My stock '98 with 98k miles got hit by a Grand Cherokee yesterday, they hit the passenger side front wheel and mashed the hell out of the side.






The last one will not let me rotate the image, but you get the idea.

I couldn't get a decent picture of the underside of the car but the lower control arm is broken off of the axle as well as the coil spring looked bent, my horn is also sitting in my passenger seat at the moment. I have not been able to look at it enough to know what other issues it has. I have full coverage but I'm almost positive they will just put it down as a total loss, but with so few miles and everything else being in such good condition before the accident it kills me to let it die now.

 

it all depends on whether or not the frame got bent.

 

Is it a 4X4?

If so, talk to the insurance company and get their quote 2 ways: what will they give you in a (totalled) settlement? It varies between state, but some states require a total if the cost to fix is 50% of the pre-crash value. In my state, it is 70%. Some are 60%.

What do they estimate the total cost to put it in pre-crash condition?

You might have the option to take the settlement, then go to the insurance auction if they will let the public bid and buy it.

However, if it is determined the unibody is bent, I would give it up if it were mine.

If it is a 4X2, it's probably done.

 

Its a 4x4. Claim rep said it's 70% of the pre-crash value to determine if its totaled. That would put me in the vicinity of $2,100 to be totaled, which I probably have hit.
If it's determined the unibody is bent I have heard of getting it pulled straight again, is that not a viable option?

 

You could get it pulled. But it will cost you. A lot. Prob $3000-$4000 just to have a frame guy hook up to it.

 

Sometimes the unibody cannot be fully straightened.

 

If they total it out see what the payout is and ask them about buying it back. I rolled mine a few years ago and insurance gave me 4500 and I bought it back for 380 and built another one and still had money left over.

 

That sounds like a sick deal. If this happened to me I would use the money to buy a wrangler and turn the wreck into a Lemons racer

 

^This, if the uni-frame is undamaged, it looks like a pretty easy fix with a few hundred dollars of bolt on-parts, maybe a little more if the axle is damaged (but you can still find complete XJ D30 front axles for around $150 at the junk yard so not too extreme).


Odds are high insurance will total it either way, body shops charge ridiculous prices on even minor repairs (a new bumper cover with paint and headlight on a car I had that was hit a couple years ago cost $1,500 at a dealer body shop, other driver's ins paid though), however if the frame is good it is definitely worth buying back (most ins cos will sell it to you for salvage value, deducted from the settlement) and fixing.


It may still be worth fixing if there is minor frame damage (just the ends of the rails where the bumper attaches, or just the control arm mounts, but not the rail, etc.), but as others said significant frame damage is very expensive to fix right (assuming you plan to use it for street use, for a trail only rig: chains, a porta-power, and an anchor such as a large tree can often get it "close enough" for non-road use).

 

That was after I rolled it. ..


And that's what I built with some of the parts from the rolled one and put better parts in it and I sold what I didn't want

 

I can list the parts + labor + paint... in my head.........cost.......

They will total it regardless of frame/unibody damage.


Take the $2100 less buy-back and start shopping.

Interior, engine, trans, TC, rear axle, etc........is well worth keeping/parting out.

edit:
My guess is about $3800 on the cheap side to repair......it will NEVER drive the same no matter what they do.
There is more damage there than at first glance and the parts cost will add up.

Hood, door, bumper, header panel, front axle, tire, track bar, steering linkage, upper and lower control arms, inner fender/straighten and repair....etc..........well over $3800.........alignment.......

 

BTW, if any of the doors do not close EXACTLY the way the used to.........body/frame is twisted or racked.

Look at the lines of all the doors/ hatch when closed.

 

Yeah check those door alignments for sure. I got rear ended in my first Honda CRX years ago. It looked like just the rear bumper was folded a little at first. Upon further inspection, the whole unibody was twisted. The driver door was much tighter clearances than the passenger and the trunk wouldn't latch properly.

I bought mine back, sold the motor, trans, good body panels and interior bits. Made my money back and bought an MR2 turbo.

If they give you a decent amount I think you could find another stock jeep pretty easily. They're all over the place here in KY. Not much rust either.

Good luck man. Glad no one was hurt.

 

My wife totaled our minty minty '98.
I sold it for $650.
It ran and drove, I drove it home from the crash site.

Regret regret regret.......I've spent more than $650 in parts that I could have taken from it.

 

OTOH, not every owner has the time, place, mechanical knowledge, or "want-to" to dismantle a wrecked Jeep and try to sell it piece-by-piece.

Most city and/or apartment codes won't let you do that outside.

This is why the proliferation of the pick-a-part salvage yards. They do it on a large scale.

When I parted out an old wrecked Mustang 23 or so years ago, most people wanted me to pull the parts for them. They also didn't want to spend much more than $20-30 or so, even for an excellent door or hood after wanting me to pull it and load it for them. $5 max on small parts.

Never again. My time is worth more than that.