total loss need help!!!

casson2006

i have a citroen c2 57 plate on finance, have a gap policy and comprehensive insurance (sheilas wheels).
before xmas the car suffered faults and to cut a long story short faiuled.
i had to take it to a citroen dealer to get it looked at and theyve stripped the engine at a cost of +£500 to diagnose the fault.
the report said the turbo failed and somehow oil got into the engine and basically because the cylinders cannot compress fluid it caused irreparable damage and hence undriveable.
i contacted the insurance and they claim because its a manufacturers fault its not covered by them and so im stumped as to where i stand.
i want to contact the gap policy holders but if the insurance are claiming its not a "total loss" what will the gap holders say?

furthermore, any idea if because its a "manufacturers fault" that citroen have any responsibility? surely a car that is only 57 plate the turbo shouldn't fail?

any info would be greatly recieved thanks x

clangnuts

Car insurance does not cover mechanical breakdown. The only thing that does, is a warranty. If you don't have a warranty, then you have no cover.

Has the car been serviced to the manufacturers specification? If so, then you *may* be able to get Citroen to cover some or all of the repair costs.

colino

Sorry but your insurance wont cover a mechanical fault. Do you have a warranty on it, did you buy it recently, has it been properly maintained? Sometimes mechanical devices just fail and if you cant point the finger at a negligent garage having failed to fill up the sump or whatever, I cant see the repair costs as being anything else than down to you.

jaydeeuk1

Is there a cliff near by? Insurance should cover that....

Its a 5 year old car, and turbos can fail in a short space of time if you don't look after them properly, eg let them cool / spin down after a good drive to let the oil get around them, thats the main cause of failure. If you zip on to your drive and then turn the ignition off constantly over the last few years, no wonder its gone.

s_b

its not a total loss
its a catastrophic failure
usually you get signs that the turbots about to blow
i guess yours just spun up did it sending the revs ever up before it went bang
cant see why it needed £500 of labour to deduce this though as a 19mm spanner would suffice on the crankpulley

its your responsibility im afraid

chib

As said before, if the car has been serviced at the Citroen dealership then they may contribute towards the cost of repair. The dealership would have to request this I think.

I'm reading this though and thinking £500, that's not too bad. I drive a VW and have been reading horror stories of turbo's failing and the repair costs being in the thousands. If that happens to me, I'm in big trouble.

s_b

chib wrote: »

As said before, if the car has been serviced at the Citroen dealership then they may contribute towards the cost of repair. The dealership would have to request this I think.

I'm reading this though and thinking £500, that's not too bad. I drive a VW and have been reading horror stories of turbo's failing and the repair costs being in the thousands. If that happens to me, I'm in big trouble.

£500 is to tell him its broken

chib

s_b wrote: »

£500 is to tell him its broken

Sorry, my bad.

andrew-the-cat

How many miles on it? For a turbo to fail after 5 years is pretty amazing going, unless it was constantly being driven really hard or really badly.

s_b

andrew-the-cat wrote: »

How many miles on it? For a turbo to fail after 5 years is pretty amazing going, unless it was constantly being driven really hard or really badly.

its mainly down to oil and filter regime
strict
and good quality stuff
the stuff the manufacturer recommends basically
in germany bmw for instance give the specification to the oil manufacturers who ask for it at a price,they then do their own blending and pay for bmw to test it,if bmw are happy they will allow the company to say its fit for purpose (liqui molly comes to mind)

motorguy

s_b wrote: »

its not a total loss
its a catastrophic failure
usually you get signs that the turbots about to blow
i guess yours just spun up did it sending the revs ever up before it went bang
cant see why it needed £500 of labour to deduce this though as a 19mm spanner would suffice on the crankpulley

its your responsibility im afraid

Well i guess this thread makes a change from 'my cars broke down, its the dealers fault'.