Hish

True M8 never thought it would be possible to leave you stranded but it seems to me as the International cover is the tricky one ! Now here´s the weird part. Last year, I had a just under a year´s contract in Spain and wanted to be a bit more safer on the law side of things as I was one of those people who really believe a reputable company etc.. if they say they would cover something or not ! Never actually bothered to read the small print.. I ´ve been contracting on n´off in Europe since year 2000. Thankfully I didn´t have car problems, or been even stopped once ! Reading Ex pats forums opened my eyes to a lot of small issues that can cost u a lot if u have the smallest accident with yer motor on the continent! I started really reading and even phoning the insurance to ask the questions as it can be tricky at times. The car has to be in everyway in the legalities and the smallest requirements of the EU country u r in ! light deflectors for example how many of us don´t bother with those no more .. in recent years when I go to workd I see few British cars parked in the car park without deflectors or even the GB sticker and that can give some insurances an excuse to wiggle out of a claim or at least part of it. So I went with what they told me at IBEX that my insurance that I had (Kwikfit) at the time wasn´t good enough around my 2nd or 3rd trip to year in the same year ! Well, apparently it is the other way around the IBEX one especially wasn´t good enough! if it Comes from a spannish insurer is not worth the paper that it`s written on as in case of an accident the Spanish 5 O will scrutenise you if you have a problem with a Spanish driver and even if it was his fault. My problem is the wording was very clear Repatriation or onward journey to final destination. Now, I find out yesterday from the LLOYDS of London that they knew nothing about this issue and this is purely a breakdown company that failed me and the brokers have mis-sold the cover and there is me all this time thinking that B-dwn cover came from the LLOYDS IBEX guys IBEX remeber that ! they the only ones that cover stupid Brits like me in spain & Portugal. Now they aren´t even answering neither my calls nor my emails !! I ´ll have to find out if I could tackle them in the UK beings the guy I dealt with is English or it will be in Spain which will complicate things. I have a good mate here in zurich helping big time in terms of accomdation etc.. otherwise I´d left long ago. I ´ll ask Land Rover or any other garage if they would consider taking it for little money so I could take my number plates with & head back home ASAP. It is a bitter lesson to learn from Really appreciate every answer, word of support i get from you guys coz I am feeling so down and I can asure you it isn´t about losing the car it is the way I was hussled !

yes i did actually with Visa ! but this was last year.

Looks like it´s curtains for my lovely RED tractor served me well tho´ I am bitter about those wasters that pocketed my money and took me for muppet I should´ve learned from the Tony Bliars days " WMD n´all that kack that he coocked up DUBYA " if he could do it on telly why can´t IBEX ?

Dear All, I am trying this last option as a desperate measure to recover my Disco TD4 that had its head gasket problems and now is a non runner . I checked with a couple of UK companies so far and the prices are stupid. I know this is a stabb in the dark trying an SOS message like this one but I have ran out of options so far and this my second week in Zurich trying to find a solution coz my Insurance IBEX/LLOyds of London, last year sold me a European breakdown cover " the top product they have " called " Prestige " 600 GBP. A warning to all if your car isn´t brand new or less than 1 year old just forget repatriation etc.. one person from the insurance company told me this on the private " may be coz she felt sorry for us " !! Those wasters have defaulted on everything they´ve written on the paper ! so they refused to repatriate my car ! I spent stupid amount on phone calls to them etc but i will deal with those wasters later when I get back home " i´m not holding my breath for any results really ". So if anyone knows of a reasonable company or someone with a trailer etc.. may be we can do a deal like I pay all expenses + etc.. cheers Hish

Hey M8, nuh still in sunny Switzerland .. trying to do somink with it but I am coming to the end of holidays which were meant to be in 2 or 3 countries but i ´m still .. looking for a solution. Can´t leave it here coz i ´ll get the Swiss authorities on my case if the car isn´t disposed off properly. Really stuck and dunno what to do no mo´

Yea, sadly we are being ruled by accountants ! all corporations in this world have been under the control of finance dept. An ex-girl friend (finance director) in US company told me told that since they took complete control in management decisions may be in the early 90´s she said we just go by what suits the balance!! at times they can´t really asess the risks but if it looks good on the books it´s fine ! The revolution is on also, traffic wardens on my list too . I Am trying some transport / recovery comapnies to see if I could do it without costing too much. Failing that this w-end I´ll stick a paper on the windows FOR SALE 500 squid. Only the wheels on it are worth somink as 3 of´em are new, interior is good etc.. we´ll see. Also I was reading insurance policies last night to start a new one for my other car, and it is a big joke ! 453 GBP for a little PT Cruiser and you need to add legal cover + personal injury + injury to driver .. on top of that you don´t get a green card for 3 months in Europe it will cost 189 GBP for a limited period proven by ferry or Eurotunnel ticket which means a week or so. I live in quite low risk area in surrey I am covered for very little really ! just a paper to gimme a pass when 5 O is doing traffic control ! they told me on the phone " well sorry sir, prices have risen by 15% " what is going on ? is this an energy company now ? or fruit & veg suppliers ? Cheers lads

