[swiftnfurious]

I don't think the Mahindra guys got any legal point at all! Rear-ending is a complete fault on the vehicle behind and you can't be held guity irrespective of driving fast / slow, braking hard / soft!

They are just trying to intimidate you with all these tactics so that they go scott free & don't have to pay anything from their pocket. Good that you tweeted Mr. Anand & Mr. Pawan, they are usually responsive. And please ensure all the right & important facts are captured in the FIR (including the driver's opinion that you were in the car & made the phone call to police).

Unless you have a crunch on time, please do not let these scoundrels free - if you do, they'll continue to play such dirty games on others too. I am so infuriated by the manager's allegations on you! Also, please ensure you have an advocate with you the next time you go to discussion and may be a good friend too; all these will provide a lot of moral support against the dirty tricks.

Please keep calm and let us know the updates.

[sunishsamuel]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

I don't think the Mahindra guys got any legal point at all! Rear-ending is a complete fault on the vehicle behind and you can't be held guity irrespective of driving fast / slow, braking hard / soft!

Unless you have a crunch on time, please do not let these scoundrels free - if you do, they'll continue to play such dirty games on others too. I am so infuriated by the manager's allegations on you! Also, please ensure you have an advocate with you the next time you go to discussion and may be a good friend too; all these will provide a lot of moral support against the dirty tricks.

Please keep calm and let us know the updates.

Yes, i don't think i can ever hold the manufacturer responsible for dealer's fault, especially accident cases. I tweeted as i believe Mr. Mahindra or Mr. Goenka will at least direct someone to investigate and understand what happened and also direct dealership to work within the legal framework and responsibility. I want them to inform the owner of the vehicle and also share the insurance details, in addition paying up the difference what the insurer will not cover. I think that's a genuine ask, isnt it ? I do not want to drag the owner of Xylo in this issue (he is also a victim like me) but that solely depends on how the dealership wants to sort this out.

Thank you for the suggestion, i will make sure all details are captured in the FIR.

[chetan]

@sunishsamuel, Do you have a picture of the Xylo's number plate ? If you do there is an app, I have forgotten its name, I am sorry. My friend used this app to get the owners' details of a car which was in a similar situation.
If you know anyone at the RTO, you can get the owners details by showing the picture of the number plate.

If you can get the details on the owner of the other car, he can also a lodge a complaint against the dealer and there will be more pressure on them, provided the cops co-operate

As it stands, the Mahindra dealer wont pay for your damages. I think it is best you claim insurance.

[ilbkrishna]

Dealerships will try and bully you. Totally depends on the cop and yourself. Unfortunately not a great situation. I had got into a similar situation with a cab owner.

Things that help.
1. Keep calm. Evaluate your options.
2. Find a cop you know. This eases your pain by 100%.
3. Speak to the people who matter. Do not get into discussions with anyone and everyone.
4. Settle up.
5. Insurance - There is always a blemish on your vehicle records now. Claiming or not perhaps wont do much of a difference except on the NCB factor.

As well, I see that you have tweeted regarding this. Perhaps including Mr. Gadkari and Anand Mahindra in a single tweet may help.

Good luck and as they say, it could have been much worse.

[sunishsamuel]

Originally Posted by ilbkrishna

Dealerships will try and bully you. Totally depends on the cop and yourself. Unfortunately not a great situation. I had got into a similar situation with a cab owner.

Things that help.
1. Keep calm. Evaluate your options.
2. Find a cop you know. This eases your pain by 100%.
3. Speak to the people who matter. Do not get into discussions with anyone and everyone.
4. Settle up.
5. Insurance - There is always a blemish on your vehicle records now. Claiming or not perhaps wont do much of a difference except on the NCB factor.

As well, I see that you have tweeted regarding this. Perhaps including Mr. Gadkari and Anand Mahindra in a single tweet may help.

Good luck and as they say, it could have been much worse.

I understand, more than the NCB factor I am only trying my best to make sure the issue gets necessary attention and not swept under the carpet. I am not sure of any change or positive outcome but let me try once.

Originally Posted by chetan

@sunishsamuel, Do you have a picture of the Xylo's number plate ?

If you can get the details on the owner of the other car, he can also a lodge a complaint against the dealer and there will be more pressure on them, provided the cops co-operate

As it stands, the Mahindra dealer wont pay for your damages. I think it is best you claim insurance.

Yes, got the details of the Xylo's plate and based on the registration number, found the owner name. Now we are trying to find the contact details of the owner.

