Test Driven Tata Nano Ended in Minor Crash. Now Suggestion Required.


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Hello Friends,

I need a suggestion, how to proceed on a bumper crash for Tata Nano test drive vehicle. Let me first explain the back ground of the issue.

My father is very eager to drive a car, he is 55 and now a Novice driver. I own a Maruti Ritz and he don't want to drive it since according to him the view from the vehicle on road is not that good and hence he wanted to try a small car.

As a son its my duty to full fill his wish and hence I though let him sense the pleasue of small vehicle before we actually go on to decide a car. I called Tata motors and arranged for test drive

Dealer appeared promptly on Sunday around 11AM. Unfortunately I was unable to accompany my dad because of personal reasons. You know roads in chennai is pathetic and people from other countries would think that we are under chaos all the time on seeing the traffic.

My dad started to move the vehicle(Tata Nano) and hit a bike parked in the left side of the road with in 3 meters(not 3KMs its just 3 meters). Reason being the road is a bit inclined to the right and the vehicle sliding to the lift. My sister asked the agent to move and talk later since my dad was very frightened as he never had any crash/hit incident before. My self and my dad use to drive my vehicle(Maruti Ritz) on the same road and on the same inclined place many times and this never happened. This proves the stability of the vehicle and at least the agent could have given a caution since only he knows the stability of the vehicle where my father never had a driving experience in that car.

Apologies for the huge detail on the incident background. Now Tata dealers are bugging me to bear the charges to repair the vehicle. I was pretty cautious since I haven't been in this situation before. They also claims that the vehicle is not covered under the insurance since its a new vehicle. I was shocked and started firing back at them. Now they want 50% charges to repair the damage since it would be only 50% if its covered under insurance


Damage details : Front Bumper hit. Either it required replacement or a body shop work. I personally didn't see the vehicle yet and hence I'm unable to give you all the details.

Friends, request you to provide your suggesstions on this to help me proceed further.

Mods : Request you to move this thread to an approapriate sections if this is not the right place to be in.

Thanks
Ramesh
 
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well...Its got nothing to do with the vehicle. Its a crash, and It looks like your dad is at fault here. May be he dint realize that the steering was in a turned position. I think you are lucky that they are asking for 50% charge only.

SORRY FOR BEING DIRECT HERE. But thats how the situation is.
 
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well...Its got nothing to do with the vehicle. Its a crash, and It looks like your dad is at fault here. May be he dint realize that the steering was in a turned position. I think you are lucky that they are asking for 50% charge only.

SORRY FOR BEING DIRECT HERE. But thats how the situation is.
Thank you for the reply Navnit! So I guess you mean to say that there is no need for insurance on test drive vehicle.?

My concern here is, I would like to confirm that if customer is the only one who will be held responsible for any mishap for crash/hit during the test drive.
 
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You can refuse to pay if you want but be prepared for any legal action dealer wants to take. But as you said the car didn't have any insurance then I don't think dealer will file a complaint as its illegal to drive without TP insurance.

If you or your dad have signed a document regarding damage before TD then I think you may get in trouble. But still it doesnt rule out the fact that he was using a vehicle without insurance.

Im sure some legal experts here will help you about that.
If I were you I wouldn't pay him anything, as he is at fault by not having insurance
 
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Thank you for the reply Navnit! So I guess you mean to say that there is no need for insurance on test drive vehicle.?

My concern here is, I would like to confirm that if customer is the only one who will be held responsible for any mishap for crash/hit during the test drive.
ALL vehicles are insured. Without insurance, you cant register a car. The driver is held responsible for the crash. If the SA crashes the car during test drive, then you are not at fault. If the process for the test drive is followed, then you will have to sign an undertaking which holds you responsible for any incidents when you do the test drive. BUT hardly they do it, because you take a test drive for 10 mins or so and these paper works will take 15 mins.
 
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You can refuse to pay if you want but be prepared for any legal action dealer wants to take. But as you said the car didn't have any insurance then I don't think dealer will file a complaint as its illegal to drive without TP insurance.

If you or your dad have signed a document regarding damage before TD then I think you may get in trouble. But still it doesnt rule out the fact that he was using a vehicle without insurance.

Im sure some legal experts here will help you about that.
If I were you I wouldn't pay him anything, as he is at fault by not having insurance
Thank you for the prompt reply achinjain91! My father never signed any document before TD. I consulted with the Maruti dealer from the one I purchased my vehicle and he said that these things happen and the damage would be taken care by the insurance(Bumper to Bumper) since they cover the damages completely. He is not all considering to be an issue and he said Tata Motor dealers is trying to hype the issue. He also suggested me to send an email to the TATA legal team so that they can help me and that would unfortunately bang on the agent who came in here for test drive.
 
