Hi guys, while I was driving my car caught on fire. The alternator wire it was burned.
Can any one help me figure out the repair cost for something like this ?
Do you have insurance? If so, I’d be asking them what the next steps are.
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Minimum $700 for alternator and wiring. But depending on what caused the wiring to go the price could be much higher. The cause needs to be determined and fixed or it will happen again
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Use your insurance and let them figure it out. At the very least you’re going to need a new alternator, wiring, Serpentine belt. Then you’re also going to need diagnostics done to figure out what happened and fix that too. This is going to get expensive quick, use your insurance
Alternator is $600, engine wiring harness is $1500, this will cost more than $3,000. With used parts this will cost more than $1000. The fire was caused by mechanical failure, this was not an accident.
Yes , the shop that looks at your vehicle and gives you an estimate .
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Yes I do ! Thank you so much I’ll be calling them
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Thank you for your reply, what do you mean by it’s not an accident ? Like maybe it was tampered with ?
Thank you so much for replying , I will call the insurance company 
Thank you so much for your reply
I think he meant it might not be covered by your insurance because it was not in a accident, but check with your insurance anyway to see if they will cover it. good luck.
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Ohh okay thank you so much
No, Nevada_545 did not mean it was tampered with, “N” said it was a mechanical failure; imagine if you will, you start your car and notice that one of the headlights is burned out; this is not an accident, but a mechanical failure…
“WW” is right to say that your insurance may not cover it as it all depends on your coverage and how generous your insurance company is… Mice got into the wiring on my car and chewed it up. This definitely was no accident; however, my insurance company, State Farm, covered it, but my agent warned me, if I try to make another claim for rodent damage, they probably would not be so generous…
So, if your insurance is anything more than minimum liability, go in and ask your agent, “Hypothetically, if I had an engine fire where some electrical wires shorted out, would I be covered?”
I suggest you use the word, “hypothetically” because some insurance companies would count this as a strike even if they do not pay a claim…
For example, I have the 9-year Good Driver discount and if I have an accident, I have “accident forgiveness”, so if I have a chargeable accident (my fault…), I would not lose my discount, but I would get a “strike” and the next accident would hurt…
Good Luck!
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A lightning strike or wildfire damage would be examples of accidental fire damage, an alternator catching fire may not be considered accidental damage.
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