Sorry for the long post....but i would like advice on taking aviva to a small claims court for incorrect valuation of my car after they wrote it off, as their policy holder admitted fault and full liabliliy. My Alfa romeo 147 was recently (6th February) written off after an accident when it was parked in the driveway. My car was parked in the driveway next to my housemates car. She was reversing out of the driveway and began to steer her car too early before her car was completely out of the driveway, thus she hit my wheel front wheel flat on. I witnessed all this, as i was home at the time, and was watching her reverse out of the driveway, as she isn't a confident driver. I've reported the incident to my insurer, but they haven't been involved. The claim has been dealt with the third party insurer which is Aviva. The other driver admitted full liability and fault for the damage/accident Aviva have inspected my Alfa at their approved accident repair garage, and have concluded that the car should be written off. What looked like a scratch on the alloy to me, turned out to be £3000 worth of repairs to replace the suspension, steering rack, repair of wing panel and re-spray,and some other repairs to suspension/wheel related items. I wasn't expecting my Alfa to be written off and when my car was collected by the repair garage, i thought it was going to be repaired. I didn't remove my personal items from the car, such as some loose change in the drawers, spare number plates, CD's, engine oil in boot (it is an Alfa!!), and other items. Once the repair garage hinted that my Alfa may be written off, i went to remove my personal items from the car since it was stored at a depot in Wembley. It was still my car at this point, the car wasn't deemed to be written off yet, and i certainly had no cheque from Aviva for it. When i got to my Alfa, i realised some items were missing, and that someone had gone to Mcdonalds and left the remains of their lunch in the McDonalds packaging/bag in the footwell of my car. Someone had clearly been joyriding in my car, using my fuel and clocking up miles on my car, and then leaving their rubbish behind. This wasn't their car, it was a customers car...it was my car. Money had been taken from the drawer which i keep for parking meters, it was approx £10 in total. CD's were missing, and they clearly swapped CD's around from the 10 CD changer in the boot to the CD in the head unit, small issue, but it annoys me that they have been mis-treating someone else's car. Once someone has mistreated your personal property it doesn't feel like yours again when it is returned. In this case the car was never returned. Since then i have complained to Aviva about the way my car had been treated and the items which were missing from my car. They have sent a cheque for £100 to cover some of these items, although there are still items in the car that i haven't been able to collect as i don't have a car to collect them from Wembley anymore. Aviva did initially provide a courtesy car for approx 3 weeks or so. But they asked for it to be returned before the a settlement had even been made. Aviva initially offered a cheque for £2000 for my car which i refused. This was then increased to £2500, which i refused again. I then asked that this claim should be escalated to a senior engineer at Aviva, as i felt their valuation was several thousands of pounds under the correct valuation of my Alfa. My Alfa Romeo is a 147, 2.0 litre, Lusso, 90k miles, black body with original red leather seats. it was exactly the car i was looking for when i bough it some 15 months earlier. Alfa's are can be unreliable if not maintained well. My Alfa had a £3000 overhaul in July last year which included a re-conditioned engine with a 3 year guarantee (parts and labour), plus new brakes, clutch, exhaust, suspension wishbones, drop links...all with a guarantee. I find it hard to believe that Aviva have only valued my car at £3000, as they have not recognised the amount of work that has been carried, which it makes it a very attractive purchase to another buyer not least myself, as i have peace of mind that the engine has a 3 year guarantee on it..effectively trouble free motoring. I have been unable to find a a car of similar spec which has 3 year guarantee on the engine and guarantees on all other parts to the car. The senior engineer who looked at my case did admit and recognise that the work done to the car and the guarantees that came with it proved valuable as a buyer or as the owner, but it the case was escalated again to the Chief Executive office, and after 2-3 weeks they have not increased their offer of £3000. They have sent a cheque last wee for £3000 as i cannot take my claim any further within Aviva, so I'm stuck with their offer. I cannot buy another Alfa Romeo 147, with a 3 year guarantee for £3000. After all the work carried out to the car, in July last year and the 3 year guarantee, i feel my car is in fact 3 years younger, making it 2006 in terms of wear and tear, and reliability. I cant buy a 2006 Alfa 147 for £3000. I feel i have been short changed and cheated by Aviva. I am now without a car which is quite an inconvenience for me The £3000 does not put me in the same position as before, as if the accident never happened. I am not sure what to do, please could you advise on what my legal position is as a consumer. Is it possible to pursue Aviva in the small claims court for losses, due to their incorrect valuation? I would appreciate the advice you have....particularly if you have been in a similar situation

its an Alfa Romeo 147 2.0 Lusso (2003) why do you ask?

