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My Cherokee is my first car. I've only had her for about 2 months now. She's a 98 and she's red and beautiful and I love her so much I put my soul in finding this car as I wanted a Cherokee for so long. I got into an accident today, my first one. Someone pulled out in front of me making a left turn before I had a chance to even stop and now the front end is a bit messed up. I don't know much about cars. I don't know the parts or different makes and models of certain brands. All I know is that everyone has been saying that it's probably gonna come back as total loss claim even though it's perfectly fine...give or take the few minor collision details. But they say this cause of its age and because of its value. I just need some reassurance from someone that knows these cars that it's gonna be fine? It's just minor damage right? I've been reading about the horror stories of perfectly good cars being totaled and I don't want to happen to this perfectly good Cherokee.
Main damage. The frame over the right wheel is really bent out of shape and the front piece was pushed in really far that I couldn't pop the hood.
The headlight was basically falling off and so was the bumper so my dad took them off the car so I could drive it home<br/>
Jeep is definitely repairable with some replacement parts. Some junkyard parts and some time and money is all you need. Insurance will definitely total it out and I'm not sure of the routes you can take to avoid that. Some will let you buy it back or give you less money if you keep it. You will have a hard time if you have never done anything mechanical. Your cherokee being totaled is most likely what is going to happen but that does not mean that you have to give it up. I see about 4-500 dollars in replacement parts. Hood, fender with flare, bumper, complete header panel.
You sure that the frame is bent? Looks like only the fender is.
Last edited by MonacaYankee; Jul 19, 2015 at 10:33 PM.
Looks fine. I do that to my bumper in one night of wheelin. Haha! Not really that bad, but I do bend it up. Just a new bumper and header panel should fix it. And fender
Jeep is definitely repairable with some replacement parts. Some junkyard parts and some time and money is all you need. Insurance will definitely total it out and I'm not sure of the routes you can take to avoid that. Some will let you buy it back or give you less money if you keep it. You will have a hard time if you have never done anything mechanical. Your cherokee being totaled is most likely what is going to happen but that does not mean that you have to give it up. I see about 4-500 dollars in replacement parts. Hood, fender with flare, bumper, complete header panel.
You sure that the frame is bent? Looks like only the fender is.
^This, unfortunately what most people told you is right, due to the relatively low value of XJs and the astronomic prices body shops charge it will be almost certainly totaled even though it looks like only minor easily repairable damage. You should be able to buy it back from the Ins. Co. if they total it out, but you will have a salvage/rebuilt title then (only really an issue if you ever plan to sell it since it will lower the value significantly).
I also don't see anything that obviously looks like frame damage (though once you can get the hood open you'll want to check it over good), as long as the frame is fine Like MonacaYankee said it is easily $400-$500 (maybe less depending on the yard you get them from) worth of bolt-on parts and an afternoon worth of work.
Passenger side view showing the gap at the doors? If it's just the bumper/brackets/fender,etc (superficial-cosmetic) don't even involve your insurance company just fix it yourself. Did that thing have a plow on it?
Gentlemen, we can rebuild him. We have the technology. We have the capability to make the world's first bionic Jeep.
Kaner will be that Jeep. Better than it was before. Better... stronger... faster.
Six Million Dollar man theme music starts to play..
Last edited by Dumajones; Jul 20, 2015 at 05:55 AM.
^This, unfortunately what most people told you is right, due to the relatively low value of XJs and the astronomic prices body shops charge it will be almost certainly totaled even though it looks like only minor easily repairable damage. You should be able to buy it back from the Ins. Co. if they total it out, but you will have a salvage/rebuilt title then (only really an issue if you ever plan to sell it since it will lower the value significantly).
I also don't see anything that obviously looks like frame damage (though once you can get the hood open you'll want to check it over good), as long as the frame is fine Like MonacaYankee said it is easily $400-$500 (maybe less depending on the yard you get them from) worth of bolt-on parts and an afternoon worth of work.
You can avoid salvage title. When they come back with their estimate for the damage just tell them you're keeping the car and ask them to just send you the check minus of course $300-$400. The title will never change hands. You will not be issued a new one. At least that's how it worked for me. However, I'm sure If someone does a carfax search it will show the accident.
Mine had almost identical damage when my daughter rear-ended an import (destroyed the import btw). I replaced both fenders, airbags and header and upgraded the front bumper. "you can do it"
last year i actually got 96 for free in about the same condition (with only 80k miles!) a bent control arm mount ($45 + 30 minutes of welding) a new control arm ($20 from junk yard). frame was straight and i wanted a custom bumper for flat towing anyway. A new tie rod and alignment and i was able to register it. i still have the cracked header panel and bent fender. oh and a new marker light ($7). guy gave it to me because he knew i was in the market for a parts jeep. But with less than $300 invested to register it, why not. And im still looking for a parts jeep. Luckily i can use one parts jeep to fix both and I got the best deal on a daily drive. ever!
Oh, you will want to check the motor mounts. the metal sleeves ripped through the rubber bushings.
Good point. In my opinion, all the front bushings should also be inspected after an impact. I had split control arm bushings after impacting some small trees.
I had my first accident today.
I put my soul in finding this car as I wanted a Cherokee for so long. I got into an accident today, my first one. Someone pulled out in front of me making a left turn before I had a chance to even stop and now the front end is a bit messed up. I don't know much about cars. I don't know the parts or different makes and models of certain brands. All I know is that everyone has been saying that it's probably gonna come back as total loss claim even though it's perfectly fine...give or take the few minor collision details. But they say this cause of its age and because of its value. I just need some reassurance from someone that knows these cars that it's gonna be fine? It's just minor damage right? I've been reading about the horror stories of perfectly good cars being totaled and I don't want to happen to this perfectly good Cherokee. 
