Van Fire

As you know, our van caught fire and burned to a total loss. Chrysler denied our claim under the Basic Warranty because in their estimation, there was no evidence of a manufacturer's defect. We disagreed with this assessment based on the report from the Minneapolis Fire Department and two different independent fire investigators, and as such we decided to pursue independent arbitration, which is a right afforded to us under the warranty. Today, we received a letter from the National Center for Dispute Settlement (NCDS) which indicated, "Since the vehicle has been involved in a fire, and it cannot be determined if it was a defect under the warranty prior to the damage, your situation is beyond the jurisdiction of this Customer Arbitration Process."

There was also a handwritten note included with the letter that indicated that Chrysler had informed NCDS that we would have to file a claim with our insurance company, who could then attempt to subrogate the funds back from Chrysler if they could prove there was a defect in the van. So much for the "independent" part of arbitration.

Regardless, their decision puts us in a difficult situation. Our only options at this point are to file a lawsuit or file a claim with our insurance company. After much thought, we've decided to go ahead and file a claim with our insurance company. They will try to subrogate from Chrysler, but if they aren't successful we will be left with a hefty increase to our premium for a number of years. The situation sucks and we definitely feel that we have been wronged in some way.

However, we have already wasted too much mental energy on this entire situation. While we may have been wronged, the fact of the matter remains that we are very fortunate and blessed. Everyday, many, many people are wronged in far more serious ways and we need to keep this in perspective. It's just a car, for goodness sake! We still have a roof over our heads, we can buy a new car, we are all healthy, we were not hurt by this incident, and on and on. This situation is out of our control and rather than letting it consume any of our precious time and energy, we've decided to let go of any frustration or bitterness we feel and have resolved to be entirely happy with all the beautiful and good things that we do have in our lives.

On a different note, Jason is running the marathon on Sunday. Please send good thoughts and prayers his way - he'll need them! We'll post about it next week. Have a good weekend everyone! Peace & love to you all!