by mbgc1 » Thu Jul 04, 2013 02:43 pm
I am dealing with an insurance adjuster who is insisting that I have to put a rebuilt engine in my truck rather than have my shop tear down the engine and repair it because it is cheaper for them,
They have also located this engine through one of their dealers in a state over 1000 miles away,
My mechanic wanted to repair the engine rather than put a used one in,
The other choice is to keep driving the vehicle and use an additive until I trade the truck in.
So the few questions I have are.
Can the insurance company force me to put a rebuilt engine in due to the mileage on my truck ? Rather than the tear down which could cost them more ?
He would then just need to pay the diagnostics that have been done to the shop directly
In this case can I then just take the settlement offer and not fix the truck ? And if so how do I say this to the adjuster? Meaning what verbiage do I use?
He left me a message last night asking me if to return my rental because my truck could be driven until he could have the engine shipped . And he needed my ok on the settlement offer , The total for the offer was about 4100.00 ,2500 for the rebuilt engine and the rest for the labor and parts at my shop.
They have also located this engine through one of their dealers in a state over 1000 miles away,
My mechanic wanted to repair the engine rather than put a used one in,
The other choice is to keep driving the vehicle and use an additive until I trade the truck in.
So the few questions I have are.
Can the insurance company force me to put a rebuilt engine in due to the mileage on my truck ? Rather than the tear down which could cost them more ?
He would then just need to pay the diagnostics that have been done to the shop directly
In this case can I then just take the settlement offer and not fix the truck ? And if so how do I say this to the adjuster? Meaning what verbiage do I use?
He left me a message last night asking me if to return my rental because my truck could be driven until he could have the engine shipped . And he needed my ok on the settlement offer , The total for the offer was about 4100.00 ,2500 for the rebuilt engine and the rest for the labor and parts at my shop.
Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2013 03:30 pm Post Subject:
I am dealing with an insurance adjuster who is insisting that I have to put a rebuilt engine in my truck
Correction... this is what he's saying he will pay for. You can do anything you want with the engine.because it is cheaper for them
Correction... because it's all that their insured owes you.They have also located this engine through one of their dealers in a state over 1000 miles away,
Then they should include charges to get it to your location... if they have no already.My mechanic wanted to repair the engine rather than put a used one in
I like to make more money as well. The labor involved in installing an engine is small as compared to tearing down and rebuilding an engine. He gets paid for this labor... not the cost of the engine.Can the insurance company force me to put a rebuilt engine in due to the mileage on my truck ?
No, they are not allowed to physically force your hand in the motions of your signature on a work invoice. They are also not allowed to choke you until you sign. This is different then what they are obligated to pay for... which is the cost to install the rebuilt engine.In this case can I then just take the settlement offer and not fix the truck ? And if so how do I say this to the adjuster?
Yes. The adjuster could care less what you do with the money. The adjusters responsibility is to pay you for your loss. You'd say, "Okay, I don't like that you are not paying me more but please send me the payment anyway". You may need to sign a property damage release.He left me a message last night asking me if to return my rental because my truck could be driven until he could have the engine shipped
Huh? If your truck is safe to drive, why are they paying for a rental at all? The engine needs enough work that it's cheaper to replace but it's still safe to run it? I don't know if I've ever heard of that. What does your repair shop say... do they agree your truck is safe to drive? If not, DON'T DRIVE IT! The adjuster then owe rental until that engine can be shipped in and installed.You need to check with your repair shop to make sure that they can do all of the work for the amount being paid. While the adjuster can require that you sign a release, try to avoid this. That is, if you are mean and piss the adjuster off such as saying you are going to sue everyone then the adjuster may invoke his right to obtain a signed release for the $4,100. If you sign and it costs more... you have to pay the difference. If you verbally tell his you are willing to accept the $4,100 and he does not require a release, you can still ask for more if for some legit reason it ends up costing more. The adjuster may not like this but at the end of the day, you did not sign a release.
Yes, I understand it _sucks_ to have a rebuilt engine in place of your perfectly good engine (please don't tell me it was an oil change place the did the damage). You don't know for sure how good that rebuilt engine is. Your engine could have blown up a month from now. The rebuilt engine could last twice as long as your old engine. Who knows. The rebuilt engine should have a 3 or 6 month warranty on it. Not great... but it's something. Bottom line, the at fault party only owes you to repair or replace the damaged part, which ever is less.
Posted: Thu Jul 04, 2013 04:46 pm Post Subject:
Thank you for your reply.
The reason they are saying it is safe to drive my truck is that they "believe" I have lifter damage. There is no way to tell unless they tear the engine down.
The adjuster just wants me out of this rental !! I've had it for three and a half weeks .
As far as the damage to my engine being caused by an oil change ? Well I purchased my truck, ordered it special order from Dodge . It now has 100,000 miles on it . And I'm sure everyone says they took care of it yada yada.It has been serviced regularly and by the same shop and purred:) I was out of town and hit my mileage so had the oil changed by one of the dreaded chains.
I didn't know until two months later that they had left all caps and dipsticks off and left plastic gloves stuffed inside burning instead of the caps.
I know its a miracle that they are taking responsibility at all. The assistant manager admitted blame and laughed about my caps being in the shop. Maybe he should have watched the video before I asked The insurance company to.
I wanted the engine torn down to keep my engine . The one they were going to replace it with would have a 6 month warranty and he refused getting one locally because they were more expensive even though for me it would be having the safeguard of dealing with local people if something did go wrong.
On the other hand I am buying a new truck at the end of December or early January. So just getting the money from the claim might work better at this point .
What do I say to the adjuster though ? I'm accepting your offer but send the money to me ? He wanted oral release so he could order the engine and pay them the 2500 and send the other check to my garage.
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