[hserus]

The FIR is progressing. And what you have registered against you is NOT an FIR unless it specifically names you.

It is an undertaking for the dealer to produce the driver for further investigation.

Does the text say "First Information Report" anywhere? Or does it say "community service register"?

Does it name you specifically, as well as your car's license number?

Can you post a copy of his document (undertaking to produce driver before IO) here after blanking out your name etc if you prefer to do that?

[narayan]

Its quite unfortunate that this happened but such incidents are regular and many often the person who makes the mistake just doesn't own up. A lot of times, the logic and relevant actions which we think should be the right approach never apply to many others - due to a combination of reasons like education or other factors. Hence its very rare that the person who actually committed the mistake apologizes.

I had a similar incident with my OHC where I was the one who crashed into the rear of an old WagonR. The Wagon R had braked suddenly to avoid a 2 wheeler that just popped up from no where and I was at a reasonable distance to brake but by some twist of events - at the moment when I was to anticipate this, I got a sneeze and momentarily my eyes were closed. At that moment, my OHC crashed into the WagonR rear end at a very low speed ( must have been around 20kmph I think ).

No I am not making this up - it really happened !

The 2-wheeler chap, as expected, just looked as if nothing happened. The damage to my OHC front end was quite substantial - bumper broken, 1 headlight cracked, a small bend in the bonnet as well. Nothing much to the WagonR. So me and the Wagon R chap just shook hands and walked away and I got my OHC repaired at my cost.

The process to get a claim released by the Xylo's insurer under 3rd party claims is quite tedious. Have you checked with your insurance co on this aspect ? If they confirm its tedious, why don't you get this done under your insurance and ask the dealer to pay you the out of pocket expenses from your side + NCB loss that you would incur ?

I don't want to sound cynical but trust me, no matter how honest that cop is, eventually, the dealer will pay him off to settle this matter with you. You will not even realize this but the cop will just sweet talk you to go mind your own business and you will come out of it thinking you had a nice experience with the law and order machinery and nothing else.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by narayan

I don't want to sound cynical but trust me, no matter how honest that cop is, eventually, the dealer will pay him off to settle this matter with you. You will not even realize this but the cop will just sweet talk you to go mind your own business and you will come out of it thinking you had a nice experience with the law and order machinery and nothing else.

As you filed a FIR (and verify - through your lawyer if needed - that it is an actual FIR not a community service register entry) here is PROBABLY a FIR against you regardless of a false case or not, my advice to you would be to

1. STOP posting about this on tbhp for a while - you don't want to give details of your lawyer's strategy or anything else on your part to their lawyer

2. Hire a good lawyer and restrict ALL communications related to this case through him or her. You may not need to appear in court as this is not a case of loss of life or anything of the sort - your lawyer can appear and file motions on your behalf.

3. Stop engaging with the dealership manager or other personnel as long as there is any sort of FIR against you.

4. If there is any attempt to negotiate or settle - either by the dealership or by the police officer suddenly turning into a peace maker, refer it to your lawyer. There may be several pitfalls you have to guard against in any agreement you are given to sign in order to accept compensation.

5. Have the admins hide or delete this thread if you like for the time being. It can be unhidden, or summarized later on when the matter is settled.

[GTO]

Sorry to read about the accident, but well, rubbish happens. I hope your Endeavour is fixed soon.

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel

Isnt it the dealer's responsibility to own up and pay for the damages ?

No. That's why third party insurance is mandatory in India. It is the insuring company of the Xylo that is responsible for payment. However, it's a long & tedious process to get a claim from the other car's insurer.

This is why you have insurance. Just claim & move on. If the amount is small, pay it yourself (to preserve your NCB).

why can't the dealership pay for the charges that are not covered by insurance (there are a bunch of things like labor, consumables etc not covered and estimate from Ford is about 10-15k)

Because legally they don't have to. I reiterate, this is why all of us take insurance cover. Tomorrow, if you crash into someone's car and it's your fault, you don't have to pay anything out of your pocket (your insuring company will - if it comes to that).

