[lurker]

try these guys,
since they make this claim

" Per Piece (1-2 piece) Damage Repair is only available for Audi, BMW, Mercedes e.t.c."
http://www.carrepaircentre.in/

[shabu283]

Hi Guys,

I am beginning my first post with a sad experience. I was in the process of writing an ownership review on my new white ghost, "The Fiat Punto 90hp" an animal with a god's instinct, i would say. This was a minor accident that took place last Sunday, when i was returning back home from a happy lunch. It was raining heavily in Chennai at that time. Since the main roads was stuck with heavy traffic, i decided to take a short cut through a rough road. It was 500M to my home, and that's where the incident took place. I was about to take a turn and unfortunately, the local people have created a temporary median with big concrete stone like structures and i carelessly rode on one of those blocks. As a result my white angel got hurt at the bottom of the RHS front door.The bottom metal strip had a deep cut.

I was restless from then... and lost my sleep that night. On Monday I took the car to the nearest ASC. As I expected the body shop engineer's recommendation was to change the Right Side panel and the front door. The door had a small cut at the bottom but they still recommend me to change the door. I need your advice on changing the door. I am deeply worried with the paint job at the ASC. Will they match the factory fit and finish? What else should i consider? My mind is blank and i am not able to face my white angel. :(

[ajaypjayaraj]

Okay first.. Relax! Sorry to see the damage. We all love our cars and we do get hurt when things like this happen.

Getting car back in shape wont be an issue and it is not very difficult to achieve paint job to closely match the original finish. It doesn't help not sleeping or not eating though.

Just get an opinion about the reputation of the place you are going to drop off your car for the work. Ensure you give it to good hands for restoring back to original condition. And be at peace. Don't worry. Your car will be back in good shape soon!

[VW2010]

Relax. You cannot do much here at this situation. Everyone here have made a mistake that caused one or another damage. The first damage is tough to accept and swallow. But you will ride this as well.

If you are going the insurance route, get your door change corrected as well.

And the fit should never be an issue with these damages. The finish should also be fine but the pain job could be touch and go as its not easy to match a aging paint with new paint. They will get 90% close and its fine.

As i said earlier,relax and let it slide. It happens and it will happen to everyone. You are not alone.

[khoj]

If you had taken a good look at your vehicle (especially the other side) you would have realized that the bottom runner does not have a cut, it is the point where the fender ends and the runner starts.

The concrete block has hit the fender bottom which in turn has impacted the door thereby notching it and moving it upwards.

Refer to the forum's directory for Madras and search for a recommended body shop that will take out the small dent, align the door and reset the fender. There is no need to change anything except maybe the door hinge(though that too seems highly unlikely) given the small impact. Matching colours is not a problem these days. All good body shops are using good quality paints and almost all of them have OE shade codes and colour mixing systems provided by the paint manufacturer.

Originally Posted by shabu283

The bottom metal strip had a deep cut.

Will they match the factory fit and finish? What else should i consider? My mind is blank and i am not able to face my white angel. :(

[ad3952n]

Originally Posted by shabu283

my white angel got hurt at the bottom of the RHS front door.The bottom metal strip had a deep cut. On Monday I took the car to the nearest ASC. As I expected the body shop engineer's recommendation was to change the Right Side panel and the front door. The door had a small cut at the bottom but they still recommend me to change the door. I need your advice on changing the door. I am deeply worried with the paint job at the ASC. Will they match the factory fit and finish? What else should i consider?

Firstly don't get paranoid over a minor issue. I am bluntly telling you an ASC has very limited scope and will not help you much. This damage is really not to be worried about. No ASC can give you 100% perfect paint match as they do it in their workshop and don't send it to manufacturing facility for the repaint and honestly they are taking you for a ride as they would not be earning anything with this minor damage. I am giving you some suggestions:

1) Find a good body shop/ FNG who can fill the putty (body filler) on the damage of the lower part and repaint it. Dry dent the front door from below only and just get a single coat of White paint on it. Wont be costing you more than INR 500/-

2) Get the damaged piece of the fender cut by the welding guy and tinker it well. After that re-weld it and paint it. That's all! It wont cost you more than INR 1000/- and needs a day's time.

