[Godfather]

First of all I would like to apologise to All Bangalore team-bhpiians for not informing them about my recent visit to bangalore.

Yes.. i was there for a Month from 10th June to 6th July. I had 2 weeks off from work and worked 2 weeks from bangalore office.( most of you know how IT industry is :( )

On 14th Morning we left for Goa on 2 vehicles. the LC Prado and my fav the 3.0L Dicor aka Truck as most of you guys call it.

the Drive to GOA was amazing and with 5 people comfortable in the Truck and everybody's luggage in the boot i was amazed that it still managed to hit speeds of 140 kmph and was "Almost" able to catch up to the Prado.
Of-course the Prado being a V6 and Petrol had more power and less people and 0 luggage in it.

On the way back is when everything started going wrong..

just 50 km from Tumkur there is a place called Sirsi. ( or something like it)
My wife, daughter and myself had just moved into the Prado and handed over the Dicor to the driver who till now was having a ball of a time being driven around.

The passengers in the safari now were My elder brother, his wife, my 4 yr old neice and my 1 yr old nephew.

It had rained heavily, couple of minutes ago and the roads were quite slippery and had massive puddles in some places.

from a distance i could see a Trailer Lorry moving at a fairly good speed on the right side of the road ( even though there are signs which apparently
prohibits lorrys to drive on the right side ), As we closed the distance between the LC and the lorry, the Trailer suddenly slows down and takes a sharp left turn.

The Prado was able to stop on those slick roads as it was equipped with everything possible but unfortunately the Dicor is not.

as soon as the Prado stopped i feared for the worst for the prado and only prayed that the safari stops in time. I looked back and could see the safari coming straight for us. the driver made a good decision and directed the safari to the one empty lane on the left to get more road to stop the dicor.

i could see the dicor screech and try to hold on to whatever grip it could get but it was too late and went straight into the trailer.
everything happened in a fraction of a second.. I was scared for my brother and family in the dicor..
Dad and myself got down from the LC and ran to the dicor.. everyone was in a state of shock but safe. We pulled everyone out of the car and moved them to a shack type restaurant on the side of the road. they were all fine. with a Sigh of relief that everyone was safe after a massive accident. other than body pain from the impact there were no major injuries.. My driver had a cut on his hand. That was it.. Everyone was ok.

i turned to look at the mangled wreck sitting on the road and saw my Dicor who had just saved everyone and took the massive impact on itself.
It kills you to just see the car turned to a wreck from all the glory..
i turned to look for the truck and saw that he was driving away like nothing had happened..

I immediately sent the Prado behind it and he was caught after a massive chase of almost 3 KMS of rural road.. But the Prado proved its worth
on those roads and caught it..

Once the truck was brought back the people went crazy on him and started to beat up the guy.. I did not care.. i wanted to beat him up too.. but did not lay a hand on him. something stopped me.. till now i have no idea what made me do that.

Dad called the cops and i was not surprised they came in a span of 10 minutes..( a few calls to higher ups made this possible)
once the cops came it was a breeze..

In the meanwhile we sent the family back home in the LC and Dad, the driver and myself waited near the car to complete few police formalities.
Once that was done we hired a Sumo, shifted all the luggage in that and came back home slowly.

Now the process of insurance claim had to start.. HDFC insurance was a breeze. within 2 weeks all formalities were done and the car was declared totalled.

I did not want that. Spoke to the insurance guys and convinced them that i need the vehicle repaired.. They said that it would be possible only if the repair charge was less than 75% of insured value.. I agreed to pay the cost of repair which would get the total repair value down to 70%.
they gladly agreed and now the Dicor is under repair..

Just could not see it go.. It is too precious..

Also.. FYI.. the Crashguard which I had put up in front and where there is a entire thread dedicated to it saying that it will bend the chassis and it is not safe.. Saved everyone.

The crashguard took the masive impact and is destroyed beyond belief.. but thats one reason the passengers were safe.

Believe it or not.. it works.

Pics of car are below.

Goddy.

[Godfather]

These Pics are taken in concorde service station on Mysore Road. I did not have my camera on the day of the accident.

Hopefully it will be ready in a Months Time.

Goddy

[theMAG]

I have a lot of things to say about you. But will refrain, keeping in mind the accident.

[Spitfire]

HOLY LORD Thats scary.

Good to know there were no critical injuries.

The Safari seems to have taken too much of a shunt. Repairing it would not really be the right choice.

Someone up there is looking after you and your family.

[extreme_torque]

Sad to hear about the crash and really glad that everyone came out unscathed.

Why do you want to get it repaired? Sounds cliched but its true that the structural integrity would not be the same. I know we love our cars but then when its a questions of safety, being objective is the right way to go IMHO.

