Sad News - LDD fire

neilc

neilc

Member
Thought I'd post this as news will get round anyway. Last night waiting at Sunbury traffic light, there was a muffled pop from the engine bay and then a little smoke from under the bonnet. Within in a minute there was a major engine bay fire. Fire brigade were very prompt and managed to stop the whole car going up, but engine bay is burnt very badly, bonnett deformed, wings paint damaged. A few flames did get into the cabin so there are scorch marks on the carpet, damaged switch panesl as well as water damage from the fire brigade. Car had just been MOT'd Friday with no advisories and full service after (what was until yesterday) the fantastic new paint job completed only last week.

Up to now we don't know what caused it. It is now up to the insurance to investiage and decide if they will pay for rebuild or write-off. Hopefully will know more about the future of LDD by next week.

Neil

2
 
That's shocking and terrible news Neil, the car was looking so good! :(
Did you have time to inform your insurance company of the paintjob/higher value before it happened?
Was anyone hurt?
Jim
 
Sorry to hear that Neil.

My P6 is fitted with a decent sized double barrel holley, which required you to take off from a standing start with light throttle and then open her up. My brother was driving her one day and floored it off the lights only to have it back fire which caused the foam filter to light and then the bonnet insulation. Fortunately the damage wasn't as bad, but I'll be looking for a new bonnet on the rebuild.
 
Sad news. Hope you have more luck with your insurance co than I'm having with mine....

Rich.
 
Really sorry to hear the news about LDD. Thankfully no-one was hurt.

Hope you get a good response from your insurers. Remember the car belongs to you. Don't let them take it away!

Dave
 
Well, well gutted here. :(

The car has been recovered to our yard today, so won't be going anywhere. Where this goes from here will unfold in time. Awaiting insurance assessors. We will be doing a details quote to repair the car, if it's possible.

Cheers
Nick
 
I'm very sorry to hear of your car's misfortune! Particularly after so much hard work, and long term ownership, it must be heart-breaking to see this happen! I hope that you can convince the insurers that repair is the way forward, and that it can return to the road once again!
 
Who did the service and had you used it afterwards before it caught light ?
Hope this gets sorted out quickly and in your favour
Keep us posted as I spent my working life doing insurance claims of various types
 
Neil, that's terrible! I'm so sorry to hear that. Really hoping it's not a write-off.

Lesson to us all really - how quickly these things can occur. I think I'll be out checking every union and wiring connection this weekend. No guarantee it'll save me from the same fate, but you gotta do what you can i suppose....

Michael
 
Heartbreaking news Neil. I can only imagine how upset you must be. How long have you had your car?
Obvious first thought is that it might have been a fuel leak?
 
Sorry to hear this Neil, truly sorry for you. I hope that there is a speedy resolution and you can get it back on the road.
 
Sorry to hear the news Neil. Hope it gets sorted quickly and LDD can be salvaged. Fingers crossed here. I think it should be a warning for everyone here to check their cars over, and make sure there's a fire extinguisher on board.
Regards,
Dave
 
Thank you everyone for your sympathetic comments. Very much appreciated. Insurance assessor will be investigating on Tuesday, so will just have to wait until after then to find out more.

Neil
 
Remember that it's your car, it may well be a write off as far as the Ins Co are concerned, but that's no reason why it can't be repaired.
 
If they do write the car off and you keep the "salvage" you'll need to agree whether it is put on the total loss register
 
Latest update. Insurance have declared total write-off and have agreed to pay out as valued on policy. The b*****r is in the four days between picking it up from the resto and its demise, we hadnt completed the new valuation and got it updated on the policy, so its post repaint value is lost - in other words a repaint down the drain. The payout will be enough to replace with a pretty decent car though. The salvage is too high to make buying the wreck back sensible - I am better off using teh full payout to look for a replacement, rather than attempt a rebuild or parts swap on a cheaper car. Looking forward to posting more positive news about LDD''s successor soon.

Neil
 
That is a shame about not being able to claim for the repaint. I wonder if there is any way of presenting evidence to the insurance company that it had just been repainted? Did you have any pic's or could they get a statement from the company that did the work?

I suppose, on the bright side, at least they have agreed to pay up without mucking you around :) . Good luck finding another car.
 
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