Cost of living crisis just got serious
Discussion
Warning: The following post contains content that AM owners may find distressing.
About 6 weeks ago I was enjoying an early morning SCD group drive in my Vantage S when the engine note suddenly changed (for the worse). I immediately pulled over and at idle the engine was clearly knocking (horribly), so I switched off. There was no warning; the car had been running perfectly and has been virtually problem free for the last 5 years or so.
Fortunately, I had stopped in the entrance to the carpark of a farm shop/cafe that opened 20 minutes later so I consoled myself with a full English whilst waiting for the RAC. It was clearly a bad day for cars because the low-loader arrived 8 hours later and took my Vantage away with me hoping it wasn't too catastrophic.
It was. As can be seen in the photos below, my engine suffered what I am told is a very rare mode of failure. An exhaust valve head dropped off the stem and went to work in cylinder number 2. Having destroyed the piston and combustion chamber it then wedged in the top of the piston, cracked the piston which then expanded and jammed in the liner. This cracked the liner and block, meaning the block is essentially a right-off.
When you have no block to exchange things start getting really expensive. Then there is the issue that there aren't many engines out there to buy at the moment as AML apparently haven't been remanufacturing V8s for a while now. I have run without a warranty for the last 6 years and I'm told that the extended warranty has a maximum payout that wouldn't cover the cost of this repair, which is something I wasn't aware of. Anyone know what the maximum payout figure is?
Anyway, BR are going to make me a "new" engine and I'm going to take this "opportunity" to have a few enhancements. I've owned two cars with dynamically balanced crankshafts before and loved them so I'm going to incorporate that into the rebuild. The rear subframe also needs doing and it makes sense to do that now whilst the engine and transaxle are out.
I have no regrets. Yes, I've driven my car hard (including tracking it numerous times) and it's done a fair few miles (49,000) but I'd be feeling a lot worse if I'd pootled around doing 500 miles a year and this had happened. And it will come back stronger.
If people are interested, I'll update the thread with news and pictures of the rebuild as it goes on. Might be ready in time for Christmas .......
About 6 weeks ago I was enjoying an early morning SCD group drive in my Vantage S when the engine note suddenly changed (for the worse). I immediately pulled over and at idle the engine was clearly knocking (horribly), so I switched off. There was no warning; the car had been running perfectly and has been virtually problem free for the last 5 years or so.
Fortunately, I had stopped in the entrance to the carpark of a farm shop/cafe that opened 20 minutes later so I consoled myself with a full English whilst waiting for the RAC. It was clearly a bad day for cars because the low-loader arrived 8 hours later and took my Vantage away with me hoping it wasn't too catastrophic.
It was. As can be seen in the photos below, my engine suffered what I am told is a very rare mode of failure. An exhaust valve head dropped off the stem and went to work in cylinder number 2. Having destroyed the piston and combustion chamber it then wedged in the top of the piston, cracked the piston which then expanded and jammed in the liner. This cracked the liner and block, meaning the block is essentially a right-off.
When you have no block to exchange things start getting really expensive. Then there is the issue that there aren't many engines out there to buy at the moment as AML apparently haven't been remanufacturing V8s for a while now. I have run without a warranty for the last 6 years and I'm told that the extended warranty has a maximum payout that wouldn't cover the cost of this repair, which is something I wasn't aware of. Anyone know what the maximum payout figure is?
Anyway, BR are going to make me a "new" engine and I'm going to take this "opportunity" to have a few enhancements. I've owned two cars with dynamically balanced crankshafts before and loved them so I'm going to incorporate that into the rebuild. The rear subframe also needs doing and it makes sense to do that now whilst the engine and transaxle are out.
I have no regrets. Yes, I've driven my car hard (including tracking it numerous times) and it's done a fair few miles (49,000) but I'd be feeling a lot worse if I'd pootled around doing 500 miles a year and this had happened. And it will come back stronger.
If people are interested, I'll update the thread with news and pictures of the rebuild as it goes on. Might be ready in time for Christmas .......
said:
Hello Pete,
I was so sorry to read this morning, about your engine failure.
