If You Would I'd Like To Hear Your Thoughts On This

[GWilso]

My brother in Scotland took his beloved 01 Vax Astra 1.8 SRI for a intermediate service and M.O.T at kwik fit on Friday Handed over £120 job done passed M.O.T flying colors even the mechanic commented on how immaculate it was for the age and how he obviously looked after it.

1 Mile down the road/Min's later

The cars a complete RIGHT OFF it burst into flames in the middle of the road..........

Kwik fit were very kwik to deliver a courtesy car later that day until they could determine what caused the fire. They also sent out one of their inspectors to the compound the next morning to view the car but my brother quite rightly had asked the compound staff not to allow anyone near the vehicle until he has had an independent inspection.

His own insurance company have now viewed the vehicle and been unable to determine any reason. as theres to much damage and a full investigation would cost more than the insurance value of the car.

He's now waiting to here what kwik fit can find this afternoon. Why do I get the impression kwik fit won't take any responsibility for this?????

Depending on the response I'm thinking we will probably have to drag this through the courts.... the insurance value £1700 will come know were close to paying back the money he borrowed for the car in the 1st place £5k

Plus £500 spent on discs and pads and 4 new tyres just days before in preparation for the M.O.T

What would you do??? I'd like to think that kwik fit would replace the vehicle and all the belongings with it

Just for the record his wallet,tom tom,2x baby seats, cloths and other bits have all been destroyed as he never even had a chance to retrieve them.

Gutted

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Just glad he managed to get out OK, it seems a big coincidence to me. I suspect Kwik Fire will find nothing to associate it to them and get the Swarfega out to wash their hands.

I wish him luck but suspect he may have to get the insurance to cough up if he doesn't want it to drag on.

[LexusIS200Sam]

gutted to her this mate, glad he got out fine.... ive had a run in with kwik fit before, they tried to stitch a friend of mine up for new shocks as they where 'aparently' leaking, took a look and no leak but alot of WD40 which they applied to make it appear nackered. not good.

[MacRS200]

Gutted for your brother mate but what makes you think that Kwik Fit are responsible?

[GWilso]

Thanks for your comments its extremely worrying to know that he was 10mins away from picking his wife, 4yr old son and his 6month old daughter he said he had very little time on his own to get out before it exploded can you imagine the panic with 3 others on board in baby seats (not the wife of course)

as you can imagine this escalated to kwik fit head office very quickly so its in their hands now I'm hoping that they resolve this fairly for all i can't imagine that an outfit such as them would want this sort of publicity.

My view is they should think them-selfs lucky they could have been up on manslaughter charges........Rant over

Cheers

Gordon

[Mark W]

To be fair - so far, KwikFit havent really been bad to your brother....they have provided him with a courtesy car and are obviously looking into it.....but from your account they havent actually said they are not going to pay anything or help in any way.

True, they dont have the best of reputations - However, IMO you need to wait until they have provided a response before having a go or thinking about having to go through the courts.

[GWilso]

Gutted for your brother mate but what makes you think that Kwik Fit are responsible?

Junior mechanic serviced the vehicle for a start. without yet a full mechanical/fire report (in hand)i know what you mean but you have to admit a car that never missed a beat to have a service with them and then to explode minutes later.

Even if by some small chance it was not KF fault. but a simple wiring/mechanical failure then you need to ask how comprehensive their M.O.T checks are and why nothing was spotted within the service.

[GWilso]

To be fair - so far, KwikFit havent really been bad to your brother....they have provided him with a courtesy car and are obviously looking into it.....but from your account they havent actually said they are not going to pay anything or help in any way.

True, they dont have the best of reputations - However, IMO you need to wait until they have provided a response before having a go or thinking about having to go through the courts.

Fair comment I suppose maybe a little heavy handed lets wait and see I guess its just a general rule in my mind that all companies ranggle out of an expense if they can but we shall see

[Purvesh]

Glad he got out safe and I hope it works out for him. Once it's sorted, he'll get another car, but it's the sentimental value that'll be missed the most.. I know this from personal experience!

[GWilso]

Even more bad news just heard from his own insurance company they won't pay out

"we will not cover or replace any damaged parts due to mechanical failure"

A bit harsh we pay all this money for insurance just to be hit with loopholes when we need to claim I'll certainly look more carefully at policy wording on my next renewal

[Steve ( West Mids )]

So how do they know it's mechanical failure ? Something is not right here, it caught fire didn't it? So why is he not covered under the fire policy on his insurance?

