Need Your Opinion...

[Bogeyman]

Exactly. Which is why architect needs an objective appraisal of the damage from a disinterested party.

[awing]

*tama, sa Insurance nyo na lang idaaan bro, sure makabigay sila ng advise at solusyon..goodluck!

[roninblade]

how much ba oem rear bumper ng '97 sentra.
kung bumper lang talaga, mataas yung 5K, IMO.
then again, di ko alam exact extent ng damage.

[architect]

Then you should be asking your local repair shop.

Edit perception might be different on the aggrieved party.

Was going to reply but I guess bogeyman replied for me. (Thanks.)

Basically I doubt very much if the taxi owner will not perceive a quote from my regular shop to be undervalued in the same way I will naturally be inclined to regard a quote from his repair shop to be inflated. It is just human nature.

On the other hand, the tsikot community has shown time and again to be fair when it comes to issues like this. There have even been instances in which the community censured a member when it believed the member has committed an offense. So, I am quite confident I should be able to get a fair value from the exchanges here.

I intend to refer the other party to this forum and to see for himself. I believe he will see the fairness in all this. Kind of like arbitration court except less informal and a lot more cost-effective.

[OTEP]

When my dad rear ended a taxi in his Benz, my dad just 'rebent' the bumper back to shape and off they went. Of course, my dad also knows his way around cars so alam niya kung pano dukutin yung bumper at ibalik sa ayos. hehehe.

The Benz was undamaged.

Repainting a bumper for the sake of having color on it (not for a showcar or anything similar) costs around Php1,500.00.

You can try buying a surplus bumper in Banawe or Capalangan and having it repainted. It'll probably be significantly less than the Php5k the taxi guy wants.

Btw, a straight (unbent) original surplus bumper is better than a new 'replacement' (Taiwan) bumper. Hindi maganda ang latag ng pintura sa Taiwan bumper. Sometimes the holes don't line up.

[lolo pepe]

Exactly. Which is why architect needs an objective appraisal of the damage from a disinterested party.

from the posts of architect, he wants us tsikoteers (disinterested party) to give him a fair value for the damage. but without any picture to show the extent of the damage, how can someone make an objective appraisal? we're just all going to speculate about the cost of repair.

mahirap yatang mag investigate at magbigay ng wise decision kung wala tayong reference...my 2 centavos.

[109]

subukan nyo nga daanin sa diplomasya ,baka pwede pa bawasan ang asking price nila na 5000 Php

korek. yan naman ang suggestion ko nung una pa eh malay ni architect pumayag ng kalahati o di tapos ang usapan.

pangalawa, korek din si lolo pepe, "..but without any picture to show the extent of the damage, how can someone make an objective appraisal? we're just all going to speculate about the cost of repair...
mahirap yatang mag investigate at magbigay ng wise decision kung wala tayong reference...my 2 centavos."

pangatlo, it's not only the actual cost of the bumper that we hv to take into account, isama mo na yung "abala".... the time and effort and gaso na makukunsumo going from shop to shop kung saan mas mura, and that means less quality time para sa mas importante mo pang mga gawain at pangangailangan.

hndi naman yan talong sa palengke na prepresyuhan mo ng por kilo. kasama sa babayaran dyan yung abala for both parties.

[GasJunkie]

from the posts of architect, he wants us tsikoteers (disinterested party) to give him a fair value for the damage. but without any picture to show the extent of the damage, how can someone make an objective appraisal? we're just all going to speculate about the cost of repair.

mahirap yatang mag investigate at magbigay ng wise decision kung wala tayong reference...my 2 centavos.

Word!!!!! \m/_ _\m/







:fly:

[GasJunkie]

Speculation is my favorite pastime.

[architect]

*109, lolo pepe

I agree photos would be useful. However since the taxi owner basically wants the bumper replaced, and I don't have any objection to that, the issue is basically the price. Or am I missing something?

*109

Considering that the accident was triggered by the irresponsibility of another driver who fled the scene, as attested by several witnesses, I think I am already being fair in offering to shoulder the physical damages of the taxi. I actually can choose to let our legal counsel contest any claims since they are already on monthly retainer. Yet I chose to attend to this matter personally to avoid having the taxi owner deal with the lawyers. The point is that both parties are obviously inconvenienced by the whole thing but we just have to live with it.

Update: The taxi owner called me up just now and reiterated he wanted P5000. I told him that P5000 is too high. (So far, I have learned that a brand new replacement bumper in Banawe costs P2000 plus P300 installation.) And that if he insisted, then we just go ahead and file an insurance claim.

Then he told me if we go that route, he would demand payment for lost of income since he can not operate the taxi until it is repaired. I told him my insurance does not cover that. If he wants to do that, I will just refer the matter to our legal counsel.

