Warranty Holdings - Help Required
Discussion
I'm looking for some help in dealing with W/H regarding my cerb 4.2.
The engine is at the factory ( stripped)as the crank has snapped & taken the pistons, liners etc with it. W/H came to inspect on monday.
We found out today that they will not pay anything towards the claim as they feel that the engine was run with low oil and this caused the crank bearings to stick to the crank & seize locking the crank until it snapped.
I had only just checked the oil (full),coolant tyres etc prior to driving it!
W/H also state that some of the bearings show signs of scoring, leading them to believe that the engine was run after the crank had snapped. As the engine WAS running at the time the crank snapped, that is hardly suprising.
Can anyone offer help on what to do next, the warranty is "Mechanical faliure" & as something mechanical has failed surely they cannot just walk away saying "low oil", I have no way of proving it wasn't.
As the engine was full of oil at the time, the (TVR Main )dealer is of the opinion that the bottom end has been starved of oil momentarily leading to the above, & is of the opinion that "I wouldn't let W/H get away with that, you need to take that further"
How? & with whom?
any guidance is much welcomed.
Darren.
The engine is at the factory ( stripped)as the crank has snapped & taken the pistons, liners etc with it. W/H came to inspect on monday.
We found out today that they will not pay anything towards the claim as they feel that the engine was run with low oil and this caused the crank bearings to stick to the crank & seize locking the crank until it snapped.
I had only just checked the oil (full),coolant tyres etc prior to driving it!
W/H also state that some of the bearings show signs of scoring, leading them to believe that the engine was run after the crank had snapped. As the engine WAS running at the time the crank snapped, that is hardly suprising.
Can anyone offer help on what to do next, the warranty is "Mechanical faliure" & as something mechanical has failed surely they cannot just walk away saying "low oil", I have no way of proving it wasn't.
As the engine was full of oil at the time, the (TVR Main )dealer is of the opinion that the bottom end has been starved of oil momentarily leading to the above, & is of the opinion that "I wouldn't let W/H get away with that, you need to take that further"
How? & with whom?
any guidance is much welcomed.
Darren.
darreni said:
I'm looking for some help in dealing with W/H regarding my cerb 4.2.
The engine is at the factory ( stripped)as the crank has snapped & taken the pistons, liners etc with it. W/H came to inspect on monday.
We found out today that they will not pay anything towards the claim as they feel that the engine was run with low oil and this caused the crank bearings to stick to the crank & seize locking the crank until it snapped.
I had only just checked the oil (full),coolant tyres etc prior to driving it!
W/H also state that some of the bearings show signs of scoring, leading them to believe that the engine was run after the crank had snapped. As the engine WAS running at the time the crank snapped, that is hardly suprising.
Can anyone offer help on what to do next, the warranty is "Mechanical faliure" & as something mechanical has failed surely they cannot just walk away saying "low oil", I have no way of proving it wasn't.
As the engine was full of oil at the time, the (TVR Main )dealer is of the opinion that the bottom end has been starved of oil momentarily leading to the above, & is of the opinion that "I wouldn't let W/H get away with that, you need to take that further"
How? & with whom?
any guidance is much welcomed.
Darren.
I'd suggest getting a letter, or a fax if you're in a rush, from a TVR/dealer engineer stating that there is every possibility that the engine wasn't low on oil, then go back to WH telling them that for starters.
I feel for you Darren as it looks as though its going to cost you. It seems that W/H will look for every loophole to get out of the claim.
A new clutch is about to be fitted in mine and they will only pay for a third. That is still better than nothing though.
The policies will be 'underwritten' by another company, may be worth taking it up with them, along with any info you can get from TVR and the dealer.
Good luck.
Mick
A new clutch is about to be fitted in mine and they will only pay for a third. That is still better than nothing though.
The policies will be 'underwritten' by another company, may be worth taking it up with them, along with any info you can get from TVR and the dealer.
Good luck.
