Car Accident - India - What to do?

It seems to be a period of unwanted tension & loss.

I had a recent car accident with an ambassador - tourist. At the Nungambakkam signal @ abt 10 kms per hr during rush hour traffic. The tourist car was at fault and his minor scratch on his car due to his rash driving translated in heavily scratched & dented left panel and mud guard for me. The reckless driver's sudden lane change without signalling and aggressive driving tactics left me very little choice to escape.

I went to the Police station and everything / reports were given in my favor. But I did not take a written statement from the driver stating his fault. That turned out to be my mistake.

I was unable to collect on 3rd party insurance due to this small fact. (In US, it is treated differently where the police statement is the final word.)

Car Accident - Not my fault!

Lessons Learnt:
1. Call the cops for report
2. Inform sequence which led to the crash.
3. Show proof.
4. Take photos with you mobile camera of angle of crash, your car and his car
5. At police station, you provide your
(i) Driving license
(ii) Insurance
(iii) Registration
6. Signed statement from police of what happened. / FIR ( If you opt for FIR, the police will detain your car at the police station quoting that it has to compulsorily go for a brake test. Unless your car is damaged beyond use, do not go for this option. It is a test of endurance and you will end up going back and forth between police station. RTO Office and other places as instructed. This could be a point of collection also. You may end up losing more.)
7. Take an original copy of the report from the police.
8. Get a signed letter from the defaulted party that it is his fault and that his insurance company is responsible (I did not do this step alone)
9. Get a copy of his DL, Insurance certificate & Registration.
10. Call his insurance company and submit the data collected. (Take a personal copy first)
11. His insurance company will pay after verification.
12. You can give your car to the service center for evaluvation of damage.
13. Work to an amicable figure which is accepted by the insurance personnel and also the repair person.
14. Your No claim Bonus is intact!!!

In US, if you make a 3rd party claim through your insurance, they in turn will collect moneys from the offending party's insurance and your insurance stays intact. This facility is not available in India!!

My insurance company in India also quoted something like knock for knock policy. In a group of insurance companies, this translates to each insurance company paying for their insured car.
But in the consumer angle, you can still collect from the offending party insurance. (Though in the payment process, external to you, will be made by your company only)

Without a driver attestation owing responsibility for the car accident, you will be left in a lurch and you will have to file a legal case with a lawyer/attorney. That will translate to 5-10 years for settlement. That also translates you to many trips to the court and loss of work time.

Why should "we" the non defaulting party bear the loss?

When are the Indian Insurance companies going to adapt some of the right ethics from their counter parts in US?

Quick Office Tips

Excel
1. Wrap text within the cell --> Press Alt+ Enter
2. Move to the next sheet in the workbook --> CTRL+PAGE DOWN
3. Move to the previous sheet in the workbook --> CTRL+PAGE UP
4. Shortcut, make charts --> F11
5. To select the entire column --> CTRL+SPACEBAR
6. To select the entire row --> SHIFT+SPACEBAR
Word / PowerPoint
Align – Justify --> Ctrl + J

Google Maps

Hey, Check out the satellite image view (link on that page) here. It is really brilliant of Google to do something like that ! Now the chances of getting lost is even minimum and you do not have to go for a costly GPS system. Hah !

The next step will be a virtual walkthrough or should I say a driving experience!!!

Any plans for this ?

Buzy with Car Purchase !

Mmmmmm...Finally my car purchase is over. It had gone well over 2 months. Finally I came upon the technique which works.
1. Search for the car in Craig's list (Private seller). http://www.craigslist.org/ (This list is useful for a whole lot of other things also) Also check out these websites also: http://www.autotrader.com/ and http://www.cars.com/go/index.jsp

Check MSN Auto for reviews on your car and whether it has a recall and user's reviews: http://autos.msn.com/research/vip/default.aspx?make=Mitsubishi&model=Mirage&src=map

2. Check the VIN number in www.carfax.com for any salvage/damage title, odometer fault. If yes, forget the vehicle. If things are clean, next step is

3. KBB value at http://www.kbb.com.

4. Finally contact seller, take a drive and if you find things good, then take to a mechanic or dealer for a 100 point inspection.

You can request the seller to meet you, most of them oblige (specially Indians in US). If you don't have a car and are dependent on friends, you can mention it to the seller, he will mostly come, except in exceptional cases.
If the car has cleared the 100 point inspection also, yes, the car is good. Go ahead and strike a deal with the seller. Try to purchase at the good KBB value of the car, if you do not get it for any less.

5. The next step is change of ownership title. You will have to register this at your local DMV office.

Not so fast..

6. U need a smog certificate

7. Also an insurance certificate to drive the car. (providing u hold a licence). You will find that the IDP can also be used. Get one before you come to US. You can complete an online quote and deal for the insurance. Companies like Progressive (the best one so far), GEICO(the costliest), Allstate (very costly and unfriendly). Also, join up AAA, they offer you maps and roadside assitance 24x7 for punctures, empty gas tank and towing services for the next 1 year.

I have given below the format for car follow-up.
S.No - 1
Year - 1998
Car Brand - Mitsubhi
Variation / Model - DE Sedan Mirage
Miles - 97000
Condition - Good
Asking Price - 4000$
Mail ID - mail id of seller
Where ? - Craig'slist (shortcut)
VIN - 123456789ABC1234
KBB Value-Fair - 2850
KBB Value-Good - 3950
KBB Value-Excel - 4600
Contact Name - ABC
Contact Number - 1231231234
CarFax Report - Rental Use but Good

Lastly but not least base your car purchase based upon resale value and car movement. Better to go for Japanese cars since they sell faster and last longer (upto 2 hundred thousand miles or more) The good brands would be Acura, Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Nissan and Mazda.
Any one needs any other queries answered, please place a comment, I shall get back to you.

Search better in external websites

Modified the search query by google to suit myself. Using this query, a better search can be made on websites. Some sites as we are aware have a terrible search engine and throw up all unwanted links. There are also lots of sites who do not have a search engine.

For example: You want to search for customer details in a company's website and it has no search engine. You will end up going through all the links and searching for that information. Now you have a better and faster method of finding information.

I guess, using google, we could have an advantage here.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&sitesearch=satyam.com&q=profits

Enter the name of the new website at "satyam.com" and the search query at "profits".

Those of you who know already, well and good, those of you who don't, check out this one.