Wife was in a car wreck today - everyone is O.K.

[Lotsokids]

Just as I got my other car running, my wife got in a collision with our 2006 Suzuki Swift. A guy made a u-turn in front of her and she hit his door. She had no time to react. It was enough of an impact to blow the airbags and short the horn, so it would sometimes randomly sound until I pulled the connector off. The police came and we called a translator. The other driver was repeatedly apologizing. We will be meeting at the insurance company Monday to see what will be worked out. That will be interesting!

Before:



After:

[1tinindian]

Amazing such light damage to the front will blow the bags.
Just glad to hear everyone is alright.

Leon

[rktmanfj]

Amazing such light damage to the from will blow the bags.
Just glad to hear everyone is alright.

Leon

+1

Cars are lots easier to fix than people... glad everyone is okay!

[spsmith_fj1200]

Glad everyone is OK, just shaken up.

The damage does not look bad, but with all of the sensors and crumple zone stuff, who can tell.   Better the car than the occupants.

[weymouth399]

Amazing such light damage to the from will blow the bags.
Just glad to hear everyone is alright.

Leon

+1

Cars are lots easier to fix than people... glad everyone is okay!

+ 1

Bob W

[Lotsokids]

Thanks guys.

My daughter drove it a couple weeks ago and ran into some rocks on the right front and broke the front ground effects. I guess I don't need to worry about THAT anymore!

[Lotsokids]

This situation is getting bad. There was a repair shop (dealership) that said they could repair the car for about $3,000. The car would have been totaled at $3,500. After about 1 month in the shop, we got it back. But the front seatbelts kept locking up. I couldn't pull them down to buckle them while sitting in the car. After about 2 minutes of tugging, they would finally free up. So we contacted our translator to arrange replacement of the seatbelts. They have an explosive charge inside them that locks them permanently upon deployment of the airbags, so I know they replaced them. Well now the repair shop said they ran out of money for the repair, so they want ME to pay for them - the bad ones THEY installed. Needless to say, I was a little ticked off. I just wrote a nasty email to my interpreter and explained that THEY installed bad seatbelts and THEY will pay to replace them, not me. It's not my fault.

Through this whole process, both my interpreter and the repair shop were in agreement that I would need to pay.

I reminded them that my ground effects were destroyed, but were not replaced. But that's common here to only repair to factory specs. Nobody here is compensated for aftermarket items regardless who was at fault for damaging them.

I'm a little angry now... 

[ELIMINATOR]

Bad enough having an an incident in your own country, you can do without this added stress. Different countries have different rules. 

But, fitting bad parts like seatbelts! What's their general concept of health and safety?

Just remember getting angry only hurts you. Focus on the fact that everyone is OK. If there were injuries, you wouldn't care about the car.

[Lotsokids]

Well, the situation is getting worse. The repair shop still refuses to replace the faulty seat belts they installed without additional consent from the insurance adjuster. The insurance adjuster refuses to add this to the claim unless I PAY FOR A DIAGNOSTIC proving the seat belts are faulty, even though my airbag/seat belt light is permanently lit on the dash. Tomorrow I have a meeting with a Hungarian lawyer and my translator. Should be interesting. I have yet to contact the repair shop headquarters (Skoda) and the U.S. Embassy in Budapest.

I want to take a hammer and break a windshield in a new Skoda in their showroom and later bring over a different cracked windshield and glue it in. Then I'll say THEY need to buy a new windshield if they don't want a cracked one. I don't have any more money for the repair.
Same situation.

I guess I'm a typical American. I'd rather pay $200 in lawyer fees than spend the $25 they require for a diagnostic. Seriously irritating.

[fj11.5]

wow , can't believe your still having issues mate, just wondering what ground effects are ? neon lighting ?

[Dan Filetti]

Ground effects are air spoilers/ vents/ or louvered body work that run along the bottom edge of the car, near uh well, the ground they can be fairly extensive in the aftermarket, and can be placed on all 4 sides of the car. 




Dan

[fj11.5]

called skirts here ,

[Lotsokids]

wow , can't believe your still having issues mate, just wondering what ground effects are ? neon lighting ?

Yes, they are just small aftermarket pieces on the lower front that match the sides. You can see them in my pictures.