Incident at an Aston specialist?

[Nigel_O]

I’m not going to mention any names, as this is very much second-hand and unconfirmed information. However, it won’t be too hard to work out who it is….

I’ve been told that a well-known indy has suffered a fire at their premises and several (four or five?) customer cars have been damaged.

If it’s true, I’m amazed that we haven’t seen / heard anything about it yet

Happy to be put right (in fact I’d be REALLY happy to find out it was a small smoulder in a wheelie bin and nobody’s Aston has been harmed…)

Anyone heard anything?

[AdamV12V]

This perhaps??

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

It was 2years ago, so maybe not....

[Rapid rental]

AdamV12V said:

This perhaps??

https://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&...

It was 2years ago, so maybe not....

Allegedly this is much more recent and I have a good friend, who`s own friend has not been able to get his car back from the AM "specialist" since the fire. They are also not getting any updates from them either as to the status or level of damage. I know who it is but will not of course mention it on a public forum.

[Cold]

Rapid rental said:

I know who it is but will not of course mention it on a public forum.

Why not? Is it some sort of secret?

[Rapid rental]

Cold said:

Why not? Is it some sort of secret?

Potential libel/defamation issues and of course PH has always maintained a policy of no name and shame.

Edited by Rapid rental on Tuesday 4th June 19:50

[GT3ZZZ]

There seems to be some confusion on here regarding libel/defamation i.e. opinion versus reporting of a physical event e.g. a fire.

There's no reason a fire can't be reported at a premises as its a fact if indeed it is a fact. As long as there's no speculation on the cause or losses.

[Cold]

Rapid rental said:

Cold said:

Why not? Is it some sort of secret?

Potential libel/defamation issues and of course PH has always maintained a policy of no name and shame.

Edited by Rapid rental on Tuesday 4th June 19:50

What? No one is suggesting anything nefarious has taken place! How ridiculous.

Stating which garage has had a fire is not in any way libellous or defamatory. And what exactly has a "no name and shame" policy got to do with reporting a fire?

So again, why all the secrecy?

[Simpo Two]

I searched for 'Aston Martin specialist fire 2024' and the first hit was this thread. So either it's SO secret there's a news blackout, or it didn't happen, or it was P&L two years ago.

[Nigel_O]

I’d held back a bit of what I’d heard to see if anyone else mentioned it. I too have heard that one or more of the damaged cars has been removed from the site and the owner is being refused access to his own car (which I understand was in for a clutch)

Regardless of whether you’re a fan or not of this particular specialist (I’m in the latter camp…) I wouldn’t wish a fire on any business and even worse, I feel for the innocent customers who have had their cars damaged. Again, it’s only hearsay, but my info is that several cars are involved.

However, I can’t understand the apparent subterfuge in not letting owners see their cars - if I ran a garage and had suffered a mishap with one or more customer cars, I’d be bending over backwards to keep them informed and helping them sort their issues.

I REALLY hope the Indy had adequate insurance, otherwise this could get a bit awkward.

Edited by Nigel_O on Wednesday 5th June 12:13

[Dewi 2]

Nigel_O said:

I REALLY hope the Indy had adequate insurance, otherwise this could get a bit awkward.

Steady.
For involvement, there has to be negligence involved in the circumstances of the cause.

[Nigel_O]

Dewi 2 said:

Nigel_O said:

I REALLY hope the Indy had adequate insurance, otherwise this could get a bit awkward.

Steady.
For involvement, there has to be negligence involved in the circumstances of the cause.

Fair point, well made. It isn’t necessarily the garage’s fault if a car in its care suddenly self-combusts and takes out a handful of cars parked nearby.

I guess if the rumours are true that five cars are gone, then someone’s insurance is going to get hit somewhere down the line.

Horrible situation for the garage and the owners - it’ll presumably take an age to sort out

[Cold]

Nigel_O said:

Fair point, well made. It isn’t necessarily the garage’s fault if a car in its care suddenly self-combusts and takes out a handful of cars parked nearby.

I guess if the rumours are true that five cars are gone, then someone’s insurance is going to get hit somewhere down the line.

Horrible situation for the garage and the owners - it’ll presumably take an age to sort out

Not really, it's quite straightforward. Each car owner caims off their own insurance and the garage claims off theirs for their own losses. That's it. It's a tried and tested route.

