Minor Crash On A Rented Scootor

[casualbiker]

That damage is minimal. Even if it was a brand new Toyota sourced bumper it shouldn't be that high.. Honestly with the owner attitude I would just leave, go to another place in Thailand and enjoy your holiday... Presuming the car owner hasn't got ya passport number!

[eisfeld]

Toyota will not you over. Not with an official paper trail. Don't be fooled by this guy. Go to Toyota yourself and ask for the price. It shouldn't be 40k. Not anywhere near. It's only the bumper, no electronics etc.

They'll print for you a quote directly from their parts list. Ask them to include labor and how long it'll take.

I don't know for sure but my gut feeling would be the 10k should get you sorted.

In my experience due to whitnessing similar cases now a handful of time, it's usually the wife who tries to extort some money out of the falang.

Even if her insurance would cover her damage, they would try to recover that cost from you. Your only chance would have been if you had first class insurance yourself but you didn't. Try to get this over with as quickly as possible, don't get police involved or they'll try to milk you even more. Also get them to sign something at the end so the story is 100% over and they wont come back to you claiming more.

Also: good luck and next time don't be on an air tight budget.

Edited September 19, 2015 by eisfeld

[kartman]

The key to the damage is it doesn't need a new bumper.

[AlexRRR]

Tell him you got no money and tell him to claim it on his own insurance.

My wife's car just came back from the Honda shop which did a lot of bodywork on it, repairing a big dent on the passenger front door, and lots of small dents on the hood, the front bumper, front quarter panel drives side, it also got a brand new headlight. Total claim was around 20k THB with 3000 thb deductible. A dent on a front bumper of that yaris? I'd guess a new bumper would cost a lot less than the guy wants.

The guy claims his wifes insurance doesn't cover damage to her own car... Would this mean the price for repairs goes up significantly or do you think he's trying to rip me off?

It means and lucky for you they don't have or at the moment not want to put it through insurance...if they do have and put it through insurance you won't be negotiation with the owner any longer, take the bike back get your deposit and wave 5000 under the owners nose.....

Failing that get the 3 mandatory panel repair quotes and see how you go meanwhile get your bags ready and check for bus and flights out of there, as said rather dumb not to have back up funds...

[wow64]

Waving 5000b under the drivers nose is you ripping the owner of the car off as they cannot get it properly repaired for that...Get it repaired and pay what the shop wants... The owner didnt ask for this trouble.

Also it may very well need a new bumper.. If there are scratches in the plastic then paint wont do a good job covering that..

If it was me I would want a new bumper.

Sent from my c64

Edited September 20, 2015 by wow64

[puukao]

you brought up your money situation a few times. i'm curious, what is your budget for Thailand?

[zyphodb]

That damage is minimal. Even if it was a brand new Toyota sourced bumper it shouldn't be that high.. Honestly with the owner attitude I would just leave, go to another place in Thailand and enjoy your holiday... Presuming the car owner hasn't got ya passport number!

This is certainly the best answer, & is also all the guy deserves for trying to rip you off for being a Farang, instant karma for him...

[NoshowJones]

Tell him you got no money and tell him to claim it on his own insurance.

My wife's car just came back from the Honda shop which did a lot of bodywork on it, repairing a big dent on the passenger front door, and lots of small dents on the hood, the front bumper, front quarter panel drives side, it also got a brand new headlight. Total claim was around 20k THB with 3000 thb deductible. A dent on a front bumper of that yaris? I'd guess a new bumper would cost a lot less than the guy wants.

As the guy tried to cheat you by asking for a lot more money than is required to fix the damage, if that really is the case, tell him you have no money and can't afford

the repairs, it will serve him right, and just forfeit the 10.000 Baht dep.

There is also a good chance he may be lying about the wifes "travel funds", If he tried to cheat you, then you should do the same to him.

