Damn, sorry to see your car in that condition. Sure glad you were not injured and best of luck getting the insurance company to give you more as a settlement.

 

Time to lawyer up.
The shop would have a difficult time proving they did't screw something up, considering the time frame.

 

If you say so buddy. I'm done arguing with people on this board.

 

If you are using a canister oil filter, which you would be with stock oil set up, BE SURE TO CHECK THE GASKET ON THE OLD FILTER WHEN IT IS REMOVED TO MAKE SURE IT IS STILL ATTACHED TO THE FILTER. If it's not it is still in the groove that the gasket sets in when a filter is installed. Then inspect the new filter when it is in place and the engine is running to insure proper fit. The gaskets sometimes (though rarely) don't come out when the filter is removed. If the new filter is screwed on over the old gasket, it will not seal properly and oil will squirt out all over. This may have been the cause of the fire. If the filter is still somewhat intact on the motor, it could removed be determined if the old gasket was still there. Good Luck

 

Oh..... that hurts me so deep.

How could the shop possibly know it was electrical? Did they even send someone out to look at it?

 

Thanks for all the replies.

Here is some more information: They de-greased the engine just before I left with the car - but the degreaser is allegedly a water-based one and they claim never to have had a problem with it. The fire was intense on the side by the battery, but the first paint popped (while I was driving) about 18 inches forward of the windshield and just to the right of center - hmmmm about where the oil cap is. The part of the hood that is no longer there was sprayed across the street and on to some poor person's front yard by the firefighters and their water cannons. The chief said that they used about 5 times more water than a normal car fire.

If the fire started underneath the car - I think there is more space on right side for it to come up than on the left side. Also, probably more flammable stuff on the right? The brakes are on the left..

My insurance didn't want to call the shop at all. I had to force that issue. The fire report says cause is undetermined, so the shop's insurance won't cover. Allegedly both ins. cos. had people come out and take a look. My insurance company won't do a cause and origin because they are expensive. The first estimate for a C&O is about 2500. So I may roll the dice to find out why - if the shop is at fault I have no problem taking them on (Patent attorney by profession). But if they didn't cause it, then they shouldn't have to pay.

The car was a 97 with 55K miles and about 15K in modifications by a previous owner (the car is on Eckler's blog page). Ins co. wants to pay about 15K - which is about 6-7K short in my mind - based on other cars I have seen available here. They don't want to pay for any of the modifications.

I have an agreed upon value policy for my Callaway Twin Turbo - not playing those games with that car,

 

Have you looked under the car, and inspected the oil filter?
What's still there?

 

Not yet - it is sitting at Geico's lot.

 

Ok? Nobody is arguing, I'm just saying without having actual tangible proof other then having his car there then the issue happening shortly after is not an argument a judge is going to care to hear.

 

Well, Given that there were no intervening events between having the service done and the fire, then the burden of proof may shift - after driving away and the car catching on fire, ipso facto the garage is at fault.

But again, there may be other reasons - which is why I would really like to know.

 

you might want to consider hiring your own private insurance adjuster, cheaper than a lawyer, and helped me when my company wanted to short me on a loss.

I was advised how to refuse an offer, the form matters in court, but the main help was pointing out that my car was a sport model , and could not be replaced within 25 miles of my location for the offered money. Offered 6 thousand, settled for 12.5, it was fair.

 

I have to play devils advocate. If the shop is found to have caused the fire after you pay a ton of money to hire the expert, then what? The shop buys insurance just like you do. That insurance will then be charged with the responsibility to make you whole. Making you whole means paying you the actual value of the vehicle before the fire. They may or may not think car is worth the same as your own company does or even less. At that point, you are right back to the same scenario.

I would give little credence to any theory the shop is going to be penalized for their mistake (if they actually caused it), and pay more than actual value of the damage. From a lot of experience with similar situations from the business side of the matter, commercial insurance companies can be harder to deal with than your own. I would suggest you are going to be many dollars ahead trying to settle with your own company. Unless you are able to pull out very recent receipts showing a lot more spent on the car than the offer, you have an up hill problem. How long ago did you buy it and what did you pay when you bought it?

 

Yup!

Best to settle with his own insurance on this, not worth out of pocket expenses and headache only to get marginally ahead. No doubt the whole thing sucks, but it's all about what will be agreed upon with his insurance.

 

Of course they arent going to pay for mods. You didnt contract for that. A highly modded (over 10k in mods) car should have an agreed value policy like your turbo.

 

The valuation of the shop owner just before I left with the car is where I get the valuation, which is about the same as the value of '97 with 55K and half the cost of the mods (which is about 6K). I am not looking to penalize anyone - I just want the fair market value of the car, which was totaled by the fire. I bought the car a little over a year ago and the price I paid is irrelevant to the valuation (I got a great deal on the car). But the offer is less than what I paid for it.

 

When you said plug wires were changed, I thought maybe they screwed something up with one or more of the coils.

Can't relate that to the brake thing really unless it messed electrically with the EBCM.

 

You want fair market value, 15k is more than fair for a 97 with 55k miles, C5 values are pretty bad right now. You would be lucky to get 12k on a private sale

 

Of course what you paid for it is relevant. It reflects the last associated price arrived at by a willing seller and a willing buyer of your particular vehicle. Once it is totaled, everybody got a "steal" at purchase and insurance people are little impressed. If you can prove a substantial upgrade in the vehicle at a substantial cost since your purchase, then you have an argument.

I am on your side and hope you get a fortune. My point is simply that as a person who watches the value very closely on C5's, you will be hard pressed to raise the offer to the level you are hoping for. I don't think spending a couple thousand dollars hiring an analysis done as to ascertain fault is going to help a lot in the long run.

 

the brakes could just loss of vacuum assist ????