Totaled my TJ

Reidminer

Reidminer

TJ Enthusiast
Joined
Jan 9, 2019
Messages
376
Location
Syracuse NY
Hi y’all, so this past weekend, I unfortunately totaled my tj. I had come around a turn, the road was a little slick, and when I gave it a little gas I immediately fishtailed, tried keeping it on the road, ended up going into a ditch front end first and spun around. Thankfully I was able to walk away with a bloody nose and a couple bruises, and little neck pain. Unfortunately, my Jeep is 95% sure totaled. I can tell body mounts are bent, frame is bent, front left is crumpled a bit, and the grill and hood are messed up. Steering rods are bent and there’s a few places I can put my fingers where I shouldn’t be able to.

So my insurance adjuster is coming to look at it today and determine if it’s totaled. It’s an 02 tj x, leather seats, hardtop and soft top , I’ve got multiple upgrades including stinger bumper and side steps(smittybuilt). It just hit 100k miles and was overall in great shape. I’m hoping to get at least 9-10k out of it if it’s totaled. Is that reasonable? And if they only offer lower amounts, with no ability to offer more, can I take off my extras like the bumper and side steps?

Funnily enough, the stinger bumper did its job and there’s not a single stretch or bend in that thing lol.

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Paparock1 said:
WOW! Glad to here you walked away with minor injuries. Sorry to see your Jeep sitting like that.
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Thanks! Yeah super glad I only have small injuries, could have been much worse. That stinger bumper and side steps definitely saved my tj from crumpling into my lap lol
 
Reidminer said:
So my insurance adjuster is coming to look at it today and determine if it’s totaled.
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Research the value of Jeeps selling in your area at dealerships in similar condition and with similar accessories. They should give you replacement value for what your Jeep is selling for local. They will probably try to offer you some kind of book value which will be very low. Doing some work yourself can really pay off. You can't really quote this forum for values but you can easily show ads.

Glad you're okay and sorry about the Jeep. It looks totaled to me.
 
pagrey said:
Research the value of Jeeps selling in your area at dealerships in similar condition and with similar accessories. They should give you replacement value for what your Jeep is selling for local. They will probably try to offer you some kind of book value which will be very low. Doing some work yourself can really pay off. You can't really quote this forum for values but you can easily show ads.

Glad you're okay and sorry about the Jeep. It looks totaled to me.
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Yeah my GM of the dealership I work at said to be firm on a price I want and to not ever take their first offer. Going rate for a Jeep like mine in my area, in its condition(before the accident)and miles and such, go for around 9-12k
 
It's only stuff and you not hurt to badly.

* make sure you ask him about buying it back from the insurance company and then parting it out. You normally will be able to buy it back for a three or four hundred dollars and you can part out everything and do quite well
 
Leinhit said:
It's only stuff and you not hurt to badly.

* make sure you ask him about buying it back from the insurance company and then parting it out. You normally will be able to buy it back for a three or four hundred dollars and you can part out everything and do quite well
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Very true! Could have definitely been worse bodily wise. But yep, that’s the plan currently! He marked it down as possibly being bought back. He didn’t give a $$ amount yet, said I’d have one by tomorrow.
 
I would be very surprised if they give you more than book value unless you have some really good comprehensive replacement value insurance on it, and are paying a couple hundie a month in premiums. I see an offer of 5K for your 02 X model, maybe.
"Are you in good hands"
 
Reidminer said:
Very true! Could have definitely been worse bodily wise. But yep, that’s the plan currently! He marked it down as possibly being bought back. He didn’t give a $$ amount yet, said I’d have one by tomorrow.
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You can always dispute the amount, but you will have to do some work. And it won't be as fast as just taking their offer.

I'm convinced those are adjusters get bonuses at the end of the year by trying to keep insurance claim amounts down.
 
MutantNinjaTJ said:
I would be very surprised if they give you more than book value unless you have some really good comprehensive replacement value insurance on it, and are paying a couple hundie a month in premiums. I see an offer of 5K for your 02 X model, maybe.
"Are you in good hands"
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Oh they’ll have a very very very unhappy customer if they say 5k. “Book value” on my car is 7500ish, but all tjs in the upstate area around me go for 6k(rust bucket engine problem type ones) to great condition low ish miles for 14k. And mine is right in the middle, it’s in pristine condition inside, motor runs perfectly, and I’ve got upgrades, so if they hit me with 5k I’ll tell them politely to go fuck themselves haha. We shall see what they say!
 
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Leinhit said:
You can always dispute the amount, but you will have to do some work. And it won't be as fast as just taking their offer.

I'm convinced those are adjusters get bonuses at the end of the year by trying to keep insurance claim amounts down.
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I sure hope I won’t have to. The adjuster doing my car was real nice and easy going about it all, kept me having a hard top for it off the record, and himself owned a lj many years ago. He added in all the extras I had done to it and all that. So we shall see! Definitely won’t be taking their first offer I’m sure lol.
 
Ron Hall said:
Might determine if you wanted to end up with it. It was a nice looking jeep. It will part out great.
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Yeah if I can get it for cheap enough, I’ll strip her down. Engine is still perfect, 100k miles flat, I’d keep the deep tan leather seats for my next Jeep, I have searched high and low and only found two other wrangler of hundreds I looked at on Craigslist that have leather seats. It’s sooo rare idk why.
 
Sorry for your loss...hate seeing Jeeps like that, but glad it did you well and you survived with small injuries.
 
One easy one on this ..don't mention the hardtop

They don't care , and won't give you more .

It's worth good money if in good shape. Don't lie, just don't offer if they don't ask.
 
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