update on bro's rig (not good) and aftermath pics

[2002wranglerX]

so it's begun lol.
the insurance will pay him 25k and change (as well as cover the stuff inside the jeep after his 1,000 deductible).
jeep is still refusing to give him a rental.
jeep has not said either way about a replacement, but they're being very difficult to work with.
the plan right now is to contact my parent's attorney and go from there. also, my family is contacting the local news about the story. There's a few stations that go after big companies and publish the stories. we're hoping to catch their eye.
also, if they continue to refuse the rental we are going to deliver the jeep to the jeep dealership, and we're going to put it in their main lot right out front (stay tuned for pics).
so ya, kinda where we are. . . . no word on cause yet.
pics:



and in case anyone forgets, here's the video of it burning

[Muzikman]

Why would Jeep give you a rental. There is no indication that it was their fault. Go after the insurance company to give you a rental.

[john00TJ]

Insurance should cover your rental not Chrysler .Why would they replace it the insurance company gave you the money for it?? Thats why you pay the premium ..Quit being a whiny little girl about it and go buy another one ..
...

Its totaled out ..
The insurance Payed for it .. Case closed ..What more do you want ??

[fmlyof4whlrs]

The insurance should cover the rental until you find the cause and settle the matter. If Jeep is at fault for the fire they should replace the jeep and reimburse your insurance for the rental. Also you shouldn't have to pay the deductable if it's a problem with the car.

That's just my opinion. Why piss of your insurance and raise your rates just because some big company forgot to take care of their customer.

[DMG]

Why bother the dealership? For all anybody knows at this point your bro could have caused the fire. I would try to find out what happened before you waste money on a lawyer.

[JeepGeneral]

I agree $25,000 is a fair value for the vehicle. Stuff like this happens everyday to all kinds of makes/models. Chrysler isn't going to do shit unless it's a reoccuring problem with Wranglers...which it isn't.

[JeepGeneral]

Dealerships/Body shops have legal rights to charge storage fees for unauthorized vehicles that are left there. Leaving at the dealer will just give you one more bill to worry about.

[Bill]

The fire (loss) is surely the responsibility of the insurance company. If there was something wrong with the Jeep, warranty-based of course, then I am sure that Jeep would need to step up and intervene. I have to agree with the comments below, take the money from the insurance company and do what you need to do. These are the reasons that we carry comprehensive insurance our vehicles. You have a claim, file the claim and take your payout.

I am looking forward to see the next Jeep anyway. I figured with what he has learned with this Jeep the next one should be even nicer.

[Krod]

Hey Ry did this happen on 79 south?

Drove down there today and I could swear those pics look like the area where there was a HUGE black charred mark on the shoulder.


Good luck with the insurance co.
hope your bro gets another and still wheels it!

[MF Steve!]

It seems as if this whole issue is being handle complety wrong. At this rate, you're going to spend half the money being received from the insurance co. on storage fees and lawsuits that are a guaranteed loss. Daimler Chrysler is gonna tell you to shove your scrap heap, just as any other vehicle maufacturer would. As stated above, there is no re-occurring issue with JK models catching fire so why add fuel to a fire thats already been extinguished?

Take what you can get, you're probably lucky to have received it so quickly. I'v dealt with my share of insurance claims and adjuster battles. The insurance company could be slamming you with a fraud investigation or something...

[2002wranglerX]

ya, we'll see what happens. the rents have a lawyer on retainer either way (they're both business owners) so it's not a huge deal. Right now what allstate recommended was that we send the pics/video to chrysler through their contact. Basically trying to work with them on making it right. Trying for wholesale on an 08 or something like that. Something to offset the 4k he's out.

the insurance co. gave an unofficial . . . hint . . .i guess you could call it, that they believe it was a vehicle defect, and they may go after chrysler as well both to recoup their losses (if they pay out for the vehicle) as well as the 1k matt paid for his deductible. (they do that as a courtesy).

either way, i dunno if he's going to get another one. if they work with him on one he probably will, if not, might buy an FJ or something like that. we'll have to see.

[WilberFJones]

Good luck...and yeah either way, the way this would normally work is you provide information to the insurance company...they pay you...then if someone else (uninsured driver, under-insured driver, automobile manufacturer, etc) is at fault, the insurance company goes after them for the money...but in either event, let the insurance company worry about that...sucks that you lost a bit of money don't get me wrong, but stuff happens.

[2002wranglerX]

Insurance should cover your rental not Chrysler .Why would they replace it the insurance company gave you the money for it?? Thats why you pay the premium ..Quit being a whiny little girl about it and go buy another one ..
...

Its totaled out ..
The insurance Payed for it .. Case closed ..What more do you want ??

Who the FK are you?

[john00TJ]

Who the FK are you?

LMAO someone that knows more than you about this ..

[gearhead313]

I agree this is all handled by the insurance company right out of the box, but the fact that this jeep was 6 months old with barely any miles on it, chrysler should be made aware of it. If I bought a brand new corvette and in 6 months that happened to it, you know chevrolet is going to hear about it. You don't just roll out of the dealership fearing that the rig is going to burst into flames at any given moment. It should be looked into, and yes that is the insurance company's job.

