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Can this be repaired? Do I really want this repaired?
Out for a topless ride, the dash lit up like Christmas and she went dead. I pulled over and smelled wires burning. Opened the hood and saw flames. I don’t know what happened, but I’m hopeful this isn’t a total loss. Too few of these are left in my opinion!
Last edited by SpinningWheels; Sep 26, 2021 at 06:08 PM.
I’m curious if insurance will try but having fixed both a fire car and a car that had rats eat out a lot of wiring off the main harness; I wouldn’t be interested in doing it again unless the price were really low for the car.
Wow, that is a rare event for our X150. I went through this exact scenario with a different brand. I have have been with my company for 25 years and have had company cars until recently. Back in the early 2000's I had several of the Ford Taurus (great car), but one was all of 8,000 miles when I pulled up to a customer site and black smoke was pouring from under the hood. It was so dark I just thought I had sprung an oil leak on to the hot engine. Pulled into the visitor parking spot and popped the hood real quick to take a glance, I was greeted with the same, flames. Kinda freaked, closed the hood like it would make it go away, but realized it was still burning. Ran inside the warehouse I was visiting and asked if they had a fire extinguisher, the GM grabbed it and we popped it open and suppressed the fire. Like you there was significant engine compartment damage, burnt plastic and wires, some hood warpage.
So here is the sucky part after I had it towed to the local dealer. I am thinking this is a warranty issue, but they made me file an insurance claim. OK, ain't my insurance as the company owns the car, but it was weird. I was bitching that it was a vehicle issue, they were acting like it was the result of an accident. I kept telling them it is a car with 8,000 miles that spontaneously ignited without any accident, WTF. After 3 months of me fighting them and the insurance company investigating they repaired it as an insurance claim, not a warranty, and put me back on the road with that car. I was reluctant, damn thing caught fire after all, but never had another issue for the 50,000 miles and year and a half I had it after the fire repair. There was a full investigation, a specialist tried to find the source of the fire, but alas they never determined the cause.
In the end the car was repaired via insurance claim and never had another problem, at least during my tenure. But it was always in the back of my mind that **** would catch fire again.
Anything can be repaired, replace every single damaged component. The question’s what insurance will do. If you want it repaired, you can do your best to push them that way or it may be a write off, based on the numbers.
Looked like an electrical fire . Cause can be mice eating the wires then a short. The problem would be having to replace the harness which looks like the main engine harness. How the insurance places a value on the car will determine if it is totaled but being it is older then 10 years and the repair would be somewhere between 8 -10 K I don't hold out hope . See if you can work with the insurance company and hopefully they will pay for the repair. Good luck.
Wow, that is a rare event for our X150. I went through this exact scenario with a different brand. I have have been with my company for 25 years and have had company cars until recently. Back in the early 2000's I had several of the Ford Taurus (great car), but one was all of 8,000 miles when I pulled up to a customer site and black smoke was pouring from under the hood. It was so dark I just thought I had sprung an oil leak on to the hot engine. Pulled into the visitor parking spot and popped the hood real quick to take a glance, I was greeted with the same, flames. Kinda freaked, closed the hood like it would make it go away, but realized it was still burning. Ran inside the warehouse I was visiting and asked if they had a fire extinguisher, the GM grabbed it and we popped it open and suppressed the fire. Like you there was significant engine compartment damage, burnt plastic and wires, some hood warpage.
So here is the sucky part after I had it towed to the local dealer. I am thinking this is a warranty issue, but they made me file an insurance claim. OK, ain't my insurance as the company owns the car, but it was weird. I was bitching that it was a vehicle issue, they were acting like it was the result of an accident. I kept telling them it is a car with 8,000 miles that spontaneously ignited without any accident, WTF. After 3 months of me fighting them and the insurance company investigating they repaired it as an insurance claim, not a warranty, and put me back on the road with that car. I was reluctant, damn thing caught fire after all, but never had another issue for the 50,000 miles and year and a half I had it after the fire repair. There was a full investigation, a specialist tried to find the source of the fire, but alas they never determined the cause.
