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Hi all,
About a month ago I was heavily rear ended in my Polo and while in getting the panel repair work done the engine catastrophically failed.
I have put it to the insurer that this was a result of the accident or possibly mistreatment by the repairers staff.
My Polo is at a dealership now and requires a full engine replacement.
My argument to the insurer is that prior to the accident the car was in good working condition and had been regularly serviced with the last service 3 months prior.
The insurer is stating that a rear end accident cannot damage the motor and is rejecting the claim as it is mechanical failure.
A little further info...
I had the last service invoice in the owners manual in the glovebox of the car in which the mechanic had noted possible worn timing chain and the assessor has seen this. When I got the car serviced the mechanic had noted the rattle on startup after the service but said to me that could have been due to low oil pressure as the oil had just been changed (during the service) and that if it did it again to have a look at it but only to be really concerned if the rattle was sustained for over 30 seconds and occurred regularly. The rattle only happens very infrequently on the car (once a month and only for a couple of seconds) so I had not bothered with it too much and had spoken with a VW mechanic who had said it happens sometimes but not to be concerned unless it started happening more frequently.
The accident was a heavy shunt which lifted the rear of the car and pushed me 3+ metres forward and did damage the exhaust along with the lower real panel work etc.
After the accident I drove the car for almost a week prior to the car being booked in for repairs, but I noticed a strong fumey smell in the cabin after the car was driven for a while. When this continued I called the repairer and arranged to drop the car off early as I didn't want to do any more damage. The insurance assessor is stating that this is because I was tail ended and it has pushed the fuel up the overflow pipe which is what I am smelling, but I was smelling this a week after the accident and it became more noticeable the longer I drove.
VW have done a diagnosis on the car and state it is not the timing chain but there is so much damage they cannot tell what happened, there is a cracked piston, crushed sparkplugs etc, the workshop manager has stated he has never seen anything like it but VW are going to assist with the cost of the parts for the motor.
After all this I am still up for a hefty sum which I think should be covered under insurance.
Has anyone got any thoughts on this?
thanks
Michael
About a month ago I was heavily rear ended in my Polo and while in getting the panel repair work done the engine catastrophically failed.
I have put it to the insurer that this was a result of the accident or possibly mistreatment by the repairers staff.
My Polo is at a dealership now and requires a full engine replacement.
My argument to the insurer is that prior to the accident the car was in good working condition and had been regularly serviced with the last service 3 months prior.
The insurer is stating that a rear end accident cannot damage the motor and is rejecting the claim as it is mechanical failure.
A little further info...
I had the last service invoice in the owners manual in the glovebox of the car in which the mechanic had noted possible worn timing chain and the assessor has seen this. When I got the car serviced the mechanic had noted the rattle on startup after the service but said to me that could have been due to low oil pressure as the oil had just been changed (during the service) and that if it did it again to have a look at it but only to be really concerned if the rattle was sustained for over 30 seconds and occurred regularly. The rattle only happens very infrequently on the car (once a month and only for a couple of seconds) so I had not bothered with it too much and had spoken with a VW mechanic who had said it happens sometimes but not to be concerned unless it started happening more frequently.
The accident was a heavy shunt which lifted the rear of the car and pushed me 3+ metres forward and did damage the exhaust along with the lower real panel work etc.
After the accident I drove the car for almost a week prior to the car being booked in for repairs, but I noticed a strong fumey smell in the cabin after the car was driven for a while. When this continued I called the repairer and arranged to drop the car off early as I didn't want to do any more damage. The insurance assessor is stating that this is because I was tail ended and it has pushed the fuel up the overflow pipe which is what I am smelling, but I was smelling this a week after the accident and it became more noticeable the longer I drove.
VW have done a diagnosis on the car and state it is not the timing chain but there is so much damage they cannot tell what happened, there is a cracked piston, crushed sparkplugs etc, the workshop manager has stated he has never seen anything like it but VW are going to assist with the cost of the parts for the motor.
After all this I am still up for a hefty sum which I think should be covered under insurance.
Has anyone got any thoughts on this?
thanks
Michael
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