[vigsom]

Originally Posted by swiftnfurious

Rear-ending is a complete fault on the vehicle behind and you can't be held guity irrespective of driving fast / slow, braking hard / soft!

They are just trying to intimidate you

+1 to that.

I hit an Indica from behind because he braked because an irresponsible biker suddenly jutted into his path.It was a freak accident but I gave the taxi guy a 1000 bucks to replace his taillight.I got my car done up at my expense.

In a second incident , I braked hard to prevent me being part of a pile up ahead of me.I must have been at 35kmph.An alto behind me couldn't brake in time and rear ended my Corolla.That driver was shivering but I realised it was bad luck and just told him to get his car done up at his expense , and got mine done up at my expense.

In another case involving my uncle , he stopped because a Tata Ace came in his path all of a sudden.An Amaze hit my uncle's car from behind.The Amaze owner tried to dodge the claim (with a similar explanation as the Xylo driver) but eventually paid 12k
against a repair estimate.

I think the Ford must be touched up at an FNG so that NCB remains intact

[Turbanator]

I want them to inform the owner of the vehicle and also share the insurance details, in addition paying up the difference what the insurer will not cover. I think that's a genuine ask, isnt it ?

I am not aware if you can actually get your Endeavour repaired on Xylo insurance, it will be a cumbersome process if at all they do under the third party and who knows what all be approved. Even though it's not your fault, better get your car repaired on your Insurance. Most of the new cars have Zero Dep, you will only lose 20 % NCB which anyways is getting difficult to maintain given the traffic conditions these days and amicably take off the complaints at PS against each other. Best case, tell them to shell for NCB loss if they agree else move forward, there's a reason why we get Insurance.

Also post some more clear photos of the damage to your truck, maybe you can try to get dent removed without re-paint.

[sunishsamuel]

Yes, the 3rd party claim process is cumbersome and that's why people are so confident "nothing will happen to them" Some details here

Attached a bigger pic. The bumper took the impact well but broken.

[n.devdath]

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel

Attached a bigger pic. The bumper took the impact well but broken.

Which city? Which M&M dealer?

Further, like what the others have said, you are not at fault and need not bother or bog down. If I were you, I would ensured that the Xylo owner is contacted and taken into confidence as well. Why dont you pull up the vehicle's registration number and get the details online? Most RTOs have this provision these days.

[SumitB]

Sorry for your loss but accidents do happen.

This is an incident which is repeated in India time and time again. We need to take our own precautions. I, for one, have Dash cams in all the 4 vehicles of mine. Both in the front and rear. While it is not 100% foolproof, at least, in situations such as this, I have proof to prove my innocence.

[Skyline_GT]

Tailgating is a sure recipe for accidents no matter how much the speed is.
The behavior with which the manager handled the situation is not uncommon or unheard of.
Feel pity for the Xylo owner who might not even be informed about what his car has been through.

Regarding getting name and details of the Xylo owner with help of the car's number plate this app might help-
https://play.google.com/store/apps/d...cuvora.carinfo

[finneyp]

Swiftnfurious already said what I wanted to say, please get a good lawyer, am sure you will win the case with the required compensation for the damage caused by Xylo driver's reckless driving.

[sunishsamuel]

Update:

The whole of saturday was lost behind this issue but worth it. The officer at the station tried reasoning to the Mahindra dealership staff about the consequences. The case will be filed on the car so the owner will have to be called and involved in this issue. The dealership Manager was adamant and he also told that he is okay to leave the customer vehicle at the police station.

Fair enough, the officer starts working on the FIR. Advocate will proceed from here.

Now the scene changes. The Manager who was trying to bully till then talks to me as if we are friends for a long time. Smile replaces anger, smooth talking replaces the rash tone. Wow

He tells me the following:

1) The driver will be penalized for his mistake. He is already demoted (he is not a driver but a quality check technician) and a good amount of money will be deducted from his salary to fix the Xylo. The Xylo customer is already informed (that's his claim) and the customer made it very clear that he will not pay a single rupee towards fixing the car.
2) The driver comes from a poor background with a very low salary, so it will be a big blow if he has to deal with the case.
3) I told very clearly that i was ready to forgive and move on but you accused me of a lot of things and also told that i can file a case and do whatever i want and i just did that. You also told that you filed a case against me.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
(the so called case against me states as follows "Dear Sir, our driver was testing customer car and he met with an accident. I, <name> will guarantee that the driver <name> will be produced before the investigating officer by 10.00am on Saturday") I have a copy of this.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4) He also mentioned that the Xylo sufferred following damages/broken parts:
a) Radiator
b) Condensor
c) Grill+Hood
d) Engine casing
e) Filter box
The total cost of repair will be more than 1.25Lakhs. The engine was fixed after some trouble and needs another overhaul.

