Well if you did…then you should have started writing a book
Did you file for the $2,500 laptop you had in the backseat??
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So finally update:
Thankfully things are sort of working out. Car was appraised well over payoff amount, now just waiting to hear back from VW Credit (who already got cut their check by my insurance) to see if they’ll be cutting the difference back to me (going to review lease terms, per my claims adjuster some contracts state they get to keep it). Now my insurance will be dealing with the dealerships insurance.
I had probably $1500-2000 worth of stuff inside the car (suit pending dry clean, some nice sunglasses) but seems that stuff is just gone. Claim adjuster said technically can try to put claim with renter’s/homeowner’s insurance but I decided just gonna try to get the nice difference of what the car was worth since they priced it well what I was going to sell it for.
Edit: yes thankfully I’m super against down payments, this bad boy was $0 down
Edit 2: spoke to VW Credit. They’re keeping the money -_-
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I liked before this update, and unfortunately I knew where this was going.
I would look over the disclaimer at the bottom of the RO when you dropped your car (what liability do you/they assume) and I’d gently consider speaking with a lawyer. You’re likely in small claims territory anyway, and yes if your car was stolen/burned-up the contents would go against your renters/homeowners (which I would not make a claim against), but that dealer doesn’t want you posting on social media or telling the same news team who reported the fire (that you found out about in such an unprofessional way) that their insurance made them whole and all you got was screwed.
That dealer should cut you a check for the contents of your car imho, or lease you a new Jetta at the same discount as the old one IMHO.
Again, sorry for the aggravation.
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If I am not mistaken, this is partly the reason why its better to get a third party GAP insurance policy. They will pay you directly and you can pay off the lease yourself. Not sure how or if it would be possible to do this when GAP is built into the contract by certain manufacturers.
VW includes the GAP, so you would pay extra for what is included. And no one does that.
Preface - I would 100% try to be nice and work through VW finance channels before considering anything I say below. Anyhow,
Bailments are one of those complex issues where what the contract says is often void against public policy. NJ has a good guide to bailments online.
My not a NJ lawyer reading of this is that if the dealership was negligent for the fire/extent of damage fire caused they would be responsible for the stuff destroyed in your car.
While in principle i agree with @jeisensc about speaking to a lawyer unless there is some sort of attorney costs provision related to this law it wouldn’t be worth it for you - costs would exceed recovery. But once the fire department releases its report on the fire, you could talk to a lawyer for five minutes and they will easily be able to tell you whether it is worth retaining them. If the lawyer says it is not worth it then you walk away or go to small claims court yourself.
Edit - meant to respond to @tismeddo
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Great addition. Don’t go Karen and claim to sue them into oblivion, but get a consult to see if the dealer might have some liability to make OP whole.
Here is how that nitwit should have handled when you called:
- Hi, where TF is my car?
- Let me put you on hold sir/madam
- (Service Director) I’m very sorry to tell you we had a fire last night, blah blah (NOT: didn’t you see the news or what we have been talking about all morning?)
- If you lost contents, discretionary $500 reimbursement (if no loss, a service credit to use by you anytime in next 2 years)
- Chip shortages aside, our sales manager will call you and is authorized to sell you a comparable car at invoice with 0 finance markup
Instead what they should get is the “News on your side” reporter standing in front of their burnt-out service bays, talking about how their customers got screwed at the holidays and the dealer has not helped at all to make them whole.
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How is this not unjust enrichment by VW Financial when they are collecting funds in excess of what was owed to them from an insurance policy wholly paid for by a third party (OP)?
That driver took some serious exception to the fact that so called Beverly Hills BMW is located about 5 miles away from the 90210 land. I guess La Brea Tar Pits BMW does not have the same ring.
Ultimately, wouldn’t it be insurance on the asset itself, which in this case is owned by VW Financial and therefore there’s nothing wrong here since it’s their property?
To make a comparison (feel free to call out if it’s a bad one - just one that comes to mind), even with renters insurance, the maximum you’d expect in the event of a catastrophe would be to get compensated for your possessions, right? You wouldn’t expect them to pay you for the construction value of the unit - wouldn’t that always go to the property management/building owner (lessor)?
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If you get a true rental car (say, hertz), pay for full insurance and the get’s totalled, do you expect to get any overage? Likely no.
