[Geo_Ipe]

If that branch actually fell from a height of 20+ feet, I think the Sunny did a pretty good job of absorbing the impact! Glad to know that no one was hurt in the accident.

It is gonna be an expensive affair getting it repaired, I don't think the insurance company is going to declare it a total loss.

[tbppjpr]

I wouldn't drive a car repaired after such extensive damages. Monocoque structure has received severe damage and now no one can bring back this car into it's safest state unless whole shell is replaced which is highly unlikely and very expensive affair. Indian workshops don't hesitate repairing cars even if their internal structures have received damages so its possible you can get it repaired but then it may not withstand any future impact.

Cars are designed to withstand such impact once in lifetime and your Sunny has gone through that state.

Get it written off my friend and ask your insurance company to compensate for total loss.

[dZired]

Two consecutive threads of damaged Sunnys! Bad Luck!

In my opinion, the damage does appear repairable and the car would be as good as new once the job is done. It will definitely take a long time to get all things right, and repairing cost can be a factor too. It all depends on the insurance company, though I doubt they will declare it as a write-off.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by amitoj

The car might be reparable though and it is quite possible that it will be almost as good as new.

Originally Posted by alpha1

I don't see any reason why you should write it off or sell it off.

Originally Posted by gowda79

The vehicle will run as it was running before

Dealer repairs can never match the precision of a factory assembly line. The car will never drive / handle the same. Even if the dealer puts in that extra effort and the car drives properly, after such severe structural damage, it will never protect you as well in an accident.

Frewper shared this awesome video on the other Nissan Sunny thread. Check it out:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjxM9chAe1k

[gowda79]

Originally Posted by GTO

Dealer repairs can never match the precision of a factory assembly line. The car will never drive / handle the same. Even if the dealer puts in that extra effort and the car drives properly, after such severe structural damage, it will never protect you as well in an accident.

GTO no offence but would like to tell that our Manza went through this incident when it was @ 60k kms and after repair was done it ran for another 60k kms and was sold at a very good price.

The 2nd owner who knew that took the vehicle is running the vehicle without any problems till date in driveability or any other problems.

[AbhiJ]

Thank you for all your replies.

The car has been given to the authorized service station today.

They will start the claim procedure and and advise on the quote.

Prima facie the garage felt the car is repairable and wont be applicable for total loss.

That said, in my opinion it is quite obvious and logical that the repair will not be 100%. The structural strength will be compromised as compared to a new vehicle.
That reduction in integrity will only come to test in case of a bad crash where the car turns turtle or another tree falls on the car!

Lets see what the garage says in their quote.

Thanks again.

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

Wrong place, wrong time.

Need some advice.

My uncle has a Nissan Sunny Petrol (About 3 years old).
There was a lot of storm and rain in Kolkata today. About an hour after the storm, a huge branch fell on the roof of the Sunny.

The branch fell from a height of about 20 feet.

1) Is it repairable?
2) Should it be repaired? After repairing, will the car be the same after repair in terms of safety etc?

AbhiJ, If it is of some use to you I'll share an identical incident we had with our Maruti 800 in 1993. In a similar summer storm (called aandhi in the North) a medium sized tree on Sansad Marg, similar to the one in your photo, fell on the rear of the M800 crushing the roof over the rear seat and tearing it off at roughly the B pillar. In those days you could actually park on Sansad Marg hence the accident. The tail glass of course shattered. But the engine was functional and my late father, after sizing up the situation, drove her to an M800 service station that used to be behind Janpath a couple of kms away. The car got fully repaired and ran with us till she was sold in 2003 or so - she did over 100k kms and was with us for about 18 years. Will the Sunny's roof have perfect factory like structural integrity - I doubt it. Will she serve your uncle well after repairs- quite likely yes. In one of my businesses we repair aircraft and make them fly worthy after a lot more damage than this. Take your chance!, Best wishes, Narayan

[GTO]

Originally Posted by gowda79

GTO no offence but would like to tell that our Manza went through this incident when it was @ 60k kms and after repair was done it ran for another 60k kms and was sold at a very good price.

The 2nd owner who knew that took the vehicle is running the vehicle without any problems till date in driveability or any other problems.

God's grace, it hasn't met with a severe accident since, right?

That's my point. It might 'drive' well, but a car whose structure was damaged will never 'protect' well enough.

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by gowda79

GTO no offence but would like to tell that our Manza went through this incident when it was @ 60k kms and after repair was done it ran for another 60k kms and was sold at a very good price.

The 2nd owner who knew that took the vehicle is running the vehicle without any problems till date in driveability or any other problems.

Instead of machine welded joints for the panels that are replaced they would have hand welded joints. And these would not be as strong as factory finish. also the factory joints are in precise places and not random. It's ok for body work but not for a structural roof in a monocoque.

During an accident the weakest point will be the first to buckle.

So the car may run fine but will never have the same protection as a factory one during an accident.

[V.Narayan]

AbhiJ, In continuation to my post number 22 you may want Nissan to check the chassis of the car for cracks - hairline or obvious. Given the weight of the tree that fell a lot of stress would have been transmitted to the chassis, wheels, axles etc. I recalled later that in our M800s case Maruti had sent a expert engineer to examine the chassis thoroughly and he recommended some welding repairs. Later once the car was out of the workshop Maruti Udyog took it to a test track they have somewhere in NCR and ran the car through tests to make sure the suspension, brakes, axles, transmissions etc were all functioning well. A lot will depend on your uncle's budget - repair versus buy a new car. GTO & Vid6639 have a valid point in that the protect factor of the car cannot be restored to factory mint condition.

[landcruiser123]

Thank god nothing happened to the occupants of the car.
To repair this sort of damage in a monocoque, the roof panel has to be cut out and a new panel has to be installed. Also, the A and D pillars have to be straightened along with replacement of a door.

Construction of monocoque is done by welding by a robot, which welds the frame together with high precision and low tolerances. This gives the monocoque it's strength. No service workshop can give you the precision of factory robots and your structural integrity will be compromised and it's a great risk in case of future accidents.

As many point out, try to claim maximum from insurance and move on.