The car isnt a turbo. It was a little low, but still oil in there, so just topped up to the right level, but Alfa Engine's use more oil for some reason, and need regular checks on the oil levels etc. When i slowed the car down, i heard rumbling and the car was a little juddery, as if i was about to stall. The car bought middle of november, and bought privately not through a dealer, and had it serviced, and cambelt changed a month later in december. Yep Nationwide reported problem with the oil filter seal. I dont park in same place at home, as i dont have driveway, so i park on street, havent noticed oil leaks though. Well, not sure what nationwide were playing at, they rejected the car for whatever reason, which caused a delay in concluding my claim, and another week without a car. Strikes me as rather odd if they are the preferred servicing/repair company for AA Warranty. I believe i have honoured my side of the contract, the car is serviced annually, maintained, and camblets etc changed as required. The car is all above board. So i think AA should honour their side, and not try to wriggle out of it, it's only circa £1500 claim for them!! If need be i'll have to pay myself to get the car on the road, and be mobile again, and pursue a refund/damages via another avenue. I do believe i was mis-sold the policy. I wouldnt purchased it knowing what i know now.

I was driving on motorway when i noticed blue smoke coming out of exhaust, i pulled over onto hard shoulder and started to get dashboard warning lights, 'engine fault' etc. car was towed to Nationwide, which is the preferred garage for AA Warranty, they rejected the car saying they didnt have the skill or know how or time to deal with this repair. But they did say it was dut to lack of oil in the car. But there are many reasons why there is a lack of oil? (the engine was topped up and checked before starting a 210 mile jorney). To find the exact fault the engine is having to be striped down by an Alfa Romeo specialist who charges more per hour. But i had no choice to have it towed to somewhere else who knows about Alfa Romeos, infact it's nearly double the rate of nationwide garages. The Alfa specialist isn't keen on stripping the engine, becuase it wont necessailry prove anything, as it's still a guess as to which part failed, even if the engine is stripped down. All that is known is what damage has been caused. Nobody knows which part failed first! I'm waiting for a phone call tomorrow from the garage to tell me the bad news or good news, i expect it to be bad, as a large claim like this, i'm expecting the loss adjuster to wriggle his way out of liability. The loss adjuster is visiting the car/garage to insect for himself. What should i do, and why do you suggest i wait Conniff?

I bought the warranty overt the phone. I was convinced by them that my car would repaired in the event of a claim of the covered part. Now i'm not a mechanic, and simply a lay person with a car, the policy manual list a lot of car parts, which i dont necessarily know much about. It would be reasonable to assume that the car would be covered for a mechanical breakdown, thats what the policy is there for. I dont expect worn parts to be replaced, like brake pads etc, but my engine has to be replaced, due to an small part in the engine system that isnt covered and failed. I didnt even know that part existed, never mind if i was covered for it. Why is it not reasonable to assume the whole engine is covered rather than a handful of miscellaneous parts. I cant predict which part will break! The other issue is, i wasnt made aware that they dont cover the diagnostic costs, i.e. the hourly garage time spent inspecting the car to simply find the fault. They dont just want a guess at finding the fault, they want to strip the car down to find the fault, which is going to cost over a thousand pound in hourly rates. If they find the part which failed and it turns out to be not covered, they simply walk away, leaving me with a engine scattered over the garage floor, and a huge bill. Thyerefore the warranty isnt worth anything, as you have to pay hundreds if not thousands t o find out if the failing part is covered thus defeating the point of having having mechanical breakdown cover! They dont tell you this before you purchase the policy.

I bought a 7 year old Alfa Romeo 6 months ago I bought mechanical breakdown cover with AA warranty in addition to roadside assistance, but they refusing to pay for damage caused to the car due to oil filter which may have not been fitted correctly despite it being serviced 6 months ago. Initial inspections show that the oil filter was leaking. Also AA wont pay for the diagnostic costs, which means everytime a customer makes a claim, they have to pay for hundreds of pounds in hourly rates to find the fault which caused the breakdown, and the AA wont pay for this. This means if they turn around and say the faulty part isnt covered then i'm left with a bill just for inspecting the car without it even being repaired, and the AA just walk away. If i knew the policy was like this i wouldnt have purchased it at all, and believe i was mis-sold the policy. If you purchase car warranty cover, just like any other cover, how do you know which part is likey to break, especially if you're not a mechanic, with the all the terminology they use in the handbook. If you buy cover, is it not reasonable to assume that all the parts in the car would be covered. Instead they cover the parts which they know do not break as often, and find other parts to blame instead which arent covered. I am left with a AA Warranty which is of little use to me, since i will never claim on it (still have 18 monthly payments to go), this is because it is too expennsive to find out whats wrong with the car, as the warranty company require a detailed report of the fault, which costs hours of mechanic's time. The whole point of the buying the policy is that you are covered in the event of a breakdown and the repairs are covered, so no large garage bills. The other thing iscan i pursue the servicing garage for fitting the oil filter incorectly, and send them the bill for a new engine.

problem with car warranty not paying for mechanical breakdown.