Sorry about your luck. Glad to hear everyone is OK. I own a collision center here in Florida. Our state laws ar that the repair bill must exceed 80% of the value of the vehicle to be considered a total loss. It does not sound like that is the case here so you are probably repairable. Make sure you pick a shop that you trust...not one your insurance company sends you too. You have that right. Also, you can always file a diminished value claim after repairs have been completed to recoup the lost value of your vehicle due to the repairs. There are several companies out there that specialize in this including Wreck Check. Good luck.

 

Here's what my experience is. I had a 2008 JK Rubicon (look at BLUERUBI and will see in the albums the wrecked Jeep) that was totaled 10 days after I bought it. Initially the insurance company wanted to repair it, but having a Jeep with a twisted front end wasn't my idea of a "new" vehicle much less safe for my family.

I contacted the dealership and asked them to send a mechanic down to the body shop and evaluate the Jeep because I didn't feel like it would be safe after the 50mph+ impact I took from a car running a red light. Mind you that the only "VISIBLE" damage was the front end of the Jeep where it was shifted right 6 inches and a cracked frame in front of the tire.

The mechanic went to the body shop and pointed out all the buckle points from the front to the back of the Jeep to include above the rear tires (I was hit in the front) and basically the tub of the Jeep was bent from the front to the back. In order for us to open the REAR storage area door, one person had to push the handle button to open the door while someone kicked the door open from inside of the Jeep.

Although they could "micro" set the frame in the front back to "near" new condition, there was enough tub damage all the way through the Jeep that the damage went from $14,000 in repairs to $22,000 with 6 additional open repair expenses not yet assessed for fees. Needless to say, I purchased the Jeep at $29,500 and the insurance went ahead and totaled it due to exceeding 75% in damage value.

I would recommend getting someone from the dealership service department/collision center to go take a look at it. Good luck!

 

All wrecks are different and a side impact is way different than a frame hit. A hard hit to the frame in the front will resonate throughout the unibody causing damage as you have described. However, a side hit may not have affected the frame at all. I do not agree with the idea of having a Chrysler tech come to my body shop to assess damage. Myself and my techs are perfectly capable of assessing the damage. As a matter of fact, our Chrysler dealer sends them to me for assessment. If you think you need the Chrysler dealer to come to the shop you have chosen to repair the vehicle maybe you chose the wrong shop. Im just sayin.......

 

Ouch!, glad everyone is ok.

 

Glad everyone seems to be ok but you may want to see how everyone is tomorrow because you never know if they bumped their head on something. Definitely get the Jeep checked out.

 

Sorry about the accident, If they fix it make sure you go after the other insurance for loss of value as some day when you see it will be worth less.

Jason

 

Glad to hear everyone is ok... the jeep will look after itself. Nobody's hurt.

 

Thanks for all your input, I really appreciate it. I guess it comes down to if the frame is bent at all. I have my insurance company adjuster come out tomorrow, the other party's adjuster is coming out soon, and I have one nearby body shop give an estimate. Should give me a pretty good idea of where we stand. And if the repair cost is too low to total it, if I like it or not, it'll have to be repaired, I realize that. In that case, I'll look into a diminished value claim, thanks for that suggestion. I'm sure they can repair it so that it's safe again, it just sucks that it does not feel like the brand new vehicle that we just bought after replacing the Jeep that we had owned from new for 10+ years.
I secretly almost wish there was more damage, but then again, my wife's OK and that all that matters in the end!
If anyone has some good suggestions on body shops in the Austin, TX area, I would appreciate it.
THANKS!

 

If anyone has some good suggestions on body shops in the Austin, TX area, I would appreciate it.
THANKS!

PM BodyGuy (Joe) on here he works at the best body shop in town (Austin). For the life of me, I can't remember the name of their shop right now. Its on South Lamar between Manchaca and Barton Springs (I know that's pretty broad ). He knows Jeeps better than anyone and their shop will take good care of you, Glad everyone is ok

Edit: Name of the shop is Caliber Collision 1804 South Lamar

 

I have had insurance adjusters understate the damage to a vehicle. But I haven't lost an argument yet. I have had success making the insurance company pay to have a vehicle towed from their repair shop choice to mine as well.

