Fire at dealership, my X5 inside and smoke damage to inside??

[ctbmw1]

My 2006 X5 4.4 was at dealership and they had a fire inside the service department. Car caught fire and burned to a crisp. Mine was parked a few bays away. Fire happened last Tuesday, they did a full detail the next day. Was ready to pick up on Friday, I did not pick up till Saturday, it sat outside all of Friday and most of Saturday and baked in sun. I got inside and smelled smoke. (Nothing worse then burnt car smell) Refused to pick up, had my salesman smell car and he agreed. They redetailed and now it smells like they dumped a gallon of pinesol and released three cans of Ozium in car. As it wears off the smell is coming back. They said they would take car of it. Obviously the smell is relative to different noses. I do not smoke and can smell a car two lanes ahead of me if they are smoking. I plain to call them on Monday and demand satisfaction. The question is, what is fair? I know to remove and replace entire interior, the car will be considered totaled, and may not remove smoke once and for all. My service advisor and the GM to whom I am fairly good friends with said "They would take care of it"
Once again, "What is fair?"
Thanks
Jamison

[LeMansX5]

I know detailers charge ~$400 to remove smokers smell from car. Don't think they remove the headliner. Yours is different case. The smell is probably in entire car, not just the cabin. Do you smell in engine area too? They will be claiming from their insurance.

[msammy]

Originally Posted by ctbmw1

Once again, "What is fair?"
Thanks
Jamison

Yeah I heard about the fire and was not surprised given that dealeship. What is fair? Fair is - stop taking your car for service at that dealership. Those guys in the service department are F'ing retards. I bought all of my cars from that dealership and will no longer have my cars serviced from them since I found out they were joy riding and beating the living $hit out of my 550i when I brought it in for my scheduled maintenance. The grease all over the interior and mats, the seats fully reclined was enough to convince me. Take your car for future maintenance to BMW of North Haven - always excellent service and REAL BMW's for loaner cars not runaway Toyota's at the place you're referencing!

[LeMansX5]

What dealer is that, if you don't mind? you can PM me.
I have used Ridgefield and Darien. Hope its not one of them.

[ctbmw1]

Originally Posted by msammy

Yeah I heard about the fire and was not surprised given that dealeship. What is fair? Fair is - stop taking your car for service at that dealership. Those guys in the service department are F'ing retards. I bought all of my cars from that dealership and will no longer have my cars serviced from them since I found out they were joy riding and beating the living $hit out of my 550i when I brought it in for my scheduled maintenance. The grease all over the interior and mats, the seats fully reclined was enough to convince me. Take your car for future maintenance to BMW of North Haven - always excellent service and REAL BMW's for loaner cars not runaway Toyota's at the place you're referencing!

Have bought all my BMW's from them, always had BMW loaners. When service ran late one time and was going north skiing, theey drove from there location to Haddam with X3 so I has some what of an SAV for my trip to Vermont. I have bought a few 7's my X, a few 5's and my 08 M3. My advisor is great! Have fumbled a couple of small items in service dept, but have always made good (full detail from outside company each and every time) not just their crummy wash. Always discount on Dinan and other parts goodies. Just want some guidance on what to ask for. I would guess their insurance will total it and just get to buy another car with the deepest of discounts. Thats what I would except! ANY AND ALL feedback is most appreciated.
Thanks
Jamison

[528guy]

I would think that a new headliner, insulation and carpets along with a good scrubbing of the stripped down interior would do it, ie seats removed . Surely that wouldn't make it a write off? They probably just cleaned the carpet and headliner as they would for a normal detail, but I can tell you from experience that unless you have enough heat and extracting power (which would destroy your headliner) there will be residuals for a long time to come and replacement is likely your only option. Given that you have spent a lot of coin at this dealer over the years, I would hope they would give you an exceptional deal on a newer model and let yours go to auction.

[Weasel]

One of the techs at my dealer found an odor eliminating spray that completely kills the smell of cigarette smoke and it even killed the lingering odor left behind by hurricane Katrina! We have used it in an X5 that had the lamp module burn up to a smoldering pile due to improperly wired trailer lights, completely killed the burnt smell. The stuff has a cirtus smell for the first couple days, but nothing after that. I can't remember the name of the stuff, but will call him and ask if I remember Monday.

[nom3rcy]

I would imagine their insurance would replace the vehicle. Smoke like that permeates everything, it is probably in the insulation and leather and carpets and headliner and every other porous material.

The fact that they detailed it the next day without showing you the car leads me to believe it was in pretty rough shape - wouldn't be surprised if there was heat damage as well if it was only a couple of bays away.

Just watch this car fire, imagine that smoke inside of a building and what it would do to a car!

[DooD]

Originally Posted by ctbmw1

Have bought all my BMW's from them, always had BMW loaners. When service ran late one time and was going north skiing, theey drove from there location to Haddam with X3 so I has some what of an SAV for my trip to Vermont. I have bought a few 7's my X, a few 5's and my 08 M3. My advisor is great! Have fumbled a couple of small items in service dept, but have always made good (full detail from outside company each and every time) not just their crummy wash. Always discount on Dinan and other parts goodies. Just want some guidance on what to ask for. I would guess their insurance will total it and just get to buy another car with the deepest of discounts. Thats what I would except! ANY AND ALL feedback is most appreciated.
Thanks
Jamison

I think that the only option would be for them to take it against their insurance and offer you a hell of a deal on another vehicle. If you have that type of relationship with this dealer, you should be able to negotiate this without hurting the 'relationship'. Be honest and upfront.

Good luck!

[corima]

They will have to replace the vehicle, because they will never be able to get rid of the smell. It is a health risk for you to continue to drive it. Whether their insurance covers it or not, is not your problem. It is in their best interest, and yours, for them to step up and take care of this or they stand to loose business to other dealers.