This, of course, is dependent on something having actually happened and not just internet rumours and conjecture. But without any details being added because of "reasons" we can't tell.

[LTP]

Cold said:

So again, why all the secrecy?

Because at the moment it all appears to be speculation and rumours. And we know how rumours spread and get exaggerated and misinterpreted - you only have to look how this thread has mushroomed from OP's post. Plus owners of cars in indy premises start to get worried and bombard the businesses with questions - perhaps with no reason.

It's not secrecy, as nobody appears to know anything yet; it's just "Let's not speculate until the facts are known"

[CatalystV12V]

I imagine the 'independent' in question will be reading this... I will be calling them this morning as my car is booked in for early July , which is a prereq to a trip abroad so I need to know if this is at risk..

[-jester-]

Regardless whether it's true or not and regardless of which indi it is, I just hope that everyone is OK

[CatalystV12V]

CatalystV12V said:

I imagine the 'independent' in question will be reading this... I will be calling them this morning as my car is booked in for early July , which is a prereq to a trip abroad so I need to know if this is at risk..

It's business as usual

[Simpo Two]

LTP said:

Cold said:

So again, why all the secrecy?

Because at the moment it all appears to be speculation and rumours. And we know how rumours spread and get exaggerated and misinterpreted - you only have to look how this thread has mushroomed from OP's post. Plus owners of cars in indy premises start to get worried and bombard the businesses with questions - perhaps with no reason.

It's not secrecy, as nobody appears to know anything yet; it's just "Let's not speculate until the facts are known"

So let's have the facts, and then the speculation will stop.

Five cars destroyed by fire, especially Astons, should make the local news and at the very least social media.

[Longers]

My car went to this place for a routine service & Mot on 21/4. I was due to collect the following week but they had not started work on it. When they did I was told a new clutch needed.

Agreed to collect when back from a trip 2 weeks later on 19/5 but phone calls and emails not answered so started to worry a bit...

I received a text message earlier this week saying delay due to parts not being available.

After reading the start of this topic last night I was worried my car may have been impacted by this news of a fire. After seeing the following this morning "worried" doesn't do justice to how I'm now feeling...

Nigel_O said:

I’d held back a bit of what I’d heard to see if anyone else mentioned it. I too have heard that one or more of the damaged card has been removed from the site and the owner is being refused access to his own car (which I understand was in for a clutch)

If anyone has any more info please PM me. Many thanks.

Cheers
L'rs

[Nigel_O]

Longers said:

If anyone has any more info please PM me. Many thanks.

I don’t have any more info - sorry. Also, apologies for making you worried. My understanding is that the owner of the car that was in for a clutch has not been given access to his car (which is now off-site), despite several requests. This leads me to guess that it’s not your car, as you haven’t been asking to see it…

Sooner or later, someone with first-hand knowledge of the incident will contribute, so until then, we’re all guessing.

As mentioned above, I find the news blackout unusual - the media was plastered with images after someone parked their Tiguan on the bonnet of a DBS in Chester, so I’m intrigued about the total black hole for info on this.

One explanation of course is that it isn’t true / accurate and that the true story is that an oily rag caught fire in the workshop and singed a bit of paintwork on a car, which the Indy has now sent off for repair….

[ds666]

Longers said:

My car went to this place for a routine service & Mot on 21/4. I was due to collect the following week but they had not started work on it. When they did I was told a new clutch needed.

Agreed to collect when back from a trip 2 weeks later on 19/5 but phone calls and emails not answered so started to worry a bit...

I received a text message earlier this week saying delay due to parts not being available.

After reading the start of this topic last night I was worried my car may have been impacted by this news of a fire. After seeing the following this morning "worried" doesn't do justice to how I'm now feeling...

Nigel_O said:

I’d held back a bit of what I’d heard to see if anyone else mentioned it. I too have heard that one or more of the damaged card has been removed from the site and the owner is being refused access to his own car (which I understand was in for a clutch)

If anyone has any more info please PM me. Many thanks.

Cheers
L'rs

I'd be getting in the car and driving to see what's happening if possible . At best you have a wasted trip but peace of mind.