I have a very expensive Insurance that came with a breakdown cover. the Insurance is called IBEX for LLOYDS of London they pray on British Expats or I.T contractors working in Spain & Portugal. So, basically I am covered for anything you can think of in terms becoming carless ! level of cover is called "Prestige Cover with Repatriatrion or onwrd journey to final destination " Weel those plonkers didn´t do either Now, why didn´t this cover do what it exactly promised on paper ? The excuse was :" the repaire will cost more than the cars worth ?" The same old carp I heard that happened to other mates before you see. This is what the Breakdown covers you for ! like the national recovery for RAC or AA .. just imagine u had a problem with yer old motor in sunny Scotland and your home is in London and the dear Breakdown cover company tell you "sorry mate your car isn´t worth putting on the truck to London !!" how does that feel ? not good coz they were very happy to take your dough when u phoned up first time around knowing every single detail about your car, then when you need them the most especially with your missus or family with you on the trip ! it is most definitly NOT what you want to hear. From time to time I see some good cars such as Mercedes, BMW, Audi etc.. at times porshes on a toe truck !! I think to myself, god ! imagine that happens to me and those cars are only 3 or 4 years of age and they are on the recovery truck ? I sincerely believe that these companies have to STOP taking the p**s outta the good people who kept them in business for all these years.. once the vehicle is accepted for insurance / Breakdown etc.. providing it is Taxed & MOT´d then it is final and there is no getting away from paying up. It is carp and illegal what they do !! it isn´t fair.

Nice 1 mate .. it looks like it might be the only option.

Hi again, A French work colleague whom I worked with few years back in Belgium & who happened to lives near the swiss border, he worked as a Mechanic for Renault a while back. He had a good look at the engine & he keeps saying that the Head Gasket is still intact ! we checked the inside the top bit near the Spark plugs but foud it very clean apart from a little excess oil ! As for the oil, on the bill there are 9,5 litres oil ! he tought it was excessive. On a French Land Rover site There is a whole thread about problems in the cooling system on the Disco especially TD5 Today we are going to get to the head gasket to see for sure if it was damaged or not. If not, then e suggested to take it to France or Germany for repair as you can imagine it will be much much cheaper ! I think, with all this agrow I will give it one last chance and if the total cost exceeds 1000 quid I ´ll put it up for sale here for 999.00 CHF which is about 600 squid and I already have someone interested at that price coz he is going to sell it as parts etc.. weird, I honestly thought the Hd-Gskt was the only problem as I was about to fly out a mate of mine from London to sort it out then drive it back. we´ll see what we gonna do today. Laterz Hish

Well, he didn't drain anything ! I was standing there he literally poured around 2 litre bottle of green stuff ! so I thought then .. thissss gonna hurt !

Yeah F-Freeza.. mate, perhaps, I don't for sure but if you had done it then I take your word for it. As for the Insurance, a mate I just had on the phone (works for one of those vampires) told me that I should ask for either the value of the car or a full refund, simply coz they have accepted to insure the knowing it's age etc in the first place. The only thing he said that can be tricky is, this is what they might call stage 2 of a claim (I need to raise my voice and start the letters to Ombudsmen, FSA, Consumer Rights etc) a lot of these groups are useless but it might get their attention. It really did make me happy but I am not holding my breath.. he insisted on the fact that if they have insured me it is too late for them to say no to a repatriation especially the vehicle is not usable in a foreign country! Another mate (Mechanic) is also looking at how much it would cost to do all the work over here (if I were to pay for his flight etc.) and get it back on the road, then will let me know tomorrow. we'll see

Good point. Plz don't take this the wrong way mate but I would be happy to see what happens if I could try that demo on your engine with a couple of litres of pure Antifreez may be we all learn something new then. Cheers for the ineterest

Hmmm All I know is that the car was running perfectly and running long distance with Temp- trouble even in the summer so why now, immediately after this silly service ? Anyways, gotta convine a mate of mine if would be happy enough to fly to Zurich for few days all expenses paid to sort out the H-Gskt and hopefully get it back on the road then back home.

Cheers Mate.. bang on.. everything you said is correct. The insurers were taking the mickey plus as they don´t know where this or that country is on the map !! This sort of leagal daylight robery really has to stop.. As for the engine of my Disco- no problems whatsoever in fact I bought it solely for it´s engine which was checked out by a mate of mine who is a very good mechanic. Travelled with it 3 times, twice to Spain fully loaded with gear / furniture home stuff and not a single complaint ! coolant, OIL etc.. no leaks, no need to top up for months ! Suddenly, this mechanic in OVIEDO spain decided to pour the liquid like water about more than 1 litre ! Monday I´ll talk to a couple of mechanics to get quotes etc.. we´´ll update on this one.. I don´t really want to let go on it I love this baby and the wife crazy about it too. Nice1 Hish

Hey Quagmire mate .. well he did pour loads and it can´t be done just like that the engine needs to run for a bit with the cap off etc.. anyhow, it didn´t help as I travelled with twice b4 to Spain fully loaded with my stuff in the heat of the summer and believe me not a single trouble.. it is a very well maintained car always started first time even in the coldest of days so I know my car hence the he carp I´m going through to repatriate it or may be sell but I just don´t leave to the garage that recovered it. The worry here is how the Insurance dumped me with a fully compresive and European breakdown cover especially for that. They excuse was it would be too expensive to take it back to Spain or the UK ! so why insure me for all europe then? Anyway cheers mate