Engine rebuild gone wrong: What's the likely outcome
Discussion
I'm going to avoid going into specifics at this stage, but trying to gauge what the likely outcome will be. My car went in to the garage late last year for an engine rebuild and a few months later I returned it to them with a problem. Long story short the crankshaft and block are ruined and they've told me it needs a new engine.
The technician who carried out the rebuild no longer works there. Whether that is through his own choice or not I don't know.
They've explained to me they have insurance cover for workmanship issues and are filling a claim with them.
I have no idea how much a crate engine for the car will cost, but I wouldn't be surprised if the overall cost came to "uneconomical to repair".
Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing so I can guage the likely outcome and any idea how long this sort of thing takes?
Given the potential cost, I'm assuming the most likely option will be the car will be written off.
Do insurers consider purchasing reconditioned engines? If that were the case, I would certainly want one that's been freshly rebuilt as opposed to something from a breaker with an unknown history.
Any input would be appreciated, thank you!
The technician who carried out the rebuild no longer works there. Whether that is through his own choice or not I don't know.
They've explained to me they have insurance cover for workmanship issues and are filling a claim with them.
I have no idea how much a crate engine for the car will cost, but I wouldn't be surprised if the overall cost came to "uneconomical to repair".
Does anyone have any experience with this sort of thing so I can guage the likely outcome and any idea how long this sort of thing takes?
Given the potential cost, I'm assuming the most likely option will be the car will be written off.
Do insurers consider purchasing reconditioned engines? If that were the case, I would certainly want one that's been freshly rebuilt as opposed to something from a breaker with an unknown history.
Any input would be appreciated, thank you!
Insurance isn't going to help you here, the very vast majority of policies do not cover mechanical failure so they won't be interested in paying out or assisting you in any way here. It's going to fall on the garage to fix this for you, and you may need to give them a bit of time to sort it out if they're going down their own insurers route.
In terms of timescale, almost impossible to say. Could be a few weeks, could be a few months, could be even longer. I'd give it a couple of weeks to see what their responses are like, and then take it from there.
EDIT Unless you're worried about their insurer writing the car off, as you may well do cos I could've read your post entirely wrong! Again though, I'd wait to see what they come back with and what they're covered for, as I'd expect their insurer to simply cover the cost to replace the engine worst case as opposed to writing your car off for you.
In terms of timescale, almost impossible to say. Could be a few weeks, could be a few months, could be even longer. I'd give it a couple of weeks to see what their responses are like, and then take it from there.
EDIT Unless you're worried about their insurer writing the car off, as you may well do cos I could've read your post entirely wrong! Again though, I'd wait to see what they come back with and what they're covered for, as I'd expect their insurer to simply cover the cost to replace the engine worst case as opposed to writing your car off for you.
Thank you for your reply. Just to clarify, I don't expect my insurance to cover this one bit.
The garage can't give any time estimates at this stage, so I may just have to wait and see. Hopefully someone here may have had a similar experience to give me some idea for king the whole thing may take.
I was actually planning on selling the car in the near future anyway, so I wouldn't be overly upset if it were written off and if I were given a fair pay out.
The garage can't give any time estimates at this stage, so I may just have to wait and see. Hopefully someone here may have had a similar experience to give me some idea for king the whole thing may take.
I was actually planning on selling the car in the near future anyway, so I wouldn't be overly upset if it were written off and if I were given a fair pay out.
I really don't understand what you mean by 'written off'.
Who is going to give you a total-loss payment for this and why? There is no RTC scenario here, so I am struggling to see who is going to give you market value for a rebuild which seems to have gone haywire.
I rather think that you have an engine which has gone 'pop' and a contractor/subcontractor who now needs to be chased for some kind of recompense for shoddy work.
Who is going to give you a total-loss payment for this and why? There is no RTC scenario here, so I am struggling to see who is going to give you market value for a rebuild which seems to have gone haywire.
I rather think that you have an engine which has gone 'pop' and a contractor/subcontractor who now needs to be chased for some kind of recompense for shoddy work.
What car is it, age, mileage etc.
Every motor trade insurance policy covers “cock ups” when a job goes wrong. Probably when they finally pay up you will get an engine similar to the age and mileage of your old one. You can’t expect anything better.
If that was my garage I would sort the issue out, get your car back on the road, and then make a claim to cover my losses.
Every motor trade insurance policy covers “cock ups” when a job goes wrong. Probably when they finally pay up you will get an engine similar to the age and mileage of your old one. You can’t expect anything better.
If that was my garage I would sort the issue out, get your car back on the road, and then make a claim to cover my losses.
Your original post makes no sense, 'uneconomical to repair', 'written off' and 'insurers consider purchasing reconditioned engines' are all baffling as insurance does not cover mechanical failure.
If the garage/machine shop have their own insurance policy then that is absolutely nothing to do with you.
If the garage/machine shop have their own insurance policy then that is absolutely nothing to do with you.
Gary C, that's absolutely correct.
So, to explain in a slightly different way if this helps:
The engine was rebuilt, but for some reason I don't have the full details of, the block is now ruined after a few months of using the car.
The garage are going to make a claim on their workshop insurance to cover the cost of a replacement engine.
After spending a small fortune on an engine rebuild, I really don't want one from a breakers yard with an unknown history.
The car is worth about £9k. It's a 6-pot engine so I bet a new one one won't be cheap. What I'm wondering is would a garages workshop insurance be most likely to look at the cost of a new crate engine and decide it's not economical to replace the full engine and write the car off or may they deal with it in some other way?
I'm also wondering if anyone has ever had any dealings with garages who have had to make a claim against these policies and how long it will take?
