Dealership at fault?

[simbeach]

I'll try to explain it as short and thoroughly as possible. My car was at the dealership for routine maintenance. I picked up the vehicle when I was notified it was ready. Drove off the lot, about 10 minutes into my drive I can see smoke and smell fumes. I pull into a parking lot to check under the hood and there was a fire. I immediately closed the hood and called the fire department. I truly believe there was some kind of negligence involved with the dealership.

The insurance company is giving us a total loss settlement, but we have to pay the deductible which I don't think we should. The entire car was burned to a crisp. The dealership of course denied any negligence and said it could be due to reckless driving! I don't know if I should just collect the settlement and avoid the headaches any further, any advice?

I am currently waiting for a report from the fire department. As of right now I have zero evidence that dealership is at fault and the insurance company probably won't pursue this any further.

 

[mightymoose]

If you pay the deductible you can sue the dealership to recover that amount, otherwise talk with an attorney about suing the dealership for the full loss and leaving your own insurance out of it.

 

[simbeach]

The settlement from the dealership was fair, but the fact that they aren't pursuing the dealership any further does really annoy me. I might just take the settlement and wait for the report from the fire department. If there is anything significant in the report, I'll probably sue them for the deductible and amount I paid for the maintenance.

 

[Betty3]

That might be your best bet (your decision) to take the fair settlement from the ins. co. & pay the deductible. You can decide later whether to sue dealership for deductible or just let it go.

 

[simbeach]

Thanks for the advice. Just got off the phone with the insurance company, and they are performing a seperate fire investigation beyond the settlement. If they find the dealership at fault, we'll receive a second check later. So looks like they are putting in some effort.

 

[Betty3]

That's great. Once again, good luck.