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Thread Starter #7
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ALL vehicles are insured. Without insurance, you cant register a car. The driver is held responsible for the crash. If the SA crashes the car during test drive, then you are not at fault. If the process for the test drive is followed, then you will have to sign an undertaking which holds you responsible for any incidents when you do the test drive. BUT hardly they do it, because you take a test drive for 10 mins or so and these paper works will take 15 mins.
You are absolutely right Navnit! But these guys didn't have insurance and hence I'm very concerned where I don't want to negotiate before they justify the reason for not having insurance cover with proper documents.
 
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You are absolutely right Navnit! But these guys didn't have insurance and hence I'm very concerned where I don't want to negotiate before they justify the reason for not having insurance cover with proper documents.
Then I advice you to consult your legal advisor. Ask your LA to talk to them and resolve the issue.

If they happened to have an insurance coverage for the car, then morally its wrong for you to refuse to pay. THATS how I replied to your first post.
 
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As no undertaking was signed then I dont think he is liable to pay even if car had insurance. Im no legal expert, consult an expert on motor vehcls act.

Although if you care about the SA then you can pay them if the amount demanded sounds reasonable (say, below 1k)
 
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Ramesh, as per new rule the test drive vehicle has to be registered in the name of the dealer(company) and must have a valid comprehensive insurance and the driver driving the vehicle should posses a valid driving license which should be checked and confirmed by the dealer before TD, and the risk while TD should be covered by the dealer itself.
The new rule is implemented due to the mishap that a customer died on a test drive on an unregistered vehicle,and the court found the dealer guilty on using an unregistered vehicle to a TD and playing with the life of the customer.

If it is a major accident also there is no need to pay a single penny by the customer,the risk is on the dealer as he offers a test drive on their product in order to sell the product.
It is just like a grape offered by the fruit merchant to taste to a customer before buying it.

I doubt that the individual who brought the car to TD is playing with you.

An Email to the TATA officials will do the job for you.
 
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Thread Starter #11
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Ramesh, as per new rule the test drive vehicle has to be registered in the name of the dealer(company) and must have a valid comprehensive insurance and the driver driving the vehicle should posses a valid driving license which should be checked and confirmed by the dealer before TD, and the risk while TD should be covered by the dealer itself.
The new rule is implemented due to the mishap that a customer died on a test drive on an unregistered vehicle,and the court found the dealer guilty on using an unregistered vehicle to a TD and playing with the life of the customer.

If it is a major accident also there is no need to pay a single penny by the customer,the risk is on the dealer as he offers a test drive on their product in order to sell the product.
It is just like a grape offered by the fruit merchant to taste to a customer before buying it.

I doubt that the individual who brought the car to TD is playing with you.

An Email to the TATA officials will do the job for you.
Wow wow wow alexddas!! Awesome information for me. Although everyone told me that the damage should be taken care by the dealer I didn't know the exact details until I saw your post about the mishap on the test drive happened to customer and that's unfortunate. I really don't understand why the dealer is not following a proper etiquette.

Thanks for the information my friend.
 
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+1 to alex
It is the dealer who is offering the drive at his own risk. Customer didn't force him to do so. Ignore the dealer, if he escalates then you should e-mail TATA.
 
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Ideally, since the car has been hit by you (your dad), then technically the balance insurance charges must be paid by you. However, if the dealer asks you to pay the complete damage charges then shoot out a mail to Tata Customer care asking them to intervene in the issue. But this should happen only in case dealer asks you to pay the full amount else.
 
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@Akash thank you for your reply.


Friends, now the story has been twisted. Now SA claims that the insurance for the vehicle is available but they don't want to use it since they will loose money while selling this vehicle as it will be recorded in service history.

Also they now claim that the vehicle's Air Conditioner compressor is being damaged I really don't know if that's true. SA accepted the rule that the company should bear the repair charges but if they go legally then he would loose money while selling it.

SA says that he can't do anything if I refuse to pay but he may loose the money in his salary. I'm really in a critical situation and I don't want him to be affected. I would have acted against if he threatens me but he is requesting for help so I'm considering to pay the money.

What is your suggestion friends.?
 
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@Akash thank you for your reply.


Friends, now the story has been twisted. Now SA claims that the insurance for the vehicle is available but they don't want to use it since they will loose money while selling this vehicle as it will be recorded in service history.

Also they now claim that the vehicle's Air Conditioner compressor is being damaged I really don't know if that's true. SA accepted the rule that the company should bear the repair charges but if they go legally then he would loose money while selling it.

SA says that he can't do anything if I refuse to pay but he may loose the money in his salary. I'm really in a critical situation and I don't want him to be affected. I would have acted against if he threatens me but he is requesting for help so I'm considering to pay the money.

What is your suggestion friends.?
The SA is just making up stories go get you softened. The absolute responsibility of the TD vehicles is with dealerships only. Did your Dad sign any TD form before going for the TD? If yes, then that form might have some T&Cs for the TD. Get a copy of that form. If the accident happens out of neglect then the driver is under liability else he is not (for a TD vehicle, though it is very very hard to justify that the driver didn't drove with neglect.

freakdude.
 

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