[flywithcoop]

Was driving home mid day Saturday and going thru a small traffic circle. Was going north and around the circle to continue north; was already past the midpoint when the car entering on the right didn't yield (didn't even slow down at all). No time to do anything and hit him. The young guy basically admitted fault and said the same thing to the trooper.

So, I will be working a claim with his insurance company only since it is his fault. But figure this will be no fun as the insurance company will try to split fault some how. It's been a long while since I had to deal with this so looking for advice, obvious or not. We did get a police report and I'm working to get a copy from the state troopers to see if they listed fault or issued a citation.

Damage: Right front fender, hood, headlight, foglight, bumper, fascia, suspension/steering (broken tie rod and/or control arm). Other unknown as suspension warnings and other warnings are lit. Suspension isn't leaking down.

Some questions/concerns:
1. Giving a statement to his insurance company . Anything to watch out for?
2. Finding a good body shop.
3. Using the body shop they indicate or not?
4. Use of OEM parts; tied to this is I have Lifetime Maxcare that I need to make sure stays valid.
5. Work that the body shop can/should do versus the dealer. Like suspension or collision warning.
6. Diminished value - I see this mentioned sometimes, how does this work?

Thanks for the advice in advance.

In 2021 My 2014 Limited was rear ended. Repair cost $8500. all new parts. Had no problem with Insurance. I let them sort it out. Had no problem getting into repair shop and my Jeep was repaired in a week. Two days ago, I made a claim for me hitting a pole. IMO has minor Right front damage. Replacing everything below the grill with new parts estimate is $2200. I have State Farm who will pay for new parts. Can't get it into repair shop until Jan 23rd. Problem is getting parts. Vehicle Supply chain still suffering from Covid shutdowns. Here in Central Ohio, there are daily accidents which has caused delays in getting into a repair shop. I called three other shops, and they all had a two or even three months wait to make repairs. My sister was hit in July this year her car wasn't repaired until late September. She called a Lawyer due to problems with insurance of person who hit her Car.
BOTTOM LINE: My local insurance agent knows which repair shops are the best. He deals with accidents almost daily and recommends the shops that received the least number of complaints.

 

[vdobb8249]

Thanks for the advice. From what I can find online the DV Statute of limitation for CO is 2 years. My insurance is with USAA. I've reported to them, I will give them another call. The challenge these days seems to be getting someone knowledgeable on the phone.

My 2015 has been involved in three accidents, 2 not at fault and the last one my fault well not really but that’s another story. The first two I just called my insurance(USAA) and they take care everything, I just had to chose the body shop and droop my jeep. The third one I had to pay the deductible that was $1,000, but compared to the damage ($11,000)🤷‍♀️

 

[Mogul]

So trying to decide what to do.... in this sense:
Whether or not I should take it to the Jeep dealer to see if I can get it drivable while I wait on when it can get into the body shop. Or, just get it towed down to the body shop and have it there in the cue; it would sit there for a while. I pulled the right front wheel yesterday and the only damage I see is a bent tie rod. See pic.

But, I am getting a bunch of errors/warnings for stability control, blind spot sensors, and more importantly the air suspension. Clearly the blind spot sensors are because of the sensors in the bumper getting dislodged. I see no obvious damage to the air suspension, but it won't go up and down.... but no leak down either. So it could just be the sensors in the wheel well knocked out of wack. But can the dealer fix that without the body damage being repaired is the question. I don't see any obvious distortion in the wheel well itself so not sure.

 

[Campfamily]

If it were me, I would not get involved with trying to get repairs done from two separate shops. I'd be talking with the main repair shop to see what they could do to accelerate the repairs, perhaps by doing the suspension repairs (whether in house, or at their shop) in advance of receiving body parts. That's assuming that the reason they are taking so long to do this is because of having to wait for parts. If you start "managing" this repair yourself, if something doesn't go right, you'll be holding the bag to coordinate getting it addressed.

I think you should be calling your insurance agent, telling them you need a replacement vehicle to drive, and just let them handle it. That's why you pay them....let them (make them?) do their job.

Keith

 

[Mogul]

Thanks Keith. That's kind of what I was leaning toward.... but another's dose of reality is helpful. The delay is just the cue to get in the shop first, don't know about parts yet. I need to get it towed there, it will be in their cue to evaluate do their estimate, then order parts.

 

[Jim_in_PA]

I agree with Keith...there's clearly a "bunch of stuff" that isn't right and when you get multiple entities involved there can also be conflicts. I'd put it in the queue at the body shop and let them deal with everything. That's the least risky thing to do.

 

[Jack R]

Yours look worse than my $12,000.00 front end incident was. Doesn’t look that bad but I bent the subframe an inch and radiator, condenser …..I had a hard off road hit. Drove straight down a steep hill into a very hard 90 degree egress

 

[Mogul]

Wow. That was $12K? Difference is you hit an immovable object. Mine was more glancing blow to something moving. I hope...hope there isn't a lot of hidden damage.