I imagine situations like these are not common so not surprised if nobody knows, but if anyone has had some experience, it would be good to know.
So, to explain in a slightly different way if this helps:
The engine was rebuilt, but for some reason I don't have the full details of, the block is now ruined after a few months of using the car.
The garage are going to make a claim on their workshop insurance to cover the cost of a replacement engine.
After spending a small fortune on an engine rebuild, I really don't want one from a breakers yard with an unknown history.
The car is worth about £9k. It's a 6-pot engine so I bet a new one one won't be cheap. What I'm wondering is would a garages workshop insurance be most likely to look at the cost of a new crate engine and decide it's not economical to replace the full engine and write the car off or may they deal with it in some other way?
I'm also wondering if anyone has ever had any dealings with garages who have had to make a claim against these policies and how long it will take?
I imagine situations like these are not common so not surprised if nobody knows, but if anyone has had some experience, it would be good to know.
I think the OP is confused about the insurance the garage has, and is assuming it’s effectively “car insurance”.
The garage’s insurance isn’t insuring the car, so why would the car’s value come into it at all? Why would the insurer write the car off and take possession of it when the car itself isn’t the insured entity?
The insurance covers the garage’s workmanship, not the car itself.
The garage’s insurance isn’t insuring the car, so why would the car’s value come into it at all? Why would the insurer write the car off and take possession of it when the car itself isn’t the insured entity?
The insurance covers the garage’s workmanship, not the car itself.
MrWorldwide said:
Thank you for your reply. Just to clarify, I don't expect my insurance to cover this one bit.
The garage can't give any time estimates at this stage, so I may just have to wait and see. Hopefully someone here may have had a similar experience to give me some idea for king the whole thing may take.
I was actually planning on selling the car in the near future anyway, so I wouldn't be overly upset if it were written off and if I were given a fair pay out.
I think he has misunderstood your post, just ignore.The garage can't give any time estimates at this stage, so I may just have to wait and see. Hopefully someone here may have had a similar experience to give me some idea for king the whole thing may take.
I was actually planning on selling the car in the near future anyway, so I wouldn't be overly upset if it were written off and if I were given a fair pay out.
MrWorldwide said:
The car is worth about £9k. It's a 6-pot engine so I bet a new one one won't be cheap. What I'm wondering is would a garages workshop insurance be most likely to look at the cost of a new crate engine and decide it's not economical to replace the full engine and write the car off or may they deal with it in some other way?
The value of your car is irrelevant to this scenario.The garage is making a claim on their own insurance which (hopefully) covers them for damage they've caused to a customer's engine.
The value of the engine may matter, with regard to whether they'd want to rebuild it or to completely replace it instead.
Dr Mike Oxgreen said:
I think the OP is confused about the insurance the garage has, and is assuming it’s effectively “car insurance”.
The garage’s insurance isn’t insuring the car, so why would the car’s value come into it at all? Why would the insurer write the car off and take possession of it when the car itself isn’t the insured entity?
The insurance covers the garage’s workmanship, not the car itself.
^^ This I think. ^^The garage’s insurance isn’t insuring the car, so why would the car’s value come into it at all? Why would the insurer write the car off and take possession of it when the car itself isn’t the insured entity?
The insurance covers the garage’s workmanship, not the car itself.
Depending on exactly what has gone wrong, the blame for the rebuild not working may be divided between
The actual work the garage did, their professional advice and decisions they made
Parts from suppliers
Latent defects in the engine
A certain amount depends on the level of 'rebuild'.
'Rebuild' can mean anything from 'make it perfect, better than new' down to 'strip clean and re-assemble, replacing the bare minimum'.
The problem is, it's hard to determine exactly what went wrong and why.
I'd imagine the workshop's insurers might want to settle for some amount to cover the workshop's failed work, but less than a whole brand new engine.
I would suggest the OP finds out what new or good condition or 'suitable for rebuilding' engines are available at what costs.
Also I would look into the 'it needs a new block' claim.
Some blocks can be repaired, but not every workshop can do every repair.
I'm not sure why people are confused by the insurance.
MrWorldwide said:
They've explained to me they have insurance cover for workmanship issues and are filling a claim with them.
A business can take out professiinal indemnity insurance to cover any costs due to their mistakes. When I was contracting it was quite normal to be required to have a couple of million in professional indemnity cover.The chances of professional indemnity insurance paying out, "months after" any work is pretty slim. Yeah the garage may have screwed up - but without a proper independent engineers report and legal action by the OP there is zero chance of a payout.
Not what the OP wants to hear - but if he/she does not add sufficient detail then that is the answer. Has he started legal proceedings? If not - no chance! Has he got an independent engineer's report which clearly states that poor workmanship or engineering errors caused the damage? If not - no chance!
Not what the OP wants to hear - but if he/she does not add sufficient detail then that is the answer. Has he started legal proceedings? If not - no chance! Has he got an independent engineer's report which clearly states that poor workmanship or engineering errors caused the damage? If not - no chance!
Pete54 said:
The chances of professional indemnity insurance paying out, "months after" any work is pretty slim. Yeah the garage may have screwed up - but without a proper independent engineers report and legal action by the OP there is zero chance of a payout.
Not what the OP wants to hear - but if he/she does not add sufficient detail then that is the answer. Has he started legal proceedings? If not - no chance! Has he got an independent engineer's report which clearly states that poor workmanship or engineering errors caused the damage? If not - no chance!
It would depend on the policy. My father was an engineering contractor and his PI insurance had to go back years.Not what the OP wants to hear - but if he/she does not add sufficient detail then that is the answer. Has he started legal proceedings? If not - no chance! Has he got an independent engineer's report which clearly states that poor workmanship or engineering errors caused the damage? If not - no chance!
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