My Corsa 1.0 Life lost it's life last week! It burst into flames whilst stationary, 15 mins after being driven. Is written off as is the car infront. The car has been examined by insurance company, strongly indicating electrical fault they say.
Deep breath...firstly, am having real difficulty in obtaining report from insurers re the inspection. The car is still under warranty. Have been in touch with manufacturers who say they cannot do anything until they rececive a copy of report, but insurers now say they can't forward as is a private document and manufacturers say for them to inspect the car I would need to pay for it to be delivered to dealership but they won't consider this until they have seen a copy of the report!
Is anyone aware of similar problems with this car?
I was told by manufacturers that all Corsas from this year need replacecment ECU's which the dealerships provide free under the warranty - would this have had anything to do with the explosion and fire or is that impossible to say?
Also, insurers said I would have to provide evidence car had been serviced by dealership for claim to be valid. I thought this was now illegal and is fine providing genuine Vauxhall parts are used or is that more a warranty issue with manufactuers rather than insurers?
I am without a hire car whilst the claim is being investigated. Both insurers and Manufacturers will not provide me with one!
Any suggestions on all counts shall be greatly welcomed
Cheers Moog
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www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/apps/recalls/searches/search....p
gives details of corsa recall on fire risk,look your vin no against the list,the fire service would have a written record of the incident
it would be worth your while having the car inspected by an independant engineer so nothing can be covered up
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i agree with defender there is even a section on this site in the car by car breakdown section that mentions fires on 1.0 corsa"s
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\"a little man in a big world/\"
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have had a scout through the 'car by car' section on here and found a few bits that may be useful Ta
Moog
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Cheers for this - will check out site. Did wonder re having car inspected by independant engineer, just worried about the cost of getting the car moved from where it is now and additional costs of an engineer. Wouldn't expect it to be free, just totally strapped for cash at the moment and v.stressed/frustrated by the lack of help and lack of speed insurers are going at - don't know if I can add to all that at moment...just about keeping my head above water
Cheers
Moog
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If the fire service were in attendance then the officer in gharge will have written a fire report and that fire report will have come to a conclusion as to the most likely or probable cause of fire your insurance company will pay for this or if you know what station and the watch on duty that day contact the gay and get in touch with your insurance company armed with this information good luck
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Fire report on way thanks for suggesting this, seems obvious ut hadn't thought about it - apparently these reports usually cost £50 on request but fee now being reviewed by fire service to look at providing free reports.
Cheers
Moog
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The recall mentions fire in the ABS wiring. I don't think a 2003 1.0 litre Life will have ABS. We have a 2002 1.0 litre Life and looking at our VIN number & the affected VIN range on the website it is way afer ours was built at the end of 2002.
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I dont see what the problem is here. The car caught fire. Its dead. Its insured. The insurance company pay out.
Is this not the case?
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Its insured. The insurance company pay out. Is this not the case?
Car is under warranty. I guess if Moog can prove there was a fault with the car that is covered by the warranty, he will in turn attempt to claim compensation from the warranty, rather than through his insurance.
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Car is under warranty. I guess if Moog can prove there was a fault with the car that is covered by the warranty, he will in turn attempt to claim compensation from the warranty, rather than through his insurance.
What's the warranty got to do with it? Is there a section that covers 'car bursting into flames'?
If there is a proveable fault in the car, then whether it's under warranty or not would be irrelevant.
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The insurance company would then get their money back from the manufacturer if there is a fault.
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I agree with TVM. You are insured for fire so get your insurer to get their finger out. Say you will be hiring a car at their expense if they haven't come up with a courtesy car by now. They can claim their costs back off of Vauxhall if it is an inherent fault but that isn't your problem.
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Cheers for comments - still chasing Vauxhall and Churchills. Neither will provide a courtesy car - Churchills say its not written in its policy for cars written off (but can't find this anywhere in my copy of policy) - Vauxhall said they would provide one if they had in writing the car was faulty - both say they will not reimburse me should I fork out for a hire car in the mean time - even if armed with evidence of electrical fault in writing. Ridiculous!
