Auto Insurance Claims: Honda CRV engine blown...driver negligence, Auto theft SIU claims investigation master, Auto theft denial case forensic expert

Question
Hi Rob

I was doing a friend a favour and driving his Honda  CRV to a holiday destination.
The engine blew and the report say I was driving 123km/hour in 4th when the engine blew.
The motor plan  does not want to pay to pay out owing to "driver negligence"

Admitedelly I am not used to 6 gears and did not hear the over reving.

My questions are as follows:

Are the manufacturers possible using this as an excuse to NOT pay out?
Could their be a fault on the report?
Is their anything I can do to dispute the report ?

I am at a loss to say anything and can not afford the cost of replacing the engine.

Can you help me?

I was 1 hour into my road trip when the engine/gasket blew.

Warm regards

Kevin

Answer
Hello,

I did not get the year and model of the vehicle and I am a little perplexed as to how it could be determined as to what gear the trans was in and the speed the engine blew up at. I do not know if a vehicle CDR (Crash data retrieval) box could pick up this event if so equipped. If they could pick this up, surely they could determine engine temperature at the time and how long the engine was running at that rpm.
Normally in a situation you describe, I would be looking for lower end damage in the engine, rod and main bearings. What system failed? Cooling system? Oiling system? What caused only the head gasket to fail?
Send me the report to robo14@aol.com.








Generally, if a head gasket blows it is the result of overheating which is considered negligence. Yes, there are other things that can cause this event, but overheating is the most common.
The car should be equipped with a tach and just the sound of the engine overrevving would be more than obvious.

I cannot think of any recourse you would have against the manufacturer, because anything related to driving is addressed in the owners manual in the glove box.
Even if there was some sort of recourse, you say you don't have money to fix it, a lawyer would not take a case like this on contingency and you would have to front thousands of dollars to an attorney. You also have no standing because it isn't your car.

Your problem is that the vehicle ran good enough to drive an hour before the catastrophic event. How could you possibly refute their report?

I understand the reason you don't want to take responsibility because you don't have the money to fix it, but by taking the keys from your friend, you took on all responsibility as to what happened to the car, no matter what it was. This is exactly why I do not put myself into these situations with friends and relatives. The sam goes for loaning money.

Please don't think I am preaching here. I am not. If you had options, I would help you. You simply don't.

You could see if your friend would settle for a used engine and have that installed at a garage. Not a damn overpriced dealer. If I were the friend though, I would want the vehicle in the same condition they loaned it to you.

Good luck!

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