QuestionHi,
I had a minor accident (my car hit the curb) while parking & oil started leaking. Then I drove back home slowly about half a mile. I initially thought it would be a minor fix $200 (replacing the oil pan), so didn't call insurance. I gave the car to a garage & they replaced a new oil pan but still doesn't work. They said mass air flow sensor & catalytic converter are bad - replaced them with new parts, still doesn't fix the problem. Finally they found out today the engine is bad since it was driven without oil.
Now the total cost is around $5000 (including the engine replacement) & it's been 4 weeks today from the day of accident. My car value is around $4000.
Now I would like to make an insurance claim about this. Do you think it is too late to claim now? Does the insurance company going to total my car? If I don't agree with that, will they accept my claim or at least for partial repair charges?
Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.
Thanks
AnswerHey VJ, thanks for the question and while I can't tell you what an insurer will or won't do I will gladly share my two cents and tell you what I think and what I’d do if I were in your position.
To answer your question; No, I don't think it's too late for you to still make a claim.
Be prepared to give the insurer a statement about what, when and how the loss occurred and let them speak with your repairer about the diagnostics and repairs to date.
The likelihood is, the insurer will either call for a used (salvaged# engine with the same mileage or deem the vehicle an economic total and settle it as such. They have the right to decide which to do; repair or total and when they do; they need to be fair and reasonable to properly indemnify you for your loss.
As for the existing expense...again, I'm not sure what the insurer will do but I think they will likely owe for all the loss related costs as there is no difference between what you did and what they likely would have done in repairing the vehicle. One would need to get the oil leak fixed and whatever else was needed in an effort to get the motor running. It was only then they discovered the catastrophic and irreparable damages.
Perhaps the repairer can return the mass air flow sensor and catalytic converter for credit (due to incorrect diagnosis) to help mitigate the costs. Your insurer will likely discuss this with the repairer but it wouldn't hurt for you to suggest it to the insurer.
Hope this helps in some small way! Let me know what happens so I can use the info to assist others in a similar situation
