For rain and a new bumper to buy

Rudra Sen · 2nd August 2007, 06:11

Seven pm last evening. Driving on Residency Road.
Raining, and I’m close to an intersection (Museum Road).
There is a Honda in front of me.
Both of us are about at 15km kind of speed.
Suddenly, a guy appears from nowhere and jumps in front of Honda.
Just to cross the road.
Honda slams the brake.
I do the same.

And I hear a big thud.
It comes from my back.
It shakes the car.
My indicator is on towards left, and I park the car to get down.
Only to see, my top part of bumper is cracked.

I go back and switch on hazard light.
A Toyota Innova with disfigured front comes and parks behind me.
With green coolant, dripping out profusely.
It’s radiator grill’s bottom part, bumper’s front, Toyota logo..gone inside.

A cute chubby little guy comes out of Toyota. Looks at his car. Looks at my car and tells me that it’s not his fault.

I know that. It is not his fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not Honda guy’s fault.

Toyota guy asks me what to do?

My answer: Don’t drive the car. Don’t worry about paying me. Call Toyota helpline.

I’m not going to ask for insurance. For a plastic bumper it’s too much of hassle.

I’m ordering a new bumper tomorrow. Asking them to keep it ready.
Friday, I’m booked for 20,000+km service anyway. Let them keep the car for a day extra. If need be.

I love Optra’s construction and sturdiness. No matter what people think.

Photos are from phone camera. Taken last night.

Samurai · 2nd August 2007, 06:52

Man, what a bummer. Thankfully the damage is little.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rudra Sen

Honda slams the brake.
I do the same.
.
.
.
A cute chubby little guy comes out of Toyota. Looks at his car. Looks at my car and tells me that it’s not his fault.

I know that. It is not his fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not Honda guy’s fault.

But the Innova driver is at fault. When Honda driver and you could stop in time, why couldn't he stop in time? He was not maintaining enough distance.

akroy · 2nd August 2007, 07:07

Looking at the damage to the bumper and damage to the Toyota, I must say GM is really sturdy... It is not only GM but the physics of collision too went against the Toyota..

By laws of Physics, The body with higher velocity (eg Toyota here) will have to take the brunt in a collision

Had GM hit the Toyota from behind, the story would have been different..Toyota would have less effected as it is now...

In the end i must say that the Toyota fellow was not concentrating, he could have easily stopped no matter what is the distance, in slowing moving trafic everybody is at small distance between each other, in that case you have to concentrate harder...

Abhi

mclaren1885 · 2nd August 2007, 07:52

Rudy, well I don't know what to say. All I can think of is when will she back to her gleaming self. Sundaram should be able to paint and fix the bumper in several hours and not take an extra day.

And the optra's build quality certainly has me in awe. Specially after looking at the damage done to the Innova. Any idea what speeds he might have been at?

Zappo · 2nd August 2007, 08:09

abhijit took the words away from my mouth. toyota hit the stationary optra and hence all its shock absorbing features were triggered. and hence all those bumper, grill etc. shattering.

as for your optra, i think the jhatka will nonetheless be in several thousands. probably 6 thous or is it 7 to 8?

Rudra Sen · 2nd August 2007, 08:12

Optra has solid plastic beam behind the bumpers to take this kind of impacts. I'm not really surprised with the result. Also I have no idea about Toyota's speed. It cannot be much because it didn't touch luggage boot or tail light.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mclaren1885

Sundaram should be able to paint and fix the bumper in several hours and not take an extra day.

No it'll take more than that. Car is going for 20000km+ service tomorrow. I'm ordering the bumper today so it should be ready by then.

theMAG · 2nd August 2007, 08:23

A classic cliche- some pics of the new bumpered Optra will ensure peace-of-mind to all of us.

Also, I never realized till now that Innova drivers were cute and chubby

moralfibre · 2nd August 2007, 08:36

Sad to hear about that Rudra. Hope the car comes back to shape very soon. How much does an Optra bumper (without paint) cost?

esteem_lover · 2nd August 2007, 09:05

A typical city incident, cannot really be called an accident. Happens all the time. I am surprised the innova only reached the optra's bumper & not the boot.

hydrashok · 2nd August 2007, 09:26

Sorry to hear about the car, Rudraji! I hope you'll get her back in her immaculate self in a day.