In the end the car was repaired via insurance claim and never had another problem, at least during my tenure. But it was always in the back of my mind that **** would catch fire again.
Glad your story ended so happily. Hope this one ends quite similarly!
Oh man, that’s freakin’ scary.
How long did it burn, and how did you put it out?
After opening the hood and seeing the flames, the fire may have burned for a few minutes…never going full bore. I ran down to the Publix a few hundred yards away and coaxed an extinguisher from the asst. manager. I was really miffed how reluctant he was to allow me to use it.
Oh man, that’s freakin’ scary.
How long did it burn, and how did you put it out?
After opening the hood and seeing the flames, the fire may have burned for a few minutes…never going full bore. I ran down to the Publix a few hundred yards away and coaxed an extinguisher from the asst. manager. I was really miffed how reluctant he was to allow me to use it.
At the time as I was wrestling with the insurance company and they couldn't determine the cause of the fire I regretted putting it out, if I would have let it burn to the ground I would have gotten a new car. In hindsight it worked out, but I was not terribly enthused with taking the car back without knowing a cause.
Good luck, like has been said it can be fixed and definitely is not a prevalent problem with these cars to catch fire. As it was mentioned it will be interesting to see what the insurance company comes back with, especially with used vehicles being higher in value they would fix and not total.
Anything can be repaired, replace every single damaged component. The question’s what insurance will do. If you want it repaired, you can do your best to push them that way or it may be a write off, based on the numbers.
Note that the cost of the main wiring harness is over $1,000 delivered with tax, and that's just the beginning. There could be a lot more to replace and repaint, such as the hood and other rubber and plastic pieces in the engine compartment.
According to Kelly Blue Book, a silver 2011 XKR convertible in Tanpa in excellent, like new condition with 60,000 miles (my assumptions) is worth upwards of $27K.
Your insurance company will declare your XKR to be a total loss if they determine that the cost of repairs plus the salvage value of your XKR is more than what it's worth - the actual cash value.
Assuming my numbers are accurate, my WAG is that your XKR won't be totalled. To be continued ...
Last edited by Stuart S; Sep 27, 2021 at 10:36 AM.
Reason: Added KBB screenshot
... Your insurance company will declare your XKR to be a total loss if they determine that the cost of repairs plus the salvage value of your XKR is more than what it's worth - the actual cash value. ...
Originally Posted by Kongo1
When mine was being assessed after impact with a deer I thought they told me that it would be a total loss if repairs reached 75% of book value??
Were saying the same thing, assuming that book value is the same as actual cash value. What do you call the difference between 75% and 100% of book value? Salvage value - the value of the parts that are still useable.
Each state has different rules regarding percentage of ACV, in Florida it is 80% of ACV or greater....not likely the repair cost will exceed this and with values on the rise, likely more and more cars will be repaired rather than written off.
Very, very sorry to hear of this. Very glad you came out unscathed.
NTB, I'm buying a fire extinguisher and mounting it ... not in the trunk as it relies in electronics to open it. but in rear passenger compartment behind the driver's seat.
Note that the cost of the main wiring harness is over $1,000 delivered with tax, and that's just the beginning. There could be a lot more to replace and repaint, such as the hood and other rubber and plastic pieces in the engine compartment.
According to Kelly Blue Book, a silver 2011 XKR convertible in Tanpa in excellent, like new condition with 60,000 miles (my assumptions) is worth upwards of $27K.
Your insurance company will declare your XKR to be a total loss if they determine that the cost of repairs plus the salvage value of your XKR is more than what it's worth - the actual cash value.
Assuming my numbers are accurate, my WAG is that your XKR won't be totalled. To be continued ...
The repair facility is saying that the fire damaged the engine and that it will need to be replaced, along with harnesses and some other components. That likely reduces the odds of me getting her back I imagine? Anyone know of one for sale?
Small fore damage! 😩