When you look at any estimate, make sure it specs new OEM parts, from my experience most insurance captive shops will use aftermarket and or salvaged parts to cut costs.

My business has a fleet of 120 vehicles, and unfortunately lots of experience with this.

Good independent shops, like Coach's, are a fine way to go, often better than a dealership in quality and alomost always better in costomer service and in time to complete.

Glad all is well. After repair and diminished value claim, etc, if you aren't 100%, go ahead and trade it or sell it and get a new one and start over... Any loss will be a small price to pay for peace of mind.

(BTW, one way to leverage a diminished value claim is do your recearch and come up with your own suportable market value, so your argument has some meat to it. If you can establish the value pre-wreck, you can tell them they can have it at that number...)

Best of luck,

JPK

 

After repair and diminished value claim, etc, if you aren't 100%, go ahead and trade it or sell it and get a new one and start over... Any loss will be a small price to pay for peace of mind.

This is the first ever vehicle that we decided to lease....so trading it is not an option....we were planning on buying it after the three years because the residual looked really good....now I'm not so sure I want it anymore

 

no airbag deployment on that whack? or did i miss that?

 

nope....probably because of side impact....

 

First of all, I am glad to hear everyone is okay! After all, that is what is most important. Second, I can definitely relate! I know it sucks looking at what happened. I had my brand new 2010 JK for just under a month and got in a wreck this past April. So I'll fill you in on what I experienced.

Typically, the insurance company won't total a vehicle unless the cost of repairs exceeds at least 75 to 80% of the total value. That varies depending on the insurance company. Also, each state may have different rules when it comes to determining repairs and/or a total loss. This also includes diminished value. Where I live (VA), I can only get reimbursed for diminished value if the other party was at fault. Unfortunately in my case, both parties were determined to be equally responsible, so I am SOL when it comes to diminished value. But it sounds like you were definitely not at fault. So be sure to inquire about diminished value with your insurance company. Also, if no one was cited at the accident scene, the insurance companies are the ones who investigate the accident.....not the police. This was surprising to me.

I have spoken to numerous people on these boards, and also mechanics in passing. You would be surprised as to what can be fixed when it comes to vehicle damage. I just had my entire frame replaced, as well as the front axle assembly, and numerous other parts. They essentially rebuilt my Jeep. I have to say, it looks really great. When it comes to new vehicles, they will most likely repair it, since the value of the repairs is most likely to be much cheaper than the value of the vehicle. In my case I paid $30000 and the damage was $16000.

Also, if you are not satisfied with the repairs, then be sure to tell the body shop AND your insurance company. I have USAA, and they have been great. They actually picked the body shop, since I was unfamiliar with any local shops. Although, I did have the choice to pick my own. Fortunately, the guys at the shop were very nice, and the shop had gotten good reviews (you can research reviews online). When they originally called me to tell me that my Jeep was ready to be picked up after all repairs, I was not satisifed with what I saw. Now I am very picky, and managed to point out some things that were not "perfect." The average bystander would most likely not have noticed. The body shop was more than accomodating and agreed to take a look at what I pointed out. They made some adjustments on some parts, and replaced a few more. I picked it up yesterday and it looks great. So make sure you are satisfied with the results. PM me if you have any questions. Hope this helps. Regardless, you'll have your Jeep back. Oh, and one other thing I realized.....patience definitely helps! This is not a speedy process. Best wishes!

 

I went out to the lot today, and took some pics to share with y'all. Unfortunately, I can't seem to upload the, despite the fact that they are jpegs, well under the 250kb limit....I get an invalid file message. I will try something else when I have time.

 

Glad to hear everyone is okay, that's the main thing.

 

If their insurance decided to repair (and does not total it)- be sure to hit them up for "diminished value". They will not voluntarily offer it, you have to ask for it. And even then they will still likely balk at it. That's when you threaten to get an attorney. They will likely fork it up to avoid having an attorney get involved.

