Buying a car with new engine - is that classed as buying a write off?

NIMAN

While looking at cars in the UK I seen what looked like a decent spec and price for a car, but when I read the description it said the engine had been replaced by the insurance company due to water damage. Said the engine had for example 40,000 miles whereas the car had 70,000.

If you were to buy this, would it be hard to insure? Would it be classed as an insurance write-off or damaged?

Henry Ford III

NIMAN wrote: »

While looking at cars in the UK I seen what looked like a decent spec and price for a car, but when I read the description it said the engine had been replaced by the insurance company due to water damage. Said the engine had for example 40,000 miles whereas the car had 70,000.

If you were to buy this, would it be hard to insure? Would it be classed as an insurance write-off or damaged?

As long as the engine is like for like, and properly recorded it should be fine.

If the car was an insurance w/o due to water damage however it'd possibly be different and/or a very risky buy.

bazz26

Irrespective of whether insurance companies have a problem with it or not I wouldn't touch a water damaged car with a barge pole.

Sam Russell

Water damage can corrode the wires and lead to no end of reliability issues. It is not worth the hassel, no matter how cheap.

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dgt

Water damaged? Run away!!!!

dingding

If it is diesel, it could just have injested water by driving through mild flooding. As the water can't be compressed this could have wrecked the engine. It could be possible in this case for just the engine to be damaged. However if it is a petrol engine, more of the car would need to have been in contact with the water.

In any case avoid like the plague, you don't know what trouble you could have down the line with the electrics, body etc...

NIMAN

Thanks all, thats another one chalked off the list.