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Some guy in a Honda Accord decided he needed to pass me right now on a very busy local highway. Unfortunately for both of us, he sucks at driving and misjudged the amount of room he had to get by me on the right and clipped the corner of my XJ. From looking the XJ over at the scene I thought I might have dodged a bullet since the quarter panel didn't seem to be affected. I was hoping for a cheap repair and not a total loss.
His car:
He definitely got the worse of it and had to be towed out of there. I drove home and made an appointment at his insurance appraiser. I paid $900 for the car, and it's bone stock. I was hoping damage would be around the $600-$800 range, and that they would not make it a total loss.
Appraiser hands me the paperwork, and says to me, "It was this close to being a total loss.". I look down at the check and see it is made out for $1,800! I was thrilled, because it's nothing I can't fix. Bumper, bumper corner and tail light along with some fiberglass and sheet metal work. I paid a grand total of $130 for the parts, and will tackle it over the next week. I'm just going to get it legal for now, because I was planning on painting it this summer anyway and want to keep driving it this winter.
I was kidding my wife and said, "I should go buy two more Jeeps and fix this when I have time!". She was against it for some odd reason! Haha...anyway, not a bad ending to this otherwise pain in the rear situation. The cop at the scene remarked how much worse the Honda got it and was laughing. Good times...
Glad you got it taken care of. Chances are if you would have taken it in to a body shop there would have been supplements for additional damage and could have totaled even though the preliminary estimate showed it as being repairable.
I think you made the right choice cashing out and doing the repairs yourself.
I think you made the right choice cashing out and doing the repairs yourself.
Me too. If the body shop had found something else, my gut would have been State Farm would have totaled it. I guess that could have worked out fine for me too, but I would hate for it to have a salvage title. It was a one owner before I bought it.
Me too. If the body shop had found something else, my gut would have been State Farm would have totaled it. I guess that could have worked out fine for me too, but I would hate for it to have a salvage title. It was a one owner before I bought it.
SF is generally pretty good, once they authorize repairs off of a preliminary estimate they will generally approve supplements even if it exceeds the vehicle valuation. Of course within reason.
I've already replaced the tail light and will start daily driving it again. I know what you guys mean, but see my signature. I plan to keep it stock. The rear bumper and end caps have already been ordered to the tune of less than $100. With the tail light, I'm into the repair for $130 and will pocket the rest as I planned on painting it this summer anyway. For me, it's a huge win.
Nearly lost my XJ
Chances are if you would have taken it in to a body shop there would have been supplements for additional damage and could have totaled even though the preliminary estimate showed it as being repairable. 
