A North Tyneside man has crashed into a Mercedes-Benz after his car caught fire on the way home from the garage following repairs.
Kevin Bull, 51, spent almost a year searching for the perfect Mercedes E350 estate car, eventually settling on a 2016 model that “ticked all his boxes” and came with a one-year warranty due March 16, 2024. However, just eight days after the car was delivered to his home in Wideopen via Mercedes-Benz’s approved second-hand network from Stratford-upon-Avon, the engine management light came on.
The Mercedes breakdown service discovered a crack in the air intake snorkel and Kevin booked the car at the official dealer on Scotswood Road. After three days of repairs, Kevin was thrilled to get his dream car back on April 13 – but it quickly became a nightmare.
Despite a full service history from a Mercedes-Benz dealer and just 90,000 miles on the odometer, the £17,109 car’s engine started smoking just after turning off the A1 onto Kingston Park Road. Moments after he got out of the driver’s seat, the car was engulfed in flames, requiring two fire engines to extinguish the blaze.
The burnt-out body of the car has since been at Mercedes-Benz Newcastle. An inspection they carried out found that “there was no evidence that an inherent manufacturing defect or the previous repair… caused this incident.” Mercedes have advised Kevin to seek a refund through his insurance.
They have also asked him to return the loaner car he was given by July 3 and to ensure that the burnt-out bodywork of his E-Class is removed from the Scotswood Road site.
However, he has so far refused to go through his insurance and is instead hoping to be able to return the car and get a refund through the Consumer Rights Act 2015. This means the buyer must be able to prove that there is already a defect was on the car, which according to Mercedes is not the case.
Kevin, who works for the NHS, told ChronicleLive the whole situation was giving him sleepless nights. He said: “I just want it to be over, I’m fed up with it.
“It’s gone on for far too long and I’ve had enough. There’s something to do every night and it just seems to take up time and cause so much stress, you go to bed and you’re stressed at night and think what’s going on is the outcome?”
Whatever happens, Kevin says he won’t buy any more Mercedes-Benzes. He added: “I’ve had BMWs for 20 years and never had any problems with them.
“I’ve been thinking about buying an E350 station wagon for a long time and it took me a year to find the right one. But I can’t imagine buying a Mercedes now.”
Mercedes-Benz said in a statement: “We are very sorry to hear about Mr Bull’s experience. We take each incident extremely seriously and are working with all relevant parties to assess the circumstances.
“The examination of the vehicle by Mercedes-Benz UK found that there was no evidence that an inherent manufacturing defect or the previous repair carried out by Mercedes-Benz in Newcastle caused this incident. Given this, Mr Bull has been advised to contact his insurance company.”
A spokesperson for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said: “We can confirm that on Saturday afternoon, April 13, two of our crews attended a vehicle fire near the A1 in Newcastle. The emergency call was received at 12.25pm and the first crew arrived within seven minutes at the scene on Kingston Park Road.
“Our control team sent two appliances to the car fire because the vehicle was close to a roundabout. This was to ensure the safety of our firefighters and all road users.
“After the fire was safely extinguished, our crews left the scene at 1:28 p.m.”