Show Us Your Motors!
- Thread starter Lopéz
- Start date
The damage seemed pretty contained tbh. Engine wouldn't turn and that was because one way the bottom of the piston skirt was contacting the crank counter balance (slight scoring on the crank and a chunk taken out of the piston), and the other way the rod hit the bottom of the bore. Remove the offending item and the motor spins like a dream with the remaining 3 in.
The best part isn't just the bend though, the rod is actually kinked and twisted too
Soldato
Nice. What car is it?
Soldato
Nope! There's certainly an abundance of MX5 engines and they don't cost much 
Soldato
Aye, £100 and apparently it had only covered 51k miles, too.
[TW]Fox;23501837 said:
This might look like a pedantic point, but a genuine question; I didn't think a 3rd party could write off your car? ie, you can insist on it being repaired, even if they feel it's beyond economical repair?
I never knew recovery companies cared about age? Surely it's effectively an insurance policy, and the age/value of the vehicle is irrelevant?
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
European recovery policies include a clause whereby they will only pay up to the value of the vehicle to recover it home from Europe. Despite this, they charge you the same for a policy as somebody with a more expensive car.
So if two people pay the same price for the same policy, one has a 2010 330i and one has a 2001 330i and they both break down in the same place in Italy with the same gearbox fault, the 2010 car gets recovered no questions asked, the 2001 car owner faces a fight with a firm who will likely to be insisting they are entitled to leave the car in Italy.
Good, innit? The AA are an exception I beleive - they'll only pay up to the value of the vehicle but allow the owner to pay the extra. Generous, huh?
[TW]Fox;23502731 said:
Ethics fail. That sort of thing really bugs me. I'm not one of those people that whinges about companies making a profit but that's just ethically flawed. I can't see a good reason for that caveat to be there. It won't cost them any more to recover an older car, so the age / value is irrelevant. Just a means of wriggling out of providing the service they've charged for...
Absolutely 100% this. The price paid for the service is the same. The benefits offered are the same. The cost of recovery is the same. Yet because the car happens to be of lower value, the firm offering the service benefits by being able to with-hold part of the policy. Infact arguably the cost of recover is lower as the insured value of the vehicle whilst in the car of the recovery agent is lower. Costs them more if they drop a 2010 330i off the back of the truck than it does if they drop a 2001 330i.
Good eh?
The AA's Rider Club used to recover you any distance regardless of the value of the bike.. I used it many times, but then they twigged that people were abusing it and instead started repairing them at events and charging you for the parts, to stop you getting a lift home in comfort from one end of the country to another. 
which is fair enough I think if they have the ability to do it.
Not sure if they still offer this policy though as it was a while back in my scooter boy phase
Not recovering a car due to value is I think purely risk avoidance on their part, but they should better charge a higher membership rate for older cars to offset this, in an insurance type model. Or everyone would pay higher rates to subsidise those with unreliable motors. (No offence intended to those with older cars, some of which are fastidiously cared for! _
which is fair enough I think if they have the ability to do it.Not sure if they still offer this policy though as it was a while back in my scooter boy phase
Not recovering a car due to value is I think purely risk avoidance on their part, but they should better charge a higher membership rate for older cars to offset this, in an insurance type model. Or everyone would pay higher rates to subsidise those with unreliable motors. (No offence intended to those with older cars, some of which are fastidiously cared for!
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Soldato
It is always a new BMW/Audi you see on a recovery truck
Not recovering a car due to value is I think purely risk avoidance on their part, but they should better charge a higher membership rate for older cars to offset this, in an insurance type model. Or everyone would pay higher rates to subsidise those with unreliable motors. (No offence intended to those with older cars, some of which are fastidiously cared for!
I'd considered this, but given that an unserviced car is more likely to break down than an old car, it'd be more sensible to insist on a full service history?
Associate
My Abarth rolled over 10k miles today so I though it was time to give it a clean and get some better pictures.
Yeah. both would be relevant I guess.. But probably it would cost too much to implement, so they just refuse to recover based on book value.. So much easier for them.
Leaving the customer wondering what on earth they do with a broken car in the middle of Italy. Niiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiice.
[TW]Fox;23504899 said:
I quite agree.. However, surely this was specified in the terms of the agreement and not something they surprise you with later? if so, you look elsewhere for a recovery policy surely.. If it wasn't mentioned, they need to be sued!
