could be that you are right. But yeah, I have seen some lifted ones as high as $12,000
Anything less than $4,000 looks kind of iffy, definitely not comparable and as well maintained (body and mechanics) as mine is/was. Again, like you pointed out, we are talking asking price here

The insurance company doesn't care what people are asking on CL.

They are going to total your ride. You can take less money and buy it back. You can try to fix it yourself. That is going to take time, money, and expertise to do properly. Plus, at that point it will be a salvage title. A lot of insurance companies won't even touch it at that point.

So, boils down to this, do you REALLY want to keep it that badly? Can it be fixed? Sure. But it's gonna take time and cost. Even if you do it yourself. Time to make that hard decision.

If it were me...I would buy it back but find another. Make it an offroad only toy, or use it for parts/upgrades for the new one. Part out the rest, and sell for scrap anything that's left.

One more thing, don't let your insurance company see that pic of you loaded down...that pic looks like you are definitely overloaded...I'm guessing your leafs were sagging anyways...but loaded like that, and getting rear ended, that's what happens. Had you had newer springs and loaded properly, that damage may not even have happened, their ride woulda gone under it, and not pushed it down. Just an observation.

I fully agree with all he said. Sad, when it's your baby, and that sure was a nice one.

But the reality is, it will never be the same again, even if you sink that full $6500 into it.

And you will never see a dime of that back, ever, in terms of resale.

if you take the money, and buy it back, it will be titled as salvage.
then in order to repair it to drive again, you will need to have it done professionally, with all documents. then you will need to have a shop do a class 6 structural safety inspection before you can get new plates.
at least that's how it is up here. i'm sure in the states too, as we can purchase salvage vehicles and register them here, but not without going through all that i have mentioned.

and you will probably need to ditch the hitch, as it most likely won't be level unless you get that frame exactly right. then make sure you plate it up nice and strong.

it would be better and easier for you to not go through insurance, take the money loss, but just fix your jeep yourself, the best you can, pull as much as the frame back as you can, then maybe put some crusher corner tube fenders on to cover up the quarter panel damage, a nice big, steel bumper and call it a day. no need for a structural safety, and no salvage title.

Man, frame damage like that is a total loss. I have to fully agree with everything Roni had previously said on this one.

Damn, my condolences
Really sucks to have crap like that happen. You found the truck that hit you though?? I would definitely try to sting the car and see if the guy comes back

Or just light it on fire, he definitely doesn't deserve to drive and hopefully can't afford another car, and also hopefully depends on it to get to work

EDIT:
I've been down this patch before and frame damage on a unibody is basically a death sentence unless it is a very expensive car.

On an XJ, there is no way that it would be cost efficient to fix that. It does look like you had a clean stock-ish rig, which would definitely be possible to find another one in similar condition. Lots of Jeep owners hope to keep their rigs for a lifetime and there are plenty that are in great shape so just keep looking and you absolutely will find one for a good price

It depends on the state. Some states require a salvage title vehicle be inspected after repairs before allowing it back on the road (Here in PA after repair you have to get an "enhanced" safety inspection which is more through than the standard annual inspection), while other states have no such requirement (you can literally re-register a salvage vehicle just as you picked it up from the salvage yard without any repairs in some states, scary isn't it?), and some states have a cut-off based on vehicle age (i.e. a salvage vehicle less than 20 years old needs inspected while an older one doesn't).


Since Texas just voted to end annual vehicle safety inspections for non-commercial vehicles, I don't know what their requirements for salvage title vehicles are (as far as I know all states with annual vehicle inspections require some kind of safety inspection for a salvage title vehicle before it can be registered, but states that don't require annual inspection are hit and miss, some still require special inspections for salvage title vehicle while others don't).

UPDATE
"Buddy" is back on the road!!!
I cashed the total loss insurance check and found a body shop that put it all back together within that amount. Body work, frame work, paint, some bondo.. all of it.

