I had been trying to find the smell and a guy looking to buy it had taken it on a test driven when the trunk went boom and then it caught fire and I guess we will wait for insurance to look. I had "antique" car insurance. Had the car towed home. Trunk is toasted and paint around trunk melted.

 

wow. sorry for this bad event. i wonder if it had something to do with the smell and your post a few back.

 

I have the car insured with classic car policy. Has anyone dealt with a policy like that? I wonder how it will go?

 

chiro05,
I am sorry to hear about this. I really do not know what else to say.
Good luck,
Jomo

 

That really sucks. Sorry for your loss.
At least everyone is ok. It could have been worse.

 

Sorry to hear of your fire.

When mine had a fire incident the insurance didn't cover for fire caused by electrical or mechanical failure or acts of terrorism!

Let's see the pics.... My car is nicknamed "Fireball"

 

sorry to hear about the fire i too know the feeling of watching a car burn, its not a good feeling, i hope the insurance company at least makes things right for you.

 

If they find out that you posted here about a fuel smell in the trunk, then you may be out of luck... If you smell gas, then it should not be driven until repaired. Sorry, but that is the truth. Sorry about your car...

 

I also HAD a gas smell in the trunk. I replaced the tank level sending unit gasket ( $5 ) and the smell reduced but still there. I then checked the line clamps. Every one was loose. I replaced all of them and made sure they were tight. The total cost was less than $10 and a couple hours. The smell is gone BUT the fire extinguisher is making it's way from the trunk to passengers compartment. I intend to make a place for it in front of the drivers seat for quick accessibility. YOUR LOSS IS HEART BREAKING! My car is never going to be worth what I have in it, still for me it's priceless. At least you are not so attached to it as you were selling it anyway. Wonder will get another?

 

Clarke:


Wow, insurance in Oz is a lot different. How the heck do they define an act of terrorism?
And, are not car fires caused by electrical or mechanical failure? God like, the big print giveth and the small print taketh away!!! What do you get for your money???


From time to time, the Kooks in nearby San Francisco exhibit their ire with whatever by torching buildings and cars. Latest is a series of torched cars. Well, in our insurance, there is no question as to covered under the "comprehensive" insuring agreement, if they chose to buy it. And if the car is financed as most are, the lender requires it.


Battery and gas tank in the same compartment!!! Wow.


Carl

 

While I was sorry to hear about your Car, the Accident has brought up some Interesting points

Your Car was obviously Insured but was it only 'Third Party' or Fully Comp including Fire and Theft.

Was it Insured to be driven by any other Driver or just You?

Did the Guy who Test Drove your Car have his 'Own Insurance' that allowed him to drive your Car on his own Insurance Policy?

Even if he did so, when someone drives your Car, it is usually 'Third Party' Only, so it wouldn't cover the Cost of repairs to your Car.

Were you with him on the 'Test Drive' or did he go out on his own?

Lets suppose it wasn't a 'Fire' Suppose he had driven your Car and written it off!

Maybe because he just wasn't used to the Sling Shot Acceleration of the V12 or maybe he'd never driven an Automatic.

In which case he may have hit the Brakes while thinking it was the Clutch and come to an unexpected sudden stop and got 'rear ended'

This sort of thing can happen to anyone selling their Car and leave everybody wondering 'Who's Claim is it anyway?

I'm hoping fellow members will Chime in on this but since it was 'He' who was driving your Car, then it could be argued, that it was 'He' who should pick up the Tab.

Or in any event 'Buy The Car' from you.

This is exactly what happened to me, when someone took a Car I had For Sale on a 'Test Drive' (Thankfully not an XJS) but it was quite a new Car.

I was in the Passenger Seat, when someone had decided to pull out of a side road, right in front of us, at which point he piled right into it and in doing so wrote my Car off.

Had I been driving the Car myself, then the Accident may not have happened, as I was more familiar with driving that Car and think I would have been able to either brake a bit quicker or sweve to avoid it.

