Insurance cover for damage cause by dirty diesel

Gaosullivan

My car wouldn't start recently and my garage state it needs new fuel injectors and a repair to the fuel pump. The damage was caused by dirty diesel. The cost of this is over 2K. I have fully comp insurance and a full service history. Does anyone know if this will be covered by my insurance company ?

R P McMurphy

Don't know the answer to your question but I heard a while back that a petrol station in cavan had to pay for repairs to multiple cars due to dirty diesel. Might be worth letting the station know as soon as possible what has happened to your car, doubt they would openly admit it is because of them but may cough up if pushed

Just remembered that it was the petrol in this station that was something wrong with. Had to pay out for repair bills for a lot of cars

Henry Ford III

I doubt it.

bazz26

Talk to your insurance company but I'd imagine that if they entertained the idea they would need some sort of independant tests done on the diesel from your damaged car and possibly the diesel of the filling station where you got the dirty diesel.

Personally I think they would probably tell you to seek compensation from the place that sold you the dirty diesel.

corktina

dirty diesel? could you not get the washed stuff?

coylemj

Mechanical breakdown and wear and tear are not covered by car insurance, you are wasting your time even asking the insurance company.

When was the last time you heard of someone claiming for a new gearbox from their insurance company? The only insurance policy which covers what you're looking for is called an extended warranty.

Gaosullivan

Just talked to my insurance company and there sending an assessor out to look at the car on Monday. I'll post an update when I know more

mickdw

coylemj wrote: »

Mechanical breakdown and wear and tear are not covered by car insurance, you are wasting your time even asking the insurance company.

True but when someone is responsible for the mechanical failure, it could be seen to be damage. Interestingly, I overheard a conversation in a garage where woman had a 1 year old galaxy that needed new injectors due to dirty fuel, garage was getting assessor to come to the car.
I guess if you have a mechanical failure that the manufacturer is not covering due to the damage being caused by other parties, it is possible that it would be covered under comprehensive policy.
I was very surprised to learn that insurance might cover this.

coylemj

mickdw wrote: »

True but when someone is responsible for the mechanical failure, it could be seen to be damage.

Fair point. If the failure can be attributed to action or inaction (i.e. negligence) on the part of a third party then it would fall under the category of accidental damage which the fully comp. policy might cover.

sit_casper

I currently have the same problem and have been told by my garage that it will cost in the region of 2k also:mad:.i contacted my insurance company and they are sending out an assessor on monday, also went to gardai who notified customs who in turn took a sample of diesel from my car.. i can only narrow it down to 4 possible filling stations. will let u know how i get on with the assessor on monday.

sit_casper

Gaosullivan wrote: »

Just talked to my insurance company and there sending an assessor out to look at the car on Monday. I'll post an update when I know more

Just wondering how u got on with your insurance assessor??i had the assessor out and he went to get price from main dealer to fix,have also been contacted by an investigator that works with the insurance company who is takin a ample of the diesel that is in my car along with the diesel filter from the car.

keithclancy

http://www.bp.com/liveassets/bp_internet/australia/corporate_australia/STAGING/local_assets/downloads_pdfs/f/Fuel_news_common_diesel_prob3.pdf

Lots of stuff that can go wrong at the pumps.

Gaosullivan

sit_casper wrote: »

Just wondering how u got on with your insurance assessor??i had the assessor out and he went to get price from main dealer to fix,have also been contacted by an investigator that works with the insurance company who is takin a ample of the diesel that is in my car along with the diesel filter from the car.

Much the same my car is in the main dealer assessor came out and took a sample of the diesel but didn't indicate if the claim would be successful or not. I should know more today when I talk to the insurance company . Will post update

coylemj

I got my Axa renewal the other day and there is an insert in the envelope entitled 'Changes to your private car policy'.

Under a heading 'You are also not covered for the following' there is a list of bullets and one of them is....

Loss or damage as a result of incorrectly fuelling your car or from the use of substandard fuel, lubricant or parts.