Will get in touch with fire crew who attended incident - have the details and named person - so thanks for that Firespotter.
Don't think I should be responsible for insurance premiums shooting through the roof or be liable to pay remainder of annual premiums left owing on current policy for what appears to point towards a manufacturing fault. The frustration now is not having any wheels, not being in a position to hire a car and Churchills giving me different information and no one confirming Churchill's paying out or not - different person each I time I call, unable to speak to someone I request nor have I been able to speak to a manager. Is rubbish.
Cheers again for comments and useful links/advice
Moog
oh, Corsa (2003) does have ABS in response to comments re this
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Suggest you phone HO and complain directly to Mr Quinton that his website's boast of Customer Service is in your case not being met...
Churchill Insurance Company Limited Churchill Court, Westmoreland Road, Bromley
London
BR1 1DP, United KingdomPhone: +44-20-8313-3030
Fax: +44-20-8285-8846
uk.churchill.com
Mike Quinton - Managing Director
madf
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Most certainly will be!.....Ahhhhhh....Yes!.....as the advert boasts!.....ooooooohhhhhh no!!.....I say!
Moog
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Moog, whilst I understand your frustration toward your insurance company, please refrain from making further negative remarks about them as you are bordering on infringing the rules of this site.
Thanking you in advance. DD.
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The policy on replacement cars clearly states they will only provide one in the event of the car being repaired at one of it's approved centres. As your vehicle is beyond repair you are unable to satisfy this requirement so will not get a courtesy car.
Don't even consider stopping payment of your insurance payments, this will cause even more grief. You bought an annual policy with the flexibility of paying monthly - you did not buy a monthly policy. All payments for the year have to be made.
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Ta for this - still cannot find anything in policy to state if car written off no courtesy car will be provided? Should be in writing if that's the case.
Re stopping payment of insurance installments - haven't cancelled DD, however, my earlier point was regarding the fault with the car i.e. something I would have thought was down to the manufacturers responsibility to investigate etc. My contention being, not wanting to continue to pay for premiums for something that is clearly a manufacturing defect and I most deffinitely shall be changing insurance companies after this so wouldn't want to be paying for 2 sets of insurance, again for something that is no fault of my own.
Had I had a crash for example would totally understand the requirement to continue monthly payments on the premium, of course, goes without saying and for the reasons you highlighted. Is tricky and frustrating!
Do you know where I can find it written that a courtesy car is 'ONLY PROVIDED' in the event of the car being repaired? And that no car is given for a write off? I have just found info re a courtesy car whilst car being repaired. Perhaps I've missed it? Don't know.
Cheers
Moog
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I think it is a common practice among insurers to provide a courtesy car only while your vehicle is being repaired; once it is declared a write off, your only remedy is to chase them up to pay out. (I found this out some years back when I had a car written off for minor vandal damage - the small print on the policy should clarify
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Ta for this - still cannot find anything in policy to state if car written off no courtesy car will be provided?
Moog,
Found this on your insurers website:-
uk3.churchill.com/general/site_help/car_faq.htm#21
Will I be supplied with a courtesy car while my car is being repaired?
If your vehicle is damaged as a result of a claim that is covered by your policy, providing you are using one of our recommended repairers to repair your vehicle, we will offer you a courtesy car for the duration of the repairs. If your vehicle is stolen and not recovered or damaged beyond economical repair, we are unable to provide a courtesy car but will settle your claim as quickly as possible.
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Ta v.much DD - this is useful and clarifies stuff
Moog
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In the event of a write off no insurance company provides a courtesy car.
AT the moment its written off the insurance companies responsibility is just limited to paying you out.
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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"In the event of a write off no insurance company provides a courtesy car."
Zurich Car Solutions - "If your car is stolen and not recovered, or written off as a result of loss or damage covered by this policy, we will provide you with a courtesy car for five days."
