My son’s in-laws had their Lincoln Town Car catch fire about midnight in the driveway. Even though the car wasn’t inside the garage, the fire jumped into the eaves and did extensive damage to the house. They were out of the house for the better part of the year while the house was being repaired. Their homeowners insurance went after Ford Motor Company and Ford did pay for the damages.
On the other hand, my cousin and her husband had a Chevette that caught fire on the belt line around their city. The car was a total loss and GM claimed no responsibility. Ironically, they received a recall notice two days after the Chevette burned for a potential fire problem with the car.
not sure what caused it, but if it were me, i wouldn’t call 911 unless I was in danger, or there was a potential of it causing damage to other things. Let it burn so some insurance agent has no option but to call it a complete loss. I’ve heard of some agents trying to repair the vehicles.
I added the same comment a bit earlier but standing next to a burning car with a full fire extinguisher in hand is bound to motivate some questions. You can’t say “I heard it was better to let them burn to the ground” or on second though,can you?
There are a number of unrelated, non-factory defects that could cause a vehicle to catch fire.
Sticks or brush caught near the converters, engine oil or transmission fluid leak on the converters which may or may not be due to a factory defect, etc. It only takes one botched oil change from a fast lube to create a problem; say a double gasketed oil filter that decided to start letting go.
One thing that you can safely bet on is that the first step an insurance investigator or Chrysler will do is examine the finances of the person making the claim. The credit reports and court records will be pulled to see if there are financial obligations outstanding, etc.
Oldschool alluded to something like this with the buyers remorse remark and while neither of us would accuse the OP of purposely destroying a car, it should be kept in mind that an insurance investigator or Chrysler will consider this possibility; especially if there’s any hints of financial problems. Destruction and faux theft along with chronic complaints of a problem that does not exist are some reasons for people to to want to bail out of a loan.
Again, don’t rip me for accusing the OP of doing something devious. I’m only pointing out something that an investigator or Chrysler may take into consideration.
There will be an investigation by the fire department and/or the insurance company. That investigation will disclose cost and from there your insurance might, depending on cause, negotiate with the dealer’s insurance, the dealer perhaps even being an intermediary with the manufacturer (via the warranty). Everything depends on the results of the investigation.
I hope someone is paying for a rental for you while this process ensues.