Any advice greatly appreciated……
I have a 1997 Freelander 1.8 XEi with fsh, 70k miles and have owned it for about 6 months. Driving home from work, on the motorway, the car started to hesitate and very quickly lost power such that I had to pull onto the hard shoulder. As I got out of the car to check under the bonnet I saw small flames coming out from the side of the bonnet.
Three seconds later a major fire started and engulfed the whole front of the car. Within 3 mins the car was destroyed.
My insurance company now tells me that I cannot claim as it was a “mechanical” defect that caused the fire rather than an accident – so my fully comprehensive policy is not worth the paper it’s written on. I have lost thousands through no fault of my own.
My only hope of recouping some money is to try and claim from the manufacturer in the hope that the fire was caused by a known problem or defect with this vehicle. Can anyone please advise if there is a history of such problems or any recalls of components that may have contributed to this.
Many Thanks

 

Tell us where you are in the world, so we can give better comment on your insurance.

With regard to a fire, it is not a known common fault but when you think about it, any car could go up in smoke anytime, after all you have lots of electrical cable laid all over the place which can rub against any body/engine part by accident. You have lots of sparks and highly explosive fuel everywhere, plus lots of heat.

With regard to your insurance, at least in the UK I have not heard the excuse that they have given before, I think you have been given a bum streer, which you should have challenged straight away. Comprehensive insurance is suppose to be just that, fully comprehensive for any damaged caused to your vehicle or others, what ever the cause. (though terrorist action is excluded these days...) I have had problems with insurance companies in the past, it is standard policy by them to come up with an excuse to either a) get out of paying or b) offer a reduced payout.
Get yourself some legal advice ASAP regarding the insurance, find a solicitor/lawyer with motor trade experiance and see what they say, but I suspect you should be able to get your money out of them.