So, my Jeep was parked out in front of my house and some guy driving too fast down my street went to "reach for something" and swerved into my Jeep and two of my neighbor's cars as well, one of which was pushed into a utility pole. And of course this guy has terrible insurance with only $10,000 coverage which a good chunk of that could go to whatever it costs to fix the pole. So I'm probably gonna get screwed.

I already know that they're totaling my Jeep but if I'm not mistaken you can buy your totaled vehicle back from the insurance company? Which I may do depending on how much it would cost to fix the damages. Below are a couple of pics of the damage. I already know my vehicle isn't worth repairing but I really would like to if it won't be terribly expensive to fix. I got a really good deal on this Jeep and I've gotten really attached to it. It's a 97 country and has some nice features like part and full-time 4-wheel drive, anti-lock breaks, cruise control, and the overhead console which I really love and haven't seen hardly any Cherokees with those.

It's hard to tell but the wheel is at a slight angle so the axle is bent and I know I'd have to replace that which wouldn't be difficult to get from a salvage yard along with the fender panel and another door. My big concern is the pillar where the door attaches. The door is pushed back enough that the sensor for the cabin lights was no longer being triggered and the door doesn't close all the way anymore. The hinges are definitely pushed in some but I can't tell if the whole pillar was pushed in too. Either way I can't fix that myself so I'd have to take it to a body shop to have them fix that and I'm not sure how much that might cause. Sorry, I didn't take more pics it was cold outside.


A close-up of some of the damage.


I quick pic of the idiot-who-hit-my-Jeep's car for fun.



So what do you guys think?

 

Should be able to find everything you need to fix it at your local JY.

 

New fender and door and call it a day. No biggie other than a color match.

 

Fix it & sue him in smalls claims to recoup your loss.

 

The A-piller should be an easy fix (if it even needs fixed), if it needs pulled it shouldn't cost more than a few hundred dollars at a body shop. The parts (door, fender, axle) should be less than $500 at a junk yard, so it definitely looks like it would be worth fixing.

The insurance company will usually sell you a "totaled" vehicle for salvage value (usually $500 or so).

In PA to re-registed a "totaled" (salvage-title) vehicle you need to have an "enhanced" safety inspection (more through than a regular annual safety inspection) after it is repaired, most actual shops (not lube and tire chains) are certified to perform this inspection, and fill out PennDOT form MV-426B to have the title converted from "Salvage" to "Reconstructed".

Details on re-registering a "salvage" vehicle in PA here:
http://www.dmv.state.pa.us/pdotforms...d_Vehicles.pdf

 

When my last XJ was totaled (other driver has State Farm I think) I got to buy it back for $150.00. On top of that, I got $1,850.00. So, I bought another XJ and had my old one for parts. The unibody was tweaked. Plan on turning it into a woods buggy in the future. Going to stroke the motor and have it as a spare for when my engine finally dies, whenever that is.

 

That is a fix you can do yourself with nothing but hand tools using Junk Yard parts, that is if it's DD. Depending on how nice you want it looking then a body shop will have to be there to do the job at some point "If" it's "Not" your DD then just beat the fender out trim it run larger tires, slap a door on it and hit the trails.

Then you don't have to worry about putting your first big dent in it, it's already Done!

 

Sorry, my point was that if they do total it, you can buy it back and use it for parts or fix it up cheap. If the uni-frame is OK, you can get the body parts at the JY and make it look better than new.

 

Also a note on the front axle. Given the very minor lean (negative camber) of the wheel it may only be a blown ball-joint(s). It is possible the steering knuckle is bent/cracked but make sure to check the ball-joints before replacing the axle.

 

Hey everyone,

Sorry I never replied back. All of you guys' input was encouraging and helpful! A friend of my grandfather who has worked on Jeeps before ended up having a quick look at the damages. He pointed out that the control arms where bent. I think that's what they're called anyway. There are four of them that hold the axle in place and the two on the drivers side were pretty mangled. He also agreed that the door could be straightened out pretty easily. had

He knew a guy that owns a salvage yard and he got me a replacement axle, all the control arms, and a replacement door and delivered them to me for around $350 I think. The salvage yard didn't have a fender so I went to a different yard that I usually go to and found what was possibly the only one that was mangled in the yard.

I had the garage across the street from me put on the replacement axle and it ended up costing my over $600 (needed a new sway bar as well). Not too bad I guess but a little more than I anticipated. Then after the axle was replaced I took my Jeep to a body shop just a few blocks away from me to get an estimate for them to realign the door. They wanted $2100 even with the replacement door and fender! The guy who called me said he would need to use chains and it would take at least 7 hours. That's what I paid for my Jeep 3 years ago so needless to say I didn't have them do the work.

It was actually relatively easy to get the door back in line on my own by just pulling on the door with it opened. Once I did that, I took the old door off and transferred most everything from the old door to the replacement door (the door a got from the yard was stripped of nearly everything). Then I put the replacement door on (minus the shims to bring the door back a little) and it looks pretty darn good.

Here's the end result! I like the look of mismatched colored parts on a car. It shows the work you've done to it.


So once again, Thank you all for input and opinions! It's so great to have my Jeep back!

 

I have a couple more questions for you guys too if you all don't mind. The insurance company of the guy who hit my Jeep is still screwing around and "waiting to receive all estimates" before they can do anything. They're waiting on the estimate for the damages caused to the utility pole by neighbor's car that was pushed into it. There's no visible damage other than a small dent in the pole and if nothing has been done about the pole that was hit by now, nothing will be. How long can they drag this out? It's been over six months since this incident! And now that my car has been fixed (for less than their estimates) can they still total my vehicle?

 

You should have waited to do anything. Now they can give you only what you paid to fix it yourself and nothing more.

 

That's all I want! I have receipts for everything I bought and for the work done by the garage. I'd take anything at this point as long as that doesn't include me having to buy my vehicle back from them because they considered it totaled.

Edit: Well, they would have if I had waited around for them. My goal was to fix it for less then their estimate so I could avoid the whole totaling situation if possible. I'm not looking to make money off of this incident, I just want to come close to breaking even.

 

Hopefully you will break even. Let us know how it goes.
Good Luck!

 

A totaled vehicle just means the damages exceed the value according to your state. You don't have to buy it back, you never sell it to them. It stays your Jeep in your hands. Whether you aren't trying to "profit" or not, the insurance company likely would've taken great care of you and you would've come out way ahead had you waited. I'm interested to know how this turns out.