An American's electric car catches fire because of a defective battery.
But the manufacturer General Motors does not want to pay for the damage.
Detroit - An electric car model is becoming an increasingly serious image disaster for General Motors.
As early as November 2020, the US automaker started a recall for its Chevrolet Bolt EV due to defective batteries.
A second recall took place in July of this year.
In total, around 69,000 vehicles built between 2017 and 2019 have to be replaced due to the risk of fire.
The similar Opel Ampera-e are affected in Germany.
Until the component has been replaced, the owners should take precautionary measures, for example, when parking, keep a distance of at least 15 meters to the nearest cars.
Owner should pay for a burned down electric car: the fire brigade was inexperienced
Now the bizarre case of a Chevy Bolt EV owner named Scott is known, who is likely to damage the reputation of the formerly largest car company in the world.
The Internet
magazine Electrek
reports that his vehicle caught fire on June 29, 2020, before the first recall.
The accident happened on the premises of a car repair shop, where small paint damage should be repaired.
The fire brigade called in was apparently inexperienced in dealing with burning electric cars.
Because it was only under Scott's telephone guidance that she succeeded in putting out the fire after half an hour.
Owner should pay for a burned down electric car: the vehicle caught fire a second time
But that wasn't the end.
Only a short time later, smoke came out of the Chevy Bolt EV again, and the battery had re-ignited.
All the workshop owner could do at first was hold on to it with a garden hose.
The fire brigade, called in again, dragged the car to a nearby parking lot and tried to extinguish the fire again for four hours, but in vain.
There was still smoke coming from the battery.
After the initial shock, Scott was pleased that no one was injured.
He wasn't worried about the damage, as the one and a half year old electric car * was fully insured with 34,000 kilometers on the speedometer.
The battery also had an eight-year guarantee.
But then came the nasty surprise.
Owner should pay for a burned down electric car: General Motors only wants to investigate the case after a lawsuit
After having all the necessary documents after a three-week battle with General Motors, he submitted them to his insurance company.
But the transferred the current value of $ 21,000, since Scott had only signed a corresponding contract.
However, the car cost just under $ 33,000.
Since he hadn't paid off the new car price, he was left with $ 12,000 in debt with General Motors.
Because the company refused to pay for the difference, despite the obvious shortcoming, which the automaker also admitted.
In the event of fire, the warranty is void, General Motors told Scott.
In order to investigate the case further, he would have to file a lawsuit.
That was the end of it for Scott.
Because of the situation, he couldn't afford a lawsuit, and neither could a new car.
For Scott, however, it is now clear that he will never buy a General Motors car again.
* Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA
