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      11-24-2020, 08:36 PM   #1
wassy
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Car caught in flood - insurance wants to put in used/recycled engine

Hey all, been a while. Let me start by asking if anyone has access to the BMW official repair guide for the 2018 F90?

My car got caught in a flood here in South Florida a month ago. Having multiple issues. Insurance company demands I put in used/recycled engine since one is available. BMW Lease and warranty prohibit it and isn’t proper according to official repair guidelines which insurer should be following. They are also only paying about 1/2 of the labor hours for the swap. Nonetheless, dealership, nor any other in area will put a used engine in. Incredibly the engine they want to use is from a car who had a frontal end collision. Lol. Not funny. Of course I am not letting this happen under any circumstances. It’s been a month and car just sitting there. Attorney hired yesterday but will be a multi month process most likely.

I can pay the difference they refer to as a “betterment” since a new engine is better then a used engine but with labor and parts and a SUBSTANTIAL discount from BMW and in addition, BMW is putting close to $6000 of their own money in to help reduce cost, my difference is still around $15k it appears. For reference with all the assistance, the engine itself is only $3500 more then the used one. It’s the labor currently that is a huge issue.

I’m trying to show insurer the manufacturer written repair/replacement procedures to help them make a more intelligent choice here. They also refuse to allow new gaskets, hoses bolts etc saying they used engine is drop in ready. WRONG!

That said it’s been a nightmare and going to get worse before it gets better. Not to mention car was towed up to flatbed in Park. Unable
To switch to neutral even with key.

Wishing everyone a Happy Thanksgiving And thanks for any help in advance.
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      11-26-2020, 08:02 AM   #2
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hope to never go thru this. Your best course of action may be attorney which you are already doing. I can understand them putting a used motor, but why are the only paying half the labor? makes no sense. Which dealer has the car? Since the car is a lease, i wouldn't worry too much about a used motor. It will have warranty etc anyway as long as BMW does the swap. Just not sure what the heck is up with the labor issue

Shoot me a PM
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      11-26-2020, 10:44 AM   #3
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What insurance company? No way they should be allowed to put in a used motor if the BMW lease prohibits it.
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      11-26-2020, 07:17 PM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TrevorM3 View Post
hope to never go thru this. Your best course of action may be attorney which you are already doing. I can understand them putting a used motor, but why are the only paying half the labor? makes no sense. Which dealer has the car? Since the car is a lease, i wouldn't worry too much about a used motor. It will have warranty etc anyway as long as BMW does the swap. Just not sure what the heck is up with the labor issue

Shoot me a PM
BMW will NOT put the used engine in. Period. It would be some other shop State Farm will get to do for the labor hours. And they will warrant the engine for as long as I own the car which will be end of lease in a year. But then I may have a warranty issue.
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      11-26-2020, 07:18 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Salespunk View Post
What insurance company? No way they should be allowed to put in a used motor if the BMW lease prohibits it.
State Farm
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      11-27-2020, 12:52 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wassy View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by Salespunk View Post
What insurance company? No way they should be allowed to put in a used motor if the BMW lease prohibits it.
State Farm
Definitely avoiding State Farm. If you went out and totaled the car, would they not fork up the cost (gap insurance) of the vehicle value? How on earth do they justify having you pay anything other than your deductible?

Maybe I'm just out of sync here, but back when I had a Nissan 370z and the wheels were stolen, which resulted in significant damages to the rocker panels and other things in the theft... I only paid my deductible. Total damages was approximately $14000 and I paid $500 out of pocket. Furthermore, I had choice of using the dealer or third party, which of course I went with the dealer. Everything was brand new from the dealer, not from used vehicles...
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      11-27-2020, 02:02 PM   #7
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Are they trying to say you’re out $15k for labor even for the used engine or are they saying the new engine is more labor because the used one is “drop in ready” and they want the difference in both parts and labor?

The first almost has to violate your actual insurance agreement. The second is unreasonable, but may be legal.

As to other comments, State Farm isn’t party to your lease agreement. They have to fix the car or pay out the pre-flood value. If they can return the car to good working order it doesn’t matter to them if BMW doesn’t like it. Would be nice if 1st party diminished value was a thing... it would remove the incentives for things like this.
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      11-29-2020, 11:08 AM   #8
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italiabrain you are correct. Contract between insurer and me, not lease. However they also have an obligation to repair vehicles according to manufacture guidelines. BMW guidelines don’t allow for a used engine. At this point, if bmw would agree to allow the used engine, and I had to have some other shop do it, I would, rather then have to shell out quite a bit.

State Farm says used engine is less hours then new because everything already attached. BMW says other way around, they still have to emote all gaskets and bolts and replace with new. Despite that they wouldn’t use the used engine. Did I mention that the engine they want to use is from a car that was in a frontal collision! lol. It wasn’t a horrific front end but enough to total that car.

