Discussion
Just been onto the phone to the guy at the garage thats got my cerb, since my crankshaft shattered around 2 months ago. Been waiting on the warrenty company comming out and assessing the damage, the assesor has handed in his report and the warrenty company have said there not going to cover the cost as the guy couldnt find and mechanical problems to why the shaft would fail. Then told me it was down to driving outwith the limits of the car (heres me thinking cerbs dont have limits lol), i then told him i was only doing 70mph when it happened, He says that the engine might have been abused before i bought it!! How can they sell me a warrenty saying the cars in perfect mechanical health when i bought it then turn round and say its mabye not
Does anybody know any independant folk that could look at the crankshaft? Has anybody appealed against the warrenty companies decsion and won??
Looks like am going to have to shell out for a new engine and fitting, have done less that a few thousand miles in the car which only has 16k on the clock
Any help or advice would be appreciated
Does anybody know any independant folk that could look at the crankshaft? Has anybody appealed against the warrenty companies decsion and won??
Looks like am going to have to shell out for a new engine and fitting, have done less that a few thousand miles in the car which only has 16k on the clock
Any help or advice would be appreciated
as usual a total waste of time and money 
Check the small print and whether the cranskhaft is an excluded item. Mechanical breakdown policies will always exclude wear and tear, and that will include failure as a result of normal wear and tear but if it has shattered and they can find no reason for it to have done so, then I would have thought that is exactly what the policy is designed for. Must be worth an argument at least.
Good luck.
Good luck.
essexboy said:
Check the small print and whether the cranskhaft is an excluded item. Mechanical breakdown policies will always exclude wear and tear, and that will include failure as a result of normal wear and tear but if it has shattered and they can find no reason for it to have done so, then I would have thought that is exactly what the policy is designed for. Must be worth an argument at least.
Good luck.
Good luck.
Good point made by Essexboy - Warranty companies will try anything to avoid shelling out. A clutch failure is wear and tear, as they are designed to wear out (same with brake pads, discs, drivesafts etc etc) but a crank shattering is not wear and tear, especially at 16k miles. So unless the small print explicity excludes the crankshaft itself, I;d think you had at least 1 and a half legs to stand on.
I think their trying it on. I would pursue it further even contact the onbudsman. Have seen Crank,rods and pistons on ebay today if its any help. Good luck. I am a Warranty Manager, for Aircraft buts it’s all the same really.
Warranties are there for assurance against failures from material or design defects. If your cam shaft failed from a material issue, an existing defect in the casting, then it should be covered. TVR, or your warranty company, could get out of it by saying “your car has covered more miles than the camshaft was designed for” if they did then I would say BOLLOCKS, why did you offer me a warranty!
If you want me to take a look at the claim then I will, and see what I can do.
PM me through my profile,
Nick
Sorry, just noticed it was the Crank and not the Cam.
One other thing is that these cars are prone to cranks snapping. So my plan of attack is find as many people who have had snapped cranks before and get them to put that in writing. This will prove to the warranty company that this is a material and design failure, not just wear.
I wish I had the chance to fight a warranty case on a SP6 engine that would be fun, after dealing with Boeing and Airbus on a daily basis.
Warranties are there for assurance against failures from material or design defects. If your cam shaft failed from a material issue, an existing defect in the casting, then it should be covered. TVR, or your warranty company, could get out of it by saying “your car has covered more miles than the camshaft was designed for” if they did then I would say BOLLOCKS, why did you offer me a warranty!
If you want me to take a look at the claim then I will, and see what I can do.
PM me through my profile,
Nick
Sorry, just noticed it was the Crank and not the Cam.
One other thing is that these cars are prone to cranks snapping. So my plan of attack is find as many people who have had snapped cranks before and get them to put that in writing. This will prove to the warranty company that this is a material and design failure, not just wear.
I wish I had the chance to fight a warranty case on a SP6 engine that would be fun, after dealing with Boeing and Airbus on a daily basis.
Edited by Extra 300 Driver on Thursday 12th October 19:51
I'd be asking if due to normal "wear and tear" cranks usually shatter.
My understanding (albeit poor as I'm no mechanic!) is that the answer to that would be no.
That said, warranties generally only cover anything that never breaks, or costs sweeties to fix when it does.
Best of luck!
My understanding (albeit poor as I'm no mechanic!) is that the answer to that would be no.
That said, warranties generally only cover anything that never breaks, or costs sweeties to fix when it does.
Best of luck!
might as well put my 2 pence worth in.
the crank and a cam snapped in my 4.2(nightmare)ive been told that the cam would have snapped first which caused all the other problems,anyway the cams were new and had only covered 2k by the previous owner and about 300 by me,when i contacted the MONKEYS that fitted them they told me to whistle.all i can say is ever dog has his day,and i know this one will.good luck with it all.
