1 year old car fire. Total loss after garage repair :(

motorguy

AndyMc..... wrote: »

So you’re not going to be out of pocket.

I suspect a total loss claim is going to put his insurance up, is it not?

motorguy

AndyMc..... wrote: »

Not really a loss is it?

You decide any loss you can swallow when you take out the policy.

You seem to be wholly missing the point here - the car caught fire and burnt to a crisp some 10 miles after having had a major repair carried out by the dealer.

Why should the O/P claim off their insurance, pay excess, pay increased premiums and have a load of hassle for what could well be negligence on the part of the dealership?

George_Michael

AndyMc..... wrote: »

Not really a loss is it?

You decide any loss you can swallow when you take out the policy.

Two sentences, one contradiction.

Firstly you say that the £500 excess isn't really a loss but then you go on to say that you decide what you can afford to lose when taking out the policy.

Even if you agree to an excess, in the event of a non fault claim you are legally entitled to recover this excess from the party at fault and if the garage staff did cause the fire through negligence then they have to cover any losses incurred by the OP.

Ectophile

AndyMc..... wrote: »

Not really a loss is it?

You decide any loss you can swallow when you take out the policy.

How do you mean it's not really a loss? :huh: That makes no sense at all. The OP is £500 down on the deal because of the policy excess.

Joe_Horner

Ectophile wrote: »

How do you mean it's not really a loss? :huh: That makes no sense at all. The OP is £500 down on the deal because of the policy excess.

To be fair, the OP is down by "up to" £500 because they've said the payout is "more than the finance". If it's (say) £500 more then that will also cover their excess and they won't have lost - they just won't have extra cash in their pocket.

Obviously, future insurance is likely to increase but that applies as soon as it catches fire, regardless of how it's dealt with, if they do as they're supposed to and notify the insurers of the incident / loss.

AndyMc.....

motorguy wrote: »

You seem to be wholly missing the point here - the car caught fire and burnt to a crisp some 10 miles after having had a major repair carried out by the dealer.

Why should the O/P claim off their insurance, pay excess, pay increased premiums and have a load of hassle for what could well be negligence on the part of the dealership?

Well it's all down to what the OP can prove.

Can they prove negligence?

arcon5

motorguy wrote: »

You seem to be wholly missing the point here - the car caught fire and burnt to a crisp some 10 miles after having had a major repair carried out by the dealer.

Why should the O/P claim off their insurance, pay excess, pay increased premiums and have a load of hassle for what could well be negligence on the part of the dealership?

There isn't really masses of dismantling required to replace one of these turbos. An expensive and major part maybe but wouldn't exactly describe it a major repair.


Ops done nothing to establish the cause of the fire. They garage could just be the victim of circumstance! We don't even know what has happened so screaming consumer rights is a dead end really unless the garage accept it without any proof or argument.


If op wants to create a case with any prospect of success she should be establishing the cause first. Not making assumptions.
It's comparable to people who break down 20 miles after filling up with fuel then blaming the fuel station before even knowing why it's broken down

flashg67

Did you take out legal helpline on your policy - might be worth a call.

I think you'll struggle with getting paperwork from the dealer, presuming this was a warranty repair with no payment by you, then all the paperwork will be internal with the dealer and the manufacturer.

You could commission an independent report yourself, if there's enough left of the car to give a clue what happened, then pursue your losses if liability can be proven (or be more out of pocket if not!)

custardy

Realistically,you are unlikely to be able to prove fault here IMO.
Potentially a loose oil line or the likes,but could it be argued it loosened due to the heat of the fire?
Is it worth it for £x loss on excess and difference on payout?
Thats up to you. I dont see the insurers putting much work into it

wesleyad

Just to play devils advocate, it's been stupidly hot for this country and is it possible there was a problem with the cooling system? Although there should have been some alarms for that. But that's what the company could argue. You really need to establish the cause of the fire. I'd suggest trying to get an expert to look at the car (is that even a thing, maybe I watch too much CSI!)