car insurance question the internet cant answer

feral_child

because I live in a rural area I have a 2014 land rover discovery 4 with low mileage,, I have comprehensive up to date insurance, up to date MOT and have an up to date complete service record (last one done in feb/march for £1500!!)this morning I drove it to the nearest garage(about 30miles) as it felt strange and whilst under the car the mechanic discovered a part of the wishbone chasis holding the rear wheel, had sheared off (a defect he hasnt seen in 40yrs) and declared the car a write off-I am devastated. I rang Hastings direct(my insurers) and the woman on the phone said its nothing to do with them-BUT this is a one off catastrophic event that has happened to my car and I dont believe what she said is correct-no info on the internet seems to deal with anything but car accidents-I would be very grateful for any help-the cars worth about £15,000-£18,000 I guess

Ayr_Rage

A mechanical failure not caused by an accident is not covered by insurance.

Hastings are correct.

Proving a manufacturing defect on a 10 year old vehicle is going to be difficult as it would likely have failed sooner.

You should be checking for previous accidents and an unsatisfactory repair or it could just be damage from continuously driving on potholed roads.

Aretnap

The reason you can only find information on accidental damage is because that's pretty much all car insurance covers I'm afraid (along with fire, theft and vandalism). It doesn't cover wear and tear or manufacturing defects, even if they do eventually cause the car to fail suddenly. Unless you can tie the damage to a specific collision or other insured event I'm afraid the insurers are correct in this one.

DullGreyGuy

feral_child said:

because I live in a rural area I have a 2014 land rover discovery 4 with low mileage,, I have comprehensive up to date insurance, up to date MOT and have an up to date complete service record (last one done in feb/march for £1500!!)this morning I drove it to the nearest garage(about 30miles) as it felt strange and whilst under the car the mechanic discovered a part of the wishbone chasis holding the rear wheel, had sheared off (a defect he hasnt seen in 40yrs) and declared the car a write off-I am devastated. I rang Hastings direct(my insurers) and the woman on the phone said its nothing to do with them-BUT this is a one off catastrophic event that has happened to my car and I dont believe what she said is correct-no info on the internet seems to deal with anything but car accidents-I would be very grateful for any help-the cars worth about £15,000-£18,000 I guess

You'd be looking at a warranty rather than car insurance to fix an issue caused by age/general use of the vehicle. 

Whilst section B typically covers damage to your own vehicle it will explicitly exclude wear and tear, mechanical/electrical breakdown or breakage.

So, you hit a pothole at 50mph and it breaks the wishbone, it'd be covered. It breaks because of a manufacturing flaw, old age, hitting 500 potholes at low speed over a decade then it's not covered. 

chrisw

It's not clear what's broken, but I struggle to see how a wishbone repair or even chassis repair requiring welding would cost £15k to £18k. I would get a second opinion.

FlorayG

chrisw said:

It's not clear what's broken, but I struggle to see how a wishbone repair or even chassis repair requiring welding would cost £15k to £18k. I would get a second opinion.

The garage says it's a write off, not the insurance company. Nobody is going to pay out on this damage; but I would agree it's definitely repairable, the garage probably just doesn't want to do it. OP, find a garage that likes to work on Land Rovers ( I have one, and I know they are like Marmite to many garages)

dunstonh

Our local landrover independent hates soldering and either won't do it or will charge a fortune for it to act as a passive blocker.

I would be very grateful for any help-the cars worth about £15,000-£18,000 I guess

10k to 15k for a 2014 D4.  And that is dealer pricing.     Absolutely pristine with very low mileage may cost just over £15k.  The selling prices will be lower and yours is no longer pristine.

(last one done in feb/march for £1500!!)

That seems quite cheap for a 10 year D4 service.  IIRC, the 10 year service (or maybe 9 year but its that ballpark) is one of the biggest services required.    Body off the chassis and many perishables replaced.        
Unless you are doing the stereotypical LR/RR owner thing of only having a basic service each time and waiting until things break before fixing them.

Go to the Disco 4 forums and post about your damage there and see what they think.   However, don't ask the insurance question, as wear and tear and maintenance have nothing to do with insurance.

FlorayG

dunstonh said:

       
Unless you are doing the stereotypical LR/RR owner thing of only having a basic service each time and waiting until things break before fixing them.

*puts hand up sheepishly* 
In my defence, mine is 21 years old...well past those sort of services