[AbhiJ]

Wrong place, wrong time.

Hello fellow members. 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.

Good news: No one including the driver was hurt.

Bad news: Please see pictures below.



















The branch fell from a height of about 20 feet.

The tree branch was removed by the municipality, and the surprisingly the car is driving fine. (I drove it home), No perceivable damage to the suspension, engine etc.

We are taking the car to the authorised service centre tomorrow.

My queries:

1) Is it repairable?
2) Should it be repaired? After repairing, will the car be the same after repair in terms of safety etc?
3) Any idea how much expense / time we are looking at? (Don't have Zero Dep. Insurance)

[amitoj]

Nissan Sunnys seems to be having a bad time on TBHP :(

I am surprised you decided to drive it home in that condition!!

The car might be reparable though and it is quite possible that it will be almost as good as new. We sometimes tend to rush to write off a vehicle but I have heard that these days chassis alignment machines are quite good.

[bullrun87]

Seems like bad days for sunny owners, just read that thread about the sunny which was crushed at a dealer. Anyways your uncle's car has suffered significant structural damage and from what I can make out the following things definately need repair/replacement
1)all four doors
2)bonnet and boot
3) all the glass
4) A pillar, B pillar and quarter panel
The engine compartment and the apron seems more or less undamaged and suspension will need to be checked. I know that a car with structural damage will usually never be the same, but in your case I feel Nissan should be able to get it back to normal. You are looking at an insurance claim in high six figures and probably take several weeks to repair. I don't wish to speculate about the part of the repair costs your uncle will have to cough up due to insufficient data but it will probably be in the tens of thousands since 15to 20 percent deduction will be made on all parts since the poilicy is not zero dep.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

1) Is it repairable?
2) Should it be repaired? After repairing, will the car be the same after repair in terms of safety etc?
3) Any idea how much expense / time we are looking at? (Don't have Zero Dep. Insurance)

Sad indeed and truly bad luck. To answer your queries:
1) Yes, it should be definitely repairable
2) Depends on whether the Insurance surveyor would want to declare it total loss or not? If not then Nissan should be able to make the car road worthy.
3) Time and Expenses will be subject to workshop assurance. Unfortunately you dont have a zero dep. So try to push for total loss.

[deetjohn]

Sorry to see the car like that. And glad no one was hurt.

I think you should urge the insurance to write the car off. Almost all pillars are bent and the suspension components would have also taken a massive hit.

The time will depend on the insurance company and the surveyor. If the total loss claim gets settled within a month, consider yourself lucky.

[libranof1987]

Another point of consideration: how long does your uncle plan to keep the car? If it's going to be long term, he could consider getting it repaired (if the insurance surveyor agrees too). Else, if he intends to sell it off fairly soon, the hit on resale value will be huge (assuming that he discloses this accident).

[alpha1]

I don't see any reason why you should write it off or sell it off.
The damage has been on upper side of the shell (roof side) and A and C pillars bent.
Nothing that breaks the car. It is metal and metals are malleable. If it is bent, it can be straightened.

[saket77]

They will need to do a good job else the drive will be shaky, esp. at higher speeds. The good thing is that the front part of monocoque is not damaged, but due to the special design characteristics of the monocoque where each member supports the other member, I will reserve my comments for the crash worthiness as a whole. But my balance is tilting in favor of a positive outcome, if repaired. The pillars will need a very careful alignment and straightening, else high speed stability may be a problem.

Regards.

[theexperthand]

May be a stupid question, but cant the body shell be replaced (like the Jeep tubs) - i think the damage is mostly on body parts and if you can replace the body shell, I think the car should be back to factory condition.

--Anoop

[vinair]

Originally Posted by theexperthand

May be a stupid question, but cant the body shell be replaced (like the Jeep tubs) - i think the damage is mostly on body parts and if you can replace the body shell, I think the car should be back to factory condition.

--Anoop

Welcome to the world of monocoque construction buddy! The A, B and C pillars are the main frame in this type of construction and any damage to this is just not repairable to the original condition. The main frame provides the much needed structural rigidity and any compromise to this will have a greater impact to the overall vehicle dynamics.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

Originally Posted by AbhiJ

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.

Originally Posted by libranof1987

Another point of consideration: how long does your uncle plan to keep the car? If it's going to be long term, he could consider getting it repaired (if the insurance surveyor agrees too). Else, if he intends to sell it off fairly soon, the hit on resale value will be huge (assuming that he discloses this accident).

Agree with libranof1987.
While deciding whether to write-off or keep, do consider the hit in the resale value and do the calculations.

The car is 3 years old. The insurance declared value will be around 72% of the ex-showroom price if you considered 10% depreciation every year. In case of total loss, you will bear around 28% of the ex-showroom price you paid + price hike till today + taxes and registration for new car. Compare this with the hit in resale value + your contribution to repairs even with insurance + lost no claim bonus next year.

Get the numbers from relevant sources (quotes from new car dealers, quote from ASS and insurance company about your contribution to repair, quote from used car dealer etc.) and do the math yourself.

[theexperthand]

Originally Posted by vinair

Welcome to the world of monocoque construction buddy! The A, B and C pillars are the main frame in this type of construction and any damage to this is just not repairable to the original condition. The main frame provides the much needed structural rigidity and any compromise to this will have a greater impact to the overall vehicle dynamics.

Exactly! That is why my question of replacing the whole body shell (monocoque) insted of repairing the A,B,C pillars and roof.

--Anoop

[shady_lawyer]

A terrible week to be a Sunny. My heart goes out to your relative!
I just showed these photographs to my S.A. at Sterling in Gurgaon. He says while its possible to repair the car, it will never be same since the monocoque has taken a massive hit.

The A-Pillar is spot welded to a ribbed roof as an integral structure right above the passenger door (which has taken the brunt of the blow).

Secondly, the ripple effect has caused the D-pillar member to break from the inside causing the strange deformation on the sheet metal as seen from the rear angle picture.

Thirdly, the crush/crumple zones of the fender area on the left side have bulged out signifying damage to the unibody, firewall and cross member, as also the welded joints upon which the sheet metal panel is mounted.

He also suspects damage to the mounting of the suspension and the under skirts (read the running board, trim line area including the front left reinforced jack point) which will affect the stability.

His verdict- repair it if you want to keep it in the city only, and that too under 50-60 kmph else its a write off.

The cost nothing under 1.5 to 2.25 L especially since extremely complex straightening and spot welding work will be required.

[gowda79]

Abhij nothing to worry the car will be back to its glory in 30-40days, our Manza had gone through same incident and the Tata Service centre people had done a very good job on the vehicle.

The total cost for my car was 1.8Lacs in total, in that 1.5Lacs was paid by Insurance and 30K from my pocket the changes included the top bonnet, bumpers, lights, 2 doors & dicky everything was replaced.

The vehicle will run as it was running before but make sure you follow with the service guys on regular basis and get involved with insurance people and sort out the claim process.

[cruising_rapid]

Indeed a very bad week for Sunny owners. What looks like that it can be repaired may not be the same after repair. The A, B and C pillars have taken the punishment and the structural integrity of the monocoque frame will not be the same after that skilful straightening and spot welding job. At expressway speed, the composure will always be a question mark. Be rest assured that the suspension has taken a massive hit and if your uncle goes in for a replacement of many components then its going to be a costly affair because its not a dep cap insurance.
And that brings me to the question that for how long he plans to keep the car. If he has not decided to keep it for long, then he should be pre-poning his plans to sell it. Remember that the resale value will be affected too(Assuming he discloses the accident), so sooner the better. Please do the maths and decide.