Lesson: Cheap insurance is cheap for a reason.
Chris M
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5 days is really handy.............
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TourVanMan TM < Ex RF >
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Cheers Chris, a work colleague mentioned Zurich this week re car and home insurance. A courtesy car for 5 days would have been v.handy after the death of my corsa. I've also learnt Direct Line provide a courtesy car too in the event of a write off.
Moog
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Fingers crossed things look like they're moving. Received letter form insurers this morning with settlement offer, which is suprisingly good price. Still the issue re manufacturers warranty vs insurance but I guess that can be sorted at a later date if need be.
The letter states 'salvage category B has been placed on the vehicle' - does anyone know what this means?
Cheers for all the feedback
Moog
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"fit for breaking only not to go back on the road "any decent insurer tracks the car to the end of life centre(scrap yard) and insist on photograpghs of the stripped bare shell prior to crushing to ascertain it has indeed been broken.
Your insurer is one of these companies and will arrange for a salvage operator to dispose of the vehicle very quickly,make sure you have no belongings in it that you want and dont forget to weigh the tax disc in and advise dvla that the vehicle has been transfered to the "named" insurance company.Do not depend on the insurance company to do this for you as they do sometimes make errors at customers expense.
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\"a little man in a big world/\"
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Cheers for this oldman - wanted to retrieve the spare tyre in the boot -forgot to remove it and worth a few quid. Will get on to them after the Easter break.
Moog
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Cheers for this oldman - wanted to retrieve the spare tyre in the boot -forgot to remove it and worth a few quid.
You are of course aware that it now belongs to the insurance company and what you've done equates to theft?
Unless of course you've informed the insurance company and they'll adjust the settlement accordingly.
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Not done anything! - said I 'wanted to retrieve spare tyre'
I received a letter from insurers on saturday (14th April)stating:
'The vehicle will remain your property until the settlement cheque has been dispatched................please contact the garage currently holding your vehicle to arrange for the removal of any personal items'
I have not retrieved the tyre but it appears I have up to 14 days to do so according to the letter.
Moog
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Be careful. It might sound trivial but as Dave says, that isn't really a personal item. It's part of the car.
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ok...but if they say the car remains to be my property over the next 14 days shouldn't that mean I am free to re-claim parts of it? Probably best to double check as you and DD say - don't want to further complicate things!
Moog
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ok...but if they say the car remains to be my property over the next 14 days shouldn't that mean I am free to re-claim parts of it?
Only items that you have fitted or bought yourself can be removed. If you paid for the spare wheel yourself, then it is your property. If the spare wheel was with the car when you bought it, then it is NOT a personal possession - it is part of the car.
Similarly if you changed the factory fit stereo for one of your own liking, then you can remove the one you fitted and put the factory fit one back in. This is providing of course that the assessment done by your insurance company when they priced up what your car was worth DOES NOT include the stereo that you fitted.
Personal possessions normally only refer to things like cassettes, CD's, tools, torches, and any other nick nacks you've squirreled away in the glove box, boot, central console, and door bins.
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Cheers - haven't retrieved wheel or contacted insurers about it.
Now looking for new wheels, energies best put into that I reckon - you're right with what you said.
Thanks v.much
Moog
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Do you know where I can find it written that a courtesy car is 'ONLY PROVIDED' in the event of the car being repaired? And that no car is given for a write off? I have just found info re a courtesy car whilst car being repaired. Perhaps I've missed it? Don't know.
In addition to DD's comments, you'll probably find the policy tells you what you're covered for, not what you're not covered for.
So it'll have the info on courtesy car while being repaired, but if it doesn't mention CC after write off, then you won't get one.
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There is now a recall for 217,374 Vauxhall Corsa/Tigra/Combo vehicles as 'water ingress into ABS wiring could cause fires';
The VOSA website has VIN numbers
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"water ingress into ABS wiring could cause fires';
The VOSA website has VIN numbers"
Didn't we say that last Sunday?
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