mrdiode

Last Friday. Downpour. Forced into flooded right lane.

Hydrolocked.

04 TL CPO w/ 49.5k on it.

GEICO is covering it.. i have a $100 comprehensive deductible.

However, they are insisting that they must put a new motor in it and I have to cover 25% of the cost ($976) plus my deductible. I've been told that there's really no other option. Acura assures me that since it will be entirely OEM, the CPO will stand and I will have no issues trading up in the future.

I kind of take issue with having a product insured for a certain deductible.. and then get told that I have to pay well over it. Additionally, I'm not 100% believing the Acura employees telling me I'll have no issues in the future.

Any recommendations? Paying out $1k on something I had insured seems a bit unreasonable. I won't get into previous issues with GEICO, I was a day away from dropping them when this happened.. yes, their adjusters are terrible, yes I am in direct contact with the supervisor, but no.. I have no other ideas.

Help?

Ron A

Is it really NEW, or rebuilt?

The insurance company is charging you for the 49.5K miles you have on the engine, under something they call reasonable depreciation or something to that effect. I'm not saying it's right, but I am sure that's how they are looking at this.

Welcome to the forums, but sorry to meet under these circumstances.

mrdiode

I understand the terms under which they're operating.

Yes, it will be an all new OEM Acura motor. Every last part.

I just don't understand how reasonable depreciation can be enforceable if the insured client does not wish to go that route. Can't find any statutes, however, and the NJ State Ombudsmen aren't answering their phones.

I just want to be done with this car. As someone who used to build, swap, and race 'Tegs.. the last thing I feel like dealing with is having to explain a non-matching motor when I go to sell it. I'm sick of that, it's why I bought a CPO Car from a dealership.. so that it would sell easy when it's time to move on.

Are you agreeing that I am pretty much SOL and stuck paying $1k for a new motor I don't want on a $100 deductible and driving a non-matching number car?

That's not what I was hoping to hear :\

EnvisionTL

Since the work would be done by the dealership, can't you request paperwork saying that they replaced the motor with a brand new motor when you decide to sell the car? Just thinking out loud..Good luck with your situation though.

mrdiode

Oh, I absolutely can.

It's just a pain is all.. I'm mostly frustrated that I unloaded a good chunk of money on a dealer and manufacturer certified vehicle only to wind up in the same spot I was in when I was still playing racecar driver.

Looks like I have no alternative though. There goes $1k of unexpected expenses..

T Ho

So, you're going to sell the car when it gets fixed because it's not the "perfect" CPO car anymore? That doesn't make any sense.

Keep the paperwork, and it ought to be fine. You can't undo the damage, so you're screwed either way. Unless you intended to intentionally not mention destroying your (potentially rebuilt) engine if you just got it repaired. That wouldn't be very nice.

mrdiode

No, I'm going to trade it in with the dealership because I was assured that it would not be penalized value as long as the motor was a brand new Acura OEM Crate Motor -- which it will be.

I have torn down and rebuilt quite a few engines. I've done a lot of time down at Englishtown - it's 5m from my house. As a result, I've also bought and sold many cars with mismatched numbers.. Please trust that I know the headaches of selling a vehicle with a transplanted motor all too well. I don't want to face those problems down the road.

The dealership has the full disclosure that this CPO TL is having the motor replaced -- they're the ones doing it!

MR1

If you as I suspect had a CAI, you might be getting off cheap. The car could then be considered modified and insurance may not pay at all. Factory would not pay if you had 1000 miles and CAI.

Either way you are still gelling a factory fresh motor installed for about $1000. Not planned but not bad.

mrdiode

No, there was no CAI. I bought this car to get out of racing.

MR1

Sorry, why isn't the dealer paying for it under factory warranty ?

mrdiode

Flood isn't a mechanical failure, it's Act of God.

Hence.. insurance. Ugh indeed.

Ron A

No I'm not, which is why I said I'm not saying it's right but that's probably how they are looking at it. But they don't charge reasonable depreciation if they did extensive body work, even on a 20 year old car, so why should they charge you for the engine?

