Red Hot

[Insuranceman]

Last weekend I was visiting my son in Leeds and came across this.

[Philb65]

Jesus, what was it? McLaren have a habit of going up in flames I believe!

 

[Alex Gaskin]

5 minutes ago, Philb65 said:

Jesus, what was it? McLaren have a habit of going up in flames I believe!

 

Badge on the rear wheel looks to be a McLaren badge, hope the driver and passenger (if there was one) got out safely!

[Alex Gaskin]

Just did some quick searching, it was a new McLaren Artura, a plug-in hybrid.
 

 

[Robin Parker (Red Spider) - Yorkshire AO]

Yes, it was a McLaren. About a mile from my house on the M1 junction.

I didnt see it though. 

[Terry Everall]

Apparently its the future🤯

[corsechris]

I’m reminded of the Volvo hybrid that caught fire and the great rush to blame the demon batteries that filled the press. A cursory examination quickly showed it had been torched with a molotov. 
 

Let’s not mention the Porsche GT3s that kept spontaneously combusting shall we?

 

Of course, there’s absolutely no chance this McLaren suffered an ICE fire….

[Greenstreak-Andy D]

…so why is my insurance cost 45% more than last year? … 🤔 

[corsechris]

25 minutes ago, Greenstreak-Andy D said:

…so why is my insurance cost 45% more than last year? … 🤔 

According to insurers, inflation, energy crisis, delays for parts, labour charges, increase in thefts, severe weather are the causes. 

[Stuart]

Read on Thursday that some insurers are now refusing electric cars, others have paused whilst they reassess the risk and that, whilst ICE insurance has gone up by an average of 29% in the past year, EV insurance has gone up by 72%. 

 

[corsechris]

A mate recently had insurance renewal on his Lotus Evora refused. Extensive shopping around got a renewal, at 50% more than the previous year. No incidents or claims.

 

An apparently common issue with a Tesla 3 is minor underfloor damage breaking a plastic coolant fitting on the battery. Tesla won’t repair them, they insist on a new battery pack.  That sort of thing certainly doesn’t help, but that’s a Tesla thing, not an EV thing. They ate also famously expensive for body repairs due to the manufacturing methods. Again, not an EV thing as such given more and more manufacturers are going to mixed materials constructions.  
 

But, I’m picking up the usual rabid anti-EV vibe here, so I’ll move along.

 

My hybrid hasn’t burst into flames even a wee bit in the almost 7 years I’ve had it. Guess I must be lucky. 

[Ian Kinder (Bagpuss) - Joint Peak District AO]

29 minutes ago, corsechris said:

An apparently common issue with a Tesla 3 is minor underfloor damage breaking a plastic coolant fitting on the battery. Tesla won’t repair them, they insist on a new battery pack.

Fixed here a lot cheaper- 

 

[Dave Eastwood (Gadgetman) - Club Chairman]

And Porsche (possibly others too) has an issue it would appear with the Taycan batteries getting damaged by road debris causing fairly minor dents in the underside, i can't recall the specific figure, but a dent over a small area of around 2 to 3 mm depth will take potentially take out enough cells to still be perfectly usable, but occasionally throw a warning. Porsche are not covering it under warranty.

 

 

[Robin Parker (Red Spider) - Yorkshire AO]

Just driven past where the McLaren went up in flames, grass scorched and lots of debris on the floor. There's a McLaren dealer just off the next junction up the M1, I quite often see them and Lamborghini out on test drives. I thought that there was a cost of living crisis going on. 

[jeff oakley]

21 hours ago, corsechris said:

A mate recently had insurance renewal on his Lotus Evora refused. Extensive shopping around got a renewal, at 50% more than the previous year. No incidents or claims.

 

An apparently common issue with a Tesla 3 is minor underfloor damage breaking a plastic coolant fitting on the battery. Tesla won’t repair them, they insist on a new battery pack.  That sort of thing certainly doesn’t help, but that’s a Tesla thing, not an EV thing. They ate also famously expensive for body repairs due to the manufacturing methods. Again, not an EV thing as such given more and more manufacturers are going to mixed materials constructions.  
 

But, I’m picking up the usual rabid anti-EV vibe here, so I’ll move along.

 

My hybrid hasn’t burst into flames even a wee bit in the almost 7 years I’ve had it. Guess I must be lucky. 

 

I for one do not have any hatred for EV or hybrid cars but we cannot get away from the facts that insurance companies have a lot more information and technical knowledge than we do.

EV fires are no more common than ICE ones but they are factually more difficult to extinguish. Recovery companies are having to store EV cars seperate from others as after accidents there is a greater possibility of combustion due to damage.

There is a link here to a website which shows shippers have concerns and some have banned EV, but I suspect more of fear than fact

https://www.thefpa.co.uk/news/ev-ferry-risk-criticism-aimed-at-car-manufacturers

 

EV's are now aging and I have a friend with a bodyshop who is telling me that the write off levels for EV vehicles is much higher as any suspicion of possible battery damage and the insurers do not want any comeback at all.

Lack of knowledge in the repair industry is a huge issue which leads to delays in repairs, as is parts availability, they add all this in when looking at a hire car as well to determine what to do.

Insurance claims overall are up due to varied reasons but it does seem true certain insurers are hedging their bets and not offering insurance or if they do jacking prices up much higher for EV.

The Luton fire will be a watershed moment when the facts come out. It appears it was started by an ICE engined vehicle but if it is proven the spread was so bad due to EV batteries parked there they will be forced to re evaluate if it was not related they can breath a sigh of relief.