Sad news

Don’t sign off on your medical condition until it’s settled and you’re satisfied, especially if you lost consciousness. They will be willing to negotiate a little more if you hold that card, in fact when you talk to them say “I’m sorry, what were we talking about again?” a few times, that’ll get their attention.
 
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Glad there were no serious injuries. Jeeps are replaceable, someone's health or life is not. Good luck with the insurance company. Probably won't be a pleasant experience, but as stated already, make sure you get fair market value.
 
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Glad to see you are ok. Sucks for the tj.
If you have a concussion, go to the ER, let them do a CAT scan or MRI.
Get an attorney and file a lawsuit against the other driver. You will see how quickly the other drivers insurance company will meet your demands on the price of your vehicle, especially if you have receipts for any custom work or add ons.
 
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LukesfirstJeep said:
I feel for the OP. A friend of mine is a retired claims adjuster. He told me buying a vehicle worth $X and adding $Y in upgrades, doesn't make the vehicle worth $X+Y, unless you have a stated value policy.
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Also the policy that should pay for the accident isn't his insurance since he was hit from behind and other car is at fault. I would talk to lawyers about personal injuries for yourself and anyone in the accident. Injuries can last long after the accident. Pains and injuries aren't always apparent and can pop up years later if never treated properly.
 
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X2 on CAT scan or MRI (possible internal bleeding) and keep your medical documentation. Hopefully the person at fault has insurance.

I got rear ended by a drunk driver (I was in a pick up - my son was in a car seat in the back seat and my daughter was in the front with me) but had a bad whiplash (server head aces due to my neck snapped back). I ended up getting medically cleared for internal injury's but had to see the Chiropractor (several visits over 3-6 months) to adjust my next and back. The person at faults insurance paid for all medical and truck repairs.
 
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CodaMan said:
Buy it from the insurance company
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Absolutely, it doesn't look that bad at all. Many insurance companies will total a vehicle when it wouldn't take much $$$ to fix it up again. The only drawback is you'll end up with a Salvaged or similar title which lowers its resale value and limits your insurance options.

And as above, don't sign off on anything saying you and your wife are ok. The other driver's insurance company will pressure you to sign that you're ok but injuries from accidents like that can take up to a couple weeks to show up. My wife was in an accident and felt ok at first but then her arms and feet started tingling a week or two later. It took nearly a year for them to figure out she had fractured a vertebrae in her neck in the accident.
 
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Did the other driver get ticketed for the crash?

As long as it's 100% their fault they have to make you whole. That means full market value for your Jeep, and any medical bills. Don't settle for a penny less than whatever you would have accepted if you were selling it.
 
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Jerry Bransford said:
Absolutely, it doesn't look that bad at all. Many insurance companies will total a vehicle when it wouldn't take much $$$ to fix it up again. The only drawback is you'll end up with a Salvaged or similar title which lowers its resale value and limits your insurance options.

And as above, don't sign off on anything saying you and your wife are ok. The other driver's insurance company will pressure you to sign that you're ok but injuries from accidents like that can take up to a couple weeks to show up. My wife was in an accident and felt ok at first but then her arms and feet started tingling a week or two later. It took nearly a year for them to figure out she had fractured a vertebrae in her neck in the accident.
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I was rear ended back in 1998. Some 15 year old kid took his parents Lincoln out for a joy ride with two 14yo girls. He hit me so hard it put the tail lamp of my 1990 mustang in the back seat.
I had a concussion, 37 stitches in my face and a few other on site injuries.
The real fun started about 3 months later when I would get bad headaches and would black out for no reason.

So do not sign anything with the insurance company. Go get yourself a good attorney and sue the drivers insurance company directly.

When I had my accident , my insurance company totally my car, but I had close to 20k worth of mods to it.
My attorney went after the other drivers insurance company and got me and additional 15k for my car on top of the settlement.
 