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by theMAG

I have a lot of things to say about you. But will refrain, keeping in mind the accident.

Yeah Yeah.. I know. Sorry. but it was on a short notice and loads of personal work.. would not have had the time to meet up anyway..

Originally Posted by Spitfire

The Safari seems to have taken too much of a shunt. Repairing it would not really be the right choice.

Yeah.. Call me a Fool.. Complete chassis replace. half the engine parts need to be replaced. New turbo to be put in.. Loads of stuff..

But this car saved everyone.. i cant just let it rot somewhere..

Goddy.

[condor]

Goddy, good to know everyone's safe.

Would have let go of the truck, after that damage. While the cabin looks good from outside, the condition of everything else inside (chassis etc, - am not talking of the engine bay) is still based on visual inspection & we donot know with 100% surety that things are still good.

Godfather : But this car saved everyone.. i cant just let it rot somewhere...

It's saved you once. Sentimentality will not be enough to completely rectify any internal damage to save anyone else again, if it had to. Though will never wish for anyone to be in such a situation.

Let the scrap yard salvage the parts & recycle what's left.



Btw, what you have - isnt that a nudge guard & not a crash guard ?

[Zappo]

Thank the holy stars that all of you were saved even after being in such a massive accident. However, does that vehicle look like so badly damaged as to cost more than 75% the cost of it? It is damaged and damaged badly, yes, however not so badly as to cost say 7 lakhs! Everything behind the engine compartment looks ok to me.

Having said that I am not sure how judicious it is to repair a vehicle that has undergone chassis damage as your would have surely suffered from. Also, with the workshop repair more often than not people keep suffering nagging problems ever after. Sometimes its oil leakage, the next day its a broken joint, then sometimes suspension issues and tyre balding etc. I think if they were willing to pay you for the vehicle (and if it is not more than 1-2 years old) you probably would have been better off accepting the insurance payment.

[rjstyles69]

Goddy I echo Mahesh's thought's however will refrain from it for now. Gods grace everyone came thru unscathed from sucha nasty accident.

Did the drive take a hit at the windshield ? Also its true that the truck holds a lot of sentimental value for you , however it would be wise to salvage whatever you can and claim insurance. Just my 2 cents.

[gowda79]

I looked back and could see the safari coming straight for us. the driver made a good decision and directed the safari to the one empty lane on the left to get more road to stop the dicor.

Goddy, good decision at the right time by your driver to move the vehicle to the left and by not heading to the LC.

Hope to see your beast back to it's earlier glory and as you said you cannot let go to rot in the scrapyard for which you have so much emotions attached.

[HappyWheels]

Thank God all of them came out save, especially with a baby and child on board.

The vehicle did serve its purpose.

Please do make sure that the service center does a proper job and not what they seems to be used to! With a chassis change, they have to get it really right.

Hope the child has taken this without much of a shock.

EDIT: And yes, a note of appreciation and presence of mind of your driver! He deserves a very good pat on the back for the quick action!

[n_aditya]

First of all, Happy Birthday Goddy. Hope you have a lovely day and a wonderful year ahead.

Sad to see the beast totalled but still glad that no one was injured.

Like everyone else, I suggest you buy a new safari since whatever said and done, the structural rigidity has been compromised and can possibly never been regained.

P.S. Nice to see you back on the forum. Been a long time huh?

[Godfather]

Originally Posted by n_aditya

First of all, Happy Birthday Goddy. Hope you have a lovely day and a wonderful year ahead.

Thank you..

Lots of people have suggested to scrap it.. But i cannot do that.. My heart does not let me.. Also its under repair now and i dont want to turn back. I am very firm on the decision to get it fixed.

I already have plans to buy another safari and this time its going to be White, after the accident my wife has finally grown out of small cars and wants the new dicor for herself.. I am more than happy to get one for her..

The current dicor will be used by me for small chores and probably be sent for more airport pickup's and dropoffs, dad's clientile when they come down for business. But i will not let it go..


Goddy.

[simply_sunny001]

Thats a nasty head on collision and thanks god that everyone is safe.

And thats why i love Safari more as i have seen few of these nasty collisions but fortunately in all cases, there is no or very little injuries to human beings.

And thats what we care about.

But Safari specially the ones without ABS needs to be driven with a bit of restraint(i know its tough) as the brakes are inadequate after crossing 3 figures but still you never know when these truck drivers pull a fast one on you.

hope you get your beast back to its past glory.

[hillram]

God's grace that all are safe.Life is important.Safari can be spruced back to life soon.
Have u considered replacing the safari after it is done,or are you going to keep it as a good luck charm?