John_B

kjohn,
No suggestions or experience with JK fires (don't want any either).
But glad your ok and good luck with the replacement

mwebb

tell them to give u the nukizer 715 and youll call it even haha

ConroeJK

Good luck with that, sounds like a fantasy to me. I would take the Chrysler deal and make sure that all mods are included, you only had some extra lights, make sure they get replaced. If you have an attorney, have them contact Chrysler, maybe you could get some upgraded mopar bumpers or mopar bucks out the deal.

JeepaRoo

go with the chrysler offer and out some stipulations into it..

1] I had this very thing happen with a chevy pickup truck years ago.. in my case the fuel injector rail cracked and well the rest was history

2] a fire is a serious thing if the vehicle was being driven as yours was because it is a safety thing.. technically they will want to charge you mileage usage and such on your vehicle.. however you can come back with "I couldve died.. would you like to speak to my attorney about that??"

so they will typically back down...

3] going through insurance will require that the loan be payed off and restarted like you bought another vehicle... with a buyback you can do a collateral substitution on your loan and not lose any interest you may have payed and also keep your interest rate....

insurance will give you what the vehicle wouldve been worth before the fire, not the amount it takes to buy a new one comparable...

you likely will be best off looking for a 2010 identically equipped.. and wil likely have to push chrysler as they will want to go sticker-sticker with you... meaning if your 2009 cost $25,000 they will expect you to find a 2010 for $25,000 STICKER.. no incentives.... it can be done... i did it with my 2008 that was a lemon when i got my 09...

you will also want to negotiate a better warranty into your new jeep as your 09 had lifetime.. (you probably will have a tough time with that one)...

chrysler doesnt want a lot of headaches with this... there were some fire issues back in 07 (look for a long post on here about it or maybe one of the other jeep forums)...

good luck and sorry to see your jeep lived a short life....
-Christopher

flounder

I think its kind of strange chrysler want's to buy it back when the jeep is being fully covered by an insurance company.

In other words they know exactly why it burned and want the evidence back.

sorry your jeep burned up good luck

Ario56

The last time I was on my way out to Connecticut I saw a yellow 4 door on a flatbed with the nose completely melted. I just thought it was a freak accident until reading this.

JeepaRoo

its not a matter of wanting evidence back.. in my case with my chevy I pushed it instead of the ins company because i felt it was a manufacturing defect causing a fire in a new vehicle...

if someone torches it or its older and something breaks - then let insurance cover it.. but when its new go for the buy back... the manufacturers typically are willing fairly easily to buy them back after a fire on a newer vehicle... its the right thing for them to do....

with my chevy fire i never even involved my ins co except just to tell them what had happened and where my truck was...

chevy wanted to try and charge me miles used against 100,000 miles "life expectancy".. but once I tossed the words "safety" and "lawyer" into the conversation they quickly let that rest...

as for the posts about excessive JK fires?? i really dont notice too many posts here or on other jeep forums about fires... there were some trans issues in the beginning it seemed.. but this fire here was clearly not even a trans fire..

with any vehicle there WILL be some amount of fires due to defects or malfunction...
in my many miles of driving ive seen burned out shells of very expensive cars alongside the road..

-Christopher

sixt7gt350

I'm not usually one to encourage participation in "the American lottery" that is America's civil justice system, but this is one of those rare cases.
Vehicle fires are SERIOUS business, especially with the JK suffering more than its share of them.
Chrysler has an obligation to come clean. Their masters in the USgov will allow/encourage them to avoid Magnuson-Moss, but a good ole liability lawsuit for fires will bubble the truth to the surface. (unless they settle out of court and seal the records)
I think you need MORE than a new Jeep just like your old one.

ronjenx

Do we know for a fact the JK is actually having more fires than average?

I e-mailed the NHTSA to ask if they track such data.

opdsgt

Ugh. That sucks.

Would suck even harder if you had a bunch of cash tied up in mods. That's exactly why I pay a little more for a "rider" on my rig; I'm insured for full replacement value. Sort of like gap insurance I guess you'd say.

Good luck.