THESE horror images show a Mercedes-Benz engulfed in flames shortly after the car was repaired.
Kevin Bull, 51, has been searching for the perfect Mercedes E350 for almost a year until he found a 2016 model that “met all his requirements”.
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He bought it on March 16, 2024, paying £17,109, and it came with a one-year warranty.
But just eight days after it was delivered to his home in Wideopen, North Tyneside, from Stratford-upon-Avon via the Mercedes-Benz approved pre-owned network, the engine management light came on.
Mercedes breakdown service discovered a snorkel in the split air intake and Mr Bull booked the car into the official dealership on Scotswood Road.
The car spent three days in repairs and he recovered the engine on April 13th.
Although there were only 60,000 miles on the clock and the car had a full dealership service history, the car’s engine began smoking shortly after it turned off the A1 onto Kingston Park Road.
Moments after he left, the car caught fire and the fire had to be put out by two fire engines.
The burnt remains of the car have been at Mercedes-Benz Newcastle ever since.
The German manufacturer carried out an inspection of the vehicle and concluded that “there was no evidence to suggest that an inherent manufacturing defect or previous repair… caused this incident.”
Mercedes advised Mr Bull to check with his insurance to get his money back.
He was also asked to return the loaner car he had received by July 3 and also to arrange for the remains of his E-Class to be removed from the Scotswood Road premises.
However, Bull has refused to go through his insurance and hopes to be able to return the car and get a refund through the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
According to the law, he could get a refund if he could already prove that there was a fault with the car, although Mercedes has claimed that this is not the case.
The NHS worker says the situation has left him with sleepless nights.
Mr Bull said Live chronicle: “I just want this to end, I’m sick of it.
“This has been going on for a long time and I’ve had enough.
“There’s something to do every night and it seems like it takes time and causes so much stress that you have to go to bed and you’re stressed at night wondering what the outcome will be?”
He also promised never to buy a Mercedes-Benz again.
Bull said he has owned BMWs for 20 years and has never had any problems with them.
A Mercedes-Benz spokesperson said: “We are very sorry to hear about Mr Bull’s experience.
“We take any incident extremely seriously and work with all relevant parties to review the circumstances.
“From examination of the car by Mercedes-Benz UK, there was no evidence to suggest that an inherent manufacturing defect or the previous repair carried out by Mercedes-Benz Newcastle caused this incident.
“In light of this, Mr Bull was advised to contact his insurer.”
A spokesperson for Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service said: “We can confirm that on the afternoon of Saturday 13 April, two of our crews attended a vehicle fire close to the A1 in Newcastle.
The view of the sun from the Mercedes E-Class Estate
We put the engine through its paces in May 2021, here’s what we thought
A Mercedes estate. People keep them for years and years and love them for so long. A car for life.
The E-Class Estate is the biggest and toughest estate Mercedes makes. Which means the biggest and hardest thing someone does.
The base model, tested here, has pretty much all the specs you’d want.
The E-Class’ suspension is level and soft – more so in our base model than in expensive models with AMG Line trim and big wheels.
The curves are totally comforting. He heads down a rock-solid road, almost silent.
Inside, it’s quite smart, well-appointed and colossally spacious.
But mostly, strong. The leather isn’t the buttery soft kind.
It’s as tough as a rhino’s skin. Everything seems made to last a lifetime. Or two.
Of course, all these good things also come with the E-Class sedan. But the property is more useful. Even better, it prevents everyone from thinking you’re an executive minicab driver.
“The emergency call was received at 12.25pm and the first crew arrived at the scene on Kingston Park Road within seven minutes.
“Our control team sent two appliances to the car fire due to the vehicle’s location being close to a roundabout.
“This was to ensure the safety of our firefighters and all road users.
“Our crews left the scene at 1:28 pm once the fire was safely extinguished.”
In May last year, a £2.2 million Mercedes AMG One – which has the same engine as Lewis Hamilton’s F1 car – was being towed on the M6 in Staffordshire when it caught fire.
While in July of the same year, a £45,000 Tesla Model Y caught fire on the side of the road.
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