Legal Advise

[Edd 205 0]

Hi Guys

 

I'm quite new to the forum, I've not posted a lot as I've always managed to find the answers to my queries in existing threads.

I bought a pug a couple of years ago, 1.6 mk II which had been laid up in a garage for about 8 years due to a blown head gasket, the bodywork and interior are immaculate (well almost) except the seats. I got her back on the road a couple of months ago and have been doing little improvements since, the last two being a 400 mile round trip to collect a nice set of leather seats and the purchase of a new hydraulic handle for the sun roof (slide roof). I fitted the seats myself and took her to a local garage last week to have the sunroof handle fitted, job done all good.

 

 

Until today, I took the car to a mates house left it for two hours and when I returned upon opening the door I was met by bellows of smoke.

It turns out the drivers light has caught fire setting light too the roof lining and sunroof handle, the whole lot has then dripped onto the carpet and hand brake handle as well as both my newly fitted front seas, these have then caught fire as well, frikin disaster!! the whole thing only went out due to lack of oxygen or the car would have burnt out completely. The fire has also damaged the exterior sunroof trim. I'm sooo gutted after putting in so much work to get her looking good again she's ruined:(

 

I've got fully comp insurance but i'm concerned about the effect on my premiums which are pretty cheep at the mo (£240) due to 17 years no claims.

 

Does anyone think that this fire which started at the drivers light was connected to the repair I had done on the sunroof handle, after all it made it 21 years without a problem until shortly after this job was done. if so is it reasonable to expect recompense from the garage that did the job? any advise would be much appreciated.

 

Cheers

 

Edd

Edited October 19, 2013 by Edd 205

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

Well, to get the handle swap wrong is pretty hard. There is only a low voltage light plug and possibly a sensor for the remote locking to disturb, and I'm a little surprised that if there was a wire trapped that a fuse did not blow?

 

I can't see where a wiring fault can cause this issue on a standard car?

[Edd 205 0]

I'm sure it started from the drivers light, its hanging down in a massive blob of molten plastic, which has fizzed and thrown bits all over the seats which have then caught fire, Its bizarre a fuse should have blown. The handle does not have any electrical components? but the light could have been disturbed whilst the job was being done? clutching at straws aren't I?

[jord294 92]

Perhaps water has leaked through the seals on sunroof handle and caused a short.

[ORB 227 1 Cars]

Twas my thoughts

[1 FAT PUG 39]

havnt a fiew people had this problem with the ariel seal leaking water and shorting the light out.?

[Edd 205 0]

Can't sleep for thinking about this, what you guys have said about water getting in the seal has made me realise this was prob my own fault and I feel pretty stupid. About three days ago I tried to open the sunroof, it wasn't sliding back well so whilst it was open I applied a generous spay of WD40 to the track and slid the roof open and shut a few times which did the trick. So i'm thinking the excess spay oil has run round whilst parked on a front end down decline overnight and got into the light fitting causing the short. The oil has then acted as an excelerant explaining the quite savage amount of damage. I guess it was just really bad luck but i'm gonna be beating myself up over this for a while.

 

Anyway thanks for your comments guys.

Edited October 20, 2013 by Edd 205

[2-Pugs 57]

I wouldn't beat yourself up too much. I've known of a couple of people who have had that exact thing happen on 205GTIs. I must have been pretty close myself, as when my central locking stopped working I tracked it back (no pun intended) to the pcb up there which had got wet from water leaking down the sunroof handle bolts. The design of the handle channels it into the moulding that holds the light perfectly :-(

 

It's one of those things, it would have happened sooner or later I expect. Look on the bright side, you are in the right place to get support and parts to get your car back to how it was pre-fire.

 

For what its worth, if it happened to me, I would fix it myself and not go through insurance.

[skyinsurance 2]

It may be more cost effective to fix this privately. You will have to pay your insurance excess and a claim on record may effect the price you pay when you are up for renewal.

[Edd 205 0]

Cheers guys, I made enquiries about claiming on the insurance, basically if I claim they will write the car off which I don't want, that and the loss of my no claims bonus makes it a no go. I've managed to source the parts I need on here with help from Mattr5uk, hopefully have her back on the road in a few weeks, Many thanks, Edd

[Edp 67 3 Cars]

Gutted about your car mate. At least you repair it.

 

I had a silver 1.9 a few years back which only had 60k on the clock, a proper minter. I was out driving one day when I looked in the mirror and I couldn't see anything for smoke. Something in the engine had shorted causing a massive fire. A chap phoned the fire brigade and I just stood there waiting watching it burn

 

The car was a complete write off as the engine was unrecognisable. It was broken up for parts. I'll never forget that.