While all that went on and my XJ's fate was being decided, I bought a Chevy truck which is now my DD.
Since I always said I'd start to play around with the Jeep a little, once it's no longer my DD, guess what? It's getting a 3" RC lift tomorrow!!!.

good to hear!

i am going through the exact same thing with my beloved 13 golf highline tdi sportwagen.
hit from behind by an uninsured driver, hit the hitch, bent the frame. total loss with value at/around 20K. happened two weeks ago, still nowhere near a settlement from insurance. however, this one won't be fixed.

enjoy your "new" offroad toy and keep this thread updated with your progress.

I hate to hear that. I actually found the ditched wrecked car that hit me only minutes after the police left the scene. Had bogus plates, no insurance and all. I was able to track down the current owner and basically deliver him to the cops, with address, description (I recognized him) and all.
He got a lawyer who then refused to answer any questions from the police.
Since it couldn't be proven that he was the guy driving that night, nothing was ever done to him. Me and the cops had to prove that he was the one driving, and we couldn't. Forget the driving part... He never even had to answer as to why a car he owned (which was not reported as stolen from him) was involved in a hit and run accident, with bogus plates and no insurance.

As far as the insurance goes. Fight fight fight. It took me 6 months but I got them to raise their settlement from $1900 to $4090, which eventually paid for the car to be fixed, in my case. Just find receipts of ANYTHING you have replaced or done to it.. Find classifieds in your area, especially dealer ones.
Use their evaluation report against them. They had scored me Dealer/Retail condition, which is the max you can score, on 5 of the 7 inspection points to assess overall condition. The remaining two points were rated Average Pre-owned, the second best score. On a 19 year old car with 220k miles!
They'll pull the shottiest comps they can find that loosely match your year and configuration and put them in the report to show you they are not worth crap. On mine, it was clear they overlooked tons of exact local matches (4wd '99 automatic with A/C, power-everything and virtually all options checked on the list) and instead used comps like a 2WD 2000 with manual tranny and no A/C 200 miles away. The only thing they try to match is the amount they already decided they intend to pay you, with anything for sale that matches that value. And you won't know, cause all those come sight unseen, no pictures, not local, not easily verifiable.
Call them out.
Also, for example, here in Texas you have the right to inspect any of the comps they use against your car, and they have to make sure it is reasonable for you to do so (can't remember but I think it's 30 miles from the zipcode). If they pick far away ones tell them to find different comps that you can go verify as valid comparisons LOCALLY in person. If they say they can't find any, go find them yourself online and send them to them. Pick the highest valued ones, even if you feel it's an unrealisticly high price tag. When/if they refuse to count them in ask why (in writing) and tell them that in that case you have the right to go see the far away ones they've picked and you expect for them to pay for a rental for you to get there or for your gas/mileage if you drive your vehicle.
You get the gist. Just be a pain in the *** to the core, as long as you do have a valid argument to back you up. Just push, don't roll over.
Also, try to use only email to communicate with them. They'll try to keep you communicating via phone, because it's easier for them to manipulate you or trick you and make you believe things that really are not as they say they are, just by implying something or using a tone or straight up lying. When you file a claim you have the right to request for all communication to be written. You can come out and straight up tell them that, or you can be more subtle and just say you prefer email because it's more convenient due to your job, hours, lifestyle.. etc.
For example, in my case they would tell me (in phone calls) that my Jeep could physically not be repaired, regardless of what evaluation they gave it. It was unfixable. After sending them 3 estimates from 3 different body shops to prove that it was absolutely repairable and within the average market value of that car, in those conditions and in this area, they wrote me that they NEVER said it couldn't be fixed.
All I wanted was for them to fix it, but they never did. They did however end up writing me a check for more than two of the repair estimates I submitted.
So, yeah.. Use email. At that point it's black on white and they'll be a lot more discouraged to say things just persuade you, like on the phone, where it turns into a he said she said thing. It's your way of keeping a record. Stay sure they keep theirs.
Hope you don't give them an easy fight. Just check what rights you have in the state you are in. They are all a little different.

Good luck!