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Old 21st February 2022, 22:21   #1
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Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubaneswar

Been a while since my last post here, the Mods can decide if this belongs here or in the accidents thread.

I had planned a drive to Puri via Tirupati, Vijayawada & Vizag from Thrissur in Dec 2021. Last 2 times my plans to Puri were cancelled in the last minute due to unforeseen exigencies (once in 2018 & next in 2019).

This time around the weather was threatening to spoil my plans again with the eastern coast seeing multiple cyclones in November. Nevertheless I planned the trip and also made the hotel bookings.

The first couple of days everything went as scheduled. On the third day post lunch, I was cruising down NH16 in Odisha on my way to Puri when a group of buffaloes decided to come on to the road out of nowhere (see the dashcam video).

I initially called up Maruti roadside assistance but remembered that my insurance(Royal Sundaram) has this facility included in the plan. This was quite literally in the middle of nowhere, the RSA turnaround time was 4 Hrs. The nearest workshop was in Bhubaneswar, some 170 odd KMS away. I also asked the insurance folks to arrange for a cab for the rest of the journey to Puri.

The buffalo I hit was dead, the villagers were very upset about it and threatened to beat me up. I called the police 3 times, they said they will come shortly but nobody showed up.

I later compensated them for their loss, moved the car to a Dhaba nearby (I had family travelling with me). An hour or so later two cops showed up on a bike and asked for money to remove the carcass from the road.

I wanted to go to the police station (Balugaon police station in Khorda dist) anyway to collect the GD entry for insurance purposes. The cop in charge initially told me to have the dead buffalo removed from the road and then come back for any paperwork. I requested him to arrange for moving it and offered to pay for it. I was asked to wait, it was getting dark. In the meantime, Chennai bhpian Sriganesh connected me to his colleague Avinash who was able to pull some strings and get them to issue the GD entry. From this point in time, the cops were extraordinarily courteous and forthcoming. The Inspector (a lady) also came by this time and they rushed through the formalities. They initially were very reluctant to state that I hit a buffalo and asked me to mention that I hit the divider. I did not agree to this and finally they relented and wrote that I "hit a buffalo/divider".

The RSA finally arrived around 19:45 and loaded the car on the flatbed. They mentioned that they will drop the car off at an authorized workshop o the Puri - Bhubaneswar bypass road.

The cab from Puri came in another 45 mins and we reached Puri by 2300 all exhausted. I called Royal Sundaram in the morning to know the whereabouts of my car but nobody had a clue. After being on hold for a very long time, I gave up and called the flatbed driver who mentioned that he dropped it off at a Mahindra First choice garage as that was the nearest workshop with which Royal Sundaram had tie up.

I arranged for a tow truck from Maruti Suzuki this time and had the car towed to the nearest MASS (Narayani Motors in Jharpada, Bhubaneswar)at my cost.

At MASS, I struggled to overcome the language barrier and nobody really understood what I was saying. I called a Nexa official who I knew and finally he arranged for someone senior to meet me. Things started moving and all formalities were completed in good time after that.

Initially, the SA allotted said they will finish the job by end of Dec, revised it to end of Jan and finally delivered the car by 17th of Feb. Luckily there were no complex jobs involved, just replacing the body panels, ABS actuator, Speedometer cluster and the dashboard which I believe are mostly plug and play.

The Royal Sundaram surveyor visited the workshop the next day and work got underway. Since this was the end of the year, the parts that were ordered took time to be delivered. Most of the parts arrived by 6th of Jan, the cluster assembly came only by the 17th of Jan. The invoicing was done on the 19th of Jan.

On the 21st, I learn that the insurance surveyor is down with COVID and the final inspection will be delayed till he returns from Quarantine. While it is unfortunate, there was nothing that could be done about it.

Finally the surveyor finishes his inspection and finds that the chassis no. mentioned in the policy number is different from the one in the RC card (there is a digit missing). This further delays the claim, I get the insurance corrected (this takes another week almost).

The insurance claim took 5 more days to get processed after the correction is made. The SA tells me that even though insurance delivery order is received, they will release the vehicle only after they receive payment in their bank account.