Your logic about insurance fully paid by lessee and the suggestion that such insurance entitles them to the overage is flawed.
@DG-X5 I’d say, renters insurance is not the best example, since it is a liability insurance at core (it usually comes with a personal effects protection as an add-up, but this is not required).
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@DG-X5 and @VicontT - yes, the insurance is on the asset but it is not paid by VWF (who are probably listed as either additional insured or additional interest on the policy). The premiums are 100% paid by the lessee who also chooses the coverage limit and deductible amounts as long as they meet lessor’s minimum requirements (not applicable to Hertz rental which sells waiver and supplement coverages - totally different concept!)
Therefore, the lessee is a first-party claimant to whom the carrier owes fiduciary responsibility while VWF is most likely a third-party claimant with far fewer rights.
Renter’s insurance is in fact a very poor example since insured person vs insured interest plays a big role there. Whereas it is basically semantics on an auto policy as the carrier knows that VWF will not drive drunk (not a person) and crash your car = no additional risk to them. Further, you simply cannot insure structure on a renter’s policy (or you’d need homeowner’s policy), only contents and possibly liability = apples and oranges.
https://www.thezebra.com/auto-insurance/insurance-guide/additional-interest-vs-additional-insured/
Now, the Hertz rental example is even worse - talk about highly flawed logic! On a short term rental you do:
1 - not have a right of first refusal to buy a particular car at an agreed upon price (RV)
2 - not have to pay a disposal fee of $xxx to not exercise that right of a first refusal
3 - not have to pay for upkeep, scheduled maintenance and wear and tear
4 - not have a choice of insurance carriers
5 - have a responsibility to have minimum coverages and maximum deductibles per contract (again, free to go above and beyond those to minimize your own exposure)
6 - not have a change in premiums whether you rent a Nissan Versa or Tesla M3.
The policy premiums are based on the specific vehicle that you leased and the total payout is determined by the car’s FMV at the time of the total loss. It just so happened that this leased VW, like most other leased cars today, had equity in excess of RV. The OP was clearly aware of this and planned to buy the car out to cash out the equity. Had the car not burned down, there would be absolutely nothing VWF could do to stop them.
VWF not only was made whole but it now shows a credit balance on this account due to an overpayment due to a fire at a franchised dealer of their parent company. Tell me again, how is this not unjust enrichment?
DISCLAIMER: I am neither an attorney nor an insurance broker
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I would try to contact legal depts at both your insurance co and VWF. VWF was overpaid and your account has a credit balance. When you speak to your carrier, tell them that you believe that they acted in bad faith and breached their fiduciary responsibility by sending a full payment to VWF without finalizing the settlement with you first. Threaten to file a complaint with your state’s Dept of Insurance. Again, keep repeating terms “bad faith” and “breach of fiduciary responsibility” - those are huge red flags to them and should get their attention at high enough level.
Good luck!
No. They were paid market value for an asset they owned.
The payoff/buyout on the account was an unexercised option that had no value once the car was totaled.
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Repeating magic words you learned on the internet will get you exactly nowhere. Let’s start with basics. Why do you think insurance company has a fiduciary duty to lessee? It is an extremely high standard. Do you have a quote from a law or a court ruling to back your claim?
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I guess, what is kinda tripping a lot of people here, is how the fact of totalling the car deprives you of said option.
Yesterday you could have bought the car for RV + rest of payment, and today you suddenly can’t. Also, ‘total’ is an insurance word, the physical car is often still there, it’s just that cost of repairs are higher than value of the car (not the case with the burn down, but still often is). This makes the logic convoluted - be it $100 less of repairs, car would be yours to buy for less than market value, and now it is somehow not.
It just a bit counterintutive.
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Look at it from strictly accounting point of view (debits and credits). The account one month away from maturity had a balance of (say) $300, then they receive a payment of (say) $2,500.
Oh, I see now… another keyboard warrior sporting a deadly combination of ignorance and arrogance. Should I tell the judge in my case that he made a mistake ruling in my favor because @VicontT from the Internet told me so? My experience is from real life and those “magic words” are not only very high standards but are a rule of law, at least here in CA. The real world problem is that insurance companies like to play loose and oftentimes need a kick in the arse to remind of them of their obligations. Again, speaking from multiple experiences.
Good luck to the OP if they want to put their time and effort into this!
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