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EcoDiesel got rear-ended this afternoon....

16K views 128 replies 32 participants last post by  Jsboening 
#1 ·
I got re-ended by a car going 45+ mph, and I was stationary - making a legal left turn, on a public road. The opposing driver got ticketed for inattentive driving, and will be searching for a new car. The fate of mine is undetermined(everything is closed today) but from my simple observations: the receiver hitch took a blunt hit, the roof is creased at all four doors, the drivers door doesn't close properly, the tailgate doesn't seal, the right side hood is 4" higher the the rest of fender, rear fascia is totaled, DEF tank skid-plate is dented and rubbed, both active head restraints deployed and I had to use my fire extinguisher to put out her engine fire. None of my air bags deployed - the opposing driver had both fronts deploy.
 

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#5 ·
Sad you got whacked like that...but..your vehicle did it's job and protected you very well. I'm sure the force of that collision was substantial, so it's not surprising that the "crumple" flowed well forward from the point of impact.
 
#6 ·
your jeep sounds like it has structural damage but from a quick look it held together a lot better than that car which was demolished.

Hard hits like that can have delayed injuries sometimes, hopefully that's not the case for you but I wouldn't state to the insurance company you are fine for a few days anyway. I say this because a friend of mine went through this, thought she was fine after a bad rear-ender but 2 days later walking problems presented themselves. sorry to see that happen
 
#10 ·
Wow, hope you're doing OK man. Like the others said - don't say you're ok until a few days after. These sorts of sudden, jarring injuries often take time to manifest themselves.

As for your jeep - It's probably a total loss. These things are all unibody nowadays so once you use that crumple zone you're pretty much done. You'll likely be looking at a new one, so I guess you've got that going for you!
 
#12 ·
I agree with Jim_in_PA. The Jeep did it's job in protecting the driver and looks good compared to the car that caused the accident. The laws of physics can't be altered - size always wins in a crash and good thing you were in a solid vehicle like the Jeep as opposed to some econobox death trap.

Good to hear everyone is okay but I agree with other posters about slow onset injuries. Many many years ago, my wife was driving her Honda Prelude while I was riding shotgun and my friend was in the back seat. We were heading South on 880 (NorCal Bay Area) towards Santa Cruz when traffic came to a sudden halt. Some moron in a taxi rear ended us going about 50 and amazingly that little Honda held up and protected us. Her car ended up having significant frame damage, but it was fixed. The point here is that we all 3 went to the hospital the same day and were checked out okay, but several days later we all developed minor whiplash symptoms. Just our luck the cab company had some fly by night insurance company and it took months and months just to get them to pay for her repairs and pay for part of our medical bills but not all. Don't indicate you are without injuries too early that's for sure.
 
#14 · (Edited)
Terribly sorry for your loss.

Of course I say it humorously, but after having my share of accidents (including a rear end last summer by a dude who wanted to cut a yellow-red light around Madison) and near-misses in Wisconsin, I came to the conclusion that safe driving is a fine art that is not mastered by most of the natives. And that their dangerous driving is directly correlated to the number of Green Bay Packers stickers on the car.

Let us know what your insurance says about yours. There's a few parts that maybe you could sell us (first dibs).
 
#15 ·
I came to the conclusion that safe driving is a fine art that is not mastered by most of the natives. And that their dangerous driving is directly correlated to the number of Green Bay Packers stickers on the car.

Let us know what your insurance says about yours. There's a few parts that maybe you could sell us (first dibs).

:lol: where are you originally from?
 
#16 ·
Jason, be prepared for residual physical effects from that accident on your body. You may not be feeling much "right now", but there were still substantial forces involved, especially with the speed that the person was going when they slammed into your Jeep's backside. Sometimes our body's will compensate (residual "flight or flight" from our ancient past), but things come out days or weeks later. Stay in touch with your doctor, etc. ;)
 
#21 ·
I appreciate the heads-up advice. I've been a EMT w/advanced skills for 13 years and a firefighter for 15 years, and I'm well read on the after affects. For me personally its usually 48 hours after a incident that I feel the associated aches and pains. That being said - out of all the accident scenes I've been to - this is the first one that I've been on the receiving end of. First accident, first anything in 25 years of driving. Not even a ticket, save for one $80 fine for stopping in a no stopping zone.
 
#17 ·
Damn, glad you are generally OK. Jeep seems to have held up well, but I bet allll of the crumple zones were used in this one. Hopefully it's a write-off.

On another note, I did not know the Jeep had active head restraints, pretty awesome. As opposed to my 04 WJ whose headrests were about 10" behind my head and resulted in some decent whiplash both times I was rear-ended...
 
#18 · (Edited)
Active head restraints are probably the big reason my neck/head are not sore. Downside is they are throwaways and about $504/each. Estimate right now is $11,414.56 - not enough to write it off yet, but they need to take it apart for better determination.


Sent from NSA Surveillance Van #574
 
#24 ·
The downside to them "opening it up" is that the parts will never fit as tightly or as exactly as they did from the factory. And, if they total it, it's the little things that I've added to make the vehicle uniquely mine-the Trailhawk rock rails, the Trailhawk wheels and tires, the few body parts that were powder coated satin gray-that will be costly to replace(the rock rails were part of the purchase agreement, but I digress).


Sent from NSA Surveillance Van #574
 
#26 ·
The downside to them "opening it up" is that the parts will never fit as tightly or as exactly as they did from the factory.

