TJ Totalled Cost

Bird-Dawg

New Member
Joined
Apr 18, 2019
Messages
8
Location
GA
Welp it finally happened, I got T-boned in a parking lot by someone on their cell. Damage is superficial aside from a bent lower control arm/mount. Insurance is looking to total, and imagine i'll be in for a fight to get what the jeep is worth (anyone have experience in totals?). That said i was wondering what you guys think I could get/be fair if i buy it back salvage and then sell it whole. I don't have the time or space to part it out piece by piece unfortunately. I only have the photos of the damage atm since it's at the body shop.

Good:
The jeep still runs great and still tracks straight on the road (to my suprise). 4.0 Manual Hartop with new weather stripping.
Brand new AC system from Jeep Air
All cooling system replaced with AC with Mopar parts.
SS solid break lines/ complete break system replace,
Several replaced steering components.
Frame is still laser straight and was sand blasted and powder coated. When the frame was removed the tub was repaired, POR-15, and then coated.
2.5" lift with new body bushings.
138K Mile

Thanks!

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I'd fight the insurance company for every penny. Buy it back and fix it. That's not bad. Local market is $9k-$12k for a 140K Mile TJ. My insurance will use local comps to give fair market value. Maybe yours will too.
 
If you don't have time or space I'd just take the payout. They'll give you replacement value based on Jeeps selling in your area. Just keep reminding the insurance company you need rust free and that costs money, they'll eventually listen.
 
Make them fix it. That's what I did when I was T-boned in my old MBZ back in 2011. State Farm wanted to total it - hell, they want to total everything - it took me 5 weeks of arguing, but they finally saw it my way and fixed it.

As much as I hate smartphones, I'd be BEYOND pissed off...
 
I have seen these questions before and I never have anything to add because I have never had a vehicle totaled. Can someone with experience help me understand exactly how this process works?

In my mind it goes something like this:

Jeep is in an accident, Insurance adjuster reviewed the claim and calls owner...

Insurance agent: Your Jeep is totaled, we are willing to give to $5k
Jeep Owner: No, I am into it for 15k and others like it are selling for $15K
Insurance agent: Yes others are selling for 15k but yours is all smashed up and KBB says Jeeps like yours are only worth 5K but we are willing to go as high as $5250 because of all extras you have.

For any Insurance Agents on the board or others that are in the know, please help me understand:
  1. Due to it being "totaled", At some point is the Jeep owner required to turn over the Jeep if he wants ANY money?

  2. If the Jeep owner accepts that it is totaled and takes some cash is he also legally able to force the insurance company to sell it back to him or can they sell it to anyone they want? If so, what or who sets the price?

  3. What stops insurance companies from low balling a guy on a Jeep, paying out 3K, and then salvaging it for 4k in parts?
 
For any Insurance Agents on the board or others that are in the know, please help me understand:
  1. Due to it being "totaled", At some point is the Jeep owner required to turn over the Jeep if he wants ANY money?

  2. If the Jeep owner accepts that it is totaled and takes some cash is he also legally able to force the insurance company to sell it back to him or can they sell it to anyone they want? If so, what or who sets the price?

  3. What stops insurance companies from low balling a guy on a Jeep, paying out 3K, and then salvaging it for 4k in parts?

I'm by no means an agent but here is the jist of it.

1.Yes, totalling is essentially "selling" the jeep to the insurance. You may be able to get the max money they would spend on a repair less total if you want to do the work but that is some effort.

2. If they total you can get keep the Jeep less their salvage price, were this number comes from who knows.. Though it does get a total title. Usually they just send totals to bulk auctions.

3. The owner, for my case i already have a list of sold/active jeeps similar to mine. Insurance is supposed to give me the actual cash value if i were to sell the jeep. It's up to me to stand my ground and demand what i think is fair. It will be a huge PITA. They will have tricks too, like "we found a similar one for 4k in upstate NY" but I wouldn't be selling a pile of rust in NY. I would be selling a clean jeep in GA were the prices are higher. And i will have to bring that up.

All in all 0/10 experience.
 
I HATE INSURANCE COMPANIES. BIGGEST SCAM BUISNESS I KNOW :mad:
Insurance companies get their money up front.

Notice how high their stocks perform and how old most of them are ....they seldom ever go out of business.

It is amazing how easy these are to be considered totaled ....that's a fender bender essentially .

I bought one today that was wrecked. It's nearly perfect mechanically and very nice cosmetically for its history ....unless it's a bent frame , they basically total easily (partially due to 4wd parts cost) ....and repair beautifully. All they are is a hood.

See what you can work out .
 
I totaled my first TJ back in September. Bent the frame slightly as well as the front control arms. Definitely didn’t track straight after and I knew from the first look at it that they would consider it totaled. After the adjuster came and checked it out and input all the relevant info I was given a quote of $8,900, which was $200 less than I bought the Jeep for one year prior to the crash, so I jumped on it, knowing I wouldn’t get a better offer than that given the situation. Took that money and made a massive upgrade, finding a TJ with very minimal rust, with a good amount of mods already installed that I had wanted to do to my first TJ before totaling it lol. Ended up paying $9,200 for the new Rig so I was content with how the whole situation went down
 
I have seen these questions before and I never have anything to add because I have never had a vehicle totaled. Can someone with experience help me understand exactly how this process works?

In my mind it goes something like this:

Jeep is in an accident, Insurance adjuster reviewed the claim and calls owner...

Insurance agent: Your Jeep is totaled, we are willing to give to $5k
Jeep Owner: No, I am into it for 15k and others like it are selling for $15K
Insurance agent: Yes others are selling for 15k but yours is all smashed up and KBB says Jeeps like yours are only worth 5K but we are willing to go as high as $5250 because of all extras you have.

For any Insurance Agents on the board or others that are in the know, please help me understand:
  1. Due to it being "totaled", At some point is the Jeep owner required to turn over the Jeep if he wants ANY money?

  2. If the Jeep owner accepts that it is totaled and takes some cash is he also legally able to force the insurance company to sell it back to him or can they sell it to anyone they want? If so, what or who sets the price?

  3. What stops insurance companies from low balling a guy on a Jeep, paying out 3K, and then salvaging it for 4k in parts?
I had my Acura totaled in CA. Insurance (Geico) kept offering lower than any current vehicles for sale in my area. They would not budge off their lower price. I paid an auto appraiser $500 for a full appraisal of my car, and Geico immediately caved and gave me $2,000 more than the initial offer. Sucks, but sometimes you do have to fight the value of the insurance company.
 
I had my Acura totaled in CA. Insurance (Geico) kept offering lower than any current vehicles for sale in my area. They would not budge off their lower price. I paid an auto appraiser $500 for a full appraisal of my car, and Geico immediately caved and gave me $2,000 more than the initial offer. Sucks, but sometimes you do have to fight the value of the insurance company.
It's in the insurance companies best interest to collect all they can , and pay as little as they can.

This is why insurance companies are among America's oldest , largest and strongest companies. They seldom fail.

I'm not saying it is evil, but you have to stand up for yourself.
 
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