Hmm, you got a point there.
It's hard for you to picture my situation. But there's a reason for why i gotta foot my own bill.
Till now i also dun understand fully the legal mumbo jumbo.
Basically, it was an not at fault accident (reckless action by another party). But other party kinda played hooky with the insurance company. So i have no choice but to claim against my own.
But my own insurance can twist and turn their story like.. because my car is not a domesitic market car and that they have no data on the things which i have to replace... yada yada yada...
so they are only willing to pay up til the car is functional again. and that airbag is an safety "ACCESSORY" thus the name "Supplemental Restraint". I ended up not buying the airbag until i had to export the car and so the salesman is only willing to take in my car after i fix the airbag.
In in my life i have lived in few countries, some countries have optional insurance coverage (up to you to buy), some have government controlled insurance, and like singapore, a free-market one.
But the suckiest part about Singapore's insurance is that we are at the mercy of the companies unless we are willing to bring legal action against them. And that a purely non-injury accident will not involve government intervention.
Thus your coverage from the company is not guaranteed.
Ok, that's a story by inself...
but basically.. i am smitten by the insurance companies here (that the at-fault party got away scot free, and that mine absconded), i have made the conscious decision that airbag will not be necessary in my driving pattern. true enough that i might not cause an accident but might be caused against me.
it's a risk i am willing to take.
Originally posted by KangZ:
Hmm i have no idea how to do it, but seriously if i were you i will leave the airbag as it is.
Why?
1. Insurance
If one day u kanna accident (touch wood), and got seriously injured, i wonder whether your insurance company will compensate you since you deactivated the airbag. They can say it's your own action that caused you to be injured to this extent. Sure..you can sue them etc., but it will take a long time and provided you are still alive to do so.
2. Safety
Yeah airbags are expensive. But they are there for a purpose. Your seatbelt may save u from hitting the airbag, but one day you may be involved in such a serious accident that the whole steering column is pushed towards you. True, in the event of a serious accident, you may not be alive with or without airbag. But surely you will wanna take your chance.
3. Odds of meeting with an accident again
Well I dunno about you, but I guess you don't meet with an accident every month right? If so why not leave the airbag alone? If you wanna take it out, you still need to find a workshop to do it for you. Most prob it won't be free.
At the end of the day, i will rather pay $3500 to replace the airbag and walk out of a crash alive rather than deactiating the arbag (it costs money, time, effort plus you may not live to regret it). Besides, what is your car insurance for?? Dun think you will be the one footing the bill. Besides that, in an accident,the air bag is normally not the most ex item to replace anyway..
just my 2 cents