Mick
My advice would be to bite the bullit and get an independant engineer to look at the engine.i had a similiar problem with WH over a diff in the end i did not bother claiming.But at the end of the day they are not in the business of parting with money.
Good luck and i hope it all works out for you.
May be worth looking on the tuscan forum a lot of people there have experience of this.
Good luck and i hope it all works out for you.
May be worth looking on the tuscan forum a lot of people there have experience of this.
plotloss said:
Savage!
I work in the warranty business (not cars thankfully) and will have a word few someone in the know on your behalf. This is quite frankly appalling behaviour.
Appalling agreed, unfortunatly quite normal! most warranty companys will and do try and get out of paying major claims try speaking with a claims assesor direct try and stay cool and calm try and get the factory onside and if your still not satisfied try talking to the SMMT E-mail me off line for a name/tel no ONLY if requied good look 
TonyDarreni
Sorry to hear this, but I am not surprised, I had similar problems with them over replacement ECU and airflow meter. They tried to say one was consequential damage of the other. My view mirrored by others is that they try to find any reason not to pay out.
All I can suggest is get the garage to back you up, and
with W/H. It worked with me, to get an acceptable compromise, but this being said my claim was nothing compared to the cost of your rebuild, so would imagine they will wriggle like a fish out of water not to pay out.
Robbing b
s, but don't give up!! and hope you get it sorted.
A friend in the motor trade told me that they were one of the better warranty companies.
I think they are 
s
Sorry to hear this, but I am not surprised, I had similar problems with them over replacement ECU and airflow meter. They tried to say one was consequential damage of the other. My view mirrored by others is that they try to find any reason not to pay out.
All I can suggest is get the garage to back you up, and
with W/H. It worked with me, to get an acceptable compromise, but this being said my claim was nothing compared to the cost of your rebuild, so would imagine they will wriggle like a fish out of water not to pay out. Robbing b
s, but don't give up!! and hope you get it sorted. A friend in the motor trade told me that they were one of the better warranty companies.
I think they are sA full mechanical and metallurgical failure investigation will sort this out no problem, but might cost you. Will make some enquiries and find you a specialist - it's what I used to do in a previous life.
In the meantime you might contact WH and tell them you plan to have an independent expert examine the car, and that if the expert finds their judgement to be incorrect, you will expect them to pay the full warranty plus his (sic) fees. Then ask them if they want to reopen discussions. If they don't, then you might have no choice but to give someone multiple hundreds of pounds to inspect it, then pursue them.
In the meantime you might contact WH and tell them you plan to have an independent expert examine the car, and that if the expert finds their judgement to be incorrect, you will expect them to pay the full warranty plus his (sic) fees. Then ask them if they want to reopen discussions. If they don't, then you might have no choice but to give someone multiple hundreds of pounds to inspect it, then pursue them.
Thanks Guys (& girl). I have managed to obtain the final page of the inspection report & have requested the complete report so that i can make a decision on where to go next.
W/H want me to pay some £200 for the report as they say it's theirs!
What really fkking annoys me is that we only buy a warranty to make things slightly more financially bearable in the event of the worst happening & these fkkers will try & wriggle away anyway they can.
My warranty has a £2k claims limit ( small change compared to the overall rebuild bill).
The car has done less than a thousand miles since a full 12k main dealer service, & engine out head gasket & camshaft replacement (at same dealer).
As another point, if W/H can get away with saying low oil/ oil starvation, how would you fare should your oil pump pack up?, or other component that is equally vital to the supply system.
Large whisky thisevening meethinks.
Darren.
W/H want me to pay some £200 for the report as they say it's theirs!
What really fkking annoys me is that we only buy a warranty to make things slightly more financially bearable in the event of the worst happening & these fkkers will try & wriggle away anyway they can.
My warranty has a £2k claims limit ( small change compared to the overall rebuild bill).
The car has done less than a thousand miles since a full 12k main dealer service, & engine out head gasket & camshaft replacement (at same dealer).
As another point, if W/H can get away with saying low oil/ oil starvation, how would you fare should your oil pump pack up?, or other component that is equally vital to the supply system.