Will hopefully have a solution tomorrow or Tuesday. Been 5 weeks already and nothing.
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      11-29-2020, 04:02 PM   #9
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Hearing insurance companies pull stunts like this always increases my blood pressure.
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      11-30-2020, 10:09 AM   #10
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Man, im sorry to hear this, sounds like a terrible mess. Hoping this works out as best as possible for you.
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      11-30-2020, 03:50 PM   #11
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What a sh*t-show. I hope you get this mess sorted out.
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      12-05-2020, 11:07 AM   #12
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Update: no update. They refuse to put new engine in. Dealer is working on trying to rebuild engine (pistons). Much less parts but much more labor. Waiting on insurance company. Otherwise it’s $11,000 out of my pocket WITH full coverage insurance
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      12-05-2020, 11:39 AM   #13
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Jake from State Farm apparently says BEND OVER.

Insurance companies are often lousy. The only two national companies I can say seem to be really good to everyone are USAA and Erie.
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      12-05-2020, 07:38 PM   #14
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Sorry for your troubles OP. I also have State Farm and will be looking for a new insurance company shortly.
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      12-05-2020, 08:15 PM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wassy View Post
Update: no update. They refuse to put new engine in. Dealer is working on trying to rebuild engine (pistons). Much less parts but much more labor. Waiting on insurance company. Otherwise it's $11,000 out of my pocket WITH full coverage insurance
Quote:
Originally Posted by subterFUSE View Post
Hearing insurance companies pull stunts like this always increases my blood pressure.
I would stop talking to the insurance company had my own experience. They only respond to lawsuit seriously. As a consumer, it is your legal right to a first rate repair! Goodluck!
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      12-05-2020, 08:26 PM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimmy K View Post
Sorry for your troubles OP. I also have State Farm and will be looking for a new insurance company shortly.
To Op:

What kind of insurance coverage do you have with State Farm?
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      12-07-2020, 08:09 AM   #17
wassy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Greer View Post
To Op:

What kind of insurance coverage do you have with State Farm?
250/500k. 500 deductibles. Regular coverage I guess. In terms of what my policy states it does allow them to use recycled or aftermarket parts but it’s not right, in this case.
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      12-07-2020, 08:48 AM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JMAN1111 View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by wassy View Post
Update: no update. They refuse to put new engine in. Dealer is working on trying to rebuild engine (pistons). Much less parts but much more labor. Waiting on insurance company. Otherwise it's $11,000 out of my pocket WITH full coverage insurance
Quote:
Originally Posted by subterFUSE View Post
Hearing insurance companies pull stunts like this always increases my blood pressure.
I would stop talking to the insurance company had my own experience. They only respond to lawsuit seriously. As a consumer, it is your legal right to a first rate repair! Goodluck!
I agree, at this point I would hire a lawyer that specializes in this litigation.
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      12-07-2020, 09:01 AM   #19
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As others have suggested, get a lawyer involved. They won't take you seriously until then.

It sounds like you are leasing the vehicle - I'm guessing BMW won't take it back if the insurance company gets their way, do you know? In any event, the policy is with you (not BMW), so State Farm likely doesn't care what happens at end of lease.

Not sure of your rights under the insurance policy, but I would push to have a certified BMW mechanic (ideally BMW themselves) inspect the recycled engine. I think it's fairly standard practice to replace parts with used parts under an insurance claim, but an engine that was involved in a front end collision seems suspect. The warranty part seems a bit odd to me as it is tied to your ownership, but doesn't BMW own the vehicle (again, I'm assuming this is a lease)?

Best of luck on this one.
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      12-07-2020, 05:45 PM   #20
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Isn't BMW as the "lessor" of the car? Doesn't that make them the "loss payee" in any event of damage to the car that is paid out by the insurance company? The car is Owned by BMW. You are just "paying" (leasing) to use it.
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      12-07-2020, 06:50 PM   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lawguy View Post
Jake from State Farm apparently says BEND OVER.

Insurance companies are often lousy. The only two national companies I can say seem to be really good to everyone are USAA and Erie.
Agree. I’m in insurance. These are two companies that won’t screw you over.

OP: I’ll post more thoughts when I get to a PC that are hopefully helpful.
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      12-07-2020, 10:43 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Wrighterjw10 View Post
Agree. I’m in insurance. These are two companies that won’t screw you over.

OP: I’ll post more thoughts when I get to a PC that are hopefully helpful.

You definitely get what you pay for, USAA has always quoted quite a bit higher than the other big ones like progressive or geico. I've been really happy with the way progressive has treated me but I haven't been in a multi-car collision, just road debris or random animals on the highway.
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