I finally went to Bhubaneshwar and drove the car down to Thrissur on the 17th of Feb. The painting they have doe is very average, there is lots of clear coat overspray especially on the roof and the hood. My jack and dashcam were missing. They did give me another jack (without the foam casing that holds it in place) but the dashcam was never found. One of the horns was also missing and they did not have a new one in stock. They installed an old horn that was lying around. I found during my return journey in the evening that the headlamps are poorly aligned and are pointing skywards, Had t to adjust temporarily with the headlamp levelers. It is unfortunate but there is no way to supervise/monitor work being done in Bhubaneswar fro Kerala and the service center knows this.
  • It was a horrid experience but glad that no humans were harmed during the ordeal. It could have been much worse.
  • You receive help from the most unexpected people during a crisis.
  • Always rely on the manufacturer RSA and always opt for RSA if the OEM is offering it.
  • I couldn't go in the flatbed to ensure they drop it off at a proper service center, but if you are in a position to do so it is better to accompany the car.
  • Police/emergency services response is very patchy. Hope for the best but I wouldn't count on them arriving on time. They will probably try to extract money as well.

    Things like this happen on the roads, I have been telling myself to get over it and start driving again. My heartfelt gratitude to all the bhpians who have helped and advised over the past couple of months.

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Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubaneswar-pic-1-edit.jpeg  

Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubaneswar-pic-2-edit.jpeg  


Last edited by ike : 21st February 2022 at 22:27.
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Old 21st February 2022, 22:52   #2
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Re: Maruti S-Cross : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by ike View Post
Been a while since my last post here.
That's a horrible one. Glad you guys came out unscathed.

Workshop finish is always unreliable, you may get a perfect match and finish or may be just outright crazy. I'm speaking out of my experience.

My suggestion is that you must write everything to Maruti. Mention everything chronologically and add lots of snaps in your mail. Send your mail to crm@maruti.co.in

Last edited by BoneCollector : 21st February 2022 at 23:15.
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Old 21st February 2022, 23:29   #3
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Re: Maruti S-Cross : Official Review

Quote:
Originally Posted by ike View Post
Been a while since my last post here, the Mods can decide if this belongs here or in the accidents thread.
An unfortunate incident but I am glad that you and your family were safe and thanks to everyone who helped you
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Old 22nd February 2022, 07:32   #4
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

Thanks for sharing, ike! Moving your post out to a new thread & will be sending this url to some people at Maruti I know.

A new thread means 100X the views & 100X the visibility in search engines, including Google. Will add to homepage later this week .

@ BHPians, if you should spot any post in an existing thread that deserves its own new thread, please report the post and we'll move it out for greater visibility.

Thank you!
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Old 22nd February 2022, 08:04   #5
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

Quote:
Originally Posted by ike View Post
Been a while since my last post here, the Mods can decide if this belongs here or in the accidents thread.
Very sorry to know about your terrible experience. Glad that you all are safe.

Regarding the car repair, please do share your feedback with Maruti Suzuki. They take feedback very seriously and follow-up with the dealers.

That said, Narayani Motors is the worst among the 3 dealers in Bhubaneswar (the best one is Sky Automobiles, followed by Jyote Motors).

PS: As a note to anyone reading this thread, once you cross Icchapuran and move towards Bhubaneswar, please be extra vigilant and slow down. People moving on this stretch are extremely careless and ignorant about road safety. You can find all kind of vehicles - cycles to heavy trucks, hurtling down the wrong side of the highway without any hint. Presence of small towns and villages throughout this stretch further aggravates the problem.

Last edited by ashis89 : 22nd February 2022 at 08:29.
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Old 22nd February 2022, 08:30   #6
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

Quote:
Originally Posted by ike View Post
Been a while since my last post here, the Mods can decide if this belongs here or in the accidents thread.

