Car Damage By A Security Guard!

[thaigerd]

Ok, here we go:

Last Friday when I went home with my car from work I had t stop at our front gate as usual toget inspected by our security guards. I opened my trunk from inside the car so that he could have a look.

I looked into the mirror just when he closed the trunk and I could see how he pushed down with his hands the rear spoiler for that. I thought OUCH............

When I arrvved home I inspected my spoiler and saw what happened........

Right away I called my boss to report this incident, when I would come back on Monday and tell them what happened on a Friday it would look a bit suspicious.

I was very lucky and it was still on our CCTV system very clear to see after zooming.

So the manager from our security came today to talk about that incident ( and my boss suggested to find a compromise...)

I said there's no compromise for me, I've phoned to NISSAN already and asked about the price for a new spoiler, bit more than 10k Baht.

May be we can find a cheaper copy was their idea, I said "NO"tal to my wife coz the car belongs to her(true).

My point of view: I am not willing to replace an original part wth a chinese copy and I want to repair this at a NISSAN garage, that's it!

So my wife called the manager when I came home and he will let her know what to do tomorrow morning......

Than I asked my wife about my very expensive BOSS suit which she has picked up from a dry laundry this afternoon:

"Onve upon a time there was a Boss suit.................."

Totally ruined, looks as someone had a shower(a hot one)with my suit on and participated afterwoods in the Phuket Marathon to get it dry again.

By the way:

I've bought 3 Jatukams today to make my staff smile and happy

Have a nice evening all!

Gerd

[cooL_guY_corY]

that sucks you got f.ucked but 10 k baht for that ? seems offside. Before i saw the picture i was imagining an expensive looking orange sports car with mirrored windows and dual exhaust pipes and gleaming chrome. I'd take what you can get.

[madjbs]

10000!!! You have got to be kidding. You could get an engine overhall for that price. And to be honest its not like that spoiler does anything except look nice is it now? I dont think a copy that will look exactly the same and is probably made in the same factory is going to make any difference to your car. I know its anoying that someone else damaged your car but im sure he didnt do it on purpose and 10000 is probably 2 months wages for the poor guy. Imagine if you had to give up 2 months of your wages.

Edited June 5, 2007 by madjbs

[qualtrough]

No need to replace that as it can easily be repaired and repainted to look like new for peanuts. Awful fragile piece of equipment!

[Moonfruit]

Try living in BKK and these things happen to your car all the time!!! I know its ###### irritating, but its really something you have to sort out yourself.

Claim on the insurance is what i would do, and do do when these things happen to my motor. Look on the bright side, and that security guard will forever be thanking you and take good care of those you love.

[LivinLOS]

What I hate is that the slightest hint of damage by me to them and its such a huge problem.. The other way round its just a shrug and so what !! I was parked the other day and in the car.. Another car pulled in the spot in front and piss poor driving meant he nudged the car.. Got out and didnt even look, just went to walk away.

Everyone goes on about how protective Thais are over thier cherished cars but they dont seem at all protective about not banging doors into mine as they get in and out.. Its a pet peeve of mine..

Ohh yeah and have had plenty of stuff wrecked in the laundry..

As for Gerds situation why she he have a substandard repair.. Or accept a cheap fix.. They broke it, thats been shown and clear. So now they have to pay the price of a 100% repair from the main dealer. If I break something I do the same. Its exactly the same culture of never taking responsibility for thier own actions. Pass the buck, deny deny deny, save face.

[Gary A]

Give the guy a break and get it repaired. You won't be able to see it had been damaged if you have a good shop do the repair.

[chinthee]

Give the guy a break and get it repaired. You won't be able to see it had been damaged if you have a good shop do the repair.

I tend to agree with this. There is probably no need to replace it, just get a body shop to fix it, probably a couple thousand baht at most and you could never tell the difference. (let me know if you need the name/address of a cheap & reliable body shop in Phuket) The security guard is lucky if he makes 5k/mo.. Holding the management company's feet to the fire may only result in the guard getting docked (but have your wife check this). He'll tell the other guards that he was treated harshly and so on... My Thai wife makes it a practice of often bringing noodle soup to the guards and they really appreciate it, and go out of their way to help. This incident was just due to the guy having no experience or brains or whatever.

I'm not advocating walking away from most incidents like this, no. Just in this case. I keep a car in both Phuket and Bangkok, and every few months in Bangkok I have to go to the shop to get the scratches repaired along the side of the car - the damm motorbikes squeeze so tightly, and always bang your car with the handlebar tips. It's just a cost of living, and you just have to gut it up and pay.

[Phil Conners]

The security should be glad you don't drive a Honda Civic. An original spoiler for that is 20K+. I agree with the OP - the security company ought to be insured for damage caused by their staff while on duty, such as in the rest of the world. I would not accept a substandard repair job if I just flexed out good money for an original part.

[corkscrew]

Give the guy a break and get it repaired. You won't be able to see it had been damaged if you have a good shop do the repair.

I agree. You should probably swallow the 10k. You don't want to worry if the security department at your complex is going to close its eyes over your property.

[thaigerd]

Update:

The security company contacted NISSAN: Spoiler is 21300.-Baht.

Corkscrew: Would you accept a cheap copy spare part at one of your very nice Benz' ???

A have to go work here in Thailand I am not rich and I have to be careful with all the materials I am working with.

I have learned pay for anything I am destroying, that's it!

Try to imagine it would have been the other way round!

