smm7128

I recently had a minor collision in my 2006 Audi A4 2.0T. The airbags did not deploy and I was able to drive home perfectly fine. I went inside momentarily, and when I returned to assess the damage more closely, I noticed that a fire had ignited in my headlight. I called 911 and they immediately sent over firefighters and police in order to extinguish the fire. By that point, the fire had grown quite a bit and pretty much melted the entire front passenger side. Including all of this damage as well as a small dent from the accident and minor cosmetic damages, the insurance company is saying the damages total $10K and they are going to try and fix it. However, they have not run a diagnostics check on the engine or have even attempted to start the car, so I am confused about this estimate could possibly be accurate and to be honest, I am afraid to drive the car after this.

Has anyone else had a similar experience, either with a fire in this or a like model or with fire damage and dealing with the insurance co? Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!!!

smm7128

The car only had about 43,000 miles on it at the time of the accident so it wasn't like it was heavily used or anything. Just in case this helps give some idea of the condition of the car!

s4master1

nothing to be afraid, the insurance has written the preliminary estimate only, If after the car is taken apart more damage is found the repair facility call them for a supplement repair and so on, some damage can,t be seen until the car is all together and running.
if you have any pictures of the damage I may be able to tell how extensive the damage is and wether is a good idea to fix or not.
fire damage specially when started by something electrical can be very difficult to foresee and very expensive once you already very involved in the repair process.
make sure you have your car at a decent shop that knows the car and is not desperate for work as sometimes shops cheat on the estimates so the insurance don't total the cars and they have work.
good luck

smm7128

Thanks so much. They do seem to continue tacking on damage and the shop says they haven't even started working on it yet, just took it apart because they keep finding new things and it's getting pretty close to 75% of the value of the car. I don't have any pictures at the moment, but I will go to the autobody shop when it opens tomorrow and take a few so you can assess the damages yourself. It looks pretty gruesome.. the entire front passenger side is melted off and I'm concerned about problems this fire damage may cause down the road. I will post the pictures as soon as I get them. Thanks so much for replying!

groundpounder

yea that's what they did a rough estimate once it's apart they can do a full assesment, keep in mind if it reaches the full value of the car they will total it unless u are willing to pay for the difference. Charles

smm7128

so i went over and the car had already been taken apart so the damaged areas weren't as clear and i figured pictures wouldn't be too useful to evaluate the damage. thanks for your help everyone, and any other advice will be useful as i'm continuing to deal with this strenuous process!

s4master1

pictures would still help as I could see if fire got to close to the brake caliper/hose/shock/abs sensor/wiring to the headlights and so on.