I had planned a drive to Puri via Tirupati, Vijayawada & Vizag from Thrissur in Dec 2021. Last 2 times my plans to Puri were cancelled in the last minute due to unforeseen exigencies (once in 2018 & next in 2019).



http://Youtu.be/OwVqpp0bRsc
This was an unfortunate and an unavoidable accident. Thanks to a higher power, no human lives were harmed.

If you don't mind, I do have a question for you. Why did you stop at the accident spot? Was your car immobilised (coolant leak/obstruction in wheel movement etc.)? You were very lucky that the villagers did not turn violent. The situation could easily have taken a turn for the worse. Police response in India never a matter to be relied upon. You should have left the scene and stopped 10-15 km (that is only if you needed to. I would not have stopped for atleast a 100kms considering that there was no human life at play) ahead if your vehicle was still able to run.

Quote:
Originally Posted by poloman View Post
This may not be the right thing to do. The villagers may chase you down with bikes or they can inform the next village and block you. Then their response will be far worse. The ideal thing may have been to go to nearest police station and take shelter there.
Yes, going to a police station is the preferred option if a human life is involved. In case of incidents involving animals on a National Highway like the one OP was on(free-flowing 4 laned etc.), I highly doubt that most villagers would have the werewithal to organize a roadblock on such short notice 20km down the road. Still, even that is preferable (if there is no police station nearby. And let's be honest, the OP was far away from his home state and did not exactly have the situational awareness to find a police station which may or may not have been on the National Highway) to being stuck on the spot of the accident with a blood hungry mob at hand.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ike View Post

The car would have run, however I did not want to be involved in a hit and run.
Sir, with all due respect, I would seriously pray to Lord Jagganath for saving you and your family from a lot worse if I were in your shoes. The part of the country you were in, a hit and run case (which most likely could not have been applicable here as no human life was involved) could be managed with 10-20k rupees. But no amount of legal trouble would have been with the physical trauma which village mobs usually inflict in these cases. I have lived in almost every Eastern state due to the nature of my father's job. The stories I have heard about mob behaviour in such cases would make most Bhpians here seriously rethink a road trip in those parts. You DO NOT stop in such cases if your car is still able to run unless there is significant law enforcement strength at hand.

Last edited by sierrabravo98 : 22nd February 2022 at 08:58. Reason: Editing quoted post
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Old 22nd February 2022, 08:36   #7
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

Quote:
Originally Posted by sierrabravo98 View Post
You should have left the scene and stopped 10-15 km (that is only if you needed to. I would not have stopped for atleast a 100kms considering that there was no human life at play) ahead if your vehicle was still able to run.
This may not be the right thing to do. The villagers may chase you down with bikes or they can inform the next village and block you. Then their response will be far worse. The ideal thing may have been to go to nearest police station and take shelter there.
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Old 22nd February 2022, 08:43   #8
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

Quote:
Originally Posted by BoneCollector View Post

My suggestion is that you must write everything to Maruti. Mention everything chronologically and add lots of snaps in your mail. Send your mail to crm@maruti.co.in
I really don't have the energy and the time to engage further. I believe some sanding should take care of the overspray (I may be wrong, need expert opinion here) and a good detailer might be able to help out.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ashis89 View Post
Regarding the car repair, please do share your feedback with Maruti Suzuki. They take feedback very seriously and follow-up with the dealers.

That said, Narayani Motors is the worst among the 3 dealers in Bhubaneswar (the best one is Sky Automobiles, followed by Jyote Motors).

PS: As a note to anyone reading this thread, once you cross Icchapuran and move towards Bhubaneswar, please be extra vigilant and slow down. People moving on this stretch are extremely careless and ignorant about road safety. You can find all kind of vehicles - cycles to heavy trucks, hurtling down the wrong side of the highway without any hint. Presence of small towns and villages throughout this stretch further aggravates the problem.
Couldn't agree more, both about Narayani and about the road etiquette of the people in that stretch.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sierrabravo98 View Post
If you don't mind, I do have a question for you. Why did you stop at the accident spot? Was your car immobilised (coolant leak/obstruction in wheel movement etc.)?
The car would have run, however I did not want to be involved in a hit and run.
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Old 22nd February 2022, 09:54   #9
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

Yikes! That is a bad shunt. Glad you are safe.

