I try to convince the Creta owner that if I use a rubbing compound, the remaining red should go away
BHPian vinya_jag recently shared this with other enthusiasts.
It was peak hour in Bangalore, around 10 am, (Possibly everyone was doing 2-5 km/h at the Banaswadi-Garrison junction) and this Junction is usually full on both sides. Usually, the one coming straight keeps to the left and the ones taking right (at least 3 lanes or more), all jostle for both lanes, and end up landing on the right lane.
Scenario:
My Father, driving the Red Polo (7-year-old) and another person in the White Creta (5-year-old), arrive and jostle for that one position, and since there is a Bus arriving on the other lane, there is absolutely no room, and collide.
They both park on the side after that, take pictures, and exchange phone numbers; my father seems to be in a hurry and says, I have to go, you tell me how much it would cost and I will pay (Seeing a small paint mark).
The Creta person takes pictures and forwards them to my father, with an estimate of Rs 15,000. And asks for the full amount to be paid by my father, as agreed.
This is around the afternoon and then my father calls me and says the same, he says, if I don’t pay up in an hour, he will lodge a complaint.
I see the picture and assume that it was our two-wheeler that scratched the car (Aprilia SR 125, Red, which is also my father’s). I finish work and call the Creta person, saying that I wanted to take a look.
I go there in the evening and realize that it was the car and not the two-wheeler. I at first assumed that wiping away the paint should fix the whole thing, and asked for a wet cloth. I wipe it quite a bit, and the after picture is like this.
I try to convince the Creta owner that if I use a rubbing compound, the remaining red should go away, and the slight imperfection should also be unnoticeable when the wiped-away portion also catches a little fade.
The Creta owner has seemingly enquired at his favourite Hyundai person who says, it needs dent removal and a full repaint. The Creta owner is adamant to get the full work done, and that we should be paying up the full amount. He thinks it was entirely my father’s fault, and for no fault of his, he doesn’t want to claim insurance nor spend anything from his pocket.
In his words, he was already there, and there was no way my father could have sneaked in, but the Polo still crashed into the side.
In my father’s words, the Creta guy saw the bus and turned sharp right instead of holding the left lane, and my father didn’t anticipate him cutting so much, and hitting the vehicle.
I don’t want to take sides here and don’t want to give my opinions here on who is right and who is wrong. I just put across two sides of the story.
When I ask why the Creta owner wants it to be fixed so badly, he said he plans to sell it and doesn’t want this imperfection to come in the way if at all there is a case. He also says that if it was his car, he could have ignored it, but he said it was his wife’s car, and the situation put him in a bad spot. Again I don’t want to contest his opinion that he wants it fully fixed as brand new.
I also took a look around and found that it was very neatly maintained. There were no body scratches, though there were some bumper ones. I just found one deep mark on his left front door, which looked like a piercing mark from a sharp object. So, will this alone drop his resale value? I doubt it. (I didn’t talk about it to him though)
I then tried to convince him that any new paint job done will make it look odd, compared to the rest of the body (I have experience with our own Polo), and you could never convince any potential buyer that this door wasn’t repainted. He doesn’t buy this story. He believes that since the fault is all my Father’s, he needs my father to fix it fully for him.
He also gave other options like:
- You claim the insurance on your car (I actually came to know that it was the car and not the two-wheeler when he said this), but this would need an FIR to be filed, and a few other things.
- So, his proposal is that my father pays up the full amount (15 within a day) and based on how much it actually costs, he will return or ask for more on the bill.
Other options that come to my mind:
- He claims insurance, and we pay up the balance
- He claims insurance, we pay up the balance + No claim bonus
- We just walk away saying that it wasn’t our fault. Even our bumper needs repaint, who will pay for that? (Yes, our Polo bumper also caught a little white and anyways needed repaint for some time now for other scratches)
I gave him my own instances where I had to replace the entire rear hatch for no fault of ours and got nothing from the person who hit, and we claimed our own insurance. Also, another instance where we did take 3000 rupees from someone who didn’t brake and hit two cars. All this didn’t convince him since he believes, those were accidents and this was entirely my father’s mistake. I also said, this also is an accident, but he thought otherwise.
I just want to do the right thing. Need advice from fellow BHPians on this and similar instances. I even convinced him that I would ask my expert friends on Team BHP and then decide.
Here’s what BHPian AJ56 had to say on the matter:
He’s in the wrong lane for turning as per the animation, I fail to see how it’s your father’s fault here. He cut your red car off and he is at fault.
Even if we assume the fault is split 50:50, you claim your insurance, and he claims his that’s how it is in most cases, tell him this is the fairest outcome. In the absence of any dashcams/eyewitnesses, it’s impossible to determine fault legally speaking. Don’t let people bully you unnecessarily.
Sidenote: In India always drive with a dashcam, it is the best insurance policy to safeguard yourself in case of any accidents (assuming you were driving correctly.)
In case you believe it was your father’s fault and want to help him fix it, get it to spot-repainted at your known body shop. There is no legal compulsion to provide remedies at only the authorised service centre. Or simply check if he has zero dep insurance and if he does, offer to pay the lost NCB + claim charge (if any). Do not pay for the entire panel repaint at the dealer in any case.
Here’s what BHPian JohnDoe had to say on the matter:
I would file a complaint against him for damaging my car and then blackmailing me for money.
This is just my personal opinion based on the images you have shared and his attitude of paying within an hour/1 day and threats of filing a complaint.
Also, get a dashcam installed immediately to avoid such situations in future.
Here’s what BHPian speedmiester had to say on the matter:
Tell him to take a hike if he doesn’t agree to fix it outside. Since there are no injuries, no police station will file an FIR/complaint for a simple scratch. The Creta driver is trying to take advantage of your good nature.
Here’s what BHPian AutoNoob had to say on the matter:
First thing, if your father accepts/has accepted this as his fault (in writing a message etc.), then the other guy can claim it to his advantage. The legal process would require your insurance company to pay for the damage to Creta guy (Third Party). However, your insurance company would ask for a copy of the FIR for this accident, which the Third Party has to provide.
Second option: As you mentioned above – He claims insurance, we pay up the balance + No claim bonus
However, if you feel that the guy is trying to extort, you may simply walk away. I don’t think the police will even register a complaint for such a minor incident (at least not in our area).
Keyword: Advice: Minor accident leaves small bruise on Creta, owner asks Rs 15k