Question by valeriewhyy: What to do if you car is totaled because of the engine?
The other day I was driving and all of a sudden it died in the almost the worst spot possible. When the tow truck finally showed up 2 hours later, it towed my car (which had by then been pushed to the side of the road) and we left it at the shop until Monday morning (where I then dropped off my keys). When I came back to check on the status of my car (a 2004 gold Kia Rio), they hadn’t called me even though they said they would, and then they proceeded to tell me that my car was totaled. I haven’t even had my car for 2 years, and when we bought it for a used car lot (with a 30 day warranty) they told us that they had just replaced the timing belt, which obviously is not true. The timing belt had broken, causing the ENTIRE engine to kill itself, totaling $ 3800 in repairs when my car is only worth $ 2100. Don’t ask me how the people that rotated my tires, checked my engine, changed my oil, etc. hadn’t seen that problem and told me it was time to change my belt (which I would’ve have no ideas otherwise), because I don’t know myself, all I know that my car is now totaled – and no, insurance will not cover it or give me any money for it, because I didn’t get in an accident, and it’s a problem of car “maintenance.”
So, my question to you is, can I sell my car still without an engine? Can I sell it for parts? Is there some loophole where I COULD get ins. to cover it (Geico)? Do I just have to give it to a junkyard and get no money for my car after paying for it?
My car insurance was never involved, my parents and the auto shop determined it was totaled because it would cost that much.
And I’m not sure how I would go about getting a 2nd opinion, it won’t turn on so I can’t take to another shop or pay another bunch of money to tow it there (or even push it there).
Best answer:
Answer by JetDoc
Your insurance won’t cover poor maintenance practices in any case. Yes, you can sell the remains to a junk yard, but it’s only worth a few dollars for the value of the scrap metal.
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Sure, you can sell it without a working engine. Just don’t expect to get very much for it. I feel for ya…it’s a crappy situation but unfortunately it does happen.
several observations..
1 people who change oil..rotate tires and whatever CAN’T see the timing belt,,,which is why its always best to replace it on a used car
2 your in a fix after that time you have no rights and no one to fix it but yourself
3 choices are replace engine,,try a trade in,,,[dealer may give you payoff if you r buying new
4 getting sucked into a 5 to 7 yr loan on a new car may actually be the best option unless you have the 4K for engine..
Something sounds weird about this… the car shouldn’t be totaled unless they’re paying you for it. There’s probably no loophole to get ins to cover it under. Unless you had mechanical breakdown insurance or something like that from Geico, I wouldn’t think they could cover this either. Not sure why they were even involved in the first place.
Sure you can sell it without an engine, just worth less money. You can sell it to a junkyard for scrap/parts. You can buy a new engine to put in. If the car isn’t worth it, I’d say just cut your losses and buy another car – not really the answer you’re going to want to hear but that’s about all you’re going to get probably, unless you take it up with the people who sold you the car. Then again, they may have actually changed the belt and just done it improperly, causing it to break so early.
allways get a second opinion, big buisness are far too expencive and overcharge poor unsuspecting people. if you dont mind getting dirty theres allways the secondhand motor, usually only a couple of hundred rather than a few thousand $ , in the worst case you decide to scrap your car, never give it away, scrap metal yards must pay by weight of the vehicle but a motor isnt hard to change if you can get a little help and label where everything plugs in!
Before you freak out, get a second opinion! Yes, your timing belt could have been replaced 2 years ago by the dealer you purchased it from. Not sure of the Kia engine design, but you could have bent some valves etc.. I would think even having the head replaced would be a considerable amount less than $ 3,800. Again, I must stress to get a second opinion. Try a quality independent shop.
sue the place that sold it to you for a new engine, and settle for a used one replaced by them at no cost to you.
3800 dollars worth of engine work might be a better investment then another car that will break down in less then two years. Which is very likely when a owner does not take the time to make sure all of the scheduled maintenance items are taken care of. At least a new engine would not need a new timing belt for maybe five years.
There is what a car can be sold for and what it takes to replace it. In this case it more then likely will cost more the 3800 dollars to replace the car. Also a good low mileage engine can be found for less then that and get you back on the road.
Well Valerie; you are in a pickle. First off I do want to agree that one can not see the timing belt while doing standard, under-the-hood maintenance. Second: I wanted to make sure that the engine undergoes severe damage when the timing belt breaks on your car (some cars do – some don’t). I found that, yes indeed, that engine is toast. During this rudimentary research, I found that a lot of people were experiencing the same problem. Most car manufacturers recommend routine belt replacement at around 75,000 miles. It appears Kia recommends at 60,000. And, I found a lot of blown engines. More odd still, is that some of them were breaking timing belts before the 60,000 mile mark. Now Kia knows that the engine is zero tolerant for valve clearance if the belt breaks. That’s why they recommend the belt be changed sooner than most. But, it seems that is still a problem. I am rambling – the reason I’m explaining all this is to lead you to the service bulletin. This is a sort of silent recall the manufacturer puts out regarding design and engineering problems. Sometimes you can get repairs and replacements free of charge, even if you are not the original owner. I found one specific to your car and problem. You are on your own to pursue it further. Here is the information you need to get started.
Engine: ENGINE AND ENGINE COOLING:ENGINE:GASOLINE:BELTS AND ASSOCIATED PULLEYS
Service Bulletin Number: 82
NHTSA Number: 10015272
Model Years Affected: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005
Date of Bulletin: 07/2005
Bulletin Summary: IMPROVED TIMING BELTS FOR THE KIA RIO AND OPTIMA.
You could have an entirely new engine installed. My brother and I used to do that– he’d buy a car body and re-built the engine if it existed or literally lower another engine into it. It may be cheaper than replacing the car. If that’s not an option and the car body is in decent condition then sell it as a body only. Some mechanic who knows what to do with is is liable to buy it.
Sorry about your luck. Hope things improve for you soon…
here,s what you could do. if the timing belt did mess up your engine then why not get another head and a new timing belt and hire someone to put both on.