BMW burst into flames while sitting in St-Leonard driveway

Owners say they want more compensation from the luxury car company

By Kate McGillivray, CBC News

Léa Manocchio can't shake the memory of running to the 

window and seeing her car on fire. 'Sometimes I wake up and 

go check if the other car is okay,' she said. (CBC)

Léa Manocchio and Vito Mucciacciaro said their BMW X3 SUV had been parked in their driveway for 12 hours when it caught fire this past spring.

Léa Manocchio and Vito Mucciacciaro said they found out their car was on fire when a neighbour knocked on their window. (CBC)

"I don't understand, how a BMW at sixty thousand dollars, a luxury car, could catch on fire without the engine even being on?" said Mucciacciaro.

The flames went as high as their balcony, and though firefighters arrived quickly to the scene, the car was completely destroyed.

The engineer hired by their insurance company determined that the fire was started by defective electrical circuits.

The couple's insurance company compensated them for the market value of a used car, but they said they were expecting more from BMW to make up for the stress.

After multiple calls, the company offered them a five per cent discount towards a new BMW, which Mucciacciaro said he won't be taking them up on.

The car was completely destroyed by the fire. (CBC)

"They can keep their five per cent," he said, adding that his next car will not be a BMW.

BMW did not return requests for comment. 

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/bmw-on-fire-saint-leonard-1.3678376