Don't get me wrong. To me it looks like you were going a bit too fast for a road like that. This isn't a well done National Highway or even State Highway, from the looks of it. No road markings, lane markers (except for the one on the edge), nothing. Patches of over grown bush do not help either. The width of the road is less too.

I can't say for sure. It looks like those Buffaloes were visible after the 32 second mark. Not that you could have stopped. Maybe reduce speed so the impact would have been less and would also given you more time to react to a situation. Its something to keep in mind. Maybe you did see the Buffaloes and never thought they would step off the median.

I noticed that the car beside did not see the animals either and appears to have hit the brakes only after you made impact!

No matter how good a highway we build (There are many now), our roads are death traps. Less speed = less harm, is one way to stay safe.

The ordeal of dealing with the Authorities in a non home State can be a challenge and likewise with a dealer you are not familiar with. Not much you can do really.
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Old 22nd February 2022, 10:28   #10
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

I have shared this thread with a friend who is a Maruti TSM. Hopefully he can help escalate the feedback.

Quote:
Originally Posted by sandeepmohan View Post
Don't get me wrong. To me it looks like you were going a bit too fast for a road like that. This isn't a well done National Highway or even State Highway, from the looks of it. No road markings, lane markers (except for the one on the edge), nothing. Patches of over grown bush do not help either. The width of the road is less too.
That's NH-16 for you.

From what I can judge, it must be this stretch of concrete roads which is narrow. Yes, going slower would have definitely helped but sometimes, you can't compensate for others' foolishness. Unfortunate but true.

Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubaneswar-screenshot_20220222102347_maps.jpg
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Old 22nd February 2022, 10:41   #11
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

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Originally Posted by ashis89 View Post
That's NH-16 for you.

From what I can judge, it must be this stretch of concrete roads which is narrow. Yes, going slower would have definitely helped but sometimes, you can't compensate for others' foolishness. Unfortunate but true.
NH16 was great for most part, hopefully the bit inside Odisha will improve too. I noticed during my return journey this weekend, they have cut down the bushes on the median in this stretch.
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Old 22nd February 2022, 11:14   #12
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

That's unfortunate. Really feel sorry for your car. But glad that no one was hurt. Two questions

1. Any reason why the airbags did not deploy?
2. What was the speed you were doing? Thought it was a little on the higher side for that stretch of a road, it's an NH but at the end of the day you had to suffer a huge set back on your trip.
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Old 22nd February 2022, 12:07   #13
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

Quote:
Originally Posted by Raghu M View Post
1. Any reason why the airbags did not deploy?
2. What was the speed you were doing? Thought it was a little on the higher side for that stretch of a road, it's an NH but at the end of the day you had to suffer a huge set back on your trip.
  1. The impact was on the top of the RH A pillar, airbag sensors are down below. Probably the impact did not provoke the sensors.
  2. I was doing 90KMPH, cruise control was active.
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Old 22nd February 2022, 12:39   #14
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

Oh god! That was a scary accident. Good to know that you and your family have safe escape. Our highways though how good they are, are full of unpredicted things like what you have encountered. As per video the vehicle next to you was consistently driving on left side and as soon as you tried to overtake it you hit the buffalo. As someone rightly said slower the speed less the harm. Less said is better about authorities involved after accident and that is being in non home state. It is again proved that S-Cross is the only vehicle from Maruti’s stable which is safe and has good built quality.
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Old 22nd February 2022, 15:22   #15
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Re: Maruti S-Cross hits buffalo | Horrible experience with Maruti workshop Narayani Motors, Bhubanes

The video is scary, I suppose most of us driving on Indian roads would have come across a relatable scenario. Many of us got lucky and was able to get out without any incident / accident, while few including you got unlucky.

Personally I feel, there was nothing you could have done to avoid this and hope this incident does not create a mental block for you in future for driving again.

Good judgement on your part that you stuck to the lane against the natural instinct of swaying to left, away from the immediate threat. That I suppose helped in avoiding a collision with the Harrier on left lane.
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