival Senior - BHPian Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Melbourne, AU Posts: 1,773 Thanked: 26 Times View My Garage	The quote for repairs seems to be a bit high.. looking at the damage. Have you asked elsewhere?
	() Thanks

27th May 2007, 10:54	#24
flipsyde BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Chennai Posts: 644 Thanked: 84 Times	i'm glad u and the other passengers in the car are safe. the way you put it seems like letting the truck guy go was a good thing to do. the cops wouldn't have been of much help anyways. now coming to the car..... are u certain he rammed into you at such high speeds?? i know a lot of you who'd jump up and say fiat build quality and all..... but from the looks of it seems like the car was hit at not more than 40-50kmph max! anyway.....from the looks of it structural damage doesn't seem possible. your probably looking at a new rear bumper, a set of tail lights and a new boot lid. i dont see any damage done to the rear right and left fenders. and as u said maybe a new radiator which seems to have taken a beating.
	() Thanks

28th May 2007, 17:28	#28
mobike008 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 11,703 Thanked: 14,829 Times View My Garage	Sad to know about this accident. Even i am wondering if the impact was on the tail how the radiator got effected? It was a lovely gesture from you side to let the guy go despite so much damage to your car in these days when people will empty your pockets even if your responsible for a small scratch to their vehicles, kudos to you for that !!! Also AFAIK, there is no police complaint required to claim insurance.
	() Thanks

28th May 2007, 18:10	#30
Technocrat Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: GTA Posts: 14,813 Thanked: 2,700 Times	Damn the car seems to have taken the impact well. Also if teh radiator was affected due to this impact then I am afraid that the chasis has taken the impact which I think is not a good news. Last edited by Technocrat : 28th May 2007 at 18:12.
	() Thanks