Insurance Screwaround

[Tongs of Destiny]

you've most likely put serious strain and / or damaged your centre diff and gearbox, you cannot tow an AWD car like that, even in neutral.... if you are 100% sure the car was towed like that then that is your case to countersue the insurance company for a whole new diff + gearbox <-- this should shut them up.

tyres (need to know your current km on the car)
with regards to your rear tyres, 40,000km = 6.5mm then fronts changed at 67,500km <-- lets assume 0.2mm per 1000km = and we have a rear tread depth of just under 1.6mm, that's moderate driving. So as an assessor I would say your fronts were badly worn when changed, and your rears probably on 2mm which you left and now they sit on 1.6mm. I would say there is no way in hell your rears were on 4mm at the time of the accident from an initial 6.5mm and 27,500km.

Towing incorrectly can scrub a tyre a little bit, but an assessor will take multiple depth readings.

 

[Sheks]

you've most likely put serious strain and / or damaged your centre diff and gearbox, you cannot tow an AWD car like that, even in neutral.... if you are 100% sure the car was towed like that then that is your case to countersue the insurance company for a whole new diff + gearbox <-- this should shut them up.

tyres (need to know your current km on the car)
with regards to your rear tyres, 40,000km = 6.5mm then fronts changed at 67,500km <-- lets assume 0.2mm per 1000km = and we have a rear tread depth of just under 1.6mm, that's moderate driving. So as an assessor I would say your fronts were badly worn when changed, and your rears probably on 2mm which you left and now they sit on 1.6mm. I would say there is no way in hell your rears were on 4mm at the time of the accident from an initial 6.5mm and 27,500km.

Towing incorrectly can scrub a tyre a little bit, but an assessor will take multiple depth readings.

Hi thanks,

fronts and rears were installed at 40000km.

fronts (car is fwd biased and only send power to rear when necessary) - so same make and model of tyre covered 27000km and lost (2.5mm) - I have the insurance report which verifies this from the same insurer. we can reasonably assume the rears were around the same (no photos here but they were inspected at the shop and found to be the same).

Car has done +-13,500kms since then (i.e. before the accident), and all of a sudden the rear tyres are bald.

Incorrect re assessor readings, they have taken 2 or 3 across each rear tyre (at the lowest points only) - the make written mention of tread being above the limit in certain places, but don't explain how this would've happened if not for damage (I've had multiple performance vehicles and have never has a tyre wear in the way they describe). The tyres themselves have deep left to right scrape mark and parts of the tyre missing.

Insurance claim was at 67,000kms.
Car serviced by audi at 70,000kms (no flag on the tyres) - based on your tread loss figures per 1000km, they would've been below the limit at the service.

 

[Sheks]

some expensive German cars will throw an engine code if you dont use the correct oil in them,
not to mention change tire size/brand or rims, built super complex and fragile for all that sweet Dealership repair money, and that you throw it away when the warranty is done, hence the resale on a German car is peanuts

some have a Tow mode that I think you are supposed to use, or the handbook says it cannot be towed with ANY wheels on the ground,

OP, did you just get any old vulture guy to tow it, and not WAIT and VERIFY for the insurance company to send a flatbed?

as most insurers will deny any and all claims if the Vehicle was towed by somebody that isnt them.

seen some pretty nasty stuff the tow truck vultures do, your a bit confused and dizzy, they offer you a phone and they get somebody to pretend to be outsurance,

at least in JHB they tamper with traffic lights, so that they cause accidents, seen plenty of nasty and very disgusting behaviors by the vultures, and when they see an expensive car in an accident they pounce and try everything to get the most out of you.

is that what happened here?

No - towing company was authorised by the insurer.

He appeared on scene, I called the towing company who gave authorisation (I have the SMS), and obviously a call log of the call.

They stated it was going to be put on a flatbed, then later the tow operator said he made a plan and towed it front wheels up.

Handbook verifies it should not be towed with anything but a flatbed.

I included screenshots.

 

[Sheks]

An RS3 does sort of have permanent four wheel drive but in normal mode and at light loads it uses primarily the front wheel with the rear 'disconnected' either via a viscous coupling or torque splitter depending on the year model. It also has a DSG/DCT gearbox which while an 'automatic' is a very particular type of automatic. There should be a very specific procedure to tow an RS3 and I doubt it would be to put it in neutral and tow it with the front in the air, I would presume a flat bed is the OEM recommended method.

I would be pissed if my Touareg was towed on anything other than a flat bed.

Hey there,

Correct, included screenshot from the manual in a response to another post - OEM guidelines say flatbed only. It's a 2020 8v.2 so no torque splitter.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Hi thanks,

fronts and rears were installed at 40000km.

fronts (car is fwd biased and only send power to rear when necessary) - so same make and model of tyre covered 27000km and lost (2.5mm) - I have the insurance report which verifies this from the same insurer. we can reasonably assume the rears were around the same (no photos here but they were inspected at the shop and found to be the same).

