Dodge pick up recall liabilities...whose responsibility?

Question

My father purchased a 1995 Dodge Ram 1/2 ton pick-up in March of 2006, from a private dealer. On December 28th, 2006, I was driving it and shut the heater blower down and then turned it back on. At that point it hesitated and when it came on I could smell the wiring burning. The truck caught fire and is now a total loss.
Should someone (the previous dealer or Dodge)have notified the new owner of any recalls or potential problems with this truck? The insurance company asked if he had the Ignition recall fixed. That recall was obviously before he purchased it and he knew nothing about it. Who knows what other recalls there were on the truck and not attended to. Is there a Liability factor there somewhere?
Thanks,
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Answer 1

A vehicle more than 10 years old would have had to be sold "As Is - No Warranty"
That means the seller takes no responsibility AT ALL.
That would have been printed on the "Buyers Guide" that, by law, is required on all vehicles for sale on any dealers lot.
But you state, in your question, "private dealer".....
Do you mean "private seller" ?
If so regardless of Anything written, verbal, or otherwise....it is "As Is"
Private sales are not regulated at all. Thats why it is called "Buyer Beware" & it makes more sence to buy from a reputable dealer, preferably a NEW CAR DEALER. They have much more to loose ( like their franchise agreement) if they don't follow the law.

Answer 2

The only way you would have recourse against the seller would be if it was a Dodge, Chrysler or JEEP franchised dealer since they have the ability (and responsibility) to check it before offering it for sale. An idependent dealer lot, or individual seller is not required to make sure all recalls are performed on the vehicle before offering it for sale (at least in the states I've lived in, State laws may vary).

It's always a good idea to check for recalls on any new vehicle purchase, but now is too late for should'ves.

Best thing to do now is to contact your local dealer and have them run the VIN to check for outstanding recalls (recalls not yet performed). They should also be able to tell if there was a recall for it that was performed. If it shows no recalls still needing to be done, then he should call his insurance and let them know that all recalls on it had been performed. Could also ask if the scenario that happened could've been caused by the recall if it wasn't performed as it may not have even been related. Blower motor resistors can sometimes go bad and I've seen many melt wires and plugs, so it wouldn't be unheard of for it to be a completely separate problem.

As for Dodge contacting him, I'm not sure how long they will send out a recall notice on a vehicle, but usually once the vehicle is entered into the manufacturer's database with new owner information, they will end out any recall notices for outstanding recalls. But he would have had to send in a change of ownership card or had service work done at a Dodge dealer (or Chrysler or JEEP dealer) for it to ahve been entered into their database.

Answer 3

Unfortunately it was your father's responsibility to do a check to see if all recalls had been done on this vehicle. Should it have been done before? Of course, but it is not a mandatory requirement before selling a vehicle. Also that it was a private used car dealer, as opposed to an OEM dealer, the likelihood of all recalls having been done is slim.
It does sound as though the insurance company is looking for a reason to deny paying, I would be having the VIN checked at a Chrysler dealer to see if the ignition recall had been performed (if such a recall even exists) and what this recall was correcting, (may not have anything to do with possible wiring harness fires in the blower motor circuit) as this information is entered into Chrysler's head office records.

Answer 4

Contact the manufacturer. Most of the time the recalls are sent to the customer who had ownership of the vehicle at the time the recall was present. Normally, the dealer should make some form of "right" in this situation, but likely your dad signed an "as is" form, in one form or another. You could try to nail the dealer with it, with some luck, they may not have the deal jacket or the paper your dad signed. If they don't, you have an available lawsuit. Look up your state's "lemon law" as well, there may be some loopholes to save some face against lemon vehicles.

Likely though, your father may be SOL, and in the future, anytime you buy a vehicle, call your local dealer and find out if there's any open recalls. They're free to do, and only takes a few minutes of your time.

Good luck!

Answer 5

Your father could have had any Dodge dealer do a check of his VIN for any outstanding recalls. The manufacturer will send a notice to the owner of a vehicle (according to their records), but they do not have completely updated records. Many people will ignore recall notices, however.

It sounds to me that the fire was caused by a problem with the heater control, not the ignition switch. In any case, if the manufacturer made a good faith effort to notify the owner of record, they will not be liable!

Answer 6

Your local dodge or chrysler dealership can tell thru the vehicle i.d.# if your truck was involved in a recall. If it was and the owner at that time ignored having the recall done, the expense of the damage is on you. If the recall was performed, and the fire was directly related to the recall, you need to deal with Chrysler Corp.

Answer 7

ladies Ella & Claire. I surely have a solid, own connection to those 2 names as a blend. i like Anneliese & Catherine besides. Boys Leo & Anthony. Casey is extremely close in the back of however

Answer 8

technically they should be responsible for it,,but ,your dad isn't the only one that has had this problem before,,but there's no way of knowing if they ignition problem was ever repaired on it,,but they should be held liable for it,but i doubt that ever happening,,unless about a thousand of them catch on fire and burn up,,if the insurance company is going to settle on it,,id wait and let them settle ,and then contact dodge about it,,if you do this now,,it may stall out the payment from your insurance company but i would let dodge know about it,,you can go to there website ,and post a message to them about it,,I'm sure there's more there on the same subject,,good luck i hope this help,s.

Answer 9

Thats a shame. See why I quit buying so called american products. Automakers here have no honor.