Question about damaged alloy wheels & insurance

Zkalra · 22nd January 2012, 08:06

Ok guys so last night was a strange one. I was outside the Emporio mall in VV and leaving on my way for Taj Man Singh. For those from Delhi this is basically one of the roads in delhi which is broad and smooth enough that you can each insane speeds. Unfortunately the false sense of bravado got the best of me. There is also a crazy U turn there with what appeared to be the last remnants of a divider - around 6 inches above the road and about a foot wide it appeared. I was in my 530 d when suddenly the darn thing appeared and I had to swerve hard right to avoid it. Only the two right side tyres went on it. I went out and checked and nothing was wrong. The body cleared it, the tyres had no damage and the alloy seemed untouched However, I started noticing some wobbling immediately afterwards.

After sending to the gurgaon workshop it appears there is a slight bend in the alloy!! Man these things are fragile.

So now the question is shouldn't my bmw secure premium package cover this? I have Bajaj Allianz insurance and I have only got a wishy washy response from the workshop so far. Sending the car tomorrow for inspection by the surveyor from the insurance company. Anyone else had an experience in this regard? The dealer is Bird automotive.

GTO · 22nd January 2012, 14:40

Don't worry about it, you are fully covered. My Merc suffered a damaged rim on the way back from Goa. The tab of 37,000 was fully picked up by the insurance company.

The only downside : You will lose any no-claim-bonus (if you are currently enjoying the benefits). I don't think BMW Secure comes into the picture here at all.

androdev · 22nd January 2012, 17:45

With secure everything is covered (except for tread wear in case of tire damage)

I would say you are lucky there is no under body damage given the low GC of the car.

Most of the time they never gave me a convincing explanation of why regular insurance won't cover 100% and why secure is also used to cover most claims. You will lose NCB on both btw so you might want to work the math for claiming vs not claiming.

One option is do it at ur cost and use the damaged alloy as a spare wheel by getting it repaired.

Turbanator · 22nd January 2012, 17:51

I suffered something similar and got the rim Repaired in Chandigarh , there is no trace of work done by the guy and no extra weights were used for balancing . You can easily get these done locally by paying about 1-2 K .

androdev · 22nd January 2012, 18:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I suffered something similar and got the rim Repaired in Chandigarh , there is no trace of work done by the guy and no extra weights were used for balancing . You can easily get these done locally by paying about 1-2 K .

Just curious, why would you get repaired if you are covered by insurance for a replacement?

Turbanator · 22nd January 2012, 18:18

Quote:

Just curious, why would you get repaired if you are covered by insurance for a replacement?

just because of NCB - 50 % in my case !

Quote:

The only downside : You will lose any no-claim-bonus

ishlinea7260 · 22nd January 2012, 19:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by Turbanator

I suffered something similar and got the rim Repaired in Chandigarh , there is no trace of work done by the guy and no extra weights were used for balancing . You can easily get these done locally by paying about 1-2 K .

Hi turbanator, how exactly can the bent alloy be repaired and from where in chandigarh?
Thanks.

Turbanator · 22nd January 2012, 20:46

Quote:

how exactly can the bent alloy be repaired

I got it done from Malwa Tires , Sector 22 . Dont know how do they do this as they send rim for repairing to there workshop ( or maybe they outsource ) . They charge different prices depending on size ( or Make !) and take about 6-8 hours to return .

Zkalra · 23rd January 2012, 00:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Don't worry about it, you are fully covered. My Merc suffered a damaged rim on the way back from Goa. The tab of 37,000 was fully picked up by the insurance company.

The only downside : You will lose any no-claim-bonus (if you are currently enjoying the benefits). I don't think BMW Secure comes into the picture here at all.

Thanks GTO. I think this NCB issue is a non-issue considering that the replacement of the alloy would cost me around 40k. Which pretty much is the same or just a bit lower than my NCB anyways.

