Location: NC / Virginia
Hello, I am seeking legal advice regarding an issue myself and my wife have ran into regarding her car. We are leasing a 2024 Jeep Wagoneer. This all started in June of this year (June 18th). We were on a family vacation in Wilmington, NC. We noticed during our vacation that my wife was in need of an oil change so we took it into a random quick stop oil change shop in Wilmington the day before we drove back to our current state of residence in the Northern Virginia area.
Fast-Forward to last week (August 29th). We take the vehicle in for an oil change as it is now due for another one, this time at the Jeep dealership where we originally bought the vehicle and normally take it in for routine maintenance. After waiting nearly 6 hours for a call-back to see the status of the vehicle they told us that it was still in line for the oil change. They then called us back 15 minutes later stating that the oil pan plug was completely stripped and that the car was now un-drivable. They then stated that we would have to get in contact with the shop that did the previous oil change to send them a statement of the bill for a new oil pan ($6,000+). We call the oil changing shop in North Carolina and explain the situation to them and basically play the middle man between them and the Jeep dealership. The Oil change shop has provided me and my wife along with the dealership video footage of the oil change being conducted on our vehicle.
Fast forward to today and no one has taken fault for this, so the bill is defaulted to me and my wife as neither the dealership nor the oil change shop are taking responsibility for the damages. We have spoken to Jeep costumer service and have been waiting for a response from them for a week now as well. The dealership will not provide me and my family with a rental vehicle or a courtesy vehicles because that is only covered under warranty and this type of damage isn’t covered under warranty. We have stressed to Jeep and Chrysler capital that this is our family vehicle. Me and my wife have 3 children who all suffer from medical disabilities and this vehicle is our only way of getting to really important medical appointments. I am an Active Duty service member and need my vehicle (which is not equip for 3 car seats and medical devices) to travel to work everyday. We have contacted what seems to be like the only lawyer in our area that will even take a case like this and after spending $150 for a 10 minute phone call the only legal advice we have received is to make a claim through our car insurance.
After trying that, Geico wants to charge us a $250 deductible just “call the Jeep dealership on our behalf” and “pressure them” to take responsibility for the charges.
I apologize for the long post, just wanting to get some feedback on what me and my wife can do to get past this as it is creating a mental and financial hardship on us and our family.