The only time that the insurance company isn't liable is if the driver did something illegal (e.g. drunk at the time of the accident). Then, even the courts might put the onus on the driver.

[hserus]

GTO, the thing is - dealerships do have liability insurance for damage to cars under their care. Why should the car owner's insurance be dinged with a NCB loss for something that was the fault of the dealership's driver?

I know the dealer will be anxious not to let a claim go on their insurance but that is their affair, they do have insurance cover for exactly this kind of situation.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by hserus

GTO, the thing is - dealerships do have liability insurance for damage to cars under their care.

That is mostly used for onsite incidents (damage within the workshop). Yes, it can be used to cover the Xylo too, but I doubt the workshop or insurance company is going to agree to pay for the Endeavour. It'll be a long court battle with very little returns.

Why should the car owner's insurance be dinged with a NCB loss for something that was the fault of the dealership's driver?

That's life man.

[sunishsamuel]

Originally Posted by hserus

GTO, the thing is - dealerships do have liability insurance for damage to cars under their care. Why should the car owner's insurance be dinged with a NCB loss for something that was the fault of the dealership's driver?

I know the dealer will be anxious not to let a claim go on their insurance but that is their affair, they do have insurance cover for exactly this kind of situation.

As GTO said the liability insurance covers only damage inside the dealership premises.

Originally Posted by GTO

That is mostly used for onsite incidents (damage within the workshop). Yes, it can be used to cover the Xylo too, but I doubt the workshop or insurance company is going to agree to pay for the Endeavour. It'll be a long court battle with very little returns.
That's life man.

The moment the car is on the road, the liability falls on the owner/insurer of the vehicle. This is precisely why they also make you sign the letter when you give for service. We only look at the front page and sign (front page is where they write, car came for xyz, check, oil blah blah) At the back, it will be clearly written that the car will be taken for trial etc at owners risk. So while the car is on the road, it will be purely owner's responsibility/insurer liability to pay up for the damages.

This is precisely why people take things easy. Just look at the way your cars are being driven by the boys inside and outside (for test drive etc). In addition, all the dealership will do is terminate the employment of the guy who caused the accident and that's it. They will hire another guy who will then play around with your car. If we are lucky good, otherwise sorry !

Because the process is cumbersome, people tend to ignore 3rd party claims. Ideally for any damage caused to 3rd party, it needs to be covered/paid by the 1st party insurance. Maybe some law or regulation needs to be in place to make these process easier and protect the car owners.

Think of it, why so many taxis and trucks are rashly driven. Because they know what the outcome is going to be.

[Dry Ice]

Good to see you holding the fort against all the bullying tactics by the dealership. I think sooner or later, they will agree for a out of court settlement as they have to deal with you AND the angry customer of Xylo. Almost like fighting a war on 2 fronts. Just one question, how long did the vehicles remain in police custody after the mishap? Are they still at the Police station?

[sunishsamuel]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Good to see you holding the fort against all the bullying tactics by the dealership. I think sooner or later, they will agree for a out of court settlement as they have to deal with you AND the angry customer of Xylo. Almost like fighting a war on 2 fronts. Just one question, how long did the vehicles remain in police custody after the mishap? Are they still at the Police station?

The police did not impound or take custody of the vehicles. Police will not keep vehicles at the station unless some death or serious injury occurs. They took pictures from me (whatsapp'ed them) and that's all they need. They mentioned parking issues and they don't prefer keeping vehicles unless its absolutely necessary.

[hserus]

If the vehicle is mentioned in the fir it might then be in superdari status - that is subject to court proceedings so you can't sell the car, transfer it out of the city or state etc.

That sort of little detail is why I say hire a lawyer and handle all interactions with the cops, dealer and owner of the other vehicle through him.

[mayankk]

Get a lawyer. Trust me on this. If you know one, well and good. There's nothing in the thread as of now to be held against you. But hold off on further posts till he advises you of closure.
Take him to the PS, have him deal with everything. Be prepared to take some time off. Get the xylo owner involved, it'll be double trouble for the dealer.
End of the day, make a call on what the trouble is worth.