Zkalra · 29th January 2012, 01:59

Quote:

Originally Posted by GTO

Don't worry about it, you are fully covered. My Merc suffered a damaged rim on the way back from Goa. The tab of 37,000 was fully picked up by the insurance company.

The only downside : You will lose any no-claim-bonus (if you are currently enjoying the benefits). I don't think BMW Secure comes into the picture here at all.

Getting it changed tomorrow. Went thought pretty smoothly. They pretty much rolled out the red carpet. I love having competition in the marketplace - makes the customer the king!!

rajeshckr · 2nd July 2014, 20:52

So, last week while driving overnight between Cochin and Bangalore in my Audi A6, something weird happened. Apparently there were a few stones (rock actually) that had fallen of a truck lying in the road my tyres ran over it. The rear tyre got busted right away and the hit caused dent to both right alloys.

After the fun part of getting my car towed to Audi (more in this in another post), I have been in conversation with the insurance company to replace the dented alloys. I do have premium insurance package which apparently covers everything. The car is just 4 months old.

Now, the insurance company claims that they cannot replace the alloys but can only have the dent removed from else where (outside Audi). I have been arguing with them that they just cannot do anything out side what a authorized service centre does or approves.

Has anyone dealt with similar reasoning / arguments from insurance company? Would this legally hold? Would really appreciate if anyone could share similar experiences.

-Rajesh

vikram_d · 3rd July 2014, 08:12

Dent removal of alloy wheels is possible but I would not recommend it. The bent portion becomes weaker and is prone to more damage in the future. I would recommend that you insist on replacement.

akshay4587 · 3rd July 2014, 09:10

Push for replacement,even if you have to fight it out.
I have seen Fiat Alloys getting replaced in Insurance after getting bent.
Repairing alloys is possible but i would not recommend that in a new Car,especially A6.

Nikhilb2008 · 3rd July 2014, 10:18

As Vikram said, repairing alloys makes it weaker. And it can be a safety issue as well o Indian roads.

Push for a full replacement.

alpha1 · 3rd July 2014, 11:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by rajeshckr

Now, the insurance company claims that they cannot replace the alloys but can only have the dent removed from else where (outside Audi). I have been arguing with them that they just cannot do anything out side what a authorized service centre does or approves.

Has anyone dealt with similar reasoning / arguments from insurance company? Would this legally hold? Would really appreciate if anyone could share similar experiences.

-Rajesh

To be honest, this is exactly like the scene that used to happen earlier with medical insurance. The insurance company claims ICU charge should be Rs 3000, but the hospital bills Rs 6000. People used to pay the remaining difference from their pockets. I guess there was some action by PSU insurers which rationalized the hospitals pricing
(
http://www.tehelka.com/four-state-ow...ills-now-what/
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/i...w/23021463.cms
)

A few things:
1. Has Audi categorically told you/insurer (in writing) that the alloys have to be replaced OR cannot be repaired.
2. Has Audi categorically told you in writing that getting alloys repaired or replaced outside the authorized service station will void the warranty?

22nd January 2012, 08:06	#1
Zkalra BHPian Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: New Delhi Posts: 141 Thanked: 71 Times	Question about damaged alloy wheels & insurance Ok guys so last night was a strange one. I was outside the Emporio mall in VV and leaving on my way for Taj Man Singh. For those from Delhi this is basically one of the roads in delhi which is broad and smooth enough that you can each insane speeds. Unfortunately the false sense of bravado got the best of me. There is also a crazy U turn there with what appeared to be the last remnants of a divider - around 6 inches above the road and about a foot wide it appeared. I was in my 530 d when suddenly the darn thing appeared and I had to swerve hard right to avoid it. Only the two right side tyres went on it. I went out and checked and nothing was wrong. The body cleared it, the tyres had no damage and the alloy seemed untouched However, I started noticing some wobbling immediately afterwards. After sending to the gurgaon workshop it appears there is a slight bend in the alloy!! Man these things are fragile. So now the question is shouldn't my bmw secure premium package cover this? I have Bajaj Allianz insurance and I have only got a wishy washy response from the workshop so far. Sending the car tomorrow for inspection by the surveyor from the insurance company. Anyone else had an experience in this regard? The dealer is Bird automotive. Last edited by GTO : 22nd January 2012 at 14:33.
	() Thanks

