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Rough Morning - Jeep was Rear-Ended

20K views 168 replies 33 participants last post by  QuindariousMonday 
#1 ·
Well today didn't get off to the best start. I was stopped on the road in traffic and heard "The Screech". Tightened up as I thought "Dang this is going to hurt!". A Honda Accord plowed three other cars together with my TJ sandwiched in the middle. Made for a long morning...

2 cars totaled, one car 1.5' shorter than when it started the day and my Jeep. My Jeep was the best out of the lot, but I need to get the frame checked.
 

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#3 ·
Felt bad for the lady who had to be extracted. They cut the top, door and other parts off to get her out. I hopped out and started checking on people and some folks looked like "how did the police get here so fast?" lol

I was on my way to work...

Just called for an ambulance and the locals and made sure everyone was ok. Not a scratch on my paint - anywhere. Those bumpers really work! They didn't bend, flex or dent at all. Of course that provided more shock to me unfortunately. Broke my seat though. I am driving with a "Gangster lean" until I get it fixed.
 
#4 ·
Your frame is bent, most likely. Glad you are OK. Your only hope is that your rails took some of the force away from the frame. If your rail bolts are buckled, there's a sure sign of damage.
 
#5 ·
It was a really solid hit. I have an appointment for 1000 on Tuesday at a collision repair shop to check it out.
 
#6 ·
If the frame is torn up, will they most likely total it?
 
#7 ·
Probably... The labor alone for the frame swap would be more than the Jeep. Even now days, they will probably total a frame damaged vehicle.
 
#8 ·
That won't make me happy. lol I was planning on keeping her.
 
#9 ·
I noticed a slight buckling of the tub about 5 inches behind the Jeep stickers below the front leading edge of each door on both the driver's and passenger sides. Probably not a good sign.
 
#10 ·
On the assumption it is totaled, you need to haggle with the at fault drivers carrier regarding fair value. Find asking prices for tricked out similar models as there is no one price for a car like that. Argue those asking prices are what you will have to pay to replace your car with a like car. Whereas YOURcarrier may not be so flexible with modded cars, the at fault carrier needs to make you whole, and that is the carrier who will be paying here. Do your homework and haggle and you will get thousands more.
On the assumption you will want to keep and try to repair your car, once you agree on full pre crash value tell them you want to reduce that by salvage value and keep the car. Get a salvage value from a local salvage yard ahead of time. But you may want to research if your car is really repairable before you do that route. Good luck.
 
#12 ·
Thank you.
 
#11 ·
I know I will be sore tomorrow.
 
#13 ·
I totaled my fj cruiser a couple years ago, truck had a good 25k in upgrades on a 35k truck. Ins wanted to give me 23k to total. Spent a couple weeks going round n round. In the end I got the 23k, and they got a stripped out shell that rolled. But, after selling most everything, I got alot back. Selling my 6" lift was more than enough to buy the yj I'm wheeling now.
 
#14 ·
On Tuesday I will let y'all know what the collision shop says about the status of the Jeep. I have already thought of "lightening" the Jeep if it is totaled.
 
#19 ·
Regardless of what the Doctor says, when you show up to negotiate with the insurance company, be sure to wear a neck brace. Don't say anything about it and if they ask, you won't discuss that until the physical damage to the Jeep is settled although the blow was enough to break the seat. It might make them a little more reasonable.

Although I am sure they are reeling from having to cover this thing already. Do you know who her ins. carrier is?

Yes, these TJs are a little tougher than many give them credit for. There is a video of a TJ that took a bad line on a hill decent and then turned the wheels uphill, and over it went doing a full roll sideways, and then after coming back up on it's wheels went over a drop forward and did a full roll end to end, coming to rest on it's wheels. Driver was apparently belted in and life flighted out. Video never commented on her condition or recovery and it is an older two part video. except for the hard top which was fairly well destroyed, the rest of the Jeep was in fairly good condition.

Keep us in the loop, and hoping that the Jeep recovers nicely. I know how hard it is to find a nice TJ these days.
 