3) The easiest would be sand it properly and remove any rust formation. Apply a simple Dupont White paint touch up. This can be done for free too or at the max within INR 50-100/-.

4) Buy a com-paint kit of White shade and do a simple DIY at home. The kit would be around INR 500 to 1000/-. The DIY process is shown below:







See, there is no major damage in it so there is no real need to be so concerned. Since its the lowest portion of the car the nearest paint match to White shade shall be suffice because this part wont catch much of attention in anyways until you point it out. Kindly stay away from ASC for such a minor thing.

Should you need any further suggestions, I am just a PM away buddy. Don't mess with your sleep and health!

Thanks

[Kumar R]

Sorry to be but I noticed that the Punto does not have a running board at the bottom -- would it have been of any help in such instances? Many cars today have plastic / fibreglass running boards that blend in with the metal frame of the door.

[Soumyajit9]

Originally Posted by shabu283

As a result my white angel got hurt at the bottom of the RHS front door.The bottom metal strip had a deep cut.

Indeed it is sad to see that your beloved posession is hurt. But relax, the solution is simple.
- Check out the forum for a good body shop.
- If needed, wait for some Chennai BHPian to share any good bodyshop reference.
- Take it there. Get the dent removed and get the affected area painted.
- May cost you around 1000-1500 bucks.
- Since its a White car, the concept of matching colours is minimal. So don't worry about the colour mismatch.

Important point to note here: I am not sure if the entire dent on the running board can be removed. I read some discussion elsewhere on the forum that the running board cannot be pushed from inside to remove the dent.
Please make sure that the bodyshop guy is absolutely sure that he can remove the dent. If not, just get it painted.
- Please do not opt for insurance claim for minor things like these. I have it on my car too. Just living with it.

Originally Posted by Kumar R

Sorry to be but I noticed that the Punto does not have a running board at the bottom -- would it have been of any help in such instances? Many cars today have plastic / fibreglass running boards that blend in with the metal frame of the door.

I just checked images of most of the hatchbacks and sedans in the market. There is nothing of a separate part called the running board on any of the cars, not just Punto. It is just the door and the running board below it.
The only exception may be the material used. For instance, my Beat has a fiber panel. Its dented too, but the fiber has deformed. In Punto, it may be metal (I'm not sure though). The fiber and metal feels/looks like same from outside.

[pillaian]

Hello Don_Carmaster,

Sorry to see the damage, please ask your cousin to connect with below contact for fixing the dent.

He specializes in in German cars, his workshop is located near Matunga Road station.

Mr Rajiv Kharbanda
9322220042

You can give my reference.

Thanks - Anish

Originally Posted by don_carmaster

C) Get the same done up at some decently specced workshop in Mumbai, but

[pradeep-ivon]

I convey my heartfelt concerns to those having faced car accidents on our road where i am sure the monsters & criminals will continue to rush under the safety of Indian MV act which is toothless and the hand-in-glove law & order that only intimidates the victims. My latest encounter is few days ago and i seek you guys advice also on how to proceed for claim or Total loss.

I was coming from Jaipur to Delhi and at Behror, my UVA car (2009 model, fantastic companion that has taken me to Rohtang pass in full comfort) was suddenly hit behind by a truck- road was very good, it was sunny with not much traffic; by the time we (I & my fellow colleague in front) realized what happened we are seeing ourselves going under the truck in the front- this truck was at a reasonable distance 20-25 mtr away, but due to the impact my car pushed inside the back of this truck while our seats opened backward and my foot was fully pressed on brake in a lying position while I cried "my Lord let thy will be done now"- car stopped barely inches away at the dashboard level while the glass crackled. I checked the doors that opened easily and we came out without ANY SCRATCH- see the pictures no one can believe. The culprit truck driver ran away, and while we stood around dazed we found ourselves alone on road with the onlookers who helped to bring the damaged car aside. Yesterday I have towed back the wreckage of my car to home and now i want to know how to proceed for claim (which seems a total loss case, as the Chevrolet workshop tells me), i do not have any police report that justifies my actual story, in fact the police has made me to write a false story of a cow coming in front of my car and the police also educated me on the present MV act in which the culprit will get away paying only Rs 1500 (no death or injury) in 3 days from court. The truck owners will prefer to go to court and get back the vehicle in 3 days: it was as if the police fellow is the agent of the culprit transporter!