22nd January 2012, 14:40	#2
GTO Team-BHP Support Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 70,534 Thanked: 300,737 Times View My Garage	re: Question about damaged alloy wheels & insurance Don't worry about it, you are fully covered. My Merc suffered a damaged rim on the way back from Goa. The tab of 37,000 was fully picked up by the insurance company. The only downside : You will lose any no-claim-bonus (if you are currently enjoying the benefits). I don't think BMW Secure comes into the picture here at all.
	(2) Thanks

22nd January 2012, 17:45	#3
androdev Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: bangalore Posts: 3,096 Thanked: 22,337 Times	re: Question about damaged alloy wheels & insurance With secure everything is covered (except for tread wear in case of tire damage) I would say you are lucky there is no under body damage given the low GC of the car. Most of the time they never gave me a convincing explanation of why regular insurance won't cover 100% and why secure is also used to cover most claims. You will lose NCB on both btw so you might want to work the math for claiming vs not claiming. One option is do it at ur cost and use the damaged alloy as a spare wheel by getting it repaired.
	() Thanks

22nd January 2012, 17:51	#4
Turbanator Team-BHP Support Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 6,717 Thanked: 28,325 Times	re: Question about damaged alloy wheels & insurance I suffered something similar and got the rim Repaired in Chandigarh , there is no trace of work done by the guy and no extra weights were used for balancing . You can easily get these done locally by paying about 1-2 K .
	() Thanks

2nd July 2014, 20:52	#11
rajeshckr Newbie Join Date: Mar 2014 Location: Bangalore Posts: 8 Thanked: 7 Times	Replacement of dented alloys in a brand new car So, last week while driving overnight between Cochin and Bangalore in my Audi A6, something weird happened. Apparently there were a few stones (rock actually) that had fallen of a truck lying in the road my tyres ran over it. The rear tyre got busted right away and the hit caused dent to both right alloys. After the fun part of getting my car towed to Audi (more in this in another post), I have been in conversation with the insurance company to replace the dented alloys. I do have premium insurance package which apparently covers everything. The car is just 4 months old. Now, the insurance company claims that they cannot replace the alloys but can only have the dent removed from else where (outside Audi). I have been arguing with them that they just cannot do anything out side what a authorized service centre does or approves. Has anyone dealt with similar reasoning / arguments from insurance company? Would this legally hold? Would really appreciate if anyone could share similar experiences. -Rajesh
	() Thanks

3rd July 2014, 08:12	#12
vikram_d Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 2,427 Thanked: 1,185 Times	Re: Replacement of dented alloys in a brand new car Dent removal of alloy wheels is possible but I would not recommend it. The bent portion becomes weaker and is prone to more damage in the future. I would recommend that you insist on replacement.
	(2) Thanks

3rd July 2014, 09:10	#13
akshay4587 Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Chandigarh/Mohali/Ambala Cantt Posts: 4,151 Thanked: 4,525 Times View My Garage	Re: Replacement of dented alloys in a brand new car Push for replacement,even if you have to fight it out. I have seen Fiat Alloys getting replaced in Insurance after getting bent. Repairing alloys is possible but i would not recommend that in a new Car,especially A6.
	(1) Thanks

3rd July 2014, 10:18	#14
Nikhilb2008 Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 5,196 Thanked: 10,138 Times	Re: Replacement of dented alloys in a brand new car As Vikram said, repairing alloys makes it weaker. And it can be a safety issue as well o Indian roads. Push for a full replacement.
	() Thanks