My son wrecked my Jeep

[Ronnie Grassel]

My son got hit directly on the passenger side rear wheel. Looks like the rear driveshaft was knocked over towards the drivers side and even now the spare tire and rim I put on is wobbleing bad . I saw somewhere y’all we talking about how not to get low balled by the insurance company in case of a total . Thanks for y’all time on this Sunday .

 

[2001slvrstntj]

Bummer, sorry to hear this. I am no help unfortunately, just here to say good luck and take you time and think it through when making decisions with the insurance company.

 

[someguysjeep]

hope your boy is ok.

if it took a hit in the rear to the wheel it'll have bent that wheel flange all up and likely shoved the axle over too.

any pics of the damage? the frame and drive line are what matters.

documentation and receipts is gonna be your best alli with the INS CO adjusters.
if they do total it and your getting problems with the settlement, maybe negotiate a buy back to reclaim your usable upgrades.

 

[Ronnie Grassel]

hope your boy is ok.

if it took a hit in the rear to the wheel it'll have bent that wheel flange all up and likely shoved the axle over too.

any pics of the damage? the frame and drive line are what matters.

documentation and receipts is gonna be your best alli with the INS CO adjusters.
if they do total it and your getting problems with the settlement, maybe negotiate a buy back to reclaim your usable upgrades.

yea , bought Jeep with all upgrades so no receipts . Pics don’t do any justice . Zero body damage but axel is definitely knocked over and steering wheel is out of whack also . Got a really good and trustworthy mechanic, I hope the let me take it to

 

[someguysjeep]

the tubs wrinkled and the axle does seem pushed (looks about a 1/2" from the pics).
the steering off because it's dog tracking now and probably fine.
finding out if the frames been bent is the big deal, the wheel does look to tilt a tiny bit to me and would indicate the axle shaft is bent.

post pics if the underside if they put it onto a lift.

 

[Goatman]

In NY we have "no fault" insurance so your insurance guy does your vehicle, his insurance does him. The only way I've found to work with you is who you have insurance with. Each company has their own evaluators. So saving a few dollars a year with a lizard can cost you a few thousand if you are ever needing the lizard to do it's job.

 

[Ronnie Grassel]

In NY we have "no fault" insurance so your insurance guy does your vehicle, his insurance does him. The only way I've found to work with you is who you have insurance with. Each company has their own evaluators. So saving a few dollars a year with a lizard can cost you a few thousand if you are ever needing the lizard to do it's job.

No, I have full coverage with Allstate. So I quess we will see .

 

[T Crawford]

Good excuse to get that lj you wanted? Kidding of course hope it works out

 

[Chris]

Let us know what they say. It looks like it shouldn't be too bad though.

 

[Moab]

I assume your son is ok? Give it a few days. Sometimes soft tissue injuries can come up later.

My son rear ended someone this winter in my Jeep. Luckily it was next to nothing. One side of my front bumper is now about a quarter inch pushed in. You can't tell unless you're looking for it. The ladies minivan had the bumper ripped off.

That advice about a buyback is good. But alot of states have done away with that. You used to be able to buy back your wrecked car in WA. AT a much reduced rate of course. But not in CA.

I think you can request an additional quote or multiple quotes if your not happy.

 

[AndyG]

Make them pull the rear differential cover and check it , and don’t sign off until she rolls smooth .

 

[qslim]

There are some smart insurance/lawyer types on here (I'm not one of them) - I wanna say @Westtown Willy? I seem to remember him putting up posts about this kinda stuff that really made sense. If I'm wrong Willy just call me out.

 

[BigWidd]

Former auto insurance claims adjuster here. I do not know the exact laws in your state but in most across the country, the owner gets to decide which repair shop they want to have perform the repair. The insurance co. will try to steer you toward one of their "preferred" shops. You do not have to go there.
It is true that the insurance co will low ball the owner or the shop. In most cases, the owner takes the check and never gets the vehicle repaired. Or the shop never gets around to submitting the supplement for payment. A win for the insurance.
By law they are required to put the vehicle back to "pre-accident condition", which also means pay what it costs to get it there.

 

[Westtown Willy]

By law they are required to put the vehicle back to "pre-accident condition", which also means pay what it costs to get it there.

And that’s what causes most TJ related problems because of their age, the margin between 'repairable' and 'total loss' is small and getting smaller every day. Regardless of what we think our rigs are worth carriers use different methods to evaluate their value as you know so a ding like this one could very well end up rendering this this particular TJ a total loss depending on what it needs. Then you’re stuck with whatever crap ass check you get & a big loss in real dollars you’ve got into it, even if you’re successful in wheeling & dealing your way to be better number it’s still most often not going to make you whole depending on what you’ve got into the rig. It’s been covered here many times but bears repeating, always buy an added value rider if your carrier sells it, or switch to one that does if not. I’ve got Travelers & they sell up to 10k in coverage for upgrades for a few extra bucks a year. That’ll get me back some of the money I’ve pissed into the wind on my pile .

