Rest In Peace, RNH 666R
Discussion
Hi,
I’m sure many of you remember the excitement I had 2.5 years ago when I went to buy my first car and the subsequent heart-ache I had when the first problems arose (the headlight broke). Since then I had somewhat blissful motoring and took my pride-and-joy all over the country where many people, including fellow Marlin Owners Club members, would comment on what a nice example it was.
Unfortunately there was a significant fire in the engine bay late last year. The car was a total write-off. The worst bit? It happened whilst I was driving, less than a mile from a garage who had just replaced the clutch.
I had given the Marlin to a local Performance Specialist who was to change the clutch, this involved the removal of the engine and gearbox (not enough room to do the change otherwise). After a week I collected the car, not without problems however as he had difficulty in re-wiring the ignition system and I also had to wash the engine down due to having been told of a spillage of hydraulic-fluid (he admitted to lacking any knowledge of the flammability of the substance)! Within a mile, the passenger side of the engine (the side involved in the hydraulic fluid spillage) caught fire.
The damage was substantial, with the bulkhead, bonnet, side panel and engine badly affected and as such the insurance company deemed the car a write-off. Unfortunately, due to the proprietor’s statement the insurance have decided it was very unlikely to be caused by the garage in question. As a result I’ve lost my 5 years of NCB and expect hefty increases in future premiums. The strangest bit about the event? I drove the car for 8000 miles over 2.5years without it going on fire, I drove it everyday to and from University and more recently to work. I even drove it to the garage yet on the way back the fire occurs within 5minutes? I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as to my thoughts about his statement and where the blame lies!
The absolute worst bit of the whole thing? The proprietor of the Performance Specialist in Blaydon is a PH’er and was considered a friend.
RIP “RNH 666R”, my dark blue Marlin Roadster
At least now that the insurance claim is finalised, I can get rid of the heap of a Toyota Carina I’ve driving round in – it was the only thing I could reasonably afford at the time (it has character mind, with only 181k on the clock but is at least petrol engined)!
Stefan
I’m sure many of you remember the excitement I had 2.5 years ago when I went to buy my first car and the subsequent heart-ache I had when the first problems arose (the headlight broke). Since then I had somewhat blissful motoring and took my pride-and-joy all over the country where many people, including fellow Marlin Owners Club members, would comment on what a nice example it was.
Unfortunately there was a significant fire in the engine bay late last year. The car was a total write-off. The worst bit? It happened whilst I was driving, less than a mile from a garage who had just replaced the clutch.
I had given the Marlin to a local Performance Specialist who was to change the clutch, this involved the removal of the engine and gearbox (not enough room to do the change otherwise). After a week I collected the car, not without problems however as he had difficulty in re-wiring the ignition system and I also had to wash the engine down due to having been told of a spillage of hydraulic-fluid (he admitted to lacking any knowledge of the flammability of the substance)! Within a mile, the passenger side of the engine (the side involved in the hydraulic fluid spillage) caught fire.
The damage was substantial, with the bulkhead, bonnet, side panel and engine badly affected and as such the insurance company deemed the car a write-off. Unfortunately, due to the proprietor’s statement the insurance have decided it was very unlikely to be caused by the garage in question. As a result I’ve lost my 5 years of NCB and expect hefty increases in future premiums. The strangest bit about the event? I drove the car for 8000 miles over 2.5years without it going on fire, I drove it everyday to and from University and more recently to work. I even drove it to the garage yet on the way back the fire occurs within 5minutes? I’ll let you draw your own conclusions as to my thoughts about his statement and where the blame lies!
The absolute worst bit of the whole thing? The proprietor of the Performance Specialist in Blaydon is a PH’er and was considered a friend.
RIP “RNH 666R”, my dark blue Marlin Roadster
At least now that the insurance claim is finalised, I can get rid of the heap of a Toyota Carina I’ve driving round in – it was the only thing I could reasonably afford at the time (it has character mind, with only 181k on the clock but is at least petrol engined)!
Stefan
bloody hell stefan that's awful!
fell sorry for you chap...what are you going to get instead? another marlin? I fondly remember egging you on to do a wedg1e* in the car park at one of our meets...it took ages of cajoling but eventually you extracted a magnificent exit from the car park out of the old girl..sad that she's gone..hey ho. how about a westfield or something only marginally less practical than the marlin?