Large whisky thisevening meethinks.
Darren.
I had a similar experience with WH some years back on the (don,t laugh) Dihatsu Charade TDI I had. Only had it 2 weeks and engine blew, damaging the turbo. All parts were covered under the warranty, but they wriggled something rotten. Eventually got the "AA" legal dept involved. Compromise was made between myself, the dealer who sold me the car and WH 33% each. Otherwise it would have cost me lots more.
Nige'
If you read the small print, it is virtually impossible to see where you are actually covered and what they will pay out on. Unfortunately I did not read the small print !!
Nige'
If you read the small print, it is virtually impossible to see where you are actually covered and what they will pay out on. Unfortunately I did not read the small print !!
You can get that money but the amount of effort isn't worth it. To give you an example when I bought my Cerb it was due a service two weeks/500miles prior to buying it. It also had a WH warranty which was due to run out a month later. I transfered the warranty to my name (no money involved) and put the car in for a service. The bill came to £2900 not including the actual service cost. Most of this expected by me and taken out of the original price.
After three months of telephone calls, threats of legal action etc they paid £2700. But their starting figure was £189!
But now I run without a waranty so they ended up paying £2700 for me without me paying them a cent
After three months of telephone calls, threats of legal action etc they paid £2700. But their starting figure was £189!
But now I run without a waranty so they ended up paying £2700 for me without me paying them a cent
I'm also a "nearly" victim of this legal con job!
Had my Chimaera a couple of weeks and the master cylinder failed on the clutch. Local dealer contacted them - took at least twenty calls to get a reply. Told to go ahead - job done , then told that they had not given the OK to do the bloody job.
I work for a national newspaper publisher - no further problems!!!
I think that it's about time that the AA/RAC started to fight these guys on behalf of their members. It also helps to sent a friendly solicitors letter on occasion. I don't have a warranty now - I just have an emergency fund that I top up each month.
Good luck.
SPS
Had my Chimaera a couple of weeks and the master cylinder failed on the clutch. Local dealer contacted them - took at least twenty calls to get a reply. Told to go ahead - job done , then told that they had not given the OK to do the bloody job.
I work for a national newspaper publisher - no further problems!!!
I think that it's about time that the AA/RAC started to fight these guys on behalf of their members. It also helps to sent a friendly solicitors letter on occasion. I don't have a warranty now - I just have an emergency fund that I top up each month.
Good luck.
SPS
darreni said:This falls into the category of consequential loss/damage which you'll probably find is excluded on your policy. This means that they would pay for the repairs to the oil pump, but not for anything that failed as a consequence of the oil pump packing up i.e. the rest of the engine.
As another point, if W/H can get away with saying low oil/ oil starvation, how would you fare should your oil pump pack up?, or other component that is equally vital to the supply system.
As has been said before, they're w*nkers, the lot of them!
darreni, sorry to hear your problem, it sounds depressing enough without having to hand crank a grindstone to get anything out of WH! As everyone has said, like any insurer they will do all they can to avoid paying, and this lot in particular do seem difficult to get money out of.
Feels as though they are deliberately kicking you when you are down, but as rudegirl says it's a question of fighting back and challenging every weasel excuse they come up with. Getting the factory and/or dealer onside could obviously help a lot with this. The first step looks like being insisting on details of why they say they think the oil was low, and then arguing against that. And how can you be expected to say whether you agree with their decision without sight of the report?
I'm getting steamed up just thinking about it, so the best of luck keeping your cool and with the claim.
Feels as though they are deliberately kicking you when you are down, but as rudegirl says it's a question of fighting back and challenging every weasel excuse they come up with. Getting the factory and/or dealer onside could obviously help a lot with this. The first step looks like being insisting on details of why they say they think the oil was low, and then arguing against that. And how can you be expected to say whether you agree with their decision without sight of the report?
I'm getting steamed up just thinking about it, so the best of luck keeping your cool and with the claim.
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