Please help me with your advice. Is this rubbish police report really necessary? What if my car met with and accident on a lonely stretch of road without any onlookers?

[Thad E Ginathom]

I'm glad to know that you came out such a terrifying and destructive experience alive. Probably your request for help belongs in, maybe, the insurance thread. perhaps the mods will move it where they feel most appropriate and where it will get answers.

[nvramsub]

For the last 6.5 months, life has taken a new meaning entirely with the addition of this Smoke Grey Fiesta in my family (first pic). Enough has been written about the greatness of this car by so many fans in this forum, which I endorse every bit.

The thing about life is that some problems are inevitable.

So, in December, the car suffered some damage on the left side doors when I had to reverse on a narrow road in Ooty to make way for a truck and ended up scraping a boulder that was present in the blind spot! (Second picture. Ignore the mud splashed all over the body) The body shop folks at Metro Ford told me it will take 4-5 days for replacing the outside part of the door. The service adviser recommended replacement because it wouldn't be possible to get the exact shape with tinkering. Not willing to part away with my car, I chose to postpone it.

Until, last Saturday (31st Jan), an idiotic biker banged his bike in his rush to overtake while I was taking a U-turn (I had my indicators on). He managed to escape even before I could see what had happened. This left a dent on the right side front door (Third picture). Despite that, I was postponing.

Until, the A/C stopped working day before yesterday. So, took it to Metro Ford. On inspection, it was found that the gas has leaked because of a damage to the pipes (fourth picture) resulting from the rubbing of two pipes. I have been asked to bring the car tomorrow to open a job card. The parts will need to be ordered from the factory in Chennai, and will take a couple of days for it to arrive.

So, finally the baby is on its way to the workshop for all the repairs.

For the doors, I am not sure if replacement is the only option. What do experienced folks recommend?

As for the A/C plumbing - I want to check with other owners if there is any contact between the pipes as shown in the picture.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by nvramsub

For the doors, I am not sure if replacement is the only option. What do experienced folks recommend?

You can get the doors dented from a experienced body shop guy.

After that look at the 'Colour' mentioned on the RC Book. Tell the paint booth got the colour, he'll obtain it and repaint the doors.

Replacing the doors is pretty silly unless you want it to be 'new'.

Recently my car received a dent from a lorry on my boot lid. MASS asked me to replace the boot lid but I ignored them and got it dented and painted at 1/2 the price with top notch work.

What I suggest you to do is, look up the "Directory" section for your city and go to that worksop for the body work.

All the best. Do keep us posted.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by nvramsub

The body shop folks at Metro Ford told me it will take 4-5 days for replacing the outside part of the door. The service adviser recommended replacement because it wouldn't be possible to get the exact shape with tinkering. Not willing to part away with my car, I chose to postpone it.

Good call. Both the door scrapes are minor issues; a bit of denting and paint work will resolve these and make them as good as new. Check out the 3rd party dealership threads here or reach out to some of the mods based out of Bangalore - there would be good bodyshops in Bangalore that do this. And your car color is quite a common one - easily should be managed.

Ignore the service advisor - he's clearly trying to get more money out of you.

[tharian]

Trend automobiles is the place you should be visiting for the doors.

The Bangalore directory has a thread on them if you look and many members have come away very happy with the results.

Even for the AC, I would recommend an AC shop outside first to check the actual issue.
A good place I can think of is the one next to the DC showroom at Ejipura signal on Inner ring road road.

You will end up saving big bucks.