Insurance Question

[Velar2018]

Hi All,

Long time lurker but first post. Need some help badly!
I have been told my car needs a new engine at approx £15-20k. I have an extended warranty and thought all would be ok but they declined it having noticed I had not stuck to the service intervals. So now I’m stuck with a car that’s not drivable and a 20k bill I can’t afford. The car is only worth £30k when the engine was fine. I’m guessing a 20k bill to repair a car worth 30k wouldn’t normally be considered. Is there any way I can write the car off through my insurance company or do I need to have been in an accident for any claim like this? I have no idea what to do. I don’t have £2000 let alone 20k and as it’s on PCP I can’t even go and get a cheaper reconditioned engine fitted. HELP!!!

Thanks
Mark

[Monkeylegend]

I assume it's a Velar.

What happened to the engine, can it be repaired cheaper than a new engine or can you source a second hand engine?

Sounds like you have been trying to save a bit of money on servicing hence voiding the warranty.

[2 sMoKiN bArReLs]

How far out on the service intervals were you?

What has caused the failure?

[skeeterm5]

No you can’t normally claim on your insurance, unless you have some sort of special cover in place which I guess you would know about.

[Velar2018]

It was 2 years or 21,000. I did 2years and 1month but 33,000miles. If I’m honest I just had “2 years” in my mind and not the mileage.

Dealer hasn’t said what is wrong. Just says needs a new engine. Annoyingly it was in for a new timing chain back in December which I guess they took half the engine apart for and that has just been glossed over as any possible reason because they have a “get out of jail free” card because they saw I didn’t stick to a service interval 2 years ago. I argue that a late service 2 years ago is less likely to be the cause than taking the engine apart 4months ago but they’re sticking resolutely to their position. Even LR customer services said your next step is legal advice we can’t do anything good will wise for you! 😞

[swisstoni]

You paid close to £1k per year for extended warranty, but couldn’t spare the cash to actually get the car serviced?

[skeeterm5]

One thought, you say the car is in PCP, speak to the finance company and see if they will get involved to help you with LR.

[grumbas]

Got legal expenses cover with your motor insurance? It might provide legal advice for this, and may even cover the legal fees if they think you have a case.

If not you need some proper advice from someone with experience with this sort of claim, if they think you have a case they may be able to persuade LR to review their position.

Before you go any further though get a full report from the dealer on exactly what is wrong and why they're recommending a full engine replacement. I can't see how anything that terminal could have happened by deferring an oil change service by 10k miles or so?

Why did the dealer want to replace the timing chain recently, the service interval on those is usually very long, so what prompted the work, was it a recall? It would have likely necessitated an oil change anyway which is the bulk of the service work they're saying you skipped.

[Monkeylegend]

Velar2018 said:

It was 2 years or 21,000. I did 2years and 1month but 33,000miles. If I’m honest I just had “2 years” in my mind and not the mileage.

Dealer hasn’t said what is wrong. Just says needs a new engine. Annoyingly it was in for a new timing chain back in December which I guess they took half the engine apart for and that has just been glossed over as any possible reason because they have a “get out of jail free” card because they saw I didn’t stick to a service interval 2 years ago. I argue that a late service 2 years ago is less likely to be the cause than taking the engine apart 4months ago but they’re sticking resolutely to their position. Even LR customer services said your next step is legal advice we can’t do anything good will wise for you! ??

How can you not have asked what is actually wrong with the engine. That would be my first question.

Until you know what is wrong you can't know whether it is repairable or a new engine required. They would rather sell you a new engine I suspect.

[kambites]

You certainly can't claim off insurance unless you have some kind of unusual cover and I think getting anything out of the warranty company given that you're 50% over the mileage interval for servicing is unlikely to happen. I'd take the car to an independent specialist and find out what's actually wrong with the engine; I'd be surprised if such a mainstream car can't be repaired for far less than £20k.

[Monkeylegend]

Could be an oil dilution issue if it is a LR but maybe they don't want OP to know that.

[Velar2018]

Thanks all. This all happened this afternoon so I do need to get some more clarity. I have asked several times what the actual fault is with the engine. Thus far just been told they don’t break down or dig into detail. They just replace the whole unit peace meal. They’re not in the business of stripping engines down etc.
I categorically want to know exactly what the issue is in case it can be repaired elsewhere for a fraction of the cost.

I spoke to finance company a little earlier and they are going to try on my behalf too but I’m not sure how they (or anyone) is going to convince someone to pay for the repair when there’s a very convenient “he broke the T&Cs” argument to stand behind.

The oil dilution comment is interesting. What is that? Any more info?

Thanks

[Velar2018]

Thanks all. This all happened this afternoon so I do need to get some more clarity. I have asked several times what the actual fault is with the engine. Thus far just been told they don’t break down or dig into detail. They just replace the whole unit peace meal. They’re not in the business of stripping engines down etc.
I categorically want to know exactly what the issue is in case it can be repaired elsewhere for a fraction of the cost.

I spoke to finance company a little earlier and they are going to try on my behalf too but I’m not sure how they (or anyone) is going to convince someone to pay for the repair when there’s a very convenient “he broke the T&Cs” argument to stand behind.

The oil dilution comment is interesting. What is that? Any more info?

Thanks

[Monkeylegend]

Velar2018 said:

Thanks all. This all happened this afternoon so I do need to get some more clarity. I have asked several times what the actual fault is with the engine. Thus far just been told they don’t break down or dig into detail. They just replace the whole unit peace meal. They’re not in the business of stripping engines down etc.
I categorically want to know exactly what the issue is in case it can be repaired elsewhere for a fraction of the cost.

I spoke to finance company a little earlier and they are going to try on my behalf too but I’m not sure how they (or anyone) is going to convince someone to pay for the repair when there’s a very convenient “he broke the T&Cs” argument to stand behind.

The oil dilution comment is interesting. What is that? Any more info?

Thanks

JLR have a well documented issue with DPF regeneration where diesel gets into the oil during the regeneration process, diluting the oil and often resulting in bearing failure.

[Velar2018]

It was 2 years or 21,000. I did 2years and 1month but 33,000miles. If I’m honest I just had “2 years” in my mind and not the mileage.

Dealer hasn’t said what is wrong. Just says needs a new engine. Annoyingly it was in for a new timing chain back in December which I guess they took half the engine apart for and that has just been glossed over as any possible reason because they have a “get out of jail free” card because they saw I didn’t stick to a service interval 2 years ago. I argue that a late service 2 years ago is less likely to be the cause than taking the engine apart 4months ago but they’re sticking resolutely to their position. Even LR customer services said your next step is legal advice we can’t do anything good will wise for you! 😞

[Monkeylegend]

Velar2018 said:

It was 2 years or 21,000. I did 2years and 1month but 33,000miles. If I’m honest I just had “2 years” in my mind and not the mileage.

Dealer hasn’t said what is wrong. Just says needs a new engine. Annoyingly it was in for a new timing chain back in December which I guess they took half the engine apart for and that has just been glossed over as any possible reason because they have a “get out of jail free” card because they saw I didn’t stick to a service interval 2 years ago. I argue that a late service 2 years ago is less likely to be the cause than taking the engine apart 4months ago but they’re sticking resolutely to their position. Even LR customer services said your next step is legal advice we can’t do anything good will wise for you! ??

Groundhog day

[AlexRS2782]

swisstoni said:

You paid close to £1k per year for extended warranty, but couldn’t spare the cash to actually get the car serviced?

Well it is Friday on a Bank Holiday weekend - ideal bait thread for PH