I saw somewhere y’all we talking about how not to get low balled by the insurance company in case of a total . Thanks for y’all time on this Sunday .

be careful what you wish for, keep in mind that while it may be counter-intuitive, you're better off getting low balled AND getting your rig repaired than getting a few more bucks on the appraisal but that number pushes your rig into total loss territory, I'd call that a hollow victory assuming your rig is worth a good bit in excess of that total loss evaluation, which it probably is.

 

[scottgraham]

Ha! My insurance company has each of our TJ's valued at $1400

I also now know better than to call them for anything. I ran over a concrete paver that fell off a trailer w/ my S2K, tore a hole in week old tire and an $1800 rim. Did not make a claim, but it still went on my record. Pffft.

 

[Goatman]

Too late for this now, but might help someone else (me?) out down the road.
'Grundy?' Insurance and 1 or 2 others let you decide what the machine is worth. For exactly this reason. Those high zoot 1920's concours level rides often get this type of car insurance. I don't know much other than you decide the value you feel the vehicle is worth ahead of time. Probably not cheap, but could be worth it.

 

[qslim]

Too late for this now, but might help someone else (me?) out down the road.
'Grundy?' Insurance and 1 or 2 others let you decide what the machine is worth. For exactly this reason. Those high zoot 1920's concours level rides often get this type of car insurance. I don't know much other than you decide the value you feel the vehicle is worth ahead of time. Probably not cheap, but could be worth it.

Yeah, I've used Hagerty collector car insurance over the years, it's actually pretty reasonable. Right now I have an old Mercury valued at $20k, I think I pay about $400 a year. One of the stipulations w/ that policy is that the vehicle is only to be used for "pleasure cruising, car shows, and trips to & from the mechanic". They don't ask for an odometer reading so I'm not sure how that part of the policy would ever be litigated, but I decided to go w/ normal insurance for the TJ because my wife drives it every day in the summer.

 

[BigWidd]

And that’s what causes most TJ related problems because of their age, the margin between 'repairable' and 'total loss' is small and getting smaller every day. Regardless of what we think our rigs are worth carriers use different methods to evaluate their value as you know so a ding like this one could very well end up rendering this this particular TJ a total loss depending on what it needs. Then you’re stuck with whatever crap ass check you get & a big loss in real dollars you’ve got into it, even if you’re successful in wheeling & dealing your way to be better number it’s still most often not going to make you whole depending on what you’ve got into the rig. It’s been covered here many times but bears repeating, always buy an added value rider if your carrier sells it, or switch to one that does if not. I’ve got Travelers & they sell up to 10k in coverage for upgrades for a few extra bucks a year. That’ll get me back some of the money I’ve pissed into the wind on my pile .



be careful what you wish for, keep in mind that while it may be counter-intuitive, you're better off getting low balled AND getting your rig repaired than getting a few more bucks on the appraisal but that number pushes your rig into total loss territory, I'd call that a hollow victory assuming your rig is worth a good bit in excess of that total loss evaluation, which it probably is.

You are absolutely correct about the total loss scenario. The insurance companies do in fact try to settle as low as possible. Documentation is good to have in a situation like this. The more you can provide to substantiate what you figure it is worth, the better position you are in to negotiate. Back when I was an adjuster, each of us had to settle our own total losses. Nowadays they send them off to a central total loss desk for settlement. I was always getting written up for "overpaying". Being a car enthusiast made it difficult for me to try and settle as low as possible. I always tried to be as fair as I could with the owner but it didn't work out too well for me in the long run. Not a very fun job to be honest.

The owners best friend in any case is your AGENT. Always consult them for any questions or issues you have. In many cases they are your personal friend and will do whatever they can to help you. Additionally, the idea of checking into an added value rider is wise advise. It is generally a very low cost addition to a policy and can save you a lot of grief in the long run.

 

[Goatman]

My agent actually covered my payment for me once. For some reason I forgot all about it. When I finally stumbled onto the bill again I raced down to my agent hoping I wouldn't have too many charges, or even have no coverage. When I got there she told me she saw it on her computer that I was over due so she wrote a check to cover it for me. She never called or sent a text or anything. Figured I stop by sooner or later and could settle up then. That is why I'll never change insurance agents. A whole new meaning to 'personal service'