As of now, all I can say is, the car is running like new.
BHPian Samba recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
More bad time followed the Etios: Accident & Restoration.
On 3rd November I was in Bangalore. My dad called me at 10-30 in the morning and told me they met with an accident with our Etios which was being driven by our trusted driver. This guy has driven our cars for more than 20 years! He never had any such incidents like this before. But then there are bad days.
My parents were on their way to Mandarmani to spend the weekend on a seaside, when a truck hit our car from behind. The car went and hit a guard rail.
My dad & the driver were fine, but my mom sustained some minor injuries so my dad who is a doctor himself said that he would like see an X-ray for mom.
I asked whether the car was drivable or not? My dad said it was drivable.
Then our driver shared a couple of pics of our car, and upon seeing the pics my heart sank.
I told my dad to reach the hospital and get the first aids first, by then I would arrange something to take care of the car.
They directly reached the Hospital and the X-ray report confirmed that everything was fine. No fractures were found which was a relief. They discharged my mom in a couple of hours after keeping her under observation and gave her some pain killers.
My friend Bhpian Mountaindeep’s dad who is a very senior doctor at Fortis Hospital, Kolkata, & he took care of the entire hospital process.
I called up my friends, Bhpian Sayata & Bhpian AviC93 who came to the hospital and arranged a cab for my parents and the driver to reach home. Bhpian Sayata & AviC93 took my car to H.B.Autoneeds from where I had decided to get the car repaired.
The IDV of my 13-year-old car is just 1.67L, so if I would have given it to Toyota they would of charged higher of Rs 2L and the car would have gone for a total loss.
Many people told me to claim total loss and get rid of this car. My dad was even looking at the new Dzire to replace this car.
But, I was hell bent on retaining this car. Whatever be it, I was not ready to let go of the Etios.
After I came back from Bangalore on 8th Nov, I went to the FNG the very next day and drove the car. I assessed the damage and I was confident that with good workmanship the car can be brought back to its earlier form.
I told them, to open up the car and then decide the next steps.
Thankfully after opening up, we found the body panels were damaged but the internal frame or the body shell was fine with some very minor damage which was possible to repair. So that meant the car will retain the factory welds of the internal body shell which was a big relief.
I strictly told them, no tinkering or denting work to be done. I want all new body panels from Toyota. Cost won’t matter, but I want the car like new.
They kept their promise and no cost cutting were done anywhere. It took us one and a half month’s time to complete the whole work. I frequently kept visiting the workshop.
Pics shared from the accident spot.
I visited the workshop on 10th November to inspect the car.
All new body panels and spare parts were ordered from Toyota.
Unboxing the spares.
The work begins.
The welding saga.
Slowly the car was coming back to shape.
My friend Bhpian AJ-Got-Bhp has opened a new Ceat store with the latest equipments for alignment, balancing and some detailing services. His store is very near to H.B.Auto Needs. So after the initial work, we sent the car to his place to get the alignment checked. The rear was fine but the front caster was out. On further inspection we found the front lower arm to be damaged. So a new lower arm and all 4 wheel bearings, along with two new rear struts were ordered.
Once the mechanicals were sorted, the paint job started.
Applying welding primer to protect these places from rust in the future.
After all the job was done, again the alignment was checked and this time everything was perfect.
Bhpian AJ-Got-Bhp & Bhpian Altocumulus checking the paint job. After that it was decided to get a detailing & paint correction work, so the slight mismatch with the old paint would be rectified.
Bhpian AJ-Got-Bhp did a fantastic job and finally the car looks line new.
Things wouldn’t have been so smooth without the support from my wife (Bhpian DogNDamsel12), who stood by me & agreed about retaining this car.
Happy us!
After the work, I have driven the car for just 100 km. Before that we took many test drives too, to nullify the small niggles.
As of now, all I can say is, the car is running like new. Mr.Hritam the owner of H.B.AutoNeeds did an excellent work. I am really happy with their attention to details.
Hoping the car to hold up well in future. I have no plans to sell this car. If any niggles or any issues crop up, will again spend time and rectify that and will retain the car.
Total Damage to pocket- Rs 1.40L.
Special thanks to Bhpian- Sayata, AviC93, SouraC, arindamxeta, Shankha007, Blooming flower, Bodhi_25, & Aj-Got-Bhp for their immense support.
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