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#20 ·
I saw the doc yesterday and besides the normal sore muscles, etc... I came out of it pretty doggone well. On Tuesday the results of the Jeep exam will probably be one of two things:

1) Frame is fine and the Jeep is perfect
2) Frame is toast and the Jeep is totaled

I will survive either way but it would be nice to still have a perfect TJ. ;)
 
#21 ·
I want to take the time to thank ALL of you for the good wishes and helpful advice. You guys are what makes this forum the awesome place that it is.
 
#23 ·
Thanks brother - I appreciate it.

Further "walkarounds" on the TJ show the impact broke the welds on the lightbar on the front bumper and the gas tank skid is trashed. I also broke the switch in the cab for my fog lights when my knee hit it during the wreck.

This is starting to add up... lol
 
#25 ·
Yeah at this point I'm not worried about it one way or another because it is out of my hands. The Jeep will either be good to go or trashed - all depending on the condition of the frame.
 
#26 ·
This thread has got me curious now. If a Jeep is considered totaled by insurance, what would you guys recommend? Showing the receipts for the upgrades to get money back or just stripping the Jeep of anything of value as far as you can go?
 
#27 ·
There is no one answer.
If your are dealing with YOUR carrier, meaning it was your fault or you are in uim coverage, they are not going to pay for mods. Reason is you told them you had a certain year jeep and they charged you a premium based on a stock jeep of that year and thats all they are going to pay for. Basically its the coverage you bought. If you want coverage for mods you have to tell them you have mods and want coverage for them and they will charge more if they want to write the coverage for the mods.
So in this scenario you take out all the nonessential mods you can, a cb radio say. Big tires and lifts are tough to take unless you have stock ones to put on instead, etc.
If you are dealing with another drivers carrier, they have to make you whole. That carrier wrote liability coverage for their driver and took the risk, at least to policy limits, that their insured might hit a beater or might hit a show Ferrari. So they have to pay for your mods. How much? The receipts you mention are good, but they show cost not value. The question will be what would it cost to get a new car like your old one. Thats where research and haggling come in on your part, and bs claims of depreciation and no added value come in on their part. And if they dont satisfy you, you hire a lawyer.
 
#28 ·
There is another complication in this case. The insured (not the forum member) hit not one but at least three vehicles. If they have a bare bones policy the total damages may exceed the liability limit of the policy.

It that appears to be the case, you may be better off letting your insurance pay for the repairs to the Jeep (you will have to pay the deductible) and then your insurance carrier goes after the responsible driver. I got hit by an uninsured driver some years ago, so my insurance kicked in. I paid the deductible and they negotiated a new vehicle for me from a dealership. They then went after the other driver, who lost the tags on his truck and his drivers license since he didn't have insurance. I used to get letters from him asking me to release him from the obligation. I could never get him to understand that his obligation was to my insurance company not me.
 
#29 ·
My insurance company already warned me of this possibility. The vehicle behind me was a very expensive suv.
 
#31 ·
Well, if it does exceed damages you could sue and go after personal injury (emotional) but that is borderline shady. I might sue anyway. That Honda was going way too fast...
 
#32 ·
lol. Not my style. That lady has enough issues putting herself back together at this point. I will fight the insurance company to be made whole on the Jeep though.
 
#33 ·
The more I think about the waves in the metal on the tub at the bottom front of both doors, the more I dread hearing the results on Tuesday when I get the frame checked...
 
#35 ·
I just got back from the shop. My insurance company rep was there. They didn't check the frame (other than visual) and they detected no frame damage. They will put it on "the machine" when it is time to repair it to ensure it isn't damaged. I am not happy because I still don't know the fate of my Jeep. The insurance rep thinks the frame flexed when it was pinned between the vehicles but that it returned to its previous position when the pressure was removed. I personally have never seen steel "unbend" on its own so I am thinking BS. They are showing $4700.00 in damage and they want to put some used parts on my TJ when they repair it. This sux.

I called the other insurance company (of the at fault driver) and started the ball rolling with them.

We shall see how it goes...

Overall - not a happy man right now.

On a side note it does track straight and true. I let go of the steering wheel on the highway for over a 1/4 mile and never had to touch it.
 
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