[rajhirani]

my 2 cents.

what about if the car exploded while parked up, will the insurance company pay then? surely the fire/theft part of the policy should cover the explosion???

my mates car burnt out while parked on a hot summers day, about 2 years ago and the insurance company wrote the car off and paid out.

[Rob's Lexx]

sorry to hear about this, its a scary thing to think about.

a thought for you......apparently on the astras the fuel pipe clips get replaced on most services. if one was not put back at all or incorrectly, that could obviously cause a big prolem as the pipes run pretty close to the manifold. not saying that is the case at all, but its something to maybe think about.

hope everything gets sorted matey

[T7RY B]

Even more bad news just heard from his own insurance company they won't pay out

"we will not cover or replace any damaged parts due to mechanical failure"

A bit harsh we pay all this money for insurance just to be hit with loopholes when we need to claim I'll certainly look more carefully at policy wording on my next renewal

How do they know it was "due to mechanical failure" if they're inspector could not diagnose the cause on his inspection?

Also "if" KF do admit responsability to the damage they will only pay out the book value of the vehicle. If you have an older car in mint condition YOU have to tell the insurance and provide proof/photographs etc. and STATE that the car is valued at the price you say and usually they send an inspector out.He will agree/disagree with the valuation and the policy will be amended.You will pay a higher premium.

It's like owning a "show" car.A pristine Golf GTi MK1 may be worth 15K but if you don't insure it as such then you will get the market value say £500.

Otherwise every body would say my car is mint!

Insurance companies try anything and everything to NOT pay out That is why the responsability lies with you to state first hand what cover you want.

I changed my wheels and told my insurance company.They charged me another £100 per annum. If I had not told them and I had been in an accident then they could "rightfully" choose not to pay out. Same with superchargers,turbos, induction kits,lowering kits etc.

I am not sticking up for insurance companies but my Mrs. used to be a manager for RAC insurance and she knows all this stuff so be very careful they will ALWAYS put the onus on you.

Good luck with the claim.

[Mark W]

In that case;

Its either failure by KwikFit ("mechanical failure" as the insurance company put it) and he gets his money off Kwikfit

or

Its nothing to do with KwikFit and "non mechanical failure" and the insurance company need to fork out

Cant have it both ways - Also, not sure how the insurance company could get away with that - ok, if you had fitted a mod (eg Turbo) and the car caught fire can understand - but general mechanical failure - surely quite a few accidents are caused by mechanical failure? If youre brakes faile and you hit a load of cars or a wall - they saying they wouldnt pay out then?

Finally, I would have thought it was up to them to prove its mechanical failure

[Tony-Bones]

Brake fluid is the most combustible fluid under the bonnet and the car had brakes fitted.

My guess is the reservoir overflowed and run onto the exhaust manifold........

And yes petrol is combustible but this evaporates as it hits a hot surface and won't catch unless there is an open source of ignition.

[Rabster]

Brake fluid is the most combustible fluid under the bonnet and the car had brakes fitted.

My guess is the reservoir overflowed and run onto the exhaust manifold........

And yes petrol is combustible but this evaporates as it hits a hot surface and won't catch unless there is an open source of ignition.

i have to agree with WIM there and knowing kwick and there work in my area the use of WD-40 is so common i think they have shares in it lol

also they use GENEROUS amounts of brake and caliper cleaner also very combustable there are many causes of a fire in the engine bay was there any of the following leading up to it

Loss in power

Funy smell through the aircon

any warning lights

flickering dash lights etc

the explosion was it a general BANG or isolated to the front middle or back this will help determine which part failed and point to items that could be suspect

something doesnt seem right with the outcome of insurance decion and the fact qwickfit bent over backwards to get a loan car out etc

is the mechanic that did the service and his supervisor still working there at the mo or are then on (holiday) i.e suspended on full pay pending investiagtion if kwick fit have put the staff on (holiday) they are thinking oops it might have been us which i thnk from the sounds of it maybe the case

hope it gets sorted soon though

[GWilso]

Wow thanks for all your thoughts and comments I'll try to answer most of the questions