I don't know if you can elevate your complaint at Geico, or if there is some kind of arbitration source available to you, but I'm sure you are looking into it.

Did Geico give you a reason for the $976 charge, or did they just say that's it, take it or leave it?

mrdiode

They said typically it's a 50% charge, but since "these engines typically go 200k miles, we're gonna give you a break and charge 25%" - % being of the total cost of a new motor.

My portion of the bill will be paid directly to the Acura shop.

Johndoyle

They're charging you 25% because they're giving you a new engine when yours had 50K miles on it, so they're theoretically putting you in a better position than you were before and charging you for it (even though you were fine with everything the way it was). Would you be happy if they could find a used engine with 50K on it and put that in there instead? This would void your CPO warranty, but it might be worth it if you're $1000 ahead. You'd have to go to an independent shop for that but it might be worth it. Another option would be a rebuilt short block. Again, you'd have to go through an independent shop, but you might be able to get it for no deductible. You might want to go to the adjuster directly and tell him you can't come up with the $1000 and need to find a less expensive alternative. Insurance companies fix cars with used parts all the time. It could be that Acura is insisting on the new engine because they have the CPO warranty on the car and don't want to be at risk. Having that car in the Acura shop could be messing things up for you and causing the adjuster not to consider other alternatives. It is however, your car and not Acura's.

If I were you, I don't think I'd want a brand new engine in an '04 car. On the other hand, if you were going to keep it for a while you could look forward to spectacular service from the engine. Sorry about your bad luck and hope it works out OK for you with whatever you decide.

geekybiker

They are trying to deduct for betterment. However betterment is only normal for wear and tear parts like brakes, clutches, tires, etc. Tell them to go stuff it and pay the full amount of the engine repair.

geekybiker

http://www.acrsnetwork.com/acrs/html...ent_story.html

This texas case is directly applicable to you.

Check the language in your policy however.

mrdiode

geek - you just helped me to recall the link to the nj auto insurance code.

and now, i win.

http://www.nj.gov/dobi/11_3_10.pdf

see section 11:3-10.3, subsection i.

I contacted the adjuster's supervisor citing this code.. which I actually used before (diff section) to obtain more money from my last total loss due to unreasonable delay.

The wording in their policy cannot override this statute. Win.

shooter

man .. you see the power of knowledge and AZ members working together as a team ....

geekybiker

Awesome. Nice kill. Let us know their response.

mrdiode

Spoke to the supervisor.

He was trying to argue that an engine consists of many parts that could be considered serviceable.

I pointed out that the wording of section i doesn't use "serviceable", it uses an explicit phrase describing only parts that "normally are repaired or replaced in the liftime of a vehicle". He responded by stating that in his experience, that is worded very vaguely. I agreed, and pointed out that this would work in my favor if it were to come to a legal battle. He requested a copy of the statute to be sent via fax, to which I obliged.. and he closed the debate by stating "well in the worst case we'll just have to get the betterment removed".

Nothing like having the opponent concede defeat before the battle has even begun..

fyi, got some cases to support me via jstor if necessary.

Sometimes I regret not going into Law like everyone wanted me to.. but then I recall that I only enjoy it if it benefits me or someone I care about. Too much work for too many people out there to keep me sane

Geek, thanks again for turning the gears in my noggin'.

And thanks to the NJ State Legislature for using broad context that actually benefits the consumer for once (and in an insurance case no less!)

T Ho

Nice work. I'd have done the same.

Are you still going to trade it in, now that it won't cost you anything to fix (beyond the deductible, that is)? I still don't think that makes any sense- you can give the dealer thousands of dollars now, or you can theoretically give the next owner the same down the road.

MR1

Great job, I'd have been pissed and $1000 short.

camporealer

Wonderful...

I love it when you can "Stick it to the Gecko"...

They advertise about customer service, but my son also had problems with his Geico policy. They were charging the deductible on every piece they replaced not on the total repair!!!!

I would never get an insurance policy from them.