This is commonly said...and it's actually commonly false. A lot of people tend to have this frame of mind with any major repair (be it a mechanical repair or accident repair) and while it may be somewhat more true with body repair from accidents, it isn't universally true. The factory build process has quite a bit of tolerance built into it -- which is why they can produce 1000+ units a day. A competent set of technicians can actually take a vehicle apart and put it back together better than the factory did. Granted, a rushed or mediocre technician will get you a rushed or mediocre job, but this is not universally the case.
 
#25 ·
Yeah, not an easy one to take...but yet again, we hear many stories about cars not ever being the same after such accidents...I would also be torn...good luck and plz keep us updated...
 
#28 ·
I got re-ended <<snipped text>>
Time will tell if it is actually repairable. Happy that you weren't terribly hurt, but a few days may see some residual affects.
 
#29 ·
Jason911, sorry to read about your fender bender! The up-side is that you can now go out and buy the Hemi model that you really wanted! :D
 
#37 ·
That Sux op.

Hope this nightmare gets worked out soon for ya.
 
#38 ·
Good info to know about the head restraints, maybe I can at least reset mine so that I can drive this thing. Their insurance company put it up on the rack today, and stated that the frame was bent at the receiver hitch(duh), but they want to pay to have an actual CJDF dealer open it up to see what else is wrong - as they want to fix it.


Sent from NSA Surveillance Van #574
 
#47 ·
Glad that there were no serious injuries.

I got rear ended 18 months ago, shortly after I bought the Jeep, in stop and go traffic at low speed. The hitch took the brunt of the impact and all I ended up with were scratches on the plastic cover. Fortunately, no damage to the Jeep or any of us humans. Their car had a hole in the grill and some damage to the front end.

I had noticed that cars were getting closer to my bumper than I was comfortable with. After the minor accident, I swapped out the rear brake light bulbs with LED bulbs. LED is much brighter and comes on instantly. Since the swap, I find that most other cars are not getting as close to my bumper as they used to.

That being said, it's doubtful that brighter brake lights would have helped in this instance. My Dad likes to tell a story about a guy who ran into an ambulance that was on the side of the road with the lights flashing... he was doing something with his dog and didn't "see it". Goes to show just how blind we can be when distracted.

.
 
#49 ·
My Dad likes to tell a story about a guy who ran into an ambulance that was on the side of the road with the lights flashing... he was doing something with his dog and didn't "see it". Goes to show just how blind we can be when distracted.
It's also well known that people have a tendency to subconsciously steer towards an object on the side of the road if they're looking at it with any intensity.
 
#52 ·
I can't go after diminished value here in WI anymore - the state legislature changed the wording in the state laws, so the projected 30% value loss is mine to absorb. And by my math that going to be just shy of $10,000.00......she gets a $185.67 ticket and I lose $10k in value - win/win?
 
#58 ·
More and more states are turning away from diminished value as a compensable claim. Aside from perception, a car that is repaired to spec "should" be as good as one that was not hit. Diminished value has become a negotiating tool more than anything else. If there is true diminished value it should fall on the shop that did the repairs. More importantly, if a car that is hit is perceived to be worth $10,000 less after an accident and you keep it 5 more years before selling it, will you have lost ten thousand dollars? If at that point you only lose $5,000, do you pay back the amount you never lost, or do you profit from your accident. Profiting from an insurance claim is generally considered a no no.

I'm not saying I agree 100% with every concept regarding this issue, but it has become overblown in the past 5 years or so. That's why (in addition to insurance companies having good lobbyists) the laws in some areas are discounting the worthiness of these claims.


---
 
#60 ·
More importantly, if a car that is hit is perceived to be worth $10,000 less after an accident and you keep it 5 more years before selling it, will you have lost ten thousand dollars?
If diminished value doesn't exist, then no doubt the insurance company would be happy to buy the vehicle for the same trade-in book value price as a vehicle that wasn't damaged. That should allay any of their concerns about someone "profiting" down the line, and the insurance company doesn't stand to lose any money because the vehicle is now worth book value just like an undamaged car! Right?

You can argue theory all you want. In theory a properly repaired vehicle is the same as a vehicle that has never been in an accident and is therefore worth the same amount. Furthermore, in theory, theory is the same as practice. In practice, however...

How many people have traded in a vehicle that has been in an accident? You got book value immediately after informing the dealer that the vehicle was worth just as much because it was properly repaired, right?
 
#62 · (Edited)
Ultimately the point is that the vehicle is worth less with the accident indelibly placed on its record. This is a harm and it was not his fault. He is talking about a $10k hit in his vehicle's trade in value as it stands (once repaired) when compared with the same vehicle that had not been in an accident. If he took the vehicle as it exited from the shop and traded it in, that $10k worth of unrealized "virtual" damage would instantly be converted to actual damage.

The fact that laws have been purchased to preclude him from being made whole is notwithstanding. Well, notwithstanding except precluding his ability to obtain justice.
 
#67 ·
Jason911 - are you still feeling okay after a few days now?
 
#69 ·
I will say that the anemic 4 cylinder Chevy Equinox I drove yesterday was deplorable. How GM can classify that as a CUV is beyond me. I stepped on the gas to try accelerate to highway speeds - basically it got louder, downshifted from 6th to 4th and fuel economy dropped from 22 to 12. Speed didn't really change until I started going down a hill....jeez.
 
#70 ·
Yikes.... Are you looking at a new car already? I'm not sure what your plan was pre-accident but your best way to avoid the loss of value is to just drive the thing until it's dead and have the pre accident and post accident values meet - at 0... Probably not what you had in mind though so I wish you all the best of luck man.
 
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