[sunishsamuel]

We all love happy endings and i just experienced one . The issue is now amicably resolved as the dealership agreed to cover the damages. The car was fixed were already but the amount was deposited to my bank account via cheque. I will now rest this case.

Happy with the outcome and i should appreciate the head of the dealership who dealt with me like a gentleman. He was empathetic from when he called me and assured me of the support. The support I received from friends is truly great. I had to also involve couple of very senior folks at Mahindra and all of them analysed the issue and responded rightly.

[Himalayan_Ice]

Stuff happened:

This was Friday night / Saturday morning around 1:40 AM as I was driving through Niti Marg, Chanakyapuri, a lady driver drove in from Tenzin Norgay marg and slammed into my *sigh* one month some old car. The force of the impact was such, that my car climbed the pavement and beyond the damage you see, the left tyre burst.

Salient points:

1. I was stone cold sober (have been for a month and some. Maybe this was my punishment for ignoring my beverages, cuz if I'd had some, I wouldn't be driving).
2. I could not have been going very fast, since ignoring most advice, I am still running in my engine as per one article here on Team BHP. With 1400 Kms on the odo, I am not breaching the 2200-2300 RPM mark. Plus I was on a curve heading in from a round-about. Wouldn't have a chance to speed up anyway. (This point in detail, since knowing a few of my friends here on the forums, the first thing I'm going to get thrown at me is "you were speeding")
3. I was driving alone and since the impact was sideways, if I had a co-passenger, their noggin would've taken a sure hit on the window on their side. I now believe that the next car I buy WILL have curtain airbags.
4. Both airbags were deployed and one of them (plus wearing a seatbelt, plus driving relatively slowly) probably is the reason that I am sitting here writing this. DO NOT buy cars without air-bags.
5. The lady driver came in SO fast out of the inner lane, that I had zero reaction time. Didn't even get to apply breaks. Please watch for traffic from the main road before you exit an internal road. And when you do, please take a longer arch, instead of a straight to the other lane and then 90 degrees-ish. Also, drive sober. please.
6. Very happy with the safety features on the car. Again, please buy the version with all of them. I have zero scratches, nothing inside the car broke (I'm hoping the audio bits are alright). The entertainment system was still working etc.
7. Fortunately, the husband of said driver turned out to be a pretty decent chap and understood the enormity of the situation and even though we had to go to the police station, in the end we were able to figure out a compromise (Please do understand the process of the legal proceedings before you decide to write an FIR).
8. First thing I did was call the cops. They had some problems figuring where Tenzin Norgay marg was, but came quickly enough.
9. Thankfully I count on a gearhead as one of my friends (who I was heading to meet anyway), and he came to the spot immediately. Always, have a friend come and assist with the scenario, because you will be in a bit of a shock, regardless of physical injury.
10. The car was towed and is now at the Naraina service center.
11. I have zero dep insurance
12. As per the body shop guys, the chassis WILL have to be pulled
13. There in most probability, is damage to the axle

I would really appreciate advice as to what I should keep my eyes open for, now that that repair process should be underway starting Monday. It was a brand new car, I feel really crappy that it won't be any longer, but would like it to be repaired to a point where I cannot tell from any aspect, that it'd been this badly crashed.

Thanks!

More Pics:

[arit.mondal]

Take care mate...slightly better that the Swift hit the bonnet of your car.
Otherwise curtain airbags might have been essential for safety.

I was wondering, Is it possible to add airbags in an old car?
I have a used zen estilo, and I have very low confidence on the driving characteristics of other people. Having airbags fitted would make me feel safe.

[BoneCollector]

Originally Posted by himalyan_ice

Stuff happened:
Attachment 1582167

Sorry for the loss but super glad that you are unscathed. The car has held up well. Wishing you all the best and hope that the car recovers well, it's heart wrenching to see a new car land in such state without any fault of self. The airbags did their job and so would have the pretensioners. I still don't understand why Maruti can't provide cars with curtain and side-airbags when they're manufacturing the same in India (Brezza is an exception but euro spec Baleno has it.). However miniscule the percentage may be, but there are people willing to spend more for safety features.