Edited September 20, 2015 by possum1931

[NoshowJones]

Sounds high,try to find some car repair places and get a quote for a new bumper ,then try and negotiate again.come on shrup you can't just be saying you have no money put yourself in the car drivers shoes he is entitled to have his car repaired properly.saying you have no money is just gonna end up with the police being involved

Shurups right, it looks like the guy is trying to take advantage of the "rich Farang". If that is the case, tell him you have no money.

[NoshowJones]

I would bring the scooter back asap before they learn abt it and find a way to claim your deposit.

With the 10,000 in hand scope out some car repair shops for a new bumber or where they can fix it. Shouldn't be over 3,000 to fix at least. Offer the owners money for transport (to me the car looks driveable anyway)

After that, get a bicycle

I took the scooter back this morning, was lucky enough to get the deposit back in full!

How can I get a quote on a bumper for a car if I don't have the car with me? All I have is the picture to go by...

If the car owner was trying to cheat you, just forget about him and let him pay for the car himself.

[NoshowJones]

I would bring the scooter back asap before they learn abt it and find a way to claim your deposit.

With the 10,000 in hand scope out some car repair shops for a new bumber or where they can fix it. Shouldn't be over 3,000 to fix at least. Offer the owners money for transport (to me the car looks driveable anyway)

After that, get a bicycle

I took the scooter back this morning, was lucky enough to get the deposit back in full!

How can I get a quote on a bumper for a car if I don't have the car with me? All I have is the picture to go by...

Just tell them that you would bring their car to a repair shop and pay for it. That way its easy and you pay the real price (hopefully)

Robblok, if the guy was trying to cheat him (40.000 Baht indeed) he should just let the guy pay for the repair himself.

[taninthai]

Sounds high,try to find some car repair places and get a quote for a new bumper ,then try and negotiate again.come on shrup you can't just be saying you have no money put yourself in the car drivers shoes he is entitled to have his car repaired properly.saying you have no money is just gonna end up with the police being involved

Shurups right, it looks like the guy is trying to take advantage of the "rich Farang". If that is the case, tell him you have no money.

to an extent he is right but you still can't just stand there saying I have no money I would offer 15 to 20k Kandahar think that's pretty fa

[NoshowJones]

Sounds high,try to find some car repair places and get a quote for a new bumper ,then try and negotiate again.come on shrup you can't just be saying you have no money put yourself in the car drivers shoes he is entitled to have his car repaired properly.saying you have no money is just gonna end up with the police being involved

Shurups right, it looks like the guy is trying to take advantage of the "rich Farang". If that is the case, tell him you have no money.

to an extent he is right but you still can't just stand there saying I have no money I would offer 15 to 20k Kandahar think that's pretty fa

If that was me and he had tried to sting me for 40.000 Baht, for say, a 15 to 20k job, there is no way he would get anything from me if I could get away with it.

Edited September 20, 2015 by possum1931

[Shurup]

As in my wife's car case, the total to fix all the dents and repaint the door, hood, quarter panel and a bumper was I'd guess 15,000 baht (I'm guessing a new head light costs around 5 k). So yes the guy is taking advantage of OP, no way to fix a bumper going to cost 40k.

[Paul9989]

First, don't do a runner. That is bullshit. You wronged the guy. It is your bad. On second thought, do a runner if you feel like getting arrested at the airport when you leave Thailand.

Second, the guy is obviously trying to ding you for an extra 30,000 Baht or so. Play his game if you want. Tell him you got a quote for 6,000 Baht from a Toyota dealer and that you will take his car to get repaired. See what he says to that. My thought though is that is not going to really help anything. So as other people have told you, go to one of the 10-15 Toyota dealers around Chiang Mai and get a quote for a bumper. You know the make, year, and model of the car. It should be easy enough to get a written quote in about 15 minutes. A new bumper for this car should be no more than 10,000 Baht plus a bit of labor cost. Maybe even less. And, no, you should not get him a cheap aftermarket bumper or one from a junk yard. He deserves to have his car restored to original factory built condition.

