Advice on motor insurance claim

movilogo

we used our usual garage, and we do fully trust them as they've been very good in the past

The sentences above and below are contradicting

Garage said we'd need to get it from insurer.

cyclonebri1

custardy wrote: »

what kills engines in this scenario is when the engine draws water in through the air filter.
water gets in the combustion chamber where air is compressed.
unfortunatly water doesnt compress like air and it just buckles engine components

Yep, sounds like it's been "hydrauliced"(sp)

Water doesn't compress so crank, rod have to bend=new engine needed

boots_babe

movilogo wrote: »

The sentences above and below are contradicting

Hi movilogo,

Not sure why you say that? When we asked for the receipt, the garage said they had to send the receipt to the insurer, and so we would have to go to them in order to get it sent over.

The part about having to send it to the insurer sounded reasonable - seeing as they had to see what they were paying for - but then I guess I don't know what the usual procedure is - I've never had anything like this happen before.

Cardelia

Water *does* compress, just like any other liquid. What you mean is that the mechanical parts of an engine are not strong enough to compress water without breaking. There's a big difference between the two.

Wig

zappahey wrote: »

Illegal to keep a car on the highway when the engine's ruined? How do you figure that one?

Either OP added in the circumstances of what caused the write off (floods) after I had posted (note edit time after I had posted) or I missed that bit, and assumed it was a severely damaged in a bad accident. Harveybobbles post added to my confusion.

Wig

boots_babe wrote: »

Hi movilogo,

Not sure why you say that? When we asked for the receipt, the garage said they had to send the receipt to the insurer, and so we would have to go to them in order to get it sent over.

The part about having to send it to the insurer sounded reasonable - seeing as they had to see what they were paying for - but then I guess I don't know what the usual procedure is - I've never had anything like this happen before.

Perhaps you should have asked the garage "What work did you do exactly to my car?" Instead of asking for a copy of a contract document which is private information between two parties.

boots_babe

Hi wig,

Well we could ask, and I'm sure the garage would tell me. But it's not just that I want to know out of interest - I want it in writing as, apart from anything else, an itemised list of work will act as my receipt in case anything goes wrong with any of the new parts.

If I don't have this written down, I don't have a leg to stand on if there happens to be a problem with one of the new parts.

Also, I have always maintained a full paperwork history for the car, and would additionally want a receipt for these reasons. Although my reason above is my primary reason.

Perhaps it is just me - it is unreasonable to expect to find out what has been done to my car? Surely most people in this situation would be given full details - I can't understand why there could possibly be any legitimate reason for the insurance company not telling me.

cyclonebri1

Cardelia wrote: »

Water *does* compress, just like any other liquid. What you mean is that the mechanical parts of an engine are not strong enough to compress water without breaking. There's a big difference between the two.

In terms of it being compressed by an engine, it is incompressible. Even in our water jet cutting machines there is little volume change. But yes you could say it does compress, end result is the same though, one hydraulically terminated lump of scrap.;)

movilogo

can't understand why there could possibly be any legitimate reason for the insurance company not telling me

I see what you mean. You want to keep Full Service History of your car to get a higher resale value.

But as long as you reveal to your buyer that your car was flooded, s/he will just walk away.

If you want a good value from your car, just keep quite

However, clever buyers sometimes can figure it out.

boots_babe

Well partly yes, but also to show that I am an honest seller!

But like I say, my primary reason is that surely I need the paperwork as evidence in case of any future faults

Has anyone else been in this kind of situation before, and been refused/allowed access to this information by the insurer? I'd be interested to know.