What's up guys! I just bought my new jeep JK rubicon about 3 months ago and have driven it about 2000 miles so far.

So it was involved in an accident the other day while parked in front of my house. Someone hit the left rear tire and pushed the jeep about 20 feet over a curb, through my lawn and into my driveway.

The damage done that I know of right now is that the rear axle was pushed forward and completely pretzeled the control arms and upon dealership inspection the rear axle housing and differential are both bent, the body mount bolts on the left side are crooked as if the frame was moved forward or the body was moved backwards, there is a little bit of body damage where the fender meets the body, looks as if the crossmember/transmission skid plate has shifted a little, and the front tires are pointed outwards a little bit.

I have contacted my insurance company and filed a claim and have a police report also.

So here's my questions.
1. If the vehicle indeed has frame damage, can I say I'm not comfortable driving it if it were to be repaired?
2. Is it possible that the frame could not be bent even though the body is shifted backwards only on the left side?
3. I'm afraid of future problems such as transmission/transfer case problems caused by the axle being pushed forward causing the driveshaft to jam forward. Am I being over cautious about that or can that really cause me future troubles?

Overall I just paid almost 40 grand for the jeep of my dreams and even added wheels and tires and other odds and ends. I don't want to keep paying hefty payments for something that just diminished half its value and could possibly have many major future problems. I don't really know my options as this is my first encounter on having to use my insurance for an accident. I need some guidance on what to do and how to go about doing it. I appreciate any and all help you guys can offer.


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just dealt with a similar situation at work -- one of our work vans was in an accident that we just picked up -- i told them i want a new van since i dont want to make payments on a "rebuilt" van but the adjustor said they only pay for whats needed and the cost of repairs is not greater then the cost if the van as is -- so now i have a van with a rebuilt engine, tranny and front end with 15k on it and another 3 years of payments

our insurance company isnt the greatest tho so if you have "new car replacement" or a reasonable rep you might have better luck

I have American family insurance so they should be pretty good. Not sure about the new car replacement thing but I do have full coverage and gap coverage.


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I doubt it will be totaled unless the shop says it can't be fixed. Most insurance companies will pay up to 80% of the actual cash value for repairs. If it can be fixed I doubt it will cost $25-$30K to fix it.

Most states allow you to collect diminished value. That is the value that is lost due to an accident. Google your state and diminished value. Learn as much as you can and ask your adjuster about it. Here in Maryland you can only collect it from the liable drivers insurance company and I think most states are the same way, so if you are using your own company for repairs you will need to contact the other drivers insurance company for diminished value.

It can be a crap shoot whether you get anything or not, because it is hard to determine the amount of lost value. Some companies hold fast to the fact that you may have an accident in the future, which negates their responsibility. Some will expect you to contact them if you ever sell it and they will determine the amount then, but limit how long you have to sell it. If you have problems PM me and I'll try and help. I am an insurance agent in Maryland.

That's a waste of time. They are only responsible to repair it and maybe pay diminished value. Threatening an insurance company with a law suit is like a mouse threatening to kick a lion's ass. They don't care they employ more lawyers than any law firm and know what they can and can't do. If they are not acting in good faith or braking the law your best recourse is your sate insurance commissioner.

i actually asked about diminished value and the rep knew we keep our vans for 200k so he said "by that time it wont matter" (told you not the more customer friendly company here) so i said what about if i want to sell it right after i get it fixed and this guy threw a book load of "terms" i had to cooperate with in order to get money, like selling it within a certain time frame, buyer had to go thru a protected loan, my first born would be taken etc etc -- PITA -- do as much research with your rep as possible

Yep, someone is going to have to fight the hell out of this to get some good laws written. Unfortunately it is left up to claimants burden of proof of loss.

Thanks for the advice! Yea I doubt they will total it but I can only hope for the best outcome for myself lol. I'll definitely look up the diminished value laws here in Illinois. If I have any insurance problems I'll shoot you a pm. Thanks again!