These things tend to happen across the industry so I would expect that this is because of a raft of claims for engine damage caused by washed diesel and all of the insurers will probably insert this exclusion in their policy renewals.

Redjeep!

coylemj wrote: »

Mechanical breakdown and wear and tear are not covered by car insurance, you are wasting your time even asking the insurance company.

When was the last time you heard of someone claiming for a new gearbox from their insurance company? The only insurance policy which covers what you're looking for is called an extended warranty.

I'd be surprised if a warranty covered it either as it's not due to a failure of the actual part due to quality or workmanship issues.

Reloc8

If you could establish with some degree of certainty, to the extent of it being more probably than not, that a petrol station fed you dirty diesel and damaged your car you would have little difficulty recovering cost of repair in court.

The problem is if you can only go so far as to say it was one of four or even two.

If it was me, I'd go to the likely candidate with a container and take some fuel, paying for it, then ask to see the manager. Tell them what happened and that you are going to have the fuel tested and send it to the authorities, unless they will do something for you. Probably you'll be asked to leave your contact details etc. When they get in touch be very firm and assert that your car has been ruined and you're not going to stand for it. You'd prefer not to have to but if necessary you'll take it as far as you have to.

If you get no good orally I'd go to a solicitor. 2k is too much to walk away from.

There might be a point where expenditure on legals outweights probably recovery but a decent solicitor in the current climate should not be expensive to write a couple of letters. If you used one to buy your house/do a will or what not they might even cover that initial stuff for free.

sit_casper

just got word from my insurance company today that they will cover the cost of the repairs to my car,which are 2600e.:D

mickdw

Great news for you. Cant see them covering this stuff for much longer with the increasing number of issues with modern diesel injectors/pumps and their inability to deal with dirty diesel etc

sit_casper

yeah i got that feeling from the insurance investigator when he called. i was the first person to contact my insurance company to look for the cost of repairs to be covered.
I do know that in the county where i live it has become a major issue and even a lot of our emergancy service vehicles have been hit also with dirty diesel.

Reloc8

Very glad for you that you're sorted.

mc3ac

Around Christmas time, a family member went to start their car (a 2008 BMW with a full service history) and after a couple of minutes driving it cut out and would not restart. To cut a long story short, as the car was covered by comprehensive insurance, the tow truck and mechanic arrived and said the problem was as a result of water freezing in the diesel tank and the cost was 280euro to repair. As this person commutes regularly and buys their fuel from the same person the time, the mechanic then asked us where it was bought (a well known south galway garage selling cheap fuel). He said that he had been called out numerous times as regards washed diesel from this premises and advised us not to purchase from there again. We contacted the garage owner who, of course, completely denied it and handed a sample to Customs who initially promised to test it but then said they would prefer not to get involved. So not only are you left with the expense but to add insult to injury when you report it to the relevant authorities, nothing gets done about it.
You have been warned!!

Gaosullivan

My insurance company have confirmed that the will cover the damage to my car. They have asked that the fuel injectors be sent off the be reconditioned. This will take about two weeks before the car is back on the road but the have provided me with a replacement car in the mean time.

bazz26

Good stuff, glad it is working out for you.

sit_casper

glad ur insurance company are sorting car for u2.

R P McMurphy

mc3ac wrote: »

Around Christmas time, a family member went to start their car (a 2008 BMW with a full service history) and after a couple of minutes driving it cut out and would not restart. To cut a long story short, as the car was covered by comprehensive insurance, the tow truck and mechanic arrived and said the problem was as a result of water freezing in the diesel tank and the cost was 280euro to repair. As this person commutes regularly and buys their fuel from the same person the time, the mechanic then asked us where it was bought (a well known south galway garage selling cheap fuel). He said that he had been called out numerous times as regards washed diesel from this premises and advised us not to purchase from there again. We contacted the garage owner who, of course, completely denied it and handed a sample to Customs who initially promised to test it but then said they would prefer not to get involved. So not only are you left with the expense but to add insult to injury when you report it to the relevant authorities, nothing gets done about it.
You have been warned!!

Am surprised customs took this line, is unusual for them in relation to diesel