[shankar.balan]

Driving along Sarjapur Road today near Dommasandra at 530 pm. Braked for one of those elephantine speed breakers. Got royally rear ended!

Bang came a motorbike right into our rear bumper. Missed the rear lights. But the bumper looks quite bad. Plus it's gone out of alignment and has a good sized crack in it.

Of course the bikers fell down etc and I went and helped them up and since one of them had grazed his feet I put some disinfectant and tissue on it and sped him on his way.

They looked like workmen on a construction site or something. Did not make much of a fuss. I guess they realized it was their fault for riding too fast and too close!

Looks like some work ahead for Mr Dinesh and team at Trend Automobiles. Just hope it doesn't break the bank!

[racer_ash]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Got royally rear ended!

------------
Looks like some work ahead for Mr Dinesh and team at Trend Automobiles. Just hope it doesn't break the bank!

Ouch! that would have hurt. But glad to know that no one was severely injured and most importantlty, it did not get ugly by means of verbal abuse and such stuff that such bikers are known for.

My i20s front left fender and bumper were brutally scraped inward by a acreless RTC bus driver when both of us were taking a right turn. Luckily in my case, the bumper did not get dislodged but was bent inwards along with the fender and the bumper mounts. The left fender was replaced and the bumper repainted (with the loss of one Team BHP sticker). I was charged around 1200/- + mandatory dedcutible of 500/-. The total cost of repair along with painting came to 7900/-.

Now the i20s bumpers have clips that hold them together and AFAIK there are no screws. SO incase your mounting clips are intact, then it should be an easy job of just fixing them back to place. Also if your bumper is cut or broken, then you can as well change it. Nothing that insurance and a good service centre cannot take care of. You only need to decide between foregoing ur NCB and paying out of your own pocket based on the quote received

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by racer_ash

Ouch! that would have hurt. But glad to know that no one was severely injured and most importantlty, it did not get ugly by means of verbal abuse and such stuff that such bikers are known for.

Now the i20s bumpers have clips that hold them together and AFAIK there are no screws. SO incase your mounting clips are intact, then it should be an easy job of just fixing them back to place. Also if your bumper is cut or broken, then you can as well change it. Nothing that insurance and a good service centre cannot take care of.

Ouch indeed! The bikers were in some shock. They sat by the side of the road clutching their legs for a bit. One of them had a grazed big toe but otherwise they were neither of them the worse for wear. The rider was helmeted but the pillion rider was not.

I think they were quite shocked that I stopped, came back to them calmly with some disinfectant and tissue and helped them to recover. Stood with them talked to them and told them about the unmarked speed breaker and told them off about riding too fast and too close, the pillion rider not wearing a helmet etc. They listened to me in a rather bemused manner.

They accepted that they were lucky and left without cursing etc. I was very worried because that car has a TN Registration and the accident happened well inside KA. Luckily if one goes a bit further down that road, one actually ends up inside the TN border...

Anyway, I have given the car to the best independent tinkering painting garage that I know, M/s Trend Automobiles on Hosur road. The clips and brackets holding the bumper in place are broken and have to be completely replaced/ changed. The bumper itself is badly scarred, paint scraped off and cracked in three places. It is being patched up using the special fibre-glass mesh and special bonding paste - I have seen the Trend guys at work using this method before and I know it works. I have seen the same technique used on Wheeler Dealers by Edd. Next they will sand down the bumper and repaint it in the same silver colour and fit it back.

The whole cost will come to a mere fraction of what an Authorized Hyundai workshop will charge us. I don't want to go through a claim for this and nor do i want to take it to Hyundai.

I believe the car should be back after its operative procedure by tomorrow evening or maximum on Wednesday morning.

Will keep you guys posted with photos once it returns.

[aroonanand]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Anyway, I have given the car to the best independent tinkering painting garage that I know, M/s Trend Automobiles on Hosur road. The clips and brackets holding the bumper in place are broken and have to be completely replaced/ changed. The bumper itself is badly scarred, paint scraped off and cracked in three places. It is being patched up using the special fibre-glass mesh and special bonding paste - I have seen the Trend guys at work using this method before and I know it works. I have seen the same technique used on Wheeler Dealers by Edd. Next they will sand down the bumper and repaint it in the same silver colour and fit it back.

The whole cost will come to a mere fraction of what an Authorized Hyundai workshop will charge us. I don't want to go through a claim for this and nor do i want to take it to Hyundai.

An incident such as this for no fault does hurt. My wife's Black i10 met with a similar incident a couple of months back when a speeding biker rear ended her on Sarjapur road near Jakkasandra. The rear bumper cracked at one place, though no damage to the clips, brackets or paint. Can you give more details on the work that Trent does and how much would it cost for fixing a bumper? For the moment, I have camouflaged the crack with a T-BHP sticker (It was a minor crack only) as I did not want to go through the insurance process. And I was not too comfortable with the idea of visiting JC Road for one of those "mobile bumper experts" who seem to do some sort of a weld - melt - paste strategy !