1. I've been struggling to understand how the Insurance Company won't pay out... But he was told over the phone that they won't cover mechanical failure full stop and in reading the policy wording booklet backs this up. However your right no inspection has been carried out all the inspector has done is taken pictures he said it would be too expensive to do a forensic investigation............. So your right something don't add up

He's not chasing his insurance just yet he's waiting for kwik fit to investigate as at this stage it's fair too presume its possibly there fault

(trying to be careful what I say) and potentially more chance of getting more compensation etc etc from them

Another Factor is my brother checked the engine straight after the service he could see that the cables connecting to the Battery had not been re greased? the anti freeze had not been changed as he had a funky anti freeze that was red in color and was still red after the service (this should have been replaced)

so all in all a rushed job anyway

The service & M.O.T was completed in minutes according to the receipts a phone call to kwik fit determined a service alone should have taken two hours?

Rabster

No loss of power no warning lights the 1st indication was smoke belting out from the rear not the exhaust just the smoke from the engine going under the car then a bang from the engine bay he pulled over and STUPIDLY opened the bonnet and could see fire and smoke coming from as he remembers the very bottom of the engine bay on the right hand side????

Robb I've now checked with KF they would not automatically change the fuel line clips

Thanks again for all your advise and input

[WylieCoyote]

There's a similar case to this in this month's What Car helpdesk. According to the response, the garage holds no liability unless it can be proved that they were negligent - which will probably be difficult. Might be Kwik Fit at fault, may just be an unfortunate coincidence. Either way it's a shame.

[ROYT]

If the insurance will not pay on the 'fire and theft' part of the insurance, can you please name them so we can all avoid them at renewal time?

[WylieCoyote]

Even more bad news just heard from his own insurance company they won't pay out

"we will not cover or replace any damaged parts due to mechanical failure"

A bit harsh we pay all this money for insurance just to be hit with loopholes when we need to claim I'll certainly look more carefully at policy wording on my next renewal

At the risk of sounding pessimistic, you'll probably find that the wording is almost identical with every insurance company. It really does suck when the law abiding motorists are the ones who get problems - the uninsured drivers do what they want.

[DJ Wozza]

Fire on the insurance should cover it, if not I'd take it to court big time :tsktsk:

Name & shame !!

[WylieCoyote]

Just a quick thought - if you're insured TPF&T or fully comp, you're covered if your car burst into flamed - hence the 'fire' part of the cover. How if I might ask does a fire start if it's not through failure somewhere? Car's just don't spontaneously combust for nothing and neither do the owners just go out and torch their car one night for fun. So how can they say they cover you for fire when they won't cover you for failure - a fire is caused by something failing - surely???????????????

[Steve ( West Mids )]

Is stinks from what you say, the engine didn't push a rod through the block did it? You would see this still after a fire, this might indicate no oil put back in the engine or a badly fitted oil filter. Does the receipt say exactly what they did on the service?

[Steviewevie]

Just a quick thought - if you're insured TPF&T or fully comp, you're covered if your car burst into flamed - hence the 'fire' part of the cover. How if I might ask does a fire start if it's not through failure somewhere? Car's just don't spontaneously combust for nothing and neither do the owners just go out and torch their car one night for fun. So how can they say they cover you for fire when they won't cover you for failure - a fire is caused by something failing - surely???????????????

The wording seems to be about "mechanical failure" though. If your car catches fire on its own, whilst not being driven, then presumably that's probably down to electrical failure and not mechanical.

I guess the insurance companies are trying to make sure they don't get involved in anything mechanical, after all, they don't cover breakdowns.

I think it would be very difficult to get your own insurance company to have to pay out. I would have thought the best bet would be the seemingly rather large coincidence of the car just being driven away from the garage after having been worked on. I would have thought that a court would be very interested in this "coincidence". The problem is trying to prove this, since it may be expensive to get an independent report into what caused the problem.

Thinking out loud, I wonder if Kwik-fit could be persuaded into some sort of cash settlement where they don't actually admit liability, but which ends up being better than nothing

Might be worth getting Trading Standards involved, on the basis that you had work carried out and then immediately the car went wrong, so the standard of work doesn't seem like it was too good ? This might persuade Kwik-fit to start being a bit more cooperative.

I do hope that it works out well though, sounds like a tricky one.