And you know what? The same thing happened to me yesterday evening (except the speeds were like 50kmph). My rear bumper is ok (scratches on paint), but the Mahindra Pickup that banged me from behind had something on it that had made a big dimple on my hatch door.

I saw the guy in front had no choice by to brake hard (I stopped about 2 feet from his backside), and the guy in the back couldn't much help my braking hard either. So no use in arguing, we all sympathised with each other and left.

Vid6639 · 2nd August 2007, 09:27

Rudraji, You sure no damage underneath. Same thing happened to my boss' cedia but with a 2 wheeler. Nothing happened to the bumper but it was so flexible that the inside metal got bent a little bit. To straighten it back and clip the bumper back on was Rs.2500. The bumper clips had also snapped.

Raindy days in bangalore and traffic always causes some incident. keeps happening to me.

normally_crazy · 2nd August 2007, 09:45

Ouch Rudra,

that must have hurt. If the bumper is cracked then fine, else you can get it heat treated and straightened and painted. never mind - knowing you you would have changed the bumper even if it was not cracked

Waiting to see pics of the car back to gleaming condition.

benbsb29 · 2nd August 2007, 09:47

A rainy day, tailgating which is very common on city roads, and pedestrians who dont know the basics of crossing a road. Add all these, and you have the perfect recipe for disaster.

Rudra, i appreciate the way you dealt with the episode. Will set you back by a few thousands, but the vehicle will be back as good as new.

Somehow, the only part i like about rainy days is to watch the traffic go by standing in my balcony. Hate to take the car out on such days unless its really important.

Rtech · 2nd August 2007, 09:58

That hurts! Especially for someone as anal about things as Rudra is. But, what can you say, this sort of stuff happens. Maybe you can buy yourself a new set of wheels as a get well soon present for the Optra eh!

finneyp · 2nd August 2007, 10:12

A common incident in City! Most of the times, it is Two wheelers who ram from behind as result of Sudden brake.

Rudra, why are you not claiming Insurance?
Insurance will pay 50% of Bumper cost + Painting chgs + Labour chgs, so you pay only 50% of Bumper cost.