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but maybe upgrade to a rear dana 60 from Jeep

sorry this happened : did the dufus that did this 'hit and run ' or stop and "do the right thing"? I guess it is a moot point but they had at least liability ? if it isn't totaled by your insurance , I recently tead a thread on our forum that had some interesting info on modern shops and them having tools that can get frames back to near-OEM straightness but it does seem that much more damage was resultant of the strike on yours ....it is selfish of me to think this but seeing the utter pretzelling of your OEM upper CA has underlined + pushed my replacement of the stock CAs with the MC control arms up my list to number 1 ...
here's the link to frame straightening if you wanna read thru it :
https://www.jkowners.com/forum/showth...695#post293695
keep us posted and hope everything works-out in your favor , man!

Received a call from the dealership about the rear axle and control arms. They said the rear axle housing and differential are both bent and both will be replaced.

The insurance company is sending an adjuster out there to look at it before any work is done. But here's my worry. That's all that was looked at so far. What about the frame? The front axle? The body damage? None of that was inspected yet.

Are those things something that the adjuster can make an estimate on by just knowing that there may be a potential problem with them? Or should all that be inspected before they cut me a check for the damages?


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What ASSFROW said is spot on, I used to be a claims adjuster for Geico. As far as the estimate is concerned the adjuster should do an initial estimate when he/she goes to look at the axle and control arms. The estimate will be based on visible damages and will only be an initial estimate. What I mean is that if during the repair process additional damages are noticed the shop will contact the adjuster/insurance company and a supplemental estimate for the additional damages will be written. They will do as many estimates/supplemental estimates that it takes to cover the damages caused by the accident. The insurance company is responsible for getting the vehicle back to the same condition it was in before the accident occurred. Good luck and if you have any more questions feel free to ask.

I also agree with this, in fact I think you should upgrade both axles and sell me your front dana 44.

Usually the adjustor gets the ball rolling and gives you a check for the damages he sees...once the shop pulls everything apart and uncovers more damage they call the adjustor directly and tell them what they found, then the adjustor sends another check directly to the shop for the difference.... so go to a shop you trust and wants to do it right so that they will take the time to find everything you really need replaced

Okay cool thanks guys. That clears a lot of things up for me!

The jeep is at the dealership I bought it from and you know techs are always thirsty for work so I'm sure everything will be looked at.

Thanks again I'll keep you guys updated on what goes on as this moves forward.


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Id love to upgrade to D60's but I don't think the price is comparable to the D44's so I'd have to pay out of pocket for all the extras.


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The guy actually came back the next day to give us his insurance info and everything. So yea in a way he did the right thing. Im assuming he was probably out drinking the night it happened and took off to avoid being arrested.


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That really sucks. Sorry to hear about your Rubi.

I agree the guy probably had a few to many drinks and left the scene. At least he came back and did the right thing.

I'm going to ask a really stupid question, but why would you park your jeep on the street overnight?

That's not a stupid question. I'm 24 and still live at home for the time being and there's limited driveway space for parking. I really only drive my jeep once or twice throughout the week and really only drive it on weekends since I use a work truck and it would be a hassle for the other family members to have to move my jeep before they go to use their car.


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I would talk to the shop doing the work and ask what the price difference would be. Since they are already doing the work, the shop may be willing to work with you and you just pay the upcharge of the part.

Little update for you guys.

Turns out the frame was bent along with the rear axle and differential.

The initial estimate they wrote up for me today came out to be $12,600. They said they will be replacing the entire rear axle assembly, control arms, the frame, and after that's done they will be putting it on the alignment rack to check out the front axle and see if it needs new parts or needs to be replaced too. After that's all done it will be going to the body shop to fix the little bit of body damage it has.

So even though my jeep is now worth less I'm still happy they are choosing to replace the frame instead of trying to bend it back.

I'll keep updating as I hear more about my jeep.


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Make sure the insurance company compensates you for the diminished value of your vehicle. It will now show an accident report on Car Fax or other research web site.

Another update.

The frame and rear axle are both in, all the control arms in the rear are replaced, the rear driveshaft was replaced, the left rear wheel and left rear fender flare were both replaced, alignment was done, and all that's left is for the body shop to do their magic.

Can't wait to get my jeep back. It's been way too long lol.

I also will be pursuing a diminished value claim once I get the jeep back and get some paperwork together on the actual lost value.




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That's great. Happy to see things are moving along.

Thanks!


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