While we would never know the Answer, it was 'Him' that had the Accident, rather than myself and in my View it wasn't right for 'Him' to walk away and as such leave me to pick up the pieces (literally!)

As such before the 'Test Drive' I got him to sign an Agreement that in the event of an Accident, howsoever caused or which ever party at fault, then he would be obliged to buy the Car at my asking price.

He wasn't keen to sign it I can tell you but if he wanted to Test Drive my Car, then those were my Conditions, so he did.

In the Spirit of fairness and to seal the deal there and then, I offered him a discount if he paid up straight away, which would not have been the Case if it had been my XJS instead of a normal Car.

While I don't mean to 'Hijack' Your Thread (and will delete my comments if you wish) It may be interesting to see what others make out of your unfortunate Situation.

Which could prevent a similar occurence to someone else.

 

Adjuster looked today. Should have estimate soon and know if it was totaled out or not. Sorry, but that's the truth!!!

 

That sounds positive Chiro,
Adjuster didn't say 'sorry mate it's not covered'

Keep us up to date please,interested in the outcome.

 

it sounds to me like you got your xjs sold just not in the way you intended. unfortunately without seeing pictures it sounds to me like they will probably consider it a total loss. if the fire was hot enough inside the trunk to melt the paint on the outside. paint/body work electrical ect interior will add up quickly

 

Man, O, Man, so sorry

 

I had a Nissan 300ZX TT insured with Hagerty Classic insurance...While I was in Connecticut picking up some parts for my Jaguar coupe a news worthy wind storm came through the north east. A tree fell on the Nissan and crushed it. The car should have been in a garage but they paid me every cent I had it insured for and did so quickly. I bought the car back form the insurance company for 400$. After cutting the tree off the car piece by piece... It still ran and drove and I sold it on for $3500.00 I'm a Hagerty customer for life...their magazine is great too and usually features articles form Jay Leno and / or Wayne Carini.

 

He was very nice and actually was very helpful. He was familiar with these cars. Fingers crossed that I may come out ok on

 

Orange blossom:


I retired from insurance claims after a fifty year career. auto claims were never my favorite, but, I had to do some.


A lot of things come to play in the points you and others make .


1. Two policies may apply. So, which is primary, the owner's or the driver's? By some inter company agreements, it is the one that describes the policy, ie, the owner's.


2. Now, suppose the owner's policy does not cover the car and the driver's policy does include material damage and "drive other cars" cover. Then, indeed, the driver's policy applies.


3. Neither policy insures material damage. Now, we go to the common laws of bailment and negligence tort law!! I'll stop here as that is along tale.


Carl

 

Something else to consider

I know of an instance when a fire claim was settled the individual was lowballed and the adjuster's reason was we are not responsible for fixing what caused the fire, we just owe for damages caused by the fire.

Fire was in vicinity of electric seats on Volvo 780 bertone coupe the adjuster refused to pay for any electronics in the area of the seats.

Complaint to the insurance commissioner did no good they reinforced the adjuster's reasoning. This was a claim against the owners comprehensive policy

 

Wayne:


That isn't a "low ball". It is an entirely correct application of the policy.


A "low ball" would be a cheap and inadequate amount to fix the properly covered damages.


Let's say the electric power seat shorted. No fire resulted. No cover for the electrical failure, and no damage by fire to consider!!


It isn't a maintenance policy or electrical mechanical warranty. those are available and are not insurance.


I have qualms as to those.


Way back when, a GI 2/12 hit my poor MG TD. Insurance fixed it, minus a busted spark plug!! That less than informed adjuster deemed that plug an electrical failure??? At the time, I was not in claims and lacked the knowledge to challenge him. And, it wasn't worth the effort anyway. And, the army claim commission declinned my claim against it because the German employee in a GI 2 1/2 drove out of a lot and hit me in a roadway! Even on a Second Lieutenant's pay, I covered the spark plug and deductible and didn't have the time or inclination to challenge.


Carl