Gerd

[chinthee]

By the way it has cracked and split the spoiler is obviously made from cheap fiber reinforced plastic, regardless if it is OEM or not.

You should consider an aftermarket spoiler, often they are better quality than the OEM parts, and far better value for money.

Or you could get a bodyshop to fill in the holes in the boot lid, and do without a spoiler altogether.

That's a very good idea Tud, filling in the holes. Those Cefiros arguably look better without the spoiler anyway. He could get the maximum compensation he can get in cash, get the body work done, and probably make money on the deal.

[qualtrough]

Have to agree with Emperor that the spoiler must be very poorly constructed. The damage looks like what would result from the guard jumping up and down on it, not from slamming it with his hands. I have one of those blasted things on the back of our Volvo 850 and from the look and feel of it I don't think you could damage it like that with your hands, unless a karate chop.

[Tywais]

Have to agree with Emperor that the spoiler must be very poorly constructed.

TG, are you absolutely sure it wasn't damaged before the guard closed it? Reason is that I also have a spoiler on my Nissan, which is 15 years old now (and it is a factory install), and always use the spoiler to close the trunk. Not even close to being damaged and would take a right solid wack with something to crack it.

[SnakeBite]

By the looks of the pics, it seems a sub standard part to begin with and should just have body work done on it and shut your face. hel_l bells man, how could he slam it that hard to get that much damage without you freaking when he shut it? By the looks of the second pic, it's hard to see any damage.

[thaigerd]

Have to agree with Emperor that the spoiler must be very poorly constructed.

TG, are you absolutely sure it wasn't damaged before the guard closed it? Reason is that I also have a spoiler on my Nissan, which is 15 years old now (and it is a factory install), and always use the spoiler to close the trunk. Not even close to being damaged and would take a right solid wack with something to crack it.

Pretty sure Tywais!!!

Gerd

[bino]

If you live in BKK and ever need to "double park" your car anywhere, the security guards use spoilers as a handle for pushing or pulling your car whenever they have to move it for someone else. The spoiler has been ripped from my GF's car three times since she has owned it. (My car doesn't have one... thankfully!)

The last time, I had the garage remove it completely and filled the holes.

[thaigerd]

If you live in BKK and ever need to "double park" your car anywhere, the security guards use spoilers as a handle for pushing or pulling your car whenever they have to move it for someone else. The spoiler has been ripped from my GF's car three times since she has owned it. (My car doesn't have one... thankfully!)

The last time, I had the garage remove it completely and filled the holes.

May be a good solution for me as well.........and saves money.

Thanks,

Gerd

[markr]

Its hard for me to believe that the damage was caused by someone closing the boot of the car, it looks like it has been cracked with something else.

Im pretty sure the fittings would have broken before the plsatic actually did, maybe vandalism!

Mark

[solo siam]

23k is nearly the cost of a brand new motorbike, I'd just get them to fill it and spray it, cost will probably be like someone mentioned 1-2k baht.

[Gumballl]

Just buy a new car. Soon the worries of a broken spoiler will be forgotten.

[Phil Conners]

Why do they call them spoilers anyway? Because they spoil the good looks of a car?

[thaigerd]

Just buy a new car. Soon the worries of a broken spoiler will be forgotten.

Ordered already, but this time with out spoiler:

Gerd

[Heng]

First class insurance allows you to avoid hassles like this (in fact one never even has to say a word to the other party, ever)... although yes, it's arguable whether one still wants to insure an older car like that with tier one insurance.

Myself, I look at it from the point of view that you're purchasing first class service in terms of handling accidents/incidents, and less so simply covering the value of the car, and thus we still insure even our 7+ year old cars with first class insurance.

[Phil Conners]

First class insurance allows you to avoid hassles like this (in fact one never even has to say a word to the other party, ever)... although yes, it's arguable whether one still wants to insure an older car like that with tier one insurance.

Myself, I look at it from the point of view that you're purchasing first class service in terms of handling accidents/incidents, and less so simply covering the value of the car, and thus we still insure even our 7+ year old cars with first class insurance.

Not true. If you have a claim with first class insurance your insurance premium goes up with a considerable amount the year after, often more than if you just paid to fix the problem yourself.

[madjbs]

its not going to be going up 20000 I dont think. And it most likely will be nearly back to normal after 1 year.

[Moonfruit]

re: the above.

Ive had 1 claim last year for 120,000bht's worth of claim on a car insured for 800,000THB. This years renewal was 1,500thb more expensive. Inflation, or because of the claim. Either way, i can deal with that!

Plus the fact that indeed, the first class insurance did indeed provide first class service.

[madjbs]

What insurance are you with Moon? Im thinking of getting some with AIG.

[Phil Conners]

re: the above.

Ive had 1 claim last year for 120,000bht's worth of claim on a car insured for 800,000THB. This years renewal was 1,500thb more expensive. Inflation, or because of the claim. Either way, i can deal with that!

Plus the fact that indeed, the first class insurance did indeed provide first class service.

Good for you. A few years ago I had a tyre ripped up by some debris that was lying around at some roadworks and replaced by the insurance. The increased cost the next year was about the same as the cost of the tyre. It takes two years before your insurance goes back down again - you will always lose your bonus and play catch-up.

Edited June 8, 2007 by Phil Conners

[moonoi]

I didn't have any increase in premium after making a claim. I just followed the advice of my Thai collegues......change insurance company when it comes up for renewal