Car has done +-13,500kms since then (i.e. before the accident), and all of a sudden the rear tyres are bald.

Incorrect re assessor readings, they have taken 2 or 3 across each rear tyre (at the lowest points only) - the make written mention of tread being above the limit in certain places, but don't explain how this would've happened if not for damage (I've had multiple performance vehicles and have never has a tyre wear in the way they describe). The tyres themselves have deep left to right scrape mark and parts of the tyre missing.

Insurance claim was at 67,000kms.
Car serviced by audi at 70,000kms (no flag on the tyres) - based on your tread loss figures per 1000km, they would've been below the limit at the service.

Yeah there is absolutely no way.

I think you have enough evidence, but I'm confused how was it serviced at 70,000km when it's at the insurance now with 67,000km?

 

[Sheks]

and what does that leave you out of pocket for?
what is the settlement? did you have gap cover on the finance agreement?

I have 2 more years of the finance term left - no gap cover as actual value of the car (retail) was 750,000 at the time of the accident (car was insured for full retail value at the time of the loss), was well above what I owed re finance. Was was purchased mid 2023 with sizeable deposit.

Which insurance company?

The one with the billboards everywhere - in JHB at least

 

[Sheks]

Yeah there is absolutely no way.

I think you have enough evidence, but I'm confused how was it serviced at 70,000km when it's at the insurance now with 67,000km?

Sorry think I'm explaining badly.

Insurance claim for the tyres (with the same insurer) - was at 67,000kms.
Service with audi - was at 70,000kms.
Accident - was at 80,500kms.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Sorry think I'm explaining badly.

Insurance claim for the tyres (with the same insurer) - was at 67,000kms.
Service with audi - was at 70,000kms.
Accident - was at 80,500kms.

Yeah there is no way that those tyres are gone in 13,500km but proving it is another story.

One lesson learnt is if you are in any accident again take more pictures of every angle than you think you'll ever need...it has saved me so many times.

 

[Sheks]

Yeah there is no way that those tyres are gone in 13,500km but proving it is another story.

One lesson learnt is if you are in any accident again take more pictures of every angle than you think you'll ever need...it has saved me so many times.

From what the lawyer and technical expert have said, we don't have to prove anything - our evidence means that the insurer must now come back with proof of what happened in that time - the insurer also refuses to tell me how car was moved from Renew-It to the salvage yard. This is probably going to involve the ombudsman and a long drawn out process

 

[Jet-Fighter7700]

From what the lawyer and technical expert have said, we don't have to prove anything - our evidence means that the insurer must now come back with proof of what happened in that time - the insurer also refuses to tell me how car was moved from Renew-It to the salvage yard. This is probably going to involve the ombudsman and a long drawn out process

yip, this is the deal with insurance companies, will fight tooth and nail for even the smallest thing to not be held liable,
have lawyers on the payroll and going to be a long drawn out process, might make it go faster if you told this story on social media as they will want to avoid the bad publicity,

as insurance companies are Lawyers and salespeople.

 

[Rayne]

From what the lawyer and technical expert have said, we don't have to prove anything - our evidence means that the insurer must now come back with proof of what happened in that time - the insurer also refuses to tell me how car was moved from Renew-It to the salvage yard. This is probably going to involve the ombudsman and a long drawn out process

The onus is on you. The onus is always on you. You are the owner. When it comes to insurance matters trust word from the insurance industry and not spanner mechanics.

Yes the ombudsman is going to be a months long process. Is your claim already repudiated or are you still in dispute stage? If you have the repudiation letter start the ombudsman process now and note ombudsman comes first and lawyer after.

 

[A3@MBB]

One lesson learnt is if you are in any accident again take more pictures of every angle than you think you'll ever need...it has saved me so many times.

Please have fewer accidents. #concerned fellow MyBB'er

 

[A3@MBB]

Page 3 and no-one has asked the important question for prosperity.

What brand of tyres are on/was on the Audi at the time of accident?

 

[SauRoNZA]

Please have fewer accidents. #concerned fellow MyBB'er

Ha ha, in each case where I had a problem it was because someone else ****ed it up and then laid false reports at the cop shop to magically make it my fault (or the person using my vehicle).

In one case I had pretty much no damage and didn't even file a claim but they tried to sue me for damages because somehow it was my fault that they ploughed into my bike was behind and ripped their own car apart in the process.

Was a simple one to get thrown out because they not only lied about the details but where it happened and I had a nice clear photo with a road sign in the background to pin point exactly where it was.