Discussion
Hi all,
my E46 (53 2003 Convertible, SMG, 37000 miles) spontaneously burst into flame at 1am last Monday also setting fire to my wifes 525i Touring in our car port.
I got home at 7pm as normal without problem. At 12.45am heard my car alarm and went downstairs to the kitchen. I saw flames coming from the front of the M3 and already they were to big for me to tackle and phoned the fire brigade who came within 5 mins. By then my car had completely gone up in smoke along with my wifes which was also parked in the car port (which was also destroyed)
all 3 days before Christmas.
The fire brigade have had a look and confirmed it started from the engine bay and very unlikely to be arson in a quiet village setting...
totally gutted and not looking forward to the crappy insurance offer....
I've rather lost faith in BMW....shame as it was a brilliant car, I had a friend who also had an M3 that spontaneously combusted..
anyone else had or heard of this misfortune?? At least no one was hurt and the house was not adjacent to the car port.
best wishes
Rupert
PPS What do you think the Insurers should cough up??? I was hoping for £15000.
my E46 (53 2003 Convertible, SMG, 37000 miles) spontaneously burst into flame at 1am last Monday also setting fire to my wifes 525i Touring in our car port.
I got home at 7pm as normal without problem. At 12.45am heard my car alarm and went downstairs to the kitchen. I saw flames coming from the front of the M3 and already they were to big for me to tackle and phoned the fire brigade who came within 5 mins. By then my car had completely gone up in smoke along with my wifes which was also parked in the car port (which was also destroyed)
all 3 days before Christmas.
The fire brigade have had a look and confirmed it started from the engine bay and very unlikely to be arson in a quiet village setting...
totally gutted and not looking forward to the crappy insurance offer....
I've rather lost faith in BMW....shame as it was a brilliant car, I had a friend who also had an M3 that spontaneously combusted..
anyone else had or heard of this misfortune?? At least no one was hurt and the house was not adjacent to the car port.
best wishes
Rupert
PPS What do you think the Insurers should cough up??? I was hoping for £15000.
adycav said:
Sorry to hear about this mate.
I have never heard of M3s combusting before though.
I hope that the insurance gives you a decent payout.
Mate - sI have never heard of M3s combusting before though.
I hope that the insurance gives you a decent payout.
t, tough luck, that's an absolute shocker.I have heard of this once before but unfortunately it was an arson attack (quite near me as it happens in Reading).
Gotta be something amiss here, can people get into the car port from the street?
Good luck with insurance and hopefully it won't be a too painful experience.
Cheers
RS
Just a word of caution, and I assume it won't happen in your case.
A neighbour of mine (luckily a few doors down and over the road so our cars were safe) had a knock at his door from another neighbour passing by saying there was steam/smoke coming from the bonnet of their car parked on the drive.
They got to the car and could smell that it wasn't steam so called the fire brigade before attempting to investigate further. They opened the bonnet slightly and could see flames licking around the middle of the engine bay so fired the two extinguishers they had into it to dampen it down. The car kept smoking until the fire brigade arrived - who stuck their hose under the bonnet and gave it a good dousing. No more flames/smoke.
The car wasn't particularly badly damaged from the outside, but the interior stunk of burnt wiring and had a fair amount of water/foam from the fire brigade's help.
They put a claim in the same day and the car was collected by an accident repair company. A couple of week's later were told it was turned down as it was obviously a mechanical failure that they'd have to pay to repair themselves. The car was delivered back to their home on the back of a lorry and left at the side of the road, with a letter saying that they needn't worry about transportation or storage costs as they'd been taken care of by the insurance company, but they'd be calling to arrange handing back the courtesy car.
The car's 'only' worth £5k or so and it would be cheaper to replace the car than to strip it all out, repair & repaint. They've bought another car as a runaround, but don't think they should be out of pocket for it.
That was in June, and they are currently in arbitration to see if they really can do this. The insurance company are standing by their small print which goes along the lines of 'a fire claim will only be paid if the car is subject to an arson attack, or is burnt out after theft'. They'd have been better off if they'd left the car to burn to the ground.
A neighbour of mine (luckily a few doors down and over the road so our cars were safe) had a knock at his door from another neighbour passing by saying there was steam/smoke coming from the bonnet of their car parked on the drive.
They got to the car and could smell that it wasn't steam so called the fire brigade before attempting to investigate further. They opened the bonnet slightly and could see flames licking around the middle of the engine bay so fired the two extinguishers they had into it to dampen it down. The car kept smoking until the fire brigade arrived - who stuck their hose under the bonnet and gave it a good dousing. No more flames/smoke.
The car wasn't particularly badly damaged from the outside, but the interior stunk of burnt wiring and had a fair amount of water/foam from the fire brigade's help.
They put a claim in the same day and the car was collected by an accident repair company. A couple of week's later were told it was turned down as it was obviously a mechanical failure that they'd have to pay to repair themselves. The car was delivered back to their home on the back of a lorry and left at the side of the road, with a letter saying that they needn't worry about transportation or storage costs as they'd been taken care of by the insurance company, but they'd be calling to arrange handing back the courtesy car.