2nd August 2007, 06:11	#1
Rudra Sen Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,590 Thanked: 6,532 Times View My Garage	For rain and a new bumper to buy Seven pm last evening. Driving on Residency Road. Raining, and I’m close to an intersection (Museum Road). There is a Honda in front of me. Both of us are about at 15km kind of speed. Suddenly, a guy appears from nowhere and jumps in front of Honda. Just to cross the road. Honda slams the brake. I do the same. And I hear a big thud. It comes from my back. It shakes the car. My indicator is on towards left, and I park the car to get down. Only to see, my top part of bumper is cracked. I go back and switch on hazard light. A Toyota Innova with disfigured front comes and parks behind me. With green coolant, dripping out profusely. It’s radiator grill’s bottom part, bumper’s front, Toyota logo..gone inside. A cute chubby little guy comes out of Toyota. Looks at his car. Looks at my car and tells me that it’s not his fault. I know that. It is not his fault. It’s not my fault. It’s not Honda guy’s fault. Toyota guy asks me what to do? My answer: Don’t drive the car. Don’t worry about paying me. Call Toyota helpline. I’m not going to ask for insurance. For a plastic bumper it’s too much of hassle. I’m ordering a new bumper tomorrow. Asking them to keep it ready. Friday, I’m booked for 20,000+km service anyway. Let them keep the car for a day extra. If need be. I love Optra’s construction and sturdiness. No matter what people think. Photos are from phone camera. Taken last night.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 07:07	#3
akroy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA, USA Posts: 2,423 Thanked: 85 Times View My Garage	Looking at the damage to the bumper and damage to the Toyota, I must say GM is really sturdy... It is not only GM but the physics of collision too went against the Toyota.. By laws of Physics, The body with higher velocity (eg Toyota here) will have to take the brunt in a collision Had GM hit the Toyota from behind, the story would have been different..Toyota would have less effected as it is now... In the end i must say that the Toyota fellow was not concentrating, he could have easily stopped no matter what is the distance, in slowing moving trafic everybody is at small distance between each other, in that case you have to concentrate harder... Abhi Last edited by akroy : 2nd August 2007 at 07:10.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 07:52	#4
mclaren1885 BANNED Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bangalore (the city of modded cars) !! Posts: 4,820 Thanked: 45 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (10)	Rudy, well I don't know what to say. All I can think of is when will she back to her gleaming self. Sundaram should be able to paint and fix the bumper in several hours and not take an extra day. And the optra's build quality certainly has me in awe. Specially after looking at the damage done to the Innova. Any idea what speeds he might have been at?
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 08:09	#5
Zappo Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 5,922 Thanked: 2,699 Times	abhijit took the words away from my mouth. toyota hit the stationary optra and hence all its shock absorbing features were triggered. and hence all those bumper, grill etc. shattering. as for your optra, i think the jhatka will nonetheless be in several thousands. probably 6 thous or is it 7 to 8?
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 08:23	#7
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,217 Thanked: 1,807 Times View My Garage	A classic cliche- some pics of the new bumpered Optra will ensure peace-of-mind to all of us. Also, I never realized till now that Innova drivers were cute and chubby Last edited by theMAG : 2nd August 2007 at 08:37.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 08:36	#8
moralfibre Team-BHP Support Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: MH-12 Posts: 8,451 Thanked: 13,973 Times	Sad to hear about that Rudra. Hope the car comes back to shape very soon. How much does an Optra bumper (without paint) cost?
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 09:05	#9
esteem_lover Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Madras/Py Posts: 7,556 Thanked: 502 Times View My Garage	A typical city incident, cannot really be called an accident. Happens all the time. I am surprised the innova only reached the optra's bumper & not the boot.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 09:26	#10
hydrashok Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: In my Office Posts: 2,528 Thanked: 17 Times View My Garage	Sorry to hear about the car, Rudraji! I hope you'll get her back in her immaculate self in a day. And you know what? The same thing happened to me yesterday evening (except the speeds were like 50kmph). My rear bumper is ok (scratches on paint), but the Mahindra Pickup that banged me from behind had something on it that had made a big dimple on my hatch door. I saw the guy in front had no choice by to brake hard (I stopped about 2 feet from his backside), and the guy in the back couldn't much help my braking hard either. So no use in arguing, we all sympathised with each other and left.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 09:27	#11
Vid6639 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 17,730 Thanked: 43,477 Times View My Garage	Rudraji, You sure no damage underneath. Same thing happened to my boss' cedia but with a 2 wheeler. Nothing happened to the bumper but it was so flexible that the inside metal got bent a little bit. To straighten it back and clip the bumper back on was Rs.2500. The bumper clips had also snapped. Raindy days in bangalore and traffic always causes some incident. keeps happening to me.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 09:45	#12
normally_crazy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,369 Thanked: 528 Times View My Garage	Ouch Rudra, that must have hurt. If the bumper is cracked then fine, else you can get it heat treated and straightened and painted. never mind - knowing you you would have changed the bumper even if it was not cracked Waiting to see pics of the car back to gleaming condition.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 09:47	#13
benbsb29 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 9,968 Thanked: 13,223 Times View My Garage	A rainy day, tailgating which is very common on city roads, and pedestrians who dont know the basics of crossing a road. Add all these, and you have the perfect recipe for disaster. Rudra, i appreciate the way you dealt with the episode. Will set you back by a few thousands, but the vehicle will be back as good as new. Somehow, the only part i like about rainy days is to watch the traffic go by standing in my balcony. Hate to take the car out on such days unless its really important.
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 09:58	#14
Rtech Team-BHP Support Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 5,770 Thanked: 359 Times View My Garage	That hurts! Especially for someone as anal about things as Rudra is. But, what can you say, this sort of stuff happens. Maybe you can buy yourself a new set of wheels as a get well soon present for the Optra eh!
	() Thanks

2nd August 2007, 10:12	#15
finneyp Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,716 Thanked: 319 Times View My Garage	A common incident in City! Most of the times, it is Two wheelers who ram from behind as result of Sudden brake. Rudra, why are you not claiming Insurance? Insurance will pay 50% of Bumper cost + Painting chgs + Labour chgs, so you pay only 50% of Bumper cost.
	() Thanks