So he backtracked and said he will be willing to have the damage estimated at a repair shop of my choice. So does anyone know a reputable and reliable repair shop in the San Juan/Mandaluyong area?

Thanks for all your inputs.

[afrasay]

yun 5,000 could also include lost of revenue incured during the repair of the taxi unit.

[afrasay]

have it repaired kahit sa hindi reputable repairshop and give him whatever he earns for a day. yes, your driver is not at fault even the taxi driver for that matter what we should also consider other factors such as...does your driver tailgate or isn't he using a cellphone while he's driving? so many variables...

I drive differently and more intently when im following any public utility vehicle.

[OTEP]

How can the taxi not run without a bumper? Nung pinagawa ko yung bumper ng Starex (after an idiot in an L300 crashed into it), I just removed the old bumper and drove around while waiting for the new bumper. That way, walang downtime.

Assuming walang body damage, downtime should only have been limited to the time the taxi was not on the road (e.g. post crash, during the actual installation of the bumper). Even the bumper repainting can be done without the presence of the taxi unit.

Don't tell me nasa garahe ngayon ang taxi at hindi pinapayagang mag-biyahe ng operator hangga't hindi mo binibigay ang bumper. hahaha.

If you give him a bumper that's already painted. Mga 30 minutes lang (that's how long it takes for me to swap bumpers, sorry medyo mabagal) ang 'abala' mo sa kanya. Add mo na lang yung travel time niya to and from your meeting point.

Pictures would be nice.

If you need a jologs paintshop, punta ka lang sa VMA (it's one road away from Banawe) hanapin mo yung matandang kung tawagin ay Mang Louie. Diyan ko pinapintura rocker panel ko nung sumabit sa semento. Two hours lang tapos na. Hindi ko na nga pinatay yung makina. Of course the result is not show-car. But it works.

[GasJunkie]

Practicality is not everyones cup of tea.

[Galactus]

Straight answer:

- P5000 is too much for a replacement bumper.
Fair price would be P3000 (max). This would include also the cost for
the "abala," which is justified, considering the taxi driver's lost income
opportunity.

NEVER drag the l"awyer angle" in simple traffic incidents like these. Bad strategy, and may lead to bad karma. Put yourself in his shoes. All he wants is to get this over and done with. A car without a bumper is an ugly sight, and illegal (but I have to check the LTO website on this). I wouldn't want to ride a taxi without a bumper, and I'm sure others wouldn't want it too. Marami namang ibang taxi dyan.

He quoted P5000, which is just a ploy, since he knows that you will haggle.

Hope everything turns out well.

[OTEP]

Technically speaking, the only taxi to have bumpers were the Kia Pride and Daewoo Racer. Most vehicles in the local market are sold wearing only the hollow external bumper covers without the impact absorbing bumper structure underneath (honeycomb, styro, etc.). But that's nitpicking already.

Pero kung pumayag na sa Php3k, bayaran mo na, have the quit claim signed, and put the incident behind you. Wala pang abala on your part.

[j_avonni]

Technically speaking, the only taxi to have bumpers were the Kia Pride and Daewoo Racer. Most vehicles in the local market are sold wearing only the hollow external bumper covers without the impact absorbing bumper structure underneath (honeycomb, styro, etc.). But that's nitpicking already.

Pero kung pumayag na sa Php3k, bayaran mo na, have the quit claim signed, and put the incident behind you. Wala pang abala on your part.

P3,000 is, I think, fair and reasonable enough.

[architect]

*afrasay

Nope. My driver does not use the cellphone while driving and he knows better than to tailgate.

*Galactus

Not to put put down lawyers or anything but I reserve the use of lawyers for people who deserve it. Like I said, I don't intend to use my legal counsel for as long as he is reasonable. When he stops being reasonable, I let my lawyers do the talking for me.

*j_avonni, Otep, Galactus

You guys were on the money. I counter offered P3000 and he accepted. Hopefully we can settle everything tomorrow.

Thanks for all your comments and suggestions.

[OTEP]

Baka nga tinaasan niya lang in anticipation for your haggling.

Dati kasi na-rear end ako sa Quezon Ave ng isang nanay na nagmamadali pumunta ng Philippine Science.

Siningil ko na nga lang ng half of the fair market value dahil may alam naman akong el cheapo painter (Php750 na nga lang kasi Php1,500 ang industry standard sa bumper refinishing noon circa 1998). Aba tinawaran pa din! hahaha.

We hope you will update us on the outcome of your meeting. Best of luck to you.

[architect]

Ugh. Ran into a hitch.

I just got the police report and it shows a different name as the owner of the taxi involved in the incident. The person who called me up gave a different name. So now I am requesting the person whom I am dealing with to provide proof of ownership before I give him the check. (He had wanted cash.)