I would say Matt is lucky to have been handed 25k this quick, though I fully back going after chrysler to handle this problem.




"Chrysler Jeep TSB #588329: JK Wranglers randomly burst into flames. Chrysler recommends carrying a fire extinquisher to make the customer feel safer and also recommend dealerships to install quicker releasing seatbelts."

[Muzikman]

I am curious, what aftrermarket parts were on it? Any electrical work done? Ie. lights, radio, cb, etc...?

[JeepGeneral]

This can and has happened to all makes/models of cars. Especially with a vehicle that is charred that badly, there is no evidence that your brother wasn't at fault (I'm not implying that he was). Unless it's a reoccuring problem they won't want to touch it, and I'm sure they have better lawyers than you and I to prove their case. Your insurance company will pay you what the vehicle is worth. 25K is a good number assuming any vehicle depriciates 10%-20% the day you drive it off the lot, and I know that Jeep wasn't over $30K.

[jeepxj3]

certain insurance providers offer a brand new vehicle if yours is ever damaged, as long as its under a year old. I would look into this myself, seems like a perk of going with that provider.

But I agree, go with the insurance company. From what your saying they seem to be trying to take good care of you. As for your rental, its up to you to get the rental car, the insurance company will reimburse you for it, at a standardized rate. I have been through this before.

[Muzikman]

certain insurance providers offer a brand new vehicle if yours is ever damaged, as long as its under a year old. I would look into this myself, seems like a perk of going with that provider.

But I agree, go with the insurance company. From what your saying they seem to be trying to take good care of you. As for your rental, its up to you to get the rental car, the insurance company will reimburse you for it, at a standardized rate. I have been through this before.

The only time I had to get a rental though an insurance company they had a lot of stipulations. Only certain types of cars, only certain rental companies, only so many miles, etc.

So before you run out and get a rental, check with the insurnace comapany. My guess though, since they totaled the car, and since it's not being repaired and since they are giving you the money, they probably are not going to give you a rental.

[JeepGeneral]

Rental cars with insurance companies don't come free. If your brother paid for rental coverage on his insurance contract, he should get a rental. If not he is SOL.

[r6cyclegal]

Take the insurance money but make sure you have someone look at the Jeep to find out what caused it first. They can tell you if it's Jeep's fault of some fluke or something your brother did. Then if it's Jeep's fault have the insurance company go after them.

Jeep would be stupid to say ok here is a new Jeep even though we have no idea what caused this fire and have never looked at the charred Jeep. Jeep would need to investigate your brother's Jeep to see what caused it before they would even think about settling with you.

[2002wranglerX]

LMAO someone that knows more than you about this ..

oh my bad, i just thought you were some cocky dip$hit a$$hole . . oh wait . . . you are.

[2002wranglerX]

Take the insurance money but make sure you have someone look at the Jeep to find out what caused it first. They can tell you if it's Jeep's fault of some fluke or something your brother did. Then if it's Jeep's fault have the insurance company go after them.

Jeep would be stupid to say ok here is a new Jeep even though we have no idea what caused this fire and have never looked at the charred Jeep. Jeep would need to investigate your brother's Jeep to see what caused it before they would even think about settling with you.

oh i agree, jeep has sent out their representative to investigate as well. But they have yet to give their opinion on what happened.

i get that 25k isn't a bad deal, but it still leaves him in the hole. and it's still our right to publicize what happened. It's truth, so it's not slander. That's why the pics/vids have been sent in to jeep on a disc (to their rep that the insurance co. put us in touch with). He was also made aware that we would like jeep to work with us to make it right, but that we are considering contacting the press about this and the other jeeps (this is not the only one to do this, 2 others have as well) that have caught fire.

the rental is in matt's service contract with chrysler. That's why this is frustrating. technically it is still a "warrenty issue" untill chrysler says that it was caused by matt or something like that. That's the frustrating part of that. it's in his service contract that he has a loaner. the dealership agreed to this but said the jeep had to be in their posession. pretty much figuring that got them off the hook on that.

[BAD_GNR]

That's the frustrating part of that. it's in his service contract that he has a loaner. the dealership agreed to this but said the jeep had to be in their posession. pretty much figuring that got them off the hook on that.

This is where if he wanted to really be a jackass, he could drop off the charred body on their lot and ask for a rental.

All in all though, he should be considering himself lucky. He escaped unharmed, and insurance is giving him blue book value pretty quickly without looking into it much. Other insurance companies may be fighting him tooth and nail on the 25k. I'd take the 25k and move on with life, even if he is in the hole a few grand. Just be happy he's alive.

[Wrecker]

When you buy a new car you can get what is called Gap coverage. It cover the diff between ins pay off and loan pay off. Good idea if you are borrowing the majority of the car's value. Not sure if this pertains to this case but info to know. Some co are also offering replacement cost for the first year of ownership. Live and learn. Hoepfully they will paly ball with him.