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Old 19th February 2017, 11:07   #16
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

They are not liable to cover it if you did not buy additional cover in policy. Hydrostatic lock cover in Insurance policy is the first thing I would recommend on any BMW. We all know they die even if they sense a puddle in the area.

Accept your mistake and move on! Either rebuild the engine from some FNG or I would recommend sell the car in as is condition.
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Old 19th February 2017, 12:27   #17
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

I agree. I don't see any reason to foot such a huge bill or even 50% of it in the best case scenario where BMW might share the cost with you. These cars are complicated and I would not recommend continuing to drive this one even if repaired to working condition. The problem is the resale would also take a hit and I doubt you will get much value for the car from any quarter least of them BMW, unless you upgrade to a BMW car ( which will probably be offered to you without discounts etc and also you might not be game to own another while elephant).

But can the insurance company deny you a claim for parts outside the engine or outside the realms of hydrostatic lock? Assuming your car was a victim of the tragic Chennai floods sometime ago, what kind of settlement would the insurance company have given in that case?
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Old 19th February 2017, 13:25   #18
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

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Originally Posted by drmohitg View Post

But can the insurance company deny you a claim for parts outside the engine or outside the realms of hydrostatic lock? Assuming your car was a victim of the tragic Chennai floods sometime ago, what kind of settlement would the insurance company have given in that case?
Flooding is when the car is off, you see. And then natural calamity etc brings in different clauses I think due to government intervention. This car was ON.
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Old 19th February 2017, 13:32   #19
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

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Originally Posted by H_Dogg72 View Post
Flooding is when the car is off, you see. And then natural calamity etc brings in different clauses I think due to government intervention. This car was ON.
I agree but flood induced damage is covered under Insurance. We can imagine many hypothetical situations where the car would be damaged by water. Simplest being lets assume the OP faced a breakdown before the rains at that spot or had a tyre blow out. And once the car was stuck, the weather gods decided to act funny, it rained and the place got flooded with the car getting submerged in water. Now what? Wouldn't the insurance company cover the damages? In this case too, he hasn't taken the engine protection plan. But any part not related to water entering the engine per se should and must be covered under insurance na. There have been numerous threads on the forum before regarding hydrostatic lock repairs and IIRC the damages are usually within 2-3L. Assuming a 100% inflation also, this can't be more than 5-6L right? What I am trying to say is that since we know that the car is more or less a total loss, atleast the OP can narrow down his losses by claiming damages from the Insurance company for other parts that got damaged due to water ( other than engine that it). His is a relatively new car and as such he stand to lose close to 20L. If the insurance company can reimburse him for these other parts and he foots the bill for the engine repair, maybe the cost of repair will come to under 10L for him. After that he can probably sell the car and hence cut down his loss.
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Old 19th February 2017, 13:42   #20
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

BHPian Jalsa777 had suffered the same issue with his X1 diesel. He got it repaired from outside for 1.5 lakhs. That's what you should do. Find a good shop.
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Old 19th February 2017, 13:45   #21
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

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Originally Posted by drmohitg View Post
I agree but flood induced damage is covered under Insurance. We can imagine many hypothetical situations where the car would be damaged by water. Simplest being lets assume the OP faced a breakdown before the rains at that spot or had a tyre blow out. And once the car was stuck, the weather gods decided to act funny, it rained and the place got flooded with the car getting submerged in water. Now what? Wouldn't the insurance company cover the damages? In this case too, he hasn't taken the engine protection plan. But any part not related to water entering the engine per se should and must be covered under insurance na. There have been numerous threads on the forum before regarding hydrostatic lock repairs and IIRC the damages are usually within 2-3L. Assuming a 100% inflation also, this can't be more than 5-6L right? What I am trying to say is that since we know that the car is more or less a total loss, atleast the OP can narrow down his losses by claiming damages from the Insurance company for other parts that got damaged due to water ( other than engine that it). His is a relatively new car and as such he stand to lose close to 20L. If the insurance company can reimburse him for these other parts and he foots the bill for the engine repair, maybe the cost of repair will come to under 10L for him. After that he can probably sell the car and hence cut down his loss.
Let's see how the insurance company plays. Getting the non hydrostatic parts under insurance has been specified earlier as well. I hope that works out. But still best policy is to buy all the add ons possible. I didn't renew with Liberty Videocon since they said we won't offer hydrolock on your car in second year polo tsi

In both the cases you said the car would be off before the water came in. In this car was off due to water ingress, ergo hydrolock.

