Insurance thinking of totaling my Jeep. What are your thoughts?

Having been through the negotiations with an insurance company over a different type of collision, I think it's a good negotiating tactic to have the repair estimate in your back pocket. If you say to them, we can resolve this if you cut me a check for $x or we can continue this discussion, they may take the offer.
 
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fuse said:
Having been through the negotiations with an insurance company over a different type of collision, I think it's a good negotiating tactic to have the repair estimate in your back pocket. If you say to them, we can resolve this if you cut me a check for $x or we can continue this discussion, they may take the offer.
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X2. @BrunoPizz97, all this discussion is purely conjecture until you know exactly what's broken, and what it would cost to fix your TJ.
 
We know almost nothing about your TJ.

The person behind the desk at the lady's insurance company knows a lot less than us. I bet that person is picturing the average 20 yr old vehicle (of any sort) in Long Island that's somewhat rusty, with a large dent or two and has at least one body part of a different color.

I'm not saying the adjuster won't want to total it when he sees it but even if he does, that will make their buy back price cheaper than you'd expect.

Good luck either way.
 
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Some good info here. Do your homework. Find your own “ comparables” from Craigs list/ auto trader, etc. get prices for additional upgrades. Get an estimate or better two. Most major insurance companies total a vehicle if repairs are over 70% of the vehicles actual cash value.
 
HAVE AN UPDATE!!!
so guy came by today and took a look at the car, he wrote some things down that needed to be repaired.
I asked him would you deem this as a total loss, he said to me "here is what is going to happen, I am going to put it in for repairs because as I can see this car is in really good shape and for the amount of miles that it has its basically a gem." I told him i would rather do repairs and he said bring it in to get an estimate of all the things that are going on then send that estimate to the insurance company and they will let you know what the steps are to get this resolved.
So not a total loss its getting repaired
 
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BrunoPizz97 said:
HAVE AN UPDATE!!!
so guy came by today and took a look at the car, he wrote some things down that needed to be repaired.
I asked him would you deem this as a total loss, he said to me "here is what is going to happen, I am going to put it in for repairs because as I can see this car is in really good shape and for the amount of miles that it has its basically a gem." I told him i would rather do repairs and he said bring it in to get an estimate of all the things that are going on then send that estimate to the insurance company and they will let you know what the steps are to get this resolved.
So not a total loss its getting repaired
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I hope you are correct but if repairs are even close to it's value they still may total it. A lot of body shops repair estimates for insurance claims are crazy high just because they can be.
 
Cornbread said:
I hope you are correct but if repairs are even close to it's value they still may total it. A lot of body shops repair estimates for insurance claims are crazy high just because they can be.
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no i totally understand that it can be totaled still you are 100% correct
 
Cornbread said:
I hope you are correct but if repairs are even close to it's value they still may total it. A lot of body shops repair estimates for insurance claims are crazy high just because they can be.
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Can you withhold the information that it's an insurance repair? Just take the car in and say you want to fix an old family car for a brother, son, daughter, cat, whatever and get the estimate to submit to the insurance. Obviously this reduces your insurance payout but may make the thought of a total loss less of an option to the insurance.
 
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Where are you on Long Island? Goonie's Gargage is in Holtsville and they're a very reputable Jeeps-only shop that specializes in TJs. They do everything and could work with you on price. Might be worth it to get the totaled payout from the insurance company minus the salvage and then pay cash and actually make some money off the repair. I did that once with my 95 Cherokee. Not sure what the law is in NY about how old the vehicle has to be to not get a salvage title.
 
bromel said:
Where are you on Long Island? Goonie's Gargage is in Holtsville and they're a very reputable Jeeps-only shop that specializes in TJs. They do everything and could work with you on price. Might be worth it to get the totaled payout from the insurance company minus the salvage and then pay cash and actually make some money off the repair. I did that once with my 95 Cherokee. Not sure what the law is in NY about how old the vehicle has to be to not get a salvage title.
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Nassau county, and honestly I cant do total because I personally am just so damn busy and quite honestly do not have the money to get a rental for the time being in the shop
 
BrunoPizz97 said:
Nassau county, and honestly I cant do total because I personally am just so damn busy and quite honestly do not have the money to get a rental for the time being in the shop
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The insurance company is required to provide you with a rental car if your vehicle is undriveable. If it is still safe to drive then once it gets to the shop then they must provide you with a rental.

Remember they are covering the loss. That means that they will/should cover all losses. The ability to drive a vehicle is a loss.
 
Boinked said:
The insurance company is required to provide you with a rental car if your vehicle is undriveable. If it is still safe to drive then once it gets to the shop then they must provide you with a rental.

Remember they are covering the loss. That means that they will/should cover all losses. The ability to drive a vehicle is a loss.
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just to clarify, sorry if i am being a little annoying here but if my jeep is "totaled" they have to give me a payout + a rental car, buy back my car and then bring my car to a mechanic to fix it and again they will still cover the cost of the rental while my "totaled" car is in the shop
 
BrunoPizz97 said:
I know what I am covered for but I am not going through my insurance, I am going through hers. My insurance company has nothing to do with this.
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maybe you oughta invite them to the party, assuming you have collision coverage (if so, are you trying to keep them out of it because you believe it will have a negative impact on your rates going forward?).

If it were me, and I had the coverage, I'd be going through my carrier all day long; they have a duty to act in good faith as they have a contractual obligation to do so and I believe you will get a better shake that way. Also use the rental coverage. After all the dust settles, your carrier will submit a subrogation claim to the at fault driver's carrier and get all their dollars and cents back.

You will emerge unscathed.

With your TJ.

Happy.
 
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BrunoPizz97 said:
just to clarify, sorry if i am being a little annoying here but if my jeep is "totaled" they have to give me a payout + a rental car, buy back my car and then bring my car to a mechanic to fix it and again they will still cover the cost of the rental while my "totaled" car is in the shop
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If your jeep is not drivable right now you should already be in a rental car. If the car is a total loss. You will keep the rental car until the claim is settled. IE... you agree on a settlement check. Once that happens you must return the rental car. (timing of the return will differ from state to state).

If the jeep is not a total loss you keep the rental car until the repairs have been completed on the jeep.


If you choose to buy the jeep back from the insurance company (assuming total loss) that has no effect on the rental car. You have completed the claim once you accept the check for the damages to the vehicle.


Hopefully I cleared my random thoughts up...... sometimes (most of the time) it sounds better in my head.
 
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Boinked said:
If your jeep is not drivable right now you should already be in a rental car. If the car is a total loss. You will keep the rental car until the claim is settled. IE... you agree on a settlement check. Once that happens you must return the rental car. (timing of the return will differ from state to state).

If the jeep is not a total loss you keep the rental car until the repairs have been completed on the jeep.


If you choose to buy the jeep back from the insurance company (assuming total loss) that has no effect on the rental car. You have completed the claim once you accept the check for the damages to the vehicle.


Hopefully I cleared my random thoughts up...... sometimes (most of the time) it sounds better in my head.
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Jeep is derivable i take it to work everyday, its just really sketchy lmfao
 
After weeks of going back and forth with the insurance company my Jeep is finally fixed
no more clunks!! very happy
the jeep now has an RC 2.5" lift kit, now before someone says RC is shit I am completely aware of this but their kit was affordable and it came with control arms. I really do like the kit as it completely eliminated every clunk noise. I also went with a metal cloak rear TB, which was the best purchase I have made yet. RC shocks are up for sale I do not want them in my jeep, I opted to keep the shocks I originally had.
also have another problem with the jeep now, its now misfiring in cyl 6 if anyone knows the fix let me know !!!

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