 

As someone who was in a badly wrecked JK I'm glad everyone is ok.

 

First off, I'm glad your wife is OK. That's the important part.

I was involved in an accident with my JK about 2 months ago. A guy ran a red light and I t-boned him. I did suffer some frame damage. At the bumper, it was shifted about 3" and the bend point was just behind the shock towers. I researched a lot and found a shop that I trusted with a good drive on frame machine. They're total bill to straighten the frame was on $500 and it turned out great. The best part was the advise the guy running the shop gave me.

I told him that I wanted to do most of the repairs myself and didn't want a shop deciding what replacement parts to use. He suggested I have my insurance company come to my house and write up a repair estimate. That way the money would be sent to me and I could make the repairs as I saw fit. Once you have an initial estimate, you can submit supplement claims for any additional expenses that are incurred, either from problems that are discovered later, or for repairs that were underestimated on the original assessment. I ended up using about 4 different shops for either repairs or estimates to repair damage that I repaired myself. That way I had an estimate from a shop so it would be easier for me to claim supplements. In the end, I got about $6,000 and the repair cost to put it back like it was about $2500. The rest went to extra goodies.

My next fight is for a fair diminished value check. The insurance company offered me $250. I have spent a lot of time researching this and have learned a bunch. In Georgia, the insurance companies try to use a bullshit formula that is slanted towards the insurance companies. The state Insurance Commissioner has instructed them to stop using it and quit telling people that it is there only option, but they still continue to do so. The best way to fight it is to hire a private appraiser to appraise your vehicle and show loss of value. I found a company that will do just that and then pick up the fight for me, but it costs about $350.

Their guy will appraise it and come up with a diminished value, then the insurance company will do the same. The two appraisers will try to agree on a value and if they can't, the case will go to arbitration with what they call an umpire. Both parties have to agree to accept the umpire's decision.

In my case, I have a 2007 Rubicon with that will show a wreck with a damage claim of $6000 and some level of frame damage. According to the appraisal company who hasn't done an official appraisal yet, I should be looking at about $3000.

Here's a link to my wreck:
http://www.jkowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=28458

 

From another one that has been through this- glad to hear that everyone (including your dogs) are okay.

Hope this headache will be resolved soon. Best of luck.

 

Caliber Collision in Austin Tx is the best. Joe (bodyguy) is one of their top guys and is a member on jkowners.

 

Thanks guys


Bring it to me I'll take care of you

 

Thanks bodyguy, I'll contact you!
I'm uploading pics from another computer, maybe better luck this time

 

last set of pics

 

Not a fun repair at all. You are looking at replacing the entire side of the jeep all the way up to the cowl panel. Cut will be inner and outer all the way into the floor probably. If they do it right you should have no problems. If they try and save the inner quarter structure you may run into some issues. Make sure the shop doing the repairs has a laser measuring system. That is pretty standard in most shops now and they should have one if they do quality work. That way they can show you a printout when you are done of where the frame was before and after the repairs. Almost like an alignment machine does. Good luck.

 

Just thought I'd give y'all an update. It's with Joe now, and has been disassembled. Looks like a little over $10K in damage right now, but could become more, the guys at Caliber seem to really want to do this the right way. My insurance company (the other party turned out to be uninsured) apparently is not agreeing to pay for all that Caliber thinks is necessary, and Caliber is pulling for me (no pun intended) They are going to check the frame soon, and we'll take it from there.

 

I know I've said it before, but......

Your Jeep right now, could NOT be in better or more capable hands. Joe and Caliber are proud of what they do. Joe is incredibly passionate and detailed about his work. No idea what the outcome will be (I hate ins companies), but rest assured, your JK is being taken care of by the best in the business.

 

glad the wife and dogs were ok

**** uninsured driversissed:
burn his house down damnit

 

Yeah the insurance company is being a pain in the ass, but whatever its not the first time. The frame is ok, I will do some rough pulls on the body to see where we need to go from here. I'll pull it tomorrow and then let the ins company know how it is and then we wait (on them) again.