Good of you to post about it.
You are of course in good hands for the rebuild. Being a regular customer might have perhaps helped, because as you explained, the supply seems to be extremely restricted now. I wonder if AML will eventually do anything to improve the availability of engine blocks? I know that their V12 was/is being manufacture in Bridgenorth, so at least it is reasonably local. Don't know who made the V8 blocks.
Am sure your car will return stronger and even better.
Kind regards,
David.
Edit - Six years of not paying for warranty, might have contributed about £12,000.
Just trying to think of something to say, which might slightly ease your distress.
Edited by Dewi 2 on Wednesday 5th October 08:20
kevin_cambs_uk said:
Blimey, I think that would be game over for me, unless the Timeless Warranty covered a fair chunk.
Yeah but what's even a nicely specced Vantage worth with no engine in it?If you have a Timeless warranty policy, would you mind looking up to see what the maximum payout is for me please? I don't think this episode will change my attitude towards running without a warranty but it would strengthen it even further if there is a low maximum payout.
And how likely is it that I'll have another catastrophic engine failure in the next 10 years of ownership ............?
V8V Pete said:
Yeah but what's even a nicely specced Vantage worth with no engine in it?
If you have a Timeless warranty policy, would you mind looking up to see what the maximum payout is for me please? I don't think this episode will change my attitude towards running without a warranty but it would strengthen it even further if there is a low maximum payout.
And how likely is it that I'll have another catastrophic engine failure in the next 10 years of ownership ............?
I will endeavour to find out what the limit is, and let you know. If you have a Timeless warranty policy, would you mind looking up to see what the maximum payout is for me please? I don't think this episode will change my attitude towards running without a warranty but it would strengthen it even further if there is a low maximum payout.
And how likely is it that I'll have another catastrophic engine failure in the next 10 years of ownership ............?
Kev
Wow, sorry to hear, that is a rare failure, the first I've seen.
I have had failures before on modified cars, I remember being stranded in France in my old Elise which had an aftermarket supercharger kit. Whilst it did its 18hr recovery journey I had time to think of the next upgrades too and it did come back with a replacement, more powerful engine.
Bamford Rose will no doubt sort you out with a very nice rebuilt 4.7, will look forward to reading about it
I have had failures before on modified cars, I remember being stranded in France in my old Elise which had an aftermarket supercharger kit. Whilst it did its 18hr recovery journey I had time to think of the next upgrades too and it did come back with a replacement, more powerful engine.
Bamford Rose will no doubt sort you out with a very nice rebuilt 4.7, will look forward to reading about it
Yikes!
They're very good if they're able to rebuild (Is it rebuild? Construct? Manufacture?) an engine that's that bad!
Dare I ask how much the rebuild will cost? Maybe we can play a guessing game. I'm guessing £20k?
On the bright side, while it's being fixed, it's not costing you anything in petrol.
They're very good if they're able to rebuild (Is it rebuild? Construct? Manufacture?) an engine that's that bad!
Dare I ask how much the rebuild will cost? Maybe we can play a guessing game. I'm guessing £20k?
On the bright side, while it's being fixed, it's not costing you anything in petrol.
bogie said:
Wow, sorry to hear, that is a rare failure, the first I've seen.
I have had failures before on modified cars, I remember being stranded in France in my old Elise which had an aftermarket supercharger kit. Whilst it did its 18hr recovery journey I had time to think of the next upgrades too and it did come back with a replacement, more powerful engine.
Bamford Rose will no doubt sort you out with a very nice rebuilt 4.7, will look forward to reading about it
I have had failures before on modified cars, I remember being stranded in France in my old Elise which had an aftermarket supercharger kit. Whilst it did its 18hr recovery journey I had time to think of the next upgrades too and it did come back with a replacement, more powerful engine.
Bamford Rose will no doubt sort you out with a very nice rebuilt 4.7, will look forward to reading about it
We all feel very sorry for Pete, but he now seems to be in good hands.