Daz
the crank and a cam snapped in my 4.2(nightmare)ive been told that the cam would have snapped first which caused all the other problems,anyway the cams were new and had only covered 2k by the previous owner and about 300 by me,when i contacted the MONKEYS that fitted them they told me to whistle.all i can say is ever dog has his day,and i know this one will.good luck with it all.
Daz
Thanks for all the replies, everybody i have spoke to (even the guy at the warrenty company) says that it is very unusual for a crank to have shattered in the way it did. Iam waiting on the assesors report comming thru so i can see if i can or sombody that knows can pick holes in it
The guy said the claim was rejected to an 'overload failure' but will have to wait on the report for the full details
The crankshaft wasnt listed in the parts that aren't covered but it said it wasnt a full list in the warrenty book
The guy said the claim was rejected to an 'overload failure' but will have to wait on the report for the full details
The crankshaft wasnt listed in the parts that aren't covered but it said it wasnt a full list in the warrenty book
ridds said:
Indeed, crank failing at 16K, in my eyes is a defective part. Either by cause of material or design.
No wangling out of this i'm afraid.
No wangling out of this i'm afraid.
I agree. To me, a snapped crank is not wear and tear. I dont hold much hope though claiming against the warranty company. It seams to me the same story of them wiggling out.
Good luck.
I absolutely agree that it is worth pushing the warranty company hard. You've made a contract which they are trying to wriggle out of. If it comes to it, you may eventually need evidence that it is a design fault and/or evidence of similar failures in other vehicles. As others have said engine crankshafts do not break "as wear and tear"!! Good luck and stick with it - let us know how you get on.
350matt said:
Up to late '97 early 98 TVR had problems with the casting of the cranks, post this date the problem was rectified however this does not mean that all cranks prior to this date will fail.
The larger diameter 4.5 cranks have never had a problem
Matt
The larger diameter 4.5 cranks have never had a problem
Matt
Sounds to me like a failure by design, updating the cranks, post 97, addressed the issue.
[quote=Ballsy]......... everybody i have spoke to (even the guy at the warrenty company) says that it is very unusual for a crank to have shattered in the way it did. /quote
Thtas the whole figgin point of a warranty surely - To cover something unforseen happening!!
If I were you I's keep quite about the fact that the Cranksaft weakness is a known issue, that will just give them another excuse to wriggle out. Just stick to the fact that, as their own person says "Its a very unusual thing to happen" hammer that point home to them - Thats the whole point of a warranty!
Thtas the whole figgin point of a warranty surely - To cover something unforseen happening!!
If I were you I's keep quite about the fact that the Cranksaft weakness is a known issue, that will just give them another excuse to wriggle out. Just stick to the fact that, as their own person says "Its a very unusual thing to happen" hammer that point home to them - Thats the whole point of a warranty!
I think that there is a very distinct difference between a crank wearing out due to normal use and one shattering due to a defect. It's simply the company trying to avoid paying out. One would hope that they knew what a Cerbera was when they decided to accept your car on cover!
The company should have a complaints procedure for you to follow in the first instance. Make sure you put all communication in writing and keep copies of everything you send and receive. If they telephone you, confirm your understanding of the phone call in writing to them and as before, keep a copy. If you phone them, do the same and always take the name of the person you are speaking to and make a note of the date and time
I'd suggest that a warranty is a type of insurance policy and as such will probably be covered by the the financial ombudsman service www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/about/index.html
Small print is always a favourite dodge for an insurance company but there is legislation that covers unfair terms in consumer contracts. Only a court can decide if a term is unfair but the OFT does produce guidance. Your local Trading Standards Office should be able to help. If all that fails then there is always the County Court and most Advice Agencies (e.g. CAB) should be able to advise you on how to complete the claims forms. There will be a cost implication to submitting a claim and this will depend on how much your claim is for but you add this to the amount that you are claiming and you might as well go for statutory interest too.
Above all, don't give give up...they will be relying on you to do that!
The company should have a complaints procedure for you to follow in the first instance. Make sure you put all communication in writing and keep copies of everything you send and receive. If they telephone you, confirm your understanding of the phone call in writing to them and as before, keep a copy. If you phone them, do the same and always take the name of the person you are speaking to and make a note of the date and time
I'd suggest that a warranty is a type of insurance policy and as such will probably be covered by the the financial ombudsman service www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/about/index.html
Small print is always a favourite dodge for an insurance company but there is legislation that covers unfair terms in consumer contracts. Only a court can decide if a term is unfair but the OFT does produce guidance. Your local Trading Standards Office should be able to help. If all that fails then there is always the County Court and most Advice Agencies (e.g. CAB) should be able to advise you on how to complete the claims forms. There will be a cost implication to submitting a claim and this will depend on how much your claim is for but you add this to the amount that you are claiming and you might as well go for statutory interest too.
Above all, don't give give up...they will be relying on you to do that!
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