Sad day: Jeep totaled or not?

Nicholas

Nicholas

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Aug 14, 2017
Messages
726
Location
Tampa, FL, United States
Hey guys so I ran into a sh_t ton of trouble yesterday. I’m pretty ashamed of it but I’m opening up again. I got side swiped yesterday and I was at fault. The car went straight into my wheel when I pulled out without double checking the oncoming lane twice and dented up my fender a little and bumper, little stuff. However because the force was taken through my driver side front wheel, my whole wheel is pushed inwards about an inch or two, as well at about a 5 degree angle or so upwards. It seems like the axle C- style baring piece that connects to the tube shafts of the axle is slightly bent up with my joint seeming to come out a little. Also my CA mount is bent a lot, now I know that would be hard to fix because I had the other side bent in once and paid 250$ to have it re- welded but this is different. So now what I’m wondering about is what kind of money will insurance be willing to spend on a vehicle before calling it a loss? I made the claim, they told me to just bring it in Monday to have it repaired, no inspection was offered she just said bring it their and I have geico with full coverage. So I’m assuming they’d find out then? i just want to know before as I’m so eager. It drives no different accept I’m sitting a tad lower on my driver side and my steering wheels off centered. Sorry for the Harry Potter book anything will help. Thanks.
cf3b4e684be0ac030f76a8972e990175.jpg
22ec5fbbad72f60c1be571c9ddef97a9.jpg



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
It's a 4 cylinder, right? Those things don't have a high value like a Rubicon model (maybe 6k on KBB?), and I'm guessing there is some frame damage there depending on how hard they hit you.

I'm going to say it's contingent upon frame damage. If the frame is straight and just the axle is bent, then they might not total it. If the frame is bent though, the vehicle has such a low value, that I'd think they might total it.

At this point though all we can do is speculate. You'll have to wait for your claims adjuster to come check it out and see what they say.

So I would think your insurance would be willing to spend up to 5-6k before considering it a totaled vehicle.

I'd look up the KBB value, as they tend to go off that in most cases.

I'd probably just take the check and fix it myself. New fender, new front axle, etc. Most of the stuff would be pretty cheap if you did it yourself.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Fughuert and Nicholas
My advice just swap the front axle (completely) you can find dana 30s for a dime a dozen on craigslist and junkyards. Just make sure you get the right gears. And replace the control arms.

I don't want to say it isn't possible for frame damage. But there is alot of weak links between the axle and the frame.

I would not drive it in that condition.
 
  • Like
Reactions: rasband
Ditto on the above ^^
You can get a used Dana 30 axle cheap. Control arms aren't much either. If you do the work yourself you could fix it all under $500, provided there's no frame damage.
However, your insurance will probably want to total it- which then you might end up with a Salvage title if you buy it back from them after they payout the insurance.
Maybe it's a good time to finally put a long-arm lift and upgrade the axles/gears for bigger tires?? :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nicholas
Chris said:
It's a 4 cylinder, right? Those things don't have a high value like a Rubicon model (maybe 6k on KBB?), and I'm guessing there is some frame damage there depending on how hard they hit you.

I'm going to say it's contingent upon frame damage. If the frame is straight and just the axle is bent, then they might not total it. If the frame is bent though, the vehicle has such a low value, that I'd think they might total it.

At this point though all we can do is speculate. You'll have to wait for your claims adjuster to come check it out and see what they say.

So I would think your insurance would be willing to spend up to 5-6k before considering it a totaled vehicle.

I'd look up the KBB value, as they tend to go off that in most cases.

I'd probably just take the check and fix it myself. New fender, new front axle, etc. Most of the stuff would be pretty cheap if you did it yourself.
Click to expand...

My deductible is 500$ so I’m considering throwing the diy idea out the door. But the KBB value actually was printed out from the last owner 2 years ago for about 7200 I mean it could be more or could be Less with the upgrades that include the full exhaust and minor engine upgrades, the top, idk about the lift with rancho shocks and etc i really could be wrong but idk man it just sucks that it had to happen, freakin love it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Robin Down said:
Ditto on the above ^^
You can get a used Dana 30 axle cheap. Control arms aren't much either. If you do the work yourself you could fix it all under $500, provided there's no frame damage.
However, your insurance will probably want to total it- which then you might end up with a Salvage title if you buy it back from them after they payout the insurance.
Maybe it's a good time to finally put a long-arm lift and upgrade the axles/gears for bigger tires?? :)
Click to expand...

