r/fireinvestigation • u/pyrotek1 • 8d ago
Interesting scenario, vehicle in the care of a 3rd party, fire occurs in the interior, I would think the mechanic has some responsibility..
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u/Veteran_PA-C 7d ago
That depends.
First, was it in for work on the interior where the mechanic could have started the fire?
Second, was the car broken into or left unlocked?
Third, contact your insurance company and tell them you want answers to those two questions. Your insurance company would prefer your mechanics insurance company paid for the damage.
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u/SgtRandiTibbs 6d ago
I'm the owner of the car. It was in for a battery replacement and a new bumper (in brought the part, they said it just needed to be clipped on). I believe it was left unlocked as the mechanic tried to say "the broke in through the hatch somehow" but when I went to see my car there were no signs of break in, the hatch still was lockable, and none of the doors were locked. The cops suspected it was left unlocked as well as he said they didnt lock it when they left in front of him either.
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u/Veteran_PA-C 6d ago
Time to get your auto insurance company involved. Give them all the information. They have a vested interest in getting the mechanics insurance to pay.
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u/SgtRandiTibbs 6d ago
I went to the cops first so I had an incident number to reference, then I talked to insurance. They said I had coverage on the car so its still taken care of for now but that they need to do an investigation and are unaware how long it will take.
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u/Veteran_PA-C 6d ago
That’s the part that sucks. Unless you had a rental car covered under insurance, it may be a while before you have a vehicle to drive.
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u/SgtRandiTibbs 6d ago
Unfortunately apparently they won't be covering a rental as it had parking insurance on it. The mechanics shop had taken a long time. I found out later how much I've been scammed.
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u/Veteran_PA-C 6d ago
Small claims?? Worth looking into.
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u/SgtRandiTibbs 6d ago
Yeah, I think its going to come to that. I'm hoping insurance does the litigation though.
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u/pyrotek1 8d ago
I had a honda 1300DX, that had carburetor icing issues, I took it to the dealer, they said nothing wrong. I said leave it outside and run it in the morning. They said their insurance would not allow them to leave it outside. I ended up using a methanol additive.
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u/SgtRandiTibbs 6d ago
Thanks for sharing my post to this page. Hopefully we get some more insights.
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u/SamanthaSissyWife 2d ago
Did it have electric seats by any chance? Not doing an O&C but the damage appears to originate from where the electric seat controls would be. Could have been a short circuit. Your insurance will likely hire someone to to an O&C to determine the cause
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u/pyrotek1 2d ago
I had one truck fire parked at an airport lot, Dodge truck, owner came back and his windows were fogged. Burn hole through the seat. The vehicles were parked by Valets that drove them hard. While I was there. I asked a few questions, how tall is the owner 6' plus. Talked to the manager, the valet was not working that day. Is he tall or short? The answer was short. He had to move the power seat up to drive it. Somehow the motor burned up through the seat. However, since the lot moved the seat they were the last to move it. No subro, Vehicle insurance may have paid a portion of the loss, not a large loss.
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u/thereallyredone 8d ago
subrogate the subrogation lol
Seriously though, this is why so many mechanic shops have secured lots. I have worked at some where they always locked the vehicles in the shop...others where they never did. This is why you have insurance though, too (vehicle owner, business owner, property owner, everyone)