The car's 'only' worth £5k or so and it would be cheaper to replace the car than to strip it all out, repair & repaint. They've bought another car as a runaround, but don't think they should be out of pocket for it.
That was in June, and they are currently in arbitration to see if they really can do this. The insurance company are standing by their small print which goes along the lines of 'a fire claim will only be paid if the car is subject to an arson attack, or is burnt out after theft'. They'd have been better off if they'd left the car to burn to the ground.
Very sorry to hear that.
If it sets your mind at rest as regards the horrible thought that someone might have done this to you deliberately, I recall a neighbour's Ford KA doing the same thing outside our house a couple of years back: it was a total loss and was the result of an electrical fault. Also, a relative's brand new car (a Peugeot, I believe), self-combusted in a car park and took two other cars with it. Again, electrics were to blame.
Best of luck with the claim and stick to your guns if you encounter resistance without good cause.
Andy
If it sets your mind at rest as regards the horrible thought that someone might have done this to you deliberately, I recall a neighbour's Ford KA doing the same thing outside our house a couple of years back: it was a total loss and was the result of an electrical fault. Also, a relative's brand new car (a Peugeot, I believe), self-combusted in a car park and took two other cars with it. Again, electrics were to blame.
Best of luck with the claim and stick to your guns if you encounter resistance without good cause.
Andy
A couple of years ago a friend's car caught fire when I was driving it, probably but not definitely as a result of an electrical fault. It was written off. The insurance company paid out in that case without disputing liability. No doubt some insurance companies are more restrictive than others.
I wouldn't have thought there was a reason to think this was anything other than an accident.
Many years ago I owned a VX Cavalier SRI 130 which at 70mph on the M8 developed a leak in the rubber fuel line which linked the copper under body line to the fuel injection, by poor design this rubber hose ran directly above the manifold to exhaust system joint. I nearly had kittens when I opened the bonnet and stuck my face in only to see petrol dripping onto the hot exhuast!
IMO your issue sounds more electrical in nature I say this due to the fact the car was parked for so long before the fire.
Hope your insurance come through for you.
Many years ago I owned a VX Cavalier SRI 130 which at 70mph on the M8 developed a leak in the rubber fuel line which linked the copper under body line to the fuel injection, by poor design this rubber hose ran directly above the manifold to exhaust system joint. I nearly had kittens when I opened the bonnet and stuck my face in only to see petrol dripping onto the hot exhuast!
IMO your issue sounds more electrical in nature I say this due to the fact the car was parked for so long before the fire.
Hope your insurance come through for you.
OP
Dont take any crap on the insurance value
I had my E36 M3 written off around 7 years ago and the amount offered was 4k below what I expected
On their request I sent many examples from auto trader etc of similar vehicles (mileage, history, etc) but they still (after 2 letters) refused to up the offer
I then basically wrote a letter before action stating if the offer wasnt increased to the level I required within 2 weeks I would start legal action for breach of contract
2 days after them getting the letter, a nice cheque appeared
They will try it on, almost guaranteed
Dont take any crap on the insurance value
I had my E36 M3 written off around 7 years ago and the amount offered was 4k below what I expected
On their request I sent many examples from auto trader etc of similar vehicles (mileage, history, etc) but they still (after 2 letters) refused to up the offer
I then basically wrote a letter before action stating if the offer wasnt increased to the level I required within 2 weeks I would start legal action for breach of contract
2 days after them getting the letter, a nice cheque appeared
They will try it on, almost guaranteed
I had a similar thing happen to me about 14 years ago. It was a Vauxhall Astra car. It combusted with me in it. One minute I am driving along and the next smoke is pouring out of the vents. We called the fire brigade who put it out but the car was a real mess. The cause was a wiring fault, the car was only 3 years old but the insurance paid out in full.
Insurance companies are terrible, were going through a right episode with ours at the moment.
Chris
Insurance companies are terrible, were going through a right episode with ours at the moment.
Chris
Dont quote me on this one ,
I have had at least 2 chats in the past with customers of E46 M3 (smg) cars if think one was the customers own car went up in flames in a car park while he watched it happen sitting having a meal in a resturant and another was a friends car that went up on his drive .
Do remember both saying that its something to do with the smg relays or control valves (something like that anyway) sticking on after been for a drive and all turned of and locked up .
The relay or valves justs gets hotter and hotter until FIRE .
I am sure when i looked at buying a E46 M3 many years ago a dealer told me to make sure the smg relays have been changed ????
Maybe worth contacting the dealership for more information on such problems
Kelly
I have had at least 2 chats in the past with customers of E46 M3 (smg) cars if think one was the customers own car went up in flames in a car park while he watched it happen sitting having a meal in a resturant and another was a friends car that went up on his drive .
Do remember both saying that its something to do with the smg relays or control valves (something like that anyway) sticking on after been for a drive and all turned of and locked up .
The relay or valves justs gets hotter and hotter until FIRE .
I am sure when i looked at buying a E46 M3 many years ago a dealer told me to make sure the smg relays have been changed ????
Maybe worth contacting the dealership for more information on such problems
Kelly
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