My 2022 Gladiator burned down... how?

[John Charles]

My 2022 Jeep Gladitor burned to the ground August 06, 2023. Jeep claims no responsibility for the cause of fire. I had 2,536 miles on my Gladiator. I had $71k in the vehicle. did not drive all last winter because I did not want snow, salt, slush on my Gladiator. My insurance company "Allstate" offered me $47k. 2 1/2 months have gone by and no claim payout. How does a fire start on a vehicle that is parked and turned off and a cold engine?

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[cranbiz]

Electrical short would be my guess. It happens. Sorry to hear about your troubles getting the claim paid. Have you thought about hiring a public adjuster? While that get a cut of the settlement, they usually get you a lot more than the insurance company will offer at first.

 

[John Charles]

while Allstates fire forensic guy says it is a Jeep Manufacture defect, Stelanis says their guy did his study and claims that it was not due to manufacture issue. Neither one will share their study report though. Definately a Jeep lawsuit. there have been a few other Gladiators that burned in the same spot as mine. Coincidence?

 

[cranbiz]

As far as you, the insured, is concerned, it's a loss of an insured vehicle, due to a covered cause. How Allstate recovers is for their lawyers to fight that fight. Allstate and Stellantis is setting up their cases. Again, you need to be paid, I would keep on them but I might want to at least speak to a public adjuster before launching a full assault on them for your check.

The public adjuster route should still be an option but if you go that route, Allstate will only talk thru your adjuster and not to you. To recover your aftermarket costs, you usually have to have them itemized on your policy. I believe the standard policy allows $5K. If you have not spoke to your agent prior to the fire and itemized your aftermarket parts, that's your problem and not Allstate's, sorry to say.

 

[John Charles]

Shouldnt I be paid for at least the $71k I paid to the dealership? And shouldnt ALLSTATE pay out and then subrogate with Jeep? this is all new to me. I feel as though the fire was caused by one of the batteries according to the firechief, the vehicle also tried starting while the firemen were putting out the 10 ft flames. they had the fire contained and out and they could not leave due to the fact they could not get one of the batteries to stop glowing. shouldnt I get All of my invested money, why should a victim take any loss. lots of what if's involved here. what if I had parked it in my garage, nobody would have seen the blaze until the truck exploded due to just filling the gas tank. What if I would have been in the vehicle? just frustrated.

 

[charliez]

Look up "Depreciation" As soon as you sign for any new vehicle, you immediately eat a loss in value. Some finance companies are requiring / insisting on a gap insurance policy that will cover the depreciated value in case of a loss before the loan is paid down enough to match what the insurance company will pay, especially in a situation like this. It pays out the gap between whats owed and what is the current value. Personally, if gap insurance is required to cover my tail, I won't buy that vehicle. With the cost of new vehicles going so stupid, the immediate depreciation loss is very big. You would have been in the same situation had you been in some kind of situation leaving the dealer parking lot on day 1 with it. Sometimes you can hear someone who's been thru a lot of vehicle say...buy used so someone else has had to eat the depreciation.

 

[homebrewer]

Allstate will pay you the market value to replace the jeep. Why do you think they will pay you the price you paid when new??

HOWEVER I have seen a handful of gladiators on the side of the road on fire like this. Its always in the same location....

 

[charliez]

A quick search in your area shows Gladiators for sale retail from 48-55k.

I know all this stinks. I had a truck stolen, and after that, when I get tired of payments or something else, I'll never say I hope someone steals this stupid thing again.

 

[John Charles]

I should be reimburused in full do to the fact that this is a manufacturer defect. my truck was not even a year old. I did not plan on selling or trading my vehicle in. Jeep should at least honor as a lemon law. I cannot get a new jeep with factory lift and oversize wheels which I purchased my Jeep with. so I should take a $23k loss? put yourself in my position. would you be willing to take a $23k loss on a vehicle that you just purchased? where is justice here?

 

[charliez]

It might help to dig out your purchase paperwork and read over it carefully. Dealers like to slip in little things like gap policies in hopes nothing happens and you don't notice or pay attention to them doing this. You might have purchased a gap policy and don't know it.

 

[ryanlsmith]

To re-iterate on the electrical short, that's probably what Jeep is claiming (although would be nice to have more clarity). My guess is they are pointing to the accessories (I see a burnt light bar, maybe light cubes, maybe more). Were those wired to factory aux switches, and were the aux switches factory installed?

 

[John Charles]

Look up "Depreciation" As soon as you sign for any new vehicle, you immediately eat a loss in value. Some finance companies are requiring / insisting on a gap insurance policy that will cover the depreciated value in case of a loss before the loan is paid down enough to match what the insurance company will pay, especially in a situation like this. It pays out the gap between whats owed and what is the current value. Personally, if gap insurance is required to cover my tail, I won't buy that vehicle. With the cost of new vehicles going so stupid, the immediate depreciation loss is very big. You would have been in the same situation had you been in some kind of situation leaving the dealer parking lot on day 1 with it. Sometimes you can hear someone who's been thru a lot of vehicle say...buy used so someone else has had to eat the depreciation.

depreciciation is something that takes place when the owner decides on their own to sell or trade. this decision was due to manufacturer defect. I didnt have GAP insurance due to the fact I did not have a loan. they should at least replace my vehicle with the equivalent.

 

[homebrewer]

I should be reimburused in full do to the fact that this is a manufacturer defect. my truck was not even a year old. I did not plan on selling or trading my vehicle in. Jeep should at least honor as a lemon law. I cannot get a new jeep with factory lift and oversize wheels which I purchased my Jeep with. so I should take a $23k loss? put yourself in my position. would you be willing to take a $23k loss on a vehicle that you just purchased? where is justice here?

I can agree with that, there's something to that.

 

[John Charles]

To re-iterate on the electrical short, that's probably what Jeep is claiming (although would be nice to have more clarity). My guess is they are pointing to the accessories (I see a burnt light bar, maybe light cubes, maybe more). Were those wired to factory aux switches, and were the aux switches factory installed?

Truck was off. nothing was on, and also, these accessories have fuses! fuse would go out before anything.

 

[ShrimpHappens]

depreciciation is something that takes place when the owner decides on their own to sell or trade.

I'm afraid it doesn't work that way.

Jeep should at least honor as a lemon law.

Keyword: law. It's a specific process laid out in the law of your state. Requirements vary from state to state, but they're usually like 3+ attempts to fix the same issue with a minimum number of days out of service.

I cannot get a new jeep with factory lift and oversize wheels which I purchased my Jeep with. so I should take a $23k loss?

Sounds like you were a hair underinsured. There are many people on here that talk about specifically covering their high-dollar mods with their insurance cos. Despite how much insurance companies like to say otherwise in their TV ads, they are NOT your friends and will do as much as they can to not pay you. Their offers to you are negotiable, by the way.

put yourself in my position. would you be willing to take a $23k loss on a vehicle that you just purchased?

Absolutely not. As you're saying, it's essentially new, and some component that's likely still covered by your factory warranty failed and caused the fire. I don't know how to do it and what it would look like, but I'd pester Jeep/Stellantis more before settling with your insurance.

EDIT: I'm now seeing what others pointed out about aftermarket electric accessories. Ain't no way Jeep/Stellantis will cover an electrical fire with those on there.

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