My car was stolen and recovered. When I got the car back I noticed the car was not driving properly. (slipping in the lower gears). The repair shop told me there would be a $1500 teardown charge in order for the insurance company to determine if the problems are theft related. I decided to take my car to a different repair shop because $1500 for a teardown only is ind of outrageous. Anyway on the way to the second repair shop my transmission seized up on me, my car filled up with smoke and I noticed a large trail of fluid behind my car. Now the car is in the shop and the insurance company sent an adjuster to the repair facility and he looked under the car and noticed some oil leakage, checked the odometer and determined the problems with the transmission is pre-existing. After some arguing with the insurance company they agreed to and authorized a teardown of transmission. The car is an 88 with a 4+3 overdrive unit.

My questions are:

1. What are the common cause of transmission failures for this model?
2. With the thief putting about 400-500 miles on my car can they do significant damage to the transmission?
3. I plan on being there during the inspection with the insurance company, what should I look for?
4. What kind of things would the insurance adjuster be looking for?

Any help and input will be greatly appreciated.

Thank You

 

sorry to hear about your car. don't give the adj an option. it was working before it was stole. his options should be fix it now or get a lawyer. you pay for insurance they work for you. this is bs call the bluff. just my opi robert

 

Like I sai I plan on being there when they inspect the transmission. You are right it was fine before the theft now it doesnt work. This should be a no-brainer. Typical insurace company. I am not letting them get away with this, they will pay or we will go to court.

 

I don't understand how a teardown will let the adjuster know if the damage occured during the theft ?

There was no damage before the theft, right ? They should cover the entire rebuild of the Tranny.

Vic

 

Get written statements from friends and family who had driven the car just prior to it being stolen stating that it ran just fine. A few of those, shown to your adjuster may persuade him/her to avoid the potential litigation. Insurance Companies look for the lowest possible expenditure. If you show that you are ready to fight them, they will probably just settle it now, rather than drag it out.

 

Let it first be noted that I am not a huge 88' 4+3 Doug Nash Transmission Expert, this is just my 0.02... :D

1. I think that the 4+3 Doug Nash units had problems with the overdrive units and with selecting the overdrives and shifting into them. I heard they sometimes fail and cause transmissions to "get stuck" and seize. (If someone knows otherwise, please correct me!)

2. Uhhh, you can destory a transmission in less than one mile. Ever wonder what would happen if you placed the shifter between 1st and 2nd and hit the gas? (My buddy had his shifter selector taken out for a cleaning and he went to move the car, and God still only knows how, but he had it between 1st and 2nd, hit the gas, a loud bang occured and then a grind, he put it in Park, thought it was okay, a week later his tranny was slipping and then it gave out about a day after that) Also I am sure if you shifted eratically enough through the gears under constant throttle and high RPM's that you could destroy a transmission.

3. Don't know the purpose of that, like Vic'89 said, it is not like they can tell when the parts broke, they dont have life meters built into them. Just make sure he does not :bs his way through it and state something false or claim other kinds of damage. Just watch him! Also, like dbwade36 said, just have some family and friends write testaments to the proper condition of the car. I am sure that will persuade the adjuster to fall on your side.

4. A DESPERATE EXCUSE NOT TO PAY. :lol:


[Modified by CorvetteKid1983, 9:17 PM 9/26/2002]

 

Absolutely time for a lawyer :yesnod:

They can advise you on what to say and how to document everything so in case it comes to court you are a jump way ahead of them. You can start right now. Write everything down with names, times, and details. Send them a letter restating what you understood them to say on every phone call or meeting. Deal with them by email if possible so they cannot deny having said something to you.

One of my friends in an attorney for an insurance company. He has helped me in dealing with other insurance companies and his advice has always been helpful.

My advice is to get some legal help even if you have to pay for it. Just them knowing you have seen an attorney will sometimes get them to back down. They don't want a lawsuit, it's too time consuming. But sometimes you have to have to carry a big stick to make them play nice.

Good luck! Sorry about the Vette :sad:

 

Talk to the trans guy first. No matter what happened to the internals, the trans mechanic is who the insurance company will believe. It will only be opinions and not a definate cause of failure. Tell the mechanic that there were no problems before the theft. They can't prove it wasn't the fault of the theaf. You will get paid

 

Collect statements. (your time)
Pay for a lawyer and the letterhead. (probably $50-200. ??????)
You may offer to pay a portion of the repair as a symbol of how rational you are.

Tough one. Good luck.

dlmeyers 90 coupe zf6 3 speed shocks

 

HIGHLY unusual for the tranny to do that. In all the cases I have seen of a 4+3 going out its been the OD units clutches, and your left with a perfectly fine 4 speed.

Never really heard of a problem with the 4 speed itself either...

They definitly F'd something up.
If you get the thing rebuilt (OD) make sure its from a VERY reputable shop. Most shops wont even touch they thing cause its rare and they dont have a clue about it.

Goodluck!
Matt