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John Cooper said:
Argue with them and tell them to find one similar to yours, don't take their first offer!!!
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Don't argue - fight them tooth and nail! I don't know the extent of your damage, so I can't comment as to whether or not it is a legit "total" or not - BUT - insurance companies LOVE to total out cars - I fought tooth and nail with State Farm 10 years ago over my old Mercedes. I told them that I really didn't give a damn how much they thought the car was "worth", I wanted it fixed. It took 5 weeks of arguing, but they finally relented and fixed my car...

I'm still driving it today - in fact, I just installed new speakers in it.
 
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Glad to hear everyone "seems" to be ok. i would also try to recover the jeep if possible
and fight the insurance for sure they will try anything to get you to settle. believe
this they DO NOT have your best interest in there heart... they only want a bigger bonus at your expense... i had to play there game for 13 yrs it did not work out for them in the end at all.Is it worth the time? only you can decide that. these folks on here have given some very sound advice IMHO
 
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I would be interested in knowing what they want for it buying it from the insurance company. I would think salvage value of jeeps is pretty strong. This will definitely help the insurance company. Assuming you don't take possession that helps them recoup the losses they end up paying you.
Fair market value and don't forget about taxes.
 
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With respect to your property damage, negotiate or sue if necessary, and settle your property damage when you’re happy with the amount.

But a word of advice from experience about your injuries. Do not settle for at least a year, and I’m not joking. They cannot force you to settle, and it’s in your best interest to wait.

I dislike attorneys, but in this case I do recommend you find a good one, you won’t regret it.
 
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I just read your profile and see that you are only 23 not an old fart like many of us. I’m not trying to scare you, just being pragmatic about your situation. I spent 20 years in the medical profession 10 of those in the ER. If you hit your head hard enough to lose consciousness even for a short time, because of your age there could be long term consequences when you reach my age. Make sure you talk with your MD about this. Do not trust any insurance company or “their” doctors. Even if you go the lawyer route, which I would do, be careful with any doctor they refer you to because they may be biased also. Your family physician will truly have your best interest in mind. Your jeep can be replaced but your brain can’t. In my opinion for what it’s worth you should have periodic follow up monitoring for the rest of your life to stay ahead of any future complications.
 
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bucky said:
I just read your profile and see that you are only 23 not an old fart like many of us. I’m not trying to scare you, just being pragmatic about your situation. I spent 20 years in the medical profession 10 of those in the ER. If you hit your head hard enough to lose consciousness even for a short time, because of your age there could be long term consequences when you reach my age. Make sure you talk with your MD about this. Do not trust any insurance company or “their” doctors. Even if you go the lawyer route, which I would do, be careful with any doctor they refer you to because they may be biased also. Your family physician will truly have your best interest in mind. Your jeep can be replaced but your brain can’t. In my opinion for what it’s worth you should have periodic follow up monitoring for the rest of your life to stay ahead of any future complications.
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Excellent advice, and I couldn’t agree more. 👍
 
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If the other party is at fault, they owe you for the fair market value of your jeep +TT&L. NADA value is not always accurate, especially on older Jeeps. If you keep the TJ, they will not owe the TT&L since you’re not replacing it. Should be able to negotiate the salvage value if you intend to keep it. The salvage auctions charge the crap out of the insurance companies for auctioning the vehicle. So the market value of the salvage is a lot more than what the insurance companies recover - so there should be room for negotiation. Also they will owe for any necessary medical + discomfort. Don’t settle the injury portion for a while as stated by previous posters. Hope it turns out well for you.
 
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Justemptyeverypocket said:
I hope so too but the insurance says the Jeep is generally worth 9k and I expect less than that but even if I do get 9 that's not enough for a the where I live
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I watched a video by Dennis Collins of Collins Brother’s Jeeps where he talked about something called “agreed value coverage”. Their shop does incredibly beautiful restorations for Jeep guys with really deep pockets. He said that you can talk to your insurance agent about this kind of coverage & you might be surprised how little more it would cost. I haven’t done this yet, but I really need to.
 
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