On the noon of January 31, when Ms. Zhu, a citizen of Wenzhou, was driving her Honda Accord and turning at an intersection, she accidentally collided with a Rolls-Royce, and she was ruled to be fully responsible. Although only a certain amount of damage was caused to the hub of the other vehicle, the other party issued a sky-high repair fee of 2 million yuan.
On the morning of February 6, after a professional evaluation by the Shanghai Rolls-Royce 4S store, following negotiations among all parties involved, the final repair cost for the damaged Rolls-Royce was determined to be 350,000 yuan.
■ Incident
Accord Collides with Rolls-Royce
On the noon of January 31, Ms. Zhu, a citizen of Wenzhou, was driving her Honda Accord to handle some affairs in the city center. When her vehicle turned into Fuzhen Street from Yan Gongdian Alley, it collided with a black sedan traveling straight north-south. Due to both vehicles traveling at low speeds, Ms. Zhu initially thought the collision wasn't severe and immediately got out of the car to check. However, she was shocked to find that she had collided with a Rolls-Royce marked with the double "R" emblem. After the collision, Ms. Zhu noticed that the front of her Honda was slightly deformed with the bumper falling off, while the Rolls-Royce only had some damage on the hub and scratches on the right side door.
Due to the inability to assess the damage on-site and the fact that the other vehicle was a luxury car, both parties called the police.
After the on-site investigation, the traffic police preliminarily determined that Ms. Zhu bore primary responsibility. In response, Ms. Zhu stated that if the amount was small, she would comply with the traffic police's decision and quickly resolve the matter. If the amount was large, she would require a case to be filed and further accident responsibility investigations conducted, eventually being ruled fully responsible.
One Collision Costs 2 Million Yuan
Soon, a friend of the Rolls-Royce owner arrived on-site. It turned out that the owner of this Rolls-Royce was the boss of a local hotel in Wenzhou, and the car was purchased in Shanghai with a Shanghai license plate. Including various taxes, the purchase price of this car was 12 million yuan. Upon hearing the price, Ms. Zhu felt a sense of dread. At this point, the claims personnel from the insurance company covering Ms. Zhu's Honda also arrived at the scene. Since they hadn't encountered such a car accident before, they were unable to provide a specific compensation amount. Meanwhile, the Shanghai Rolls-Royce 4S store stated that the repair costs must be assessed by professionals after driving the car to Shanghai.
Just as everyone was at a loss, a statement from the trustee left Ms. Zhu speechless. According to him, Rolls-Royce parts are very expensive, costing 1 million yuan just to replace a hub, and adding other repair costs would total around 2 million yuan.
■ Controversy
The Determination of Repair Costs Was Complicated
Given the significant amount involved, on February 4, both car owners and representatives from the insurance company arrived in Shanghai. Due to it being a weekend, a duty staff member at the 4S store made a preliminary estimate based on the visible damage to the Rolls-Royce, estimating the repair cost to be approximately 398,000 yuan.
On the morning of February 6, after disassembling the damaged parts of the car, the professional technicians at the 4S store did not find any broken important components, thus maintaining the price at 398,000 yuan. Additionally, according to relevant repair agreements, discounts were given on labor fees, resulting in a post-discount price of 364,000 yuan. After repeated negotiations among the two car owners, the Rolls-Royce 4S store, and the insurance company, the repair cost was finally determined to be 350,000 yuan, including the repair and replacement of the car doors, door seals, hubs, tires, as well as painting and bodywork labor fees.
It is understood that apart from basic insurance, Ms. Zhu only insured her Honda Accord for third-party liability insurance up to 200,000 yuan. According to regulations, the compulsory traffic insurance payout is 2,000 yuan; the third-party liability insurance can cover 200,000 yuan, but since she did not insure for no-deductible coverage, only 80% or 160,000 yuan can be compensated. This means the insurance company can compensate 162,000 yuan. Therefore, the Honda owner still needs to bear the remaining 188,000 yuan. Although significantly reduced compared to the initial 2 million yuan, 188,000 yuan is still a substantial amount.
For Ms. Zhu, it's equivalent to losing an entire Honda Accord.
■ Questioning
Where Did the 2 Million Yuan Come From?
From 2 million yuan to 350,000 yuan, Jin Manager from the claims department of Wenzhou Dadi Property Insurance Company, which insured Ms. Zhu's Honda Accord, said that this determination of the repair cost gave Ms. Zhu, who hadn't slept well for several nights, some relief. So where did the original 2 million yuan figure come from? "Replacing this hub alone costs 1 million yuan, plus other repair costs, it's estimated to be around 2 million yuan." According to the traffic police officer involved, a person claiming to be a friend of the Rolls-Royce owner rushed to the scene after the accident, looked at the damaged areas, and gave the so-called "astronomical price." Jin Manager said that either due to unfamiliarity with the prices of vehicle parts or considering possible damage to other parts, the owner's friend gave such a high price.
Some industry insiders claim that when purchasing a Rolls-Royce, the owner can choose different part configurations according to personal preferences. For example, the damaged Rolls-Royce uses chrome hubs, and if the door also needs to be replaced, the repair cost could reach over a million yuan, but 2 million yuan is indeed exaggerated.
■ Industry Voice
Luxury Car Repairs Are Expensive Because Parts Are Replaced Directly
The reporter consulted multiple import luxury car dealerships in Shanghai and some senior auto mechanics with years of experience repairing luxury cars. "Generally speaking, the repair costs for cars priced over a million yuan are indeed quite high, and for top-tier cars like Rolls-Royce, repair costs reaching one or two million yuan are possible," said Manager Lin, whose company sells high-end cars such as Mercedes-Benz and Bentley. Manager Lin explained that besides the high cost of spare parts, the main reason for the high price is the time-consuming, labor-intensive, and costly process. Original parts from abroad must go through distribution channels: manufacturer - parts turnover center - total parts importer - 4S store. The turnover center requires profit, the total parts importer has to bear tariffs, plus profit, and the 4S store also needs to add profit. "Excluding tariffs and freight issues, each link adds at least 30% profit, so by the time the parts reach Chinese consumers, the price is no longer the original price," Manager Lin said.
Master Zhu Yuming, with over twenty years of experience in the automotive repair industry, said that now many core technologies of high-end cars, especially top-tier cars like Rolls-Royce, are kept confidential. The main reason Ms. Zhu encountered a 2 million yuan compensation claim was because many 4S stores in China lack the capability to repair these top-tier cars, so they simply opt for replacements. "Replacing and repairing are two different concepts, and the price can differ by dozens or even hundreds of times," Master Zhu said, "If repairs are really necessary, many companies directly hire experts from the factory abroad, and their back-and-forth expenses are included in the repair costs." (According to Wenzhou Metropolis Daily and Qianjiang Evening News)