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vehicle demage and theft in a car dealer premises

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jmant

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? Illinois
I am seeking advice of a situation where I had brought my vehicle to a toyota dealer to it repaired but the interim that the dealer had my car, the car was broken into and my audio-video system stolen. A police report was generated and I was adviced by the dealer to have my insurance company notified to have the the demages repaired.
Isn't the dealer liable for the demages on the vehicle? Are they not accountable in this type of situations? What options are avialable to me?
 


stephenk

Senior Member
Two options.

You can have your own insurance company replace the AV system in your car. You have more control over what is being done when you deal with your own carrier. You will have to pay your deductible or request it be waived since your carrier has a very good chance of getting reimbursed by the dealer and/or its insurance company.

OR

You can make a claim against the dealership and its insurance carrier. They will pay you for the value of your AV system and the cost to install the system.
 

JETX

Senior Member
stephenk said:
You can make a claim against the dealership and its insurance carrier. They will pay you for the value of your AV system and the cost to install the system.
That is only correct if the dealer was somehow at fault or negligent in the loss. If they took normal and reasonable protections, they wouldn't have any more liability than if the loss occurred in a shopping center parking lot.... or the street in front of the OP's house.
 

stephenk

Senior Member
A dealership is different than a shopping mall parking lot in that the dealership takes actual possession of the car. A bailment is created and the dealership is responsible for the care of the vehicle while they have it.
 

teflon_jones

Senior Member
In my experience, this can be a grey area and could go either way depending on several factors:
1. Where was the vehicle located at the time of the thefts? Was the lot well lighted?
2. Has the dealership had a history of thefts? If so, have they addressed this?
3. Was your car locked at the time of the theft? (this is the key one)

This one could go either way if you went to small claims court depending on these questions and the judge that you get. If they didn't lock your car, then you could win since they didn't take reasonable precautions to prevent the theft. But most of the time, if the dealership fights you on it, most people I know have ended up having to go through their insurance.
 

JETX

Senior Member
stephenk said:
A dealership is different than a shopping mall parking lot in that the dealership takes actual possession of the car. A bailment is created and the dealership is responsible for the care of the vehicle while they have it.
Sorry, but you know that is not true. The dealership on accepting the vehicle does create a bailment (dependent on conditions), but is only obligated to provide 'normal and reasonable' protections. There is nothing in this thread to indicate that the dealership did anything wrong..... and absent that, the dealership, even in a bailment, is not a guarantor of protection.
 

jmant

Junior Member
Thank you for your feedback on this thread. In reply to some of the questions put forth, the car was located in the back of their building that is fenced among other cars to be repaired and their inventory of new cars. I can't say whether or not the lot was well lighted. Police authorities did mention that they have had other dealers in close proximity which have been victimized recently. I am presuming that the vichecle was locked at the time the incident.
What would constitute "normal and reasonable protection"? Is there a standard for normal & reasonable protection for auto dealerships.
It is ironic that an old 1994 suv happens to be singled out among all the other vehicles in their fenced in lot and burglarized, when av systems did not exist for that particular vehicle at that time.
Currently, my insurance company will not cover all the items stolen from the vehicle.
 

teflon_jones

Senior Member
jmant said:
Thank you for your feedback on this thread. In reply to some of the questions put forth, the car was located in the back of their building that is fenced among other cars to be repaired and their inventory of new cars. I can't say whether or not the lot was well lighted. Police authorities did mention that they have had other dealers in close proximity which have been victimized recently. I am presuming that the vichecle was locked at the time the incident. What would constitute "normal and reasonable protection"?
This is something that a judge could interpret, but would likely find the fence and the vehicle being locked constitute "normal and reasonable protection".
jmant said:
Currently, my insurance company will not cover all the items stolen from the vehicle.
The AV items would need to be listed as a rider on your policy. If you don't have them listed, then your policy only covers the normal stock components that come with your car.
 

nanaII

Member
Not necessarily so..

"The AV items would need to be listed as a rider on your policy. If you don't have them listed, then your policy only covers the normal stock components that come with your car."

This is not necessarily so. If the items are a permanently installed in the car, such as installed in the dash or bolted down somehow (such as speaker boxes and amps), they would be covered. You don't need a rider. I went through the same thing with my son's vehicle that was parked in my driveway. Someone broke into it and stole $3K worth of equipment. The insurance company covered everything stolen. He had receipts for everything (which were all upgrades), so everything was covered (minus depreciation and deductible).
 

teflon_jones

Senior Member
nanall,
That depends on your policy. Many policies require that any aftermarket components in the car be separately listed as riders. This poster needs to review their policy to see if they're covered or not. Their insurance company is obviously not handling this the same way that your son's did since they've already denied coverage.
 

nanaII

Member
Insurance company..

My insurance company tried to deny my claim when I first tried to file it, too, by saying that the components weren't covered, but I insisted that the items were part of the vehicle, and should be covered. They ended up paying.
 

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