*burn out, for the uninitiated
fell sorry for you chap...what are you going to get instead? another marlin? I fondly remember egging you on to do a wedg1e* in the car park at one of our meets...it took ages of cajoling but eventually you extracted a magnificent exit from the car park out of the old girl..sad that she's gone..hey ho. how about a westfield or something only marginally less practical than the marlin?
*burn out, for the uninitiated
m1spw said:I can. The problem was the car disappeared into a scrap yard so there was no chance to do an investigation (plus it was very expensive to do anyway). Add to that the fact it didn't occur in the garage but a mile or so away and that the claim in the end wasn't for all that much in comparison to legal bills. There are too many "ifs, buts and maybes" for them to be comfortable in chasing the money, NCB and the excess. Everyone (including my broker) agrees as to where the blame lies simply because it's impossible for the garage not to have had a significant involvement, but the problem comes in proving it when people don't hold their hands up and admit their mistakes. Maybe thats a harsh statement, maybe it is untrue but I can't for the life of me see how any other decision can be reached by us laymen when the facts are looked at.
Unlucky mate, you must be totally gutted. Can't believe the insurance comapny as well, taking away 5 years NCB.
WorGC said:The problem with that is I've been stripped of my 5 years NCB hence it restricts what I can afford to insure quite dramatically - I was looking at S3 and similar and they are all upwards of £3k. When I was paying ~£400 a year on the Marlin, it's just not do-able. On the insurance front I'm back to square one, buying a small engined car and building up some NCB. Bit of a bitch considering I was hoping to get another, more modern, main-stream sports car in the near future to complement the Marlin.
Stefan! My old red S1.5 is up for sale! Get it bought!
As for the choice of car, I'm looking at either a 1.4 or 1.6 GTM Libra. It'll have to be on a limited mileage policy now so I'll have to keep a 2nd car (no bad thing in reality), but again I'll have to chop the Toyota in for something small-engined and maybe a bit less crap.
Still, on the positive note, now that the insurance has been settled I can now tell you about it, look to sorting a new car out and start joining PH events again without having to avoid the awkward questions of "how is your Marlin doing" whilst I was keeping quiet out of respect for the garage and it's properitor
insurance on my S3c is £800 per annum it simply cannot be much more than that for you. I have no NCB on that car as it was all on the mini and I haven't yet transferred it over. get on to tesco.com/finance and get another insurance quote - don't give up so easily!
regarding the garage and keeping quiet due to respect and so forth, why TF keep quiet when the garage seems to have shafted you so deeply all for the sake of what to a business owner (writable losses) must be a piddling sum of what, 3k maximum? whoever is in charge of it sounds like a shyster and I would want to warn fellow PHers certainly those of my friends (by phone if not on PH) as it seems that this garage would need to be avoided.
regarding the garage and keeping quiet due to respect and so forth, why TF keep quiet when the garage seems to have shafted you so deeply all for the sake of what to a business owner (writable losses) must be a piddling sum of what, 3k maximum? whoever is in charge of it sounds like a shyster and I would want to warn fellow PHers certainly those of my friends (by phone if not on PH) as it seems that this garage would need to be avoided.
minimax said:I have been looking around and tried Tesco's, they were the worst for me - could be any number of things though, I'm only 23 remember... I haven't given up mind. I've always fancied a GTM Libra - it's a fantastic little (kit) sportscar which returns 40mpg and can keep up with Lotus Elises for the most part
insurance on my S3c is £800 per annum it simply cannot be much more than that for you. I have no NCB on that car as it was all on the mini and I haven't yet transferred it over. get on to tesco.com/finance and get another insurance quote - don't give up so easily!
I'm off to Stoneleigh to find something interesting either way, I'm quite fancying some of the other cars advertised at the moment! minimax said:Because the owner is a PH'er himself and I wanted to play fair - I didn't think it was right to announce the demise of my car and the details surrounding it until the dust had settled and the outcome known
regarding the garage and keeping quiet due to respect and so forth, why TF keep quiet when the garage seems to have shafted you so deeply all for the sake of what to a business owner (writable losses) must be a piddling sum of what, 3k maximum? whoever is in charge of it sounds like a shyster and I would want to warn fellow PHers certainly those of my friends (by phone if not on PH) as it seems that this garage would need to be avoided.
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