Ahhh so many options, I’m glad I have em though. But again my deductible is 500 and it’s really a lot of work with school and interning and then work on top of that I just don’t have the time and motivation to do a diy. I really hope they don’t total it. But I will be accepting if they do. Put probably 3-4K of it away and the rest for something crappy and reliable, considering I drive A LOT and through traffic 3x a day, not to mention it’s my DD. But again I really love my car and passion is there. But if it is totaled I gotta research that and see how that works. Like the check I get for it will be cut from what’s worth left if it and I could make more if I sell the parts, I dont really want to think about that haha


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
I'd do some legwork yourself. Don't let the insurance company take you for a ride, you pay for coverage. Get a few quotes on your own. Insurance companies will spend quite a bit on Wranglers, you might have to show them a few ads but they'll catch on quick that you aren't driving a Ford Focus. Most companies will also allow you to pick the shop, the approved list is just to save you time. Best of luck, those things are never fun.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nicholas
Nicholas said:
My deductible is 500$ so I’m considering throwing the diy idea out the door. But the KBB value actually was printed out from the last owner 2 years ago for about 7200 I mean it could be more or could be Less with the upgrades that include the full exhaust and minor engine upgrades, the top, idk about the lift with rancho shocks and etc i really could be wrong but idk man it just sucks that it had to happen, freakin love it


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...
Insurance companies do not care about blue book value. They look at replacement cost. They look at what your model is selling for. You can do a search on craigslist for your year snd see what they are asking. Most insurance companies will do that to come up with a first offer. If you see them selling for 4k that is what they will pay.
Unless stated in your policy they will not care about aftermarket upgrades. The shop near me is alway removing upgrades from jeeps that are totaled before they turn it over.

Keep in mind that the insurance company makes money by not giving it away. They are not your friend.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nicholas
pagrey said:
I'd do some legwork yourself. Don't let the insurance company take you for a ride, you pay for coverage. Get a few quotes on your own. Insurance companies will spend quite a bit on Wranglers, you might have to show them a few ads but they'll catch on quick that you aren't driving a Ford Focus. Most companies will also allow you to pick the shop, the approved list is just to save you time. Best of luck, those things are never fun.
Click to expand...

Much appreciated for this information


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Key thing. When my old Cherokee was totaled (for Hail!), they gave me the whatever thousands it was worth minus deductible, THEN they let me buy the totaled vehicle back from them for like $300. If you think you can fix it up, or if you want to part out your upgrades, this is a no-brainer.

Only issue is you may end up with a salvage title (oddly I did not). In TX after you make the repairs you can change that to rebuilt, which will still impact resale...but hey you already "sold" it once :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nicholas
Good to hear! And yes, insurance should go off the market value of the vehicle, not KBB. I had a scare when my wife got into a low-speed T-bone while driving the TJ (not her fault, not by a mile, even the responding officer said he wrote as much on his report). Thankfully the other person had insurance and they valued the TJ at an appropriate 10K. The shop, with their high price of replacements, labor, paint, etc. came in at close to 6K in work. Got it all done though, and you'd never know it happened from the look of it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nicholas
danof76 said:
Good to hear! And yes, insurance should go off the market value of the vehicle, not KBB. I had a scare when my wife got into a low-speed T-bone while driving the TJ (not her fault, not by a mile, even the responding officer said he wrote as much on his report). Thankfully the other person had insurance and they valued the TJ at an appropriate 10K. The shop, with their high price of replacements, labor, paint, etc. came in at close to 6K in work. Got it all done though, and you'd never know it happened from the look of it.
Click to expand...

How does this effect value? This is one thing I’m a little nervous about because even though it’s my first at fault accident I’ve had two other, little incidents where it wasn’t my fault and I had to make claims still.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
  • Like
Reactions: danof76
Nicholas said:
How does this effect value? This is one thing I’m a little nervous about because even though it’s my first at fault accident I’ve had two other, little incidents where it wasn’t my fault and I had to make claims still.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Honestly I am not sure how it effects value. I would think not much if it’s not totaled and doesn’t have any lasting damage or impact on the driving experience of the Jeep and everything damaged has been fixed or replaced. I mean TJs have such value anyway, beggars can’t be choosers you know.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Nicholas
Top Bottom
Back