Third, the money for his wife's transport cost to go to work, I assume the car is still drivable right now. She can drive it to work for the time being. The repair will take 1-2 days in the shop. When it is in the shop give him an extra 200 Baht per day for his wife's taxi fare.

Lastly, stop whining about not having money. That is bullshit too. You came to Thailand, you played, you screwed up, now you pay. I don't care if you got to get some money wired from family or friends. That is your problem. Next time don't rent vehicles in a foreign country and do things that could end up in a liability situation for you if you don't have your own insurance and can't afford to pay for your mistakes. Who comes to Thailand with only an extra 10,000 Baht spending money? Sheesh!

[JimMorris]

First, don't do a runner. That is bullshit. You wronged the guy. It is your bad. On second thought, do a runner if you feel like getting arrested at the airport when you leave Thailand.

Second, the guy is obviously trying to ding you for an extra 30,000 Baht or so. Play his game if you want. Tell him you got a quote for 6,000 Baht from a Toyota dealer and that you will take his car to get repaired. See what he says to that. My thought though is that is not going to really help anything. So as other people have told you, go to one of the 10-15 Toyota dealers around Chiang Mai and get a quote for a bumper. You know the make, year, and model of the car. It should be easy enough to get a written quote in about 15 minutes. A new bumper for this car should be no more than 10,000 Baht plus a bit of labor cost. Maybe even less. And, no, you should not get him a cheap aftermarket bumper or one from a junk yard. He deserves to have his car restored to original factory built condition.

Third, the money for his wife's transport cost to go to work, I assume the car is still drivable right now. She can drive it to work for the time being. The repair will take 1-2 days in the shop. When it is in the shop give him an extra 200 Baht per day for his wife's taxi fare.

Lastly, stop whining about not having money. That is bullshit too. You came to Thailand, you played, you screwed up, now you pay. I don't care if you got to get some money wired from family or friends. That is your problem. Next time don't rent vehicles in a foreign country and do things that could end up in a liability situation for you if you don't have your own insurance and can't afford to pay for your mistakes. Who comes to Thailand with only an extra 10,000 Baht spending money? Sheesh!

Agreed. And if I were the punter I wouldn't muck around with this too long. The Thai guy starts getting frustrated and thinks you are trying to screw him and then he will pay the police a couple of thousand Baht to throw you in jail. Once that happens, you will pay anything to settle this and 40,000 Baht will sound cheap compared to what they will be telling you you then need to pay to get out of jail.

[mrleeparrott]

First, don't do a runner. That is bullshit. You wronged the guy. It is your bad. On second thought, do a runner if you feel like getting arrested at the airport when you leave Thailand.

Second, the guy is obviously trying to ding you for an extra 30,000 Baht or so. Play his game if you want. Tell him you got a quote for 6,000 Baht from a Toyota dealer and that you will take his car to get repaired. See what he says to that. My thought though is that is not going to really help anything. So as other people have told you, go to one of the 10-15 Toyota dealers around Chiang Mai and get a quote for a bumper. You know the make, year, and model of the car. It should be easy enough to get a written quote in about 15 minutes. A new bumper for this car should be no more than 10,000 Baht plus a bit of labor cost. Maybe even less. And, no, you should not get him a cheap aftermarket bumper or one from a junk yard. He deserves to have his car restored to original factory built condition.

Third, the money for his wife's transport cost to go to work, I assume the car is still drivable right now. She can drive it to work for the time being. The repair will take 1-2 days in the shop. When it is in the shop give him an extra 200 Baht per day for his wife's taxi fare.

Lastly, stop whining about not having money. That is bullshit too. You came to Thailand, you played, you screwed up, now you pay. I don't care if you got to get some money wired from family or friends. That is your problem. Next time don't rent vehicles in a foreign country and do things that could end up in a liability situation for you if you don't have your own insurance and can't afford to pay for your mistakes. Who comes to Thailand with only an extra 10,000 Baht spending money? Sheesh!