[shankar.balan]

The I20 came back from the garage today. As you can see from the picture there is absolutely no sign of the damage. Its been beautifully repaired by Dinesh and his team. They genuinely deserve all the compliments that they get, for a job as well done as this one!

Even my Dad who is a perfectionist has confessed himself as impressed. In fact Dinesh called me this morning stating that he wanted to deliver the car personally to my Dad to get his approbation.

So effectively we gave the car yesterday morning at 930 and this morning it was ready at 1030. All repairs, including the paint job done and dusted.
The best part. A very reasonable price indeed. I wont reveal it but suffice it to say that is was a fraction of what I would have paid at the Hyundai Service centre. Also, at the Hyundai centre I would never have got this kind of first class personal care and treatment.
Perfect!

I would wholeheartedly recommend Trend for any and all body work related requirements!

[sagarpadaki]

Shankar, how is the paint color matching and the smoothness of the painted surface compared to the factory painted panels?

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by sagarpadaki

Shankar, how is the paint color matching and the smoothness of the painted surface compared to the factory painted panels?

One cant tell the difference. Truly.

[dark.knight]

Good to see you back in the boards Mr.Shankar. I wonder if Hyundai changing from screws to clips to hold the bumper created any difference in the tension. As I understand the Getz has mounting screws with washer bolts in its assembly.

This has happened 2 times in a minor way in my case, once by a bike and then by a Indica. Both times I was minding my business following the course of heavy traffic moving <5 kmph, while the violating vehicles greeted me with an audible thump moving at 15+kmph, they braked late but it was clear that only after contact they came to a standstill. The bike guy apologised but the cabbie sped away. Both times I was in traffic and I felt upset to get out and check anyway, upon reaching the destination I was pleasantly surprised when I looked - not a scratch and no sign that could point to an incident, the fitting lines were unchanged. This increased my respect for the way the Getz was built even more. 5 years+ and the paint is looking new. i20 being a platform twin should be just as good. Only after a few years of owning a Hyundai does one truly appreciate its quality and reliability.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by dark.knight

i20 being a platform twin should be just as good. Only after a few years of owning a Hyundai does one truly appreciate its quality and reliability.

There is no doubt that the Hyundai cars offer a very good quality and value package to consumers. I do certainly respect what they have created for themselves. Maruti on the other hand is showing too much of a willingness to go down the "cheap" route.

I really like the Hyundai I30 and the Ix35 and the I 40 even. Also love the Hyundai Veloster. Really nice looking and stylish car!

[racer_ash]

@shankar.balan: Good to see your car coming back all gleaming and like new. It is a really good job done by the guys at Trend. I think I should recommned this garage to some of my Bangy friends.

Btw are they a multi car garage. I am asking because, not all of my friends own Hyundais.

Originally Posted by dark.knight

------upon reaching the destination I was pleasantly surprised when I looked - not a scratch and no sign that could point to an incident, the fitting lines were unchanged. This increased my respect for the way the Getz was built even more. 5 years+ and the paint is looking new. i20 being a platform twin should be just as good. Only after a few years of owning a Hyundai does one truly appreciate its quality and reliability.

I had a similar incident with my i20. Last year, in maddening traffic, a smart alec scorpio guy wanted to squeeze in between my car and the metro rail barricade to the right and in the process, his bull bar hit my rear bumper to its right. Now since he was behind me, I stopped my car, leaving him no way to get past me, got down and gave him an earful. What was surprising was that the female in the passenger seat (assuming to be his wife) was equally critical of his driving skills. I was expecting a lot of damage since an almost 2 tonne vehicle hit me at around 10kmph. But the damage was limited to paint transfer from his black bull bar and a small scratch that was hardly visible. The bumper did not even have a misalignment. I could see his bull bar slightly bent inwards at the left side. Not sure if it was due to this incident though. Ofcourse the sound of any vehicle hitting the bumpers breaks your heart.

[shankar.balan]

There is a whole thread on Trend Auto - you can search with the name.
They do all sorts of cars. Even BMW's, Skodas and everything else. Ive personally got a small job done on my Yeti there. I will vouch for these guys!

Originally Posted by racer_ash

@shankar.balan: Good to see your car coming back all gleaming and like new. It is a really good job done by the guys at Trend. I think I should recommned this garage to some of my Bangy friends.

Btw are they a multi car garage. I am asking because, not all of my friends own Hyundais.

hitting the bumpers breaks your heart.

[dark.knight]

Speaking of the i30, people quote it as the most solid, finest built hatchback by Hyundai. Even Martin Winterkorn the VW boss admitted that the interiors were built to precision with nothing rattling, he was obsessed with the steering height controller lever that had a soft motion when adjusted, looking at his men he quoted as translated "BMW can't we can't how can they?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpPNVSQmR5c

Another video of a unique & amusing way to test the car overall.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JiDWZ0DBblI

[BulZire]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I would wholeheartedly recommend Trend for any and all body work related requirements!

Shankar, Indeed a perfect finish and I believe your dad should be happy now.

I did some body work on my safari a year back in Trend. They did excellent color matching and dry denting. The cost was also cheaper than what TASS quoted. Stongly recommend them.

Satish and Dinesh does know their job well