what will happen to my car now?

Question

i was driving my car on to motorway and the oil light came on,i thought just keep going to the next garage ,which was about a mile away,but it lost all power and stopped.i lifted the bonet and smoke started to come out....next thing i new the engine was on fire....i managed to get someone to pull over and they poured some water on it and it went out, only minimum fire damage occured but it dont start now and a mechanic friend says i need a new engine.
....anyway i phoned the insurance and told them what had happened and it was arranged for a pick up lorry to come get it. the salvage company has now got my car what will happen to it now?will they tell the insurance company its a write off and pay up?what if they say it was my fault because it wasnt maintained well enough?.....if so will they send it back to me or will they just scrap it,the body is ok its just the engine which will cost more than the car is worth to replace.should i have bothered putting in a claim?

Answer 1

I hate to say it but I have a friend who a very similar thing happened to.
He got a quote from a mechanic for the car to be repaired. It worked out that it was going to cost him too much.
He then decided to speak to his insurance company, who didn't want to know.
He ended up cutting his losses and scrapping the car.

I know this is not what you are wanting to hear and I hope you have more luck than my friend.

Answer 2

Boy, you did some serious damage to that thing. The engine is toast and as you said, too costly to fix. Depending on what type of insurance coverage you have, it's at least worth the shot. At the very least, they deny the claim and you're no worse off than you are right now. On the upside, if, by some amazing chance they cover the damages, chances are you get a new car. As far as what happens with the car, that depends on whether or not your insurance company is paying. If not, you may be liable for the fees associated with moving it. Unless you have personal possessions which you need back, I'd just let them scrap it as it could end up costing you a lot of money to get it out due to towing fees and storage charges.

Call your insurance company and talk to the claims rep. He'll be able to help you out.

Answer 3

Here in the U.S. your engine would likely NOT be covered under your insurance due to the fact a severe mechanical failure actually caused the fire (fire will not damage engine internally). Even though this is in large part your fault (afterall, driving with the oil lamp glowing until it dies is pretty lame) the RESULTING damage from the extreme heat or grenade blast from a connecting rod is covered under the comprehensive portion of a policy. If the vehicle is old and has little value then cost to repair the fire damage will likely exceed the value, therefore it would be considered a 'total loss'. Insurance company has the right to deduct for prior condition (which may include blown engine).

Answer 4

New engines and associated burnt stuff cost a lot to buy and fit, so they will possibly out-value the car depending the age of it. You can ask to buy it back off the insurance company and fit you own second hand engine.
If you told them you ignored a red oil pressure warning lamp they will probably say it was down to neglect and not pay out as you obviously ran out of oil because you never kept the vehicle in a serviceable condition.
Now it depends on whether or not you want to lose you no claims bonus. If I was you I'd see about getting an engine from a salvage yard.

Answer 5

sounds like you at the very least seized your engine up. You'll probably need to replace the whole thing like your friend said... depending on the age of your car, that could be veeerryyy expensive... and probably not worth it. Usually insurance companies will want to write a car off in a case like that. it costs them more to fix it for you.

But hey, hopefully since there was a small fire and all, your insurance company might be able to be convinced that it was too extreme to be caused by bad maintence.. a mechanical fault? You were right to lodge a claim, they should give you sooommething...

Answer 6

I doubt the insurance wil pay up as it was your own fault for not maintaining or even doing simple basic checks like checking the oil, water, tyres etc. As soon as the oil light came on you should have pulled over on the hard shoulder not continue on even if it wasa mile ahead. Its best speak to the salvage company.

Answer 7

To be completely honest, it is your fault.
However insurance companieis dont have time to keep track of everyone. So just say, the engine overheated and caught fire.
Who said anything about there not being enough oil? :]

Answer 8

Keep schtum and hopefully they will just pay out under fire cover. But if the assesor examins it and finds it was due to negligence on your part, ie oil light came on and you ignored it then you may be out of luck.
If they ask if there was any sign beforehand just say no, tell them it cut out and the next thing you know it was on fire.

Answer 9

Nice job....you seized your engine, usualy when a light comes on like that its to tell you that somtihng is wrong and you should acknowalge it but yeah ur engine is toast.

Answer 10

She by no ability were given interior the vehicle she might want to no longer open the doorways or living house windows the stranger got here and killed her and tried to flee interior the vehicle even as the guy were given lower back he suggested his woman lifeless and a stranger interior the vehicle. good One, stimulated with that i ain't were given a clue if it truly isn't any longer the answer.