Agreed. And if I were the punter I wouldn't muck around with this too long. The Thai guy starts getting frustrated and thinks you are trying to screw him and then he will pay the police a couple of thousand Baht to throw you in jail. Once that happens, you will pay anything to settle this and 40,000 Baht will sound cheap compared to what they will be telling you you then need to pay to get out of jail.

Beleive me I'm trying to get this out of the way as soon as possible. I tried to get quoted today but most places are closed due to it being sunday. I'm going to hold him off until tomorrow, get a quote, meet him and tell him straight, this is what the repairs are worth, that's all you're getting out of me.

And Paul I understand what you're saying, you make a lot of sense but i'm not whining about my money situation. I'm simply stating that I do not have 40k to spare. I do however have the apparent 10k that I am obliged to pay. I'm not one to run away from something if I'm in the wrong, but if these people are going to try and scam me for an accident then I will not comply with them. I'll pay what it's worth, nothing more.

[watgate]

If the OP goes to a Toyota Dealership to get a quote for a new bumper won't they also give him the farang price seeing as he is a farang?

[watgate]

If the OP goes to a Toyota Dealership to get a quote for a new bumper won't they also give him the farang price seeing as he is a farang?

[steve187]

i would have thought that the repair shop would take the bumper off and then do the repair, refitting the bumper at a later date, during that time the car could still be used.

my wife got a quote for repairs to our Honda city, split rear bumper ( wife hit a tree while reversing) front bumper scratched and dented n/s wing ( i hit a high curb doing a u turn) less than 20,000 baht

40,000 baht too expensive ( pang)

[Shurup]

If the OP goes to a Toyota Dealership to get a quote for a new bumper won't they also give him the farang price seeing as he is a farang?

See reply #32

[funcat]

I've had a front bumper +fender repaired and repainted(matching metallic color) for 4.5K Baht.

[lewisp91]

I'm the OP's brother, just wanted to give an update to the situation:

He went to a Toyota branch, and after showing them the picture they quoted 24,000 baht.
He then decided to go to another branch and get a second quote, but this time took a Thai friend to communicate for him. They quoted 10,000 baht.

We don't really understand how that works, but at least we now have Toyota offering to do the job for 10,000.

Meeting the owner of the car today (who is still expecting 40,000), and will be giving him the full amount my brother was quoted along with the hire car cost for a week and that will be the end of it as far as we're concerned. We're hoping that he won't make too much of an issue out of it.

Also, wanted to mention that this guy is American but the car actually belongs to his Thai wife. He is dealing with all this on her behalf.

Edited September 22, 2015 by lewisp91

[taninthai]

Sounds fair enough to me,I would also make a complaint about the Toyota garage that tried to double charge

[eisfeld]

Hope you got those quotes printed out and compare if they are for the same parts/service. Sometimes it can be just a communication problem and it's always good to have a Thai with you. I have never been scammed by Honda for example but quite a handful of small shops tried it. Not to say all small shops are bad.

[wantan]

Funny to quote a car repair by just looking at some pictures. Can only be the estimated price if done by a serious dealer.

Good luck.

[Shurup]

^ Depends if it's a repair quote or a new bumper quote. For a new bumper even showing a picture isn't required to get a quote.

Not clear from OP brother's post if the quote is for a new bumper or not. It is only fair to offer him a new bumper for his car.

[Satcommlee]

Toyota will quote you list price on parts, and not discounted prices the body shops get.

[taninthai]

^

Yep was gonna mention this down south Toyota do not do bodywork they Sub it out to bodywork shops.

[NeverSure]

It doesn't need a new bumper. Bondo and others make a flexible epoxy, two part bumper repair putty that's really good and not expensive.

The bumper could be easily removed, and the car driven while being repaired if money is tight.

I applaud the OP for trying to do the right thing even if I don't understand the concept of being broke in Thailand and adding to that, driving.

Cheers.