Last edited by H_Dogg72 : 19th February 2017 at 13:46.
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Old 19th February 2017, 13:57   #22
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

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Originally Posted by H_Dogg72 View Post

In both the cases you said the car would be off before the water came in. In this car was off due to water ingress, ergo hydrolock.
Yes and I don't have any qualms in them denying the engine repair. But the other parts should be covered. And yes one should buy all the add ons. I recently faced undue expenses after a rat chewed off 4 cables in my 320d. Since then I have made a mental note to opt for a add on, if available, for that too. Apparently Tata AIG has something on those lines too. Bottomline being that things can go wrong quite horribly and very fast with these cars and one should arm themselves with all the possible means available.
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Old 20th February 2017, 07:58   #23
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

Quote:
Originally Posted by drmohitg View Post
Yes and I don't have any qualms in them denying the engine repair. But the other parts should be covered. And yes one should buy all the add ons. I recently faced undue expenses after a rat chewed off 4 cables in my 320d. Since then I have made a mental note to opt for a add on, if available, for that too. Apparently Tata AIG has something on those lines too. Bottomline being that things can go wrong quite horribly and very fast with these cars and one should arm themselves with all the possible means available.
On an unrelated note to the thread, could you specify the policy term which provided you protection from rodent issues. Shall make a mental note of it, when renew my policy. Recently faced a dead battery situation, due to rat chew.
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Old 20th February 2017, 09:13   #24
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

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Originally Posted by sharktale View Post
On an unrelated note to the thread, could you specify the policy term which provided you protection from rodent issues. Shall make a mental note of it, when renew my policy. Recently faced a dead battery situation, due to rat chew.
No what I meant to say was that my current policy didn't cover me for this and I had to foot the bill for the damages. Hence post this incident I searched around and apparently Tata AIG offers protection against this.
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Old 20th February 2017, 11:48   #25
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

Sad to hear about the car, harusadu.

As you haven't opted for hydrostatic lock protection, insurance company won't pay as that is the whole point of providing that add-on.
Also, leaving the car for that long submerged in water must have caused more harm.

It seems you have following options:

1. Talk to BMW and ask for support. They usually give some support from their side as goodwill. I got my steering rack assembly completely replaced at only 10% of the total cost (instead of 3L, I had to pay only 28k). If you get around 50% off then it might be worth repairing.

2. Replace the car. Again, talk to BMW/dealer and see if they can offer you some exchange deal. They would be interested as one more sale for them.

3. Repair outside and then sell. This may or may not work but will cost you much less.

Repairing and keeping the car only makes sense if you get it done at 7-8L from BMW.
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Old 20th February 2017, 13:59   #26
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

holy mother of god, that is a sticker shock no doubt. Its almost like for that kind of money you can fly to Germany , buy all the parts and fly back and it would be cheaper !!

I don't mean to hijack the thread but could somebody please point out all the things mandatory that should be covered in buying a comprehensive insurance (without breaking the bank!) so that something like this could be avoided? I know this will not help harusadu but it would be some good will karma points hopefully! I live in Chennai so completely sympathies with harusadu, the water flooding issue in Chennai is an annual ordeal now.
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Old 20th February 2017, 14:23   #27
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

Does the insurance cover flooding? If so wont it cover other damages except the engine internals? Or did you mean no flood cover?

If latter then best option is to get it done outside. The list attached seems to have included lot of stuff that might not actually need replacement.
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Old 20th February 2017, 14:32   #28
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

@harusadu - You have not mentioned how old your car is. If it out of warranty, I guess like some suggested, it is better to give it outside to an independent workshop and get it repaired. I am sure the bill will be much lower. It is then up to you to decide whether you want to keep the car for sometime or sell it off. Being a flood affected car, either ways it will depreciate to a larger extent than normal.

Also, once the car is given outside; even if your car is under warranty, you can kiss the warranty goodbye. But at least you will end up spending much less to get the car up and running and I think this should be the way forward.
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Old 20th February 2017, 14:38   #29
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re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

The insurance is correct, it is a hydrostatic lock, no use crying overspilt milk so check the options that you have.
1. Take an estimate from a private garage, if reasonable go ahead with the repairs there.
2. Most scrap yards have lots of crashed BMW's with good engines. Get a good private mechanic with you to look over and buy one. Heart transplant is a good choice.

Rahul
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Old 20th February 2017, 15:36   #30
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Re: BMW 320d Hydrostatic Lock: Insurance company not covering it

Quote:
Originally Posted by harusadu View Post
I was driving the vehicle during some stormy weather
This just occurred to me - how long has your car been off the road? It's February and the monsoon season ended many months ago.

Quote:
During this time I encountered a small area of water. It was not very deep
Quote:
Originally Posted by harusadu View Post
There was rain, there was stormy weather, and as I was driving through a small area of water, my car suddenly stalled.
No offence, but that's what all car owners say . Golden rule is to not drive through until you are very sure of the depth, and that your car can take it. BMWs are especially vulnerable to hydrostatic lock.

You should see the number of emails we get at Team-BHP during the monsoon. Everyone thinks that they are simply driving through a puddle of water.
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