So I got rear-ended on Thanksgiving morning. Getting close to a settlement with the ins. co. My Jeep is totaled out - it’s really not so bad except for that damn unibody being crinkly now. But me and my girls were OK, so the old Cherokee did its job.
Hopefully I’ll be able to replace it this week. After that accident, I’m an even bigger fan of the platform so I’m looking at getting pretty much the exact same thing. The guy that hit me must’ve been going about 50 (I was stopped) and I don’t think he even tapped the brakes. His front end was completely gone. I wish I had taken pictures.
Yeah, for those of you who haven’t been through this process before (I’ve totaled out a few vehicles) the word “totaled” means it’s a “total loss” to the insurance company - The repairs would be more than 70% of the value of the vehicle. Or in other words, it’s cheaper for them to negotiate a cash settlement than it is to repair the damage and pay for a rental.
As you can imagine, this is very easy to do on a unibody vehicle, or one in which multiple airbags have been deployed. In my case, the buyback is about $175, so this Jeep will live on as someone’s trail rig or be parted out. Once the unibody is toasted, I wouldn’t put it back on the road. Some people straighten them, but if you look at the “frame rails” on these it’s a pretty sketchy affair.
The other guy was driving what appeared to be a late-model Audi. Hard to tell afterwards, though. It looked real bad, but fortunately nobody was hurt.
Prepare to get screwed. I hate auto insurance worse than the IRS-the IRS is more honest and a lot fairer to deal with. My wife and my son were both involved in accidents where they were hit by other people who were clearly at fault. Bizarrely both times there were cops at the scene who witnessed the accidents. The insurance companies tried to give us $300 for my wife’s 10 year old Jetta, there was nothing wrong with it before the accident, it was just in their terms “fully depreciated”. We fought them and ended up getting about $4000.
When my son got T-boned we only got $1200 for the Bronco II which had 256K miles so that would have been fair if I hadn’t spent $1000 on repairs the week before, but I fought the other guy’s insurance for almost 2 years to pay for his medical bills. It cost him a college scholarship for track but they wouldn’t even consider paying that. We got totally hosed on that deal.
I truly hate the insurance industry-every aspect of it whether it’s medical, homeownrers or auto, business liability you name it. It’s legally mandated thievery.
End of rant
Nate, the best thing is that everybody walked away unhurt.
I agree. If you keep cars for a while and maintain them, they still get easily totaled and you’re out a good car. Good luck finding one in the same shape for they they give you. Unfortunately, it usually results in people getting some sort of restitution in the form of “unwarranted” medical claims. The auto claim is cut and dry, but the medical claims isn’t.
This is why you see so many attorneys advertising on TV.
We definitely had a lot to be thankful for this year. It could have ended up much, much worse.
Corky, I generally agree with you about insurance companies, but in this case they’re coming in pretty close to what it’s worth. I’m just glad I hadn’t put the work into it that I was planning yet. I’m glad, because in NJ, medical claims are paid out of your own coverage regardless of fault. If you get taken to a hospital from the scene, you can sue, but otherwise you have no leverage in that regard.
Oscar - Yeah, this would be a great project for someone. 5 speed, 8.25 Chrysler rear, 124k on the clock. That body damage is nothing a sawzall couldn’t fix. ;D
I just picked up my replacement Cherokee. No pics right now because it was dark when I got home, but it’s in pretty decent shape. This one has a tow package on it, so maybe in a couple of years when this divorce crap settles down I can finally get that pop-up camper I’ve always wanted.