 

[RocketTR]

Little late to the party, but do you live in a no-fault insurance state? I think almost half of all states are no-fault. And in that case, you'll be dealing with your insurance company no matter who is deemed at fault. But if you're not at fault at all, your insurance company will seek reimbursement (including your deductible) from the other guy's insurance company. In the end, if the accident isn't deemed your fault, the insurance company cannot raise your premiums (in my state of NJ at least). Keep in mind I'm mostly talking in relation to any injuries that may have happened. As for the damage, the at-fault driver's insurance will still pay for repairs.

Traffic circles are often risky because so many drivers don't fully understand how to navigate them properly. For that reason, I'm always extra careful and just assume that nobody else is going to yield when they should.

 

[Campfamily]

12 states are no-fault.

Florida, Kansas, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Utah

 

[RocketTR]

12 states are no-fault.

Florida, Kansas, Hawaii, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and Utah

It changes all the time. But anyway, so what? I still don't know which state he's from.

 

[jgcrp1]

It changes all the time. But anyway, so what? I still don't know which state he's from.

He said he’s in Colorado, hence his name.

 

[RocketTR]

He said he’s in Colorado, hence his name.

Must have missed that. Mogul is a name I'd associate more with NY than CO. Or maybe even Vermont.

 

[Mogul]

Must have missed that. Mogul is a name I'd associate more with NY than CO. Or maybe even Vermont.

Well, I grew up skiing the slopes of Western NY... at night. No comparison to CO and UT!

 

[RocketTR]

Well, I grew up skiing the slopes of Western NY... at night. No comparison to CO and UT!

You got that right......anyone who skis in the northeast has to learn how to ski ice rather than powder. But moguls are moguls no matter where you ski.

 

[Mogul]

So with the supplement from the repair shop the estimate has risen to a little over $21K. Contributing to that was they claim the quadralift compressor needs to be replaced, not necessarily because it is not working, but because the mounting brackets are bent. They are also including my chief skids that I don't think need to be replaced. This is all leading to the ins company declaring it a total loss. I am surprised to say the least and ticked off. In my quick look at valuation for the options and add ons, my value should be over $30k. I don't have any info yet on how they arrived at this decision.

But I am just sick about this. I love my TH and take great care of it. I also have the Maxcare lifetime service contract and was planning on driving this a long time. It's amazing that they will total this, I think they just want to part it out.

 

[jgcrp1]

So with the supplement from the repair shop the estimate has risen to a little over $21K. Contributing to that was they claim the quadralift compressor needs to be replaced, not necessarily because it is not working, but because the mounting brackets are bent. They are also including my chief skids that I don't think need to be replaced. This is all leading to the ins company declaring it a total loss. I am surprised to say the least and ticked off. In my quick look at valuation for the options and add ons, my value should be over $30k. I don't have any info yet on how they arrived at this decision.

But I am just sick about this. I love my TH and take great care of it. I also have the Maxcare lifetime service contract and was planning on driving this a long time. It's amazing that they will total this, I think they just want to part it out.

I think you are correct. They pay you ~$31k and get ~$16k at auction they lose $15k vs $21k+. Really sucks about losing, not only your TH, but the lifetime maxcare which is invaluable. Feel for you. Keep talking to the insurance company adjuster to try to convince them not to total. Also, if they won’t budge on totaling it, ask them what price they’d sell it back to you … never know, they may sell it cheaper than the example above. That said, either way, it’s likely to kill the lifetime maxcare. Good luck!

 

[RocketTR]

So with the supplement from the repair shop the estimate has risen to a little over $21K. Contributing to that was they claim the quadralift compressor needs to be replaced, not necessarily because it is not working, but because the mounting brackets are bent. They are also including my chief skids that I don't think need to be replaced. This is all leading to the ins company declaring it a total loss. I am surprised to say the least and ticked off. In my quick look at valuation for the options and add ons, my value should be over $30k. I don't have any info yet on how they arrived at this decision.

But I am just sick about this. I love my TH and take great care of it. I also have the Maxcare lifetime service contract and was planning on driving this a long time. It's amazing that they will total this, I think they just want to part it out.

Depending upon the true extent of the damage, you might be better off. Then again, if you feel that the damage isn't really as bad as they are making it out to be, you can always buy them out and repair the vehicle yourself. You'd still get the insurance money as per their valuation and you should be able to cover the purchase and repair costs with money left over. The downside of that is that you'll end up with a salvaged title vehicle, which may make it more difficult to sell when that time comes.

 

[Mogul]

Yeah and the salvage title makes the Maxcare invalid. Maxcare was mostly there as insureance on Quadralift repair costs down the road. Conceivably, if a good deal buy it back and convert to coils.

I think the damage is fairly accurate, but there could be choices to be made on what not to fix. Like the Chief skids. I could repair those... and I don't think the sump plate skid was actually damaged in the accident, probably has some scrapes for off road. But there could also be unknowns I guess.

 

[jimntempe]

Any insurance experts here that might be able to answer this? Is there anyway to refuse to have them total it and instead make them give you the money per the estimate? Then just get it fixed yourself. The idea being you never give up the title and if you don't give up the title you don't turn it into a salvage vehicle plus you would still have the maxcare on it when it's fixed.