To this I asked him isn't that an exaggeration ? The Ford cars are not tanks ! The manager shows me a bunch of papers which is an estimate of the repairs needed for the Xylo. He will use it to claim insurance from the dealership insurer. I feel its a hype but let me move on.

5) The manager promised to call me and discuss how to proceed further. Let's see how this goes. He also assured me that if me or any of my friends got a Mahindra vehicle, he will get the repair done for a discount (well, too hypothetical) but i kept listening.

The Good:

The officer at the station kept assuring me that "Its our duty to provide relief to citizens within the framework of law" They were very courteous and will not treat you like criminals as long as you dont lie. They are so experienced that they can detect lies within a few seconds. That's why the driver stopped his accusations and calmed down eventually.

Thanks to a friend of mine, who is an auto enthusiast and a senior executive who provided me the contacts of the folks who i should reach out to get things going. In spite of his busy schedule, he also kept checking on the status. Thanks to my classmate and his colleague, who left work midway and came to the spot to be with me. They also suggested that we report the issue to police because we do not know how things turn up. Thanks to team-bhp, the posts were encouraging and providing the necessary support and guidance to deal with a situation like this.

Lessons learned:

1) Sorry to sound negative, but before you take your car after service, please personally check (even if you are busy) the car inside out and make sure nothing was damaged/replaced/repainted.
2) It seems these kind of incidents are way too common (and not just restricted to one brand) one of the officer also told about an incident where a customer Fortuner was taken for test drive and ended up killing a pedestrian. Dealership sorted it out and the customer (not sure who) decided not to pursue further. So if you dont see the experiences on Team-bhp that does not mean that everything is good with dealerships of manufacturers beyond Ford and Mahindra. Because dealerships can fudge the records, you might not even see some of the "damages" appearing in the service records making it look clean.
3) The liability of any manufacturer after selling the car is restricted only to warranty and part recalls to keep the vehicle functioning. Beyond a point they will not be too worried about goodwill and negative publicity arising due to such incidents. At the max they will end up canceling the dealership license but that's it.

Sounds way too pessimistic ? I only hope none of us will get that surprise call from police station or letter from any advocate claiming damages from you because your vehicle was involved in some accident!

What next:

1) Need to see if we can file a case or PIL to amend the terms and conditions. Not sure how far it will go, but "customer will be responsible for any damages" clause while giving the car for servicing and valet parking needs a change.
2) If customer will be responsible for everything then why do we need authorized service centers, valet parking facilities ? Such a clause also make the dealership staff to take things very easy.
3) Dashcam is a must. The world is like that, unless there is proof and evidence, ethics is just another word and nothing more.

[asingh1977]

Originally Posted by sunishsamuel

2) The driver comes from a poor background with a very low salary, so it will be a big blow if he has to deal with the case.

Only if he had been honest the first time round, things would have never reached here. A tight slap, there on the road would have fixed him. But of course civil sense speaks else wise. What does coming from a poor background signify..? That one can outright lie and get away with it. The manager who is dealing with you, ask him: if he is from a poor background too. He is certainly behaving in a similar fashion. Really sad to see how deeply they embroiled you in all this. Good you stuck to your guns.

[sunishsamuel]

Originally Posted by n.devdath

Which city? Which M&M dealer?

Further, like what the others have said, you are not at fault and need not bother or bog down. If I were you, I would ensured that the Xylo owner is contacted and taken into confidence as well. Why dont you pull up the vehicle's registration number and get the details online? Most RTOs have this provision these days.

City Hyderabad. M&M dealer - VVC Motors, Kothaguda, Hyderabad.

Originally Posted by asingh1977

Only if he had been honest the first time round, things would have never reached here. A tight slap, there on the road would have fixed him. But of course civil sense speaks else wise. What does coming from a poor background signify..? That one can outright lie and get away with it. The manager who is dealing with you, ask him: if he is from a poor background too. He is certainly behaving in a similar fashion. Really sad to see how deeply they embroiled you in all this. Good you stuck to your guns.

The moment you assault or hit someone the case gets into a different tangent. So even if you are getting assaulted, we need to make sure that we do not hit anyone back.

The background is often used as a reason to escape when you are caught in some trouble, especially in accident cases. Since those type of dialogues generally gain sympathy from public, people tend to use it more often than needed to justify their mistakes. Justice and law should be equal for all.