[deepcdc]

Horrible Horrible story of me getting a frantic call from my society guard 5am Monday morning.

I was attending a wedding in Delhi, the car was parked in my society (Greater Noida) in the designated car spot.

"Sir aapke gaadi mein aag lag gayi hai"

I asked him which car and how(wrong person to ask the question at that time)

"Kaali wali" he said

Frantically drove across Delhi to see the bonnet all burnt up and ashes all around, the car was covered with powder from the extinguishers.

I asked the people around what happened and they told me the guard saw smoke coming from the car and then it caught fire. They call the fire station ; The fire marshal doused the fire and broke open the bonnet and the windscreen to make sure the smoke doesn't form inside and leads to a blast.

Called up Silver Arrows and asked them to come and see what had happened. I've never had an accident of this sort ; Rather never had an accident altogether so did not know what to do.

They asked me to fill a 4 page form and email it with the FIR and fire report ; Apparently without that, they cannot tow the vehicle.

As I was talking to them, the car flamed up again. This time from the top left of the bonnet ; Possibly the aux battery malfunctioning. Managed to douse it again. I thought about it and then disconnected the main battery wires. Thankfully it is in the boot of the vehicle.

I had drove it two days back and everything seemed good (no warning signs). I'm still waiting for the Merc guys to come and pick it up and then tell me what happened. On being asked, he told me to estimate 25L for damages. Did not know if the insurance would cover it or not.

It was a used car that we had bought from a trusted friend who had impeccable service history for the car.

No matter the fault in the car, I did not expect a safely parked Mercedes to just go up in flames.


The pictures are disheartening

[vigsom]

Extremely sorry to hear this @deepcdc.

I don't want to be Sherlock Holmes here but it looks like someone has lit a fire near the car to keep oneself warm, and some combustible material (minor fuel leak or something else) closeby has led to the fire.

[deepcdc]

Originally Posted by vigsom

Extremely sorry to hear this @deepcdc.

I don't want to be Sherlock Holmes here but it looks like someone has lit a fire near the car to keep oneself warm, and some combustible material (minor fuel leak or something else) closeby has led to the fire.

I would think so too. It was an eyesore for a few.

But then the fact that the car lit up again after a few hours made me think about the short circuit. Hopefully Mercedes service would tell us more.

[s4ch]

Very sorry to read about this. Condolences and glad that you and nobody else were harmed because of this.

A few suggestions:

1. See if you can get a copy of the CCTV that covers where the car was parked. This will give you an idea of any foul play involved, if any.

2. Try and get the FIR, all other required docs asap. Then push for total loss from your insurance company as even with a full rebuild it will never be the same, at least not with regards to fit and finish, and more importantly, structural integrity. You may want to contact your local surveyor/zonal head regarding this.

All the best mate.

[GTO]

Sucks. Glad it didn't happen while the car was being driven. Two points to add:

1. This isn't a manufacturing defect. It wouldn't take 13 years to surface. My guess is old wiring, rats etc.

2. Don't expect any answer from Mercedes. I have yet to see any logical analysis of a burnt car.

Claim the insurance (total loss) & move on.

[deepcdc]

Originally Posted by s4ch

Very sorry to read about this. Condolences and glad that you and nobody else were harmed because of this.

A few suggestions:

1. See if you can get a copy of the CCTV that covers where the car was parked. This will give you an idea of any foul play involved, if any.

2. Try and get the FIR, all other required docs asap. Then push for total loss from your insurance company as even with a full rebuild it will never be the same, at least not with regards to fit and finish, and more importantly, structural integrity. You may want to contact your local surveyor/zonal head regarding this.

All the best mate.

Thanks ! Unfortunately no CCTV around the parking area. About the zonal head, I'm a little skeptical right now and want Merc to do what they can. I spoke to them again and convinced them on picking it up without the FIR, they agreed.

More than anything I Merc to tow it before there is any additional damage caused due to random factors. Not to mention people talking about it, starting rumours and what not.

Nevertheless, a good suggestion. Will reach out to the local surveyor/ zonal head.

Originally Posted by GTO

Sucks. Glad it didn't happen while the car was being driven. Two points to add:

1. This isn't a manufacturing defect. It wouldn't take 13 years to surface. My guess is old wiring, rats etc.

2. Don't expect any answer from Mercedes. I have yet to see any logical analysis of a burnt car.

Claim the insurance (total loss) & move on.

Makes perfect sense. Although the insurance too is through Silver Arrows, so they anyway would pick it up and I'll try to push them for some diagnostics. Sure, I am hoping to claim total loss ; Unless Merc has something else planned.

Yes, We drove a good 120kms on Friday before I parked it there. I'm glad it did not happen then.

[self_driven]

Man, that was a horrible experience.

As already suggested, it would be better to claim total loss and move on. Probably towards a less attention-grabbing vehicle. I say this because a majority of cars in your compound are small hatchbacks. This could very well be a case of arson by someone in your locality.

[deepcdc]

Originally Posted by self_driven

Man, that was a horrible experience.

As already suggested, it would be better to claim total loss and move on. Probably towards a less attention-grabbing vehicle. I say this because a majority of cars in your compound are small hatchbacks. This could very well be a case of arson by someone in your locality.

Yes. The claim settlement is what we are looking for. As GTO mentioned earlier, No love from the Mercedes service team. In-fact, they will be charging about 20k to tow the their garage.

About a less attention-grabbing vehicle, it's unfortunate but Yes, does make sense. The luxury cars in the society are usually SUVs ; infact, there is a G Wagon too. I might go for an SUV this time, need the insurance guys to sponsor it

[the_skyliner]

As others have already said, push for total loss and be grateful that it happened when the car was parked. Also, the parking slot seems to be away from the building which is another blessing.

Originally Posted by GTO

2. Don't expect any answer from Mercedes. I have yet to see any logical analysis of a burnt car.

Claim the insurance (total loss) & move on.

True that. And especially considering that no one was injured, there will be even less motivation to look for root cause.