I can remember a few (very few) instances of failed V8 engines, being mentioned in here. Hopefully we can assume it is a rare occurrence.
One PHer suffered failure at a track day for Aston Martins, at Rockingham Motor Speedway.
Another collected his car from a main dealer with engine bearing failure.
Sorry to hear of your misfortune, paragraph below detailing maximum claim limit for AM extended warranty car under 15 years old.
Maximum Claim Liability
In the event of a valid claim the maximum claim liability is unlimited in respect of each and every claim up to an aggregate maximum of the value of the vehicle at the time of registration of the Warranty. Claim liability is inclusive of VAT provided the Warranty Holder is not registered for VAT purposes. The VAT content of any claim will not be paid where the Warranty Holder is a VAT registered company and/or individual.
If the car is over 15 years old then the paragraph below applies.
Maximum Claim Liability
In the event of a valid claim the maximum claim liability is up to £10,000 (or the equivalent in local currency), parts and labour in total on each and every claim up to an aggregate maximum of the value of the vehicle at the time of registration of the Warranty. Claim liability is inclusive of VAT provided the Warranty Holder is not registered for VAT purposes. The VAT content of any claim will not be paid where the Warranty Holder is a VAT registered company and/or individual.
Maximum Claim Liability
In the event of a valid claim the maximum claim liability is unlimited in respect of each and every claim up to an aggregate maximum of the value of the vehicle at the time of registration of the Warranty. Claim liability is inclusive of VAT provided the Warranty Holder is not registered for VAT purposes. The VAT content of any claim will not be paid where the Warranty Holder is a VAT registered company and/or individual.
If the car is over 15 years old then the paragraph below applies.
Maximum Claim Liability
In the event of a valid claim the maximum claim liability is up to £10,000 (or the equivalent in local currency), parts and labour in total on each and every claim up to an aggregate maximum of the value of the vehicle at the time of registration of the Warranty. Claim liability is inclusive of VAT provided the Warranty Holder is not registered for VAT purposes. The VAT content of any claim will not be paid where the Warranty Holder is a VAT registered company and/or individual.
SHIFTY said:
Sorry to hear of your misfortune, paragraph below detailing maximum claim limit for AM extended warranty car under 15 years old.
Maximum Claim Liability
In the event of a valid claim the maximum claim liability is unlimited in respect of each and every claim up to an aggregate maximum of the value of the vehicle at the time of registration of the Warranty. Claim liability is inclusive of VAT provided the Warranty Holder is not registered for VAT purposes. The VAT content of any claim will not be paid where the Warranty Holder is a VAT registered company and/or individual.
If the car is over 15 years old then the paragraph below applies.
Maximum Claim Liability
In the event of a valid claim the maximum claim liability is up to £10,000 (or the equivalent in local currency), parts and labour in total on each and every claim up to an aggregate maximum of the value of the vehicle at the time of registration of the Warranty. Claim liability is inclusive of VAT provided the Warranty Holder is not registered for VAT purposes. The VAT content of any claim will not be paid where the Warranty Holder is a VAT registered company and/or individual.
So I would read , as the Timeless would cover the cost of the repair then, as long as it does not exceed the value of the car if the car is under 15 years old. But as I am no lawyer, I would need that verified!Maximum Claim Liability
In the event of a valid claim the maximum claim liability is unlimited in respect of each and every claim up to an aggregate maximum of the value of the vehicle at the time of registration of the Warranty. Claim liability is inclusive of VAT provided the Warranty Holder is not registered for VAT purposes. The VAT content of any claim will not be paid where the Warranty Holder is a VAT registered company and/or individual.
If the car is over 15 years old then the paragraph below applies.
Maximum Claim Liability
In the event of a valid claim the maximum claim liability is up to £10,000 (or the equivalent in local currency), parts and labour in total on each and every claim up to an aggregate maximum of the value of the vehicle at the time of registration of the Warranty. Claim liability is inclusive of VAT provided the Warranty Holder is not registered for VAT purposes. The VAT content of any claim will not be paid where the Warranty Holder is a VAT registered company and/or individual.
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