ReeKeR

Hello everyone my name is Kerrin. I have driven Jeeps since I can remember. I bought my 1999 Cherokee Sport in 2002 and I have owned it ever since. I absolutely love my Jeep, and I have taken good care of it all these years. On June 15th I got into an accident. A guy driving a Ford sedan slid into me and wrecked my Jeep. I am pretty upset over my Jeep. I am going to be posting some pictures of the damage.

My question is for those of you who have had similar wrecks and decided to rebuild your Cherokee what was the expense? How did your Jeep drive after you fixed it?

I am still waiting on the crash report before my insurance can do anything. The driver who hit me was speeding and the best part he had no insurance or a valid drivers license. I would much rather fix my Jeep than get a new one.

Thanks!

zr2toxj

My concern would be how bad it tweeted the unibody. The only way to tell that is to put it on a frame machine. I'd want a professional to check it out before I started, you don't want to throw money at something that isn't worth it. Good luck, let us know how you make out with it.

ReeKeR

Thanks. We will certainly be doing just that. If the frame is intact and everything looks good on the Jeep we will fix it. I have a certified mechanic and a good shop I use for my vehicle. I hope it is okay because I really hate to have to give up the vehicle.

moparado

If your insurance or the A-hole can't/won't pay for the damages, then if you want to keep the Jeep...

...then its gonna be a DIY project.
In that case, might want to take it to a body shop anyway to get an estimate and find out if the uni-body needs re-straightening as zr20xj mentioned.
At least you'll know what your dealing with.

Might be able to get the fender and other parts from a boneyard.
But to keep the Jeep looking factory clean, i'd have a professional match the paint then professionally paint the replacement fender and other parts.
Matching paint is sort of an art form even black paint.

Do you plan to sue that nar-do-well to pay for damages or do you have full coverage collision insurance?
Even if your insurance ponies up, its likely they'll only pay book value which ain't gonna be much.

ReeKeR

Thank you for your help. Honestly I do not care about the paint matching. As far as body parts there are plenty of places to pull from here in WV. I hope it can be fixed.

Yes. I plan on going after the guy. He had no business being on the road driving, no license, no insurance, and the best part it was not even his car. I hold the jerk who loaned him the car to drive just as responsible. I have uninsured motorist coverage, and liability on the Jeep.

My biggest lesson is make sure you have full coverage or add on collision. I took that off of my insurance last year because I could not afford it. Just when we were getting on our feet and doing good an accident happens. I wish I would of had collision on it now. If I have to get another vehicle it will be another Jeep for sure. If it is fixable it would be worth it. If not the next Jeep will have collision on it for sure!

moparado

I have full coverage on my 2 new(er) vehicles with only liability-uninsured motorist on my XJ and Dodge Neon.

For kicks i looked up the book value for my 2k XJ on the NADA website.
A whopping $1125 average to $1650 clean. $3525 retail clean
The 300k mileage took a -$600 hit.

I dumped a lot of money in my XJ so i called my insurance to see if they could insure it for a lot more than book value.

My insurance said they'd only pay up to the book value because just about all the money i put into it was maints. related.
They also said, they would insure custom add-ons like expensive wheels, stereos, etc. but i'd have to send them receipts and pictures.

Not sure how the un-insured motorist insurance works. Don't know if thats also book value or for a complete repair.

ReeKeR

It is for a complete repair that is if my frame is good. The uninsured coverage amount for vehicle repairs is $25,000.00. If they total it then no. I'm stuck finding a new vehicle.

I basically kept my Jeep well maintained, and everything worked great. I decided to not set it up for a toy. I kept it practical and standard for every day use. Right now I am playing the waiting game with the insurance company. Should be interesting to see what happens next.

moparado

Thats good news, i think.
So you're saying anything over $25k is considered totaled?
Even with a bent frame, i don't think the complete repair would be any where near $25K.
I'm gonna contact my insurance to ask a whole bunch of 'what if' questions.

Hope the @#$% that hit you at least spend some time in jail.
In my State, if you're caught driving on a suspended, revoked or no license, its automatic cuffs and time in the slammer til the court date or bond posted.

Keep us updated. The same could happen to anyone of us here.

andrewmp6

Most insurance companies use the 60% rule on to total it or not,If it will cost more then 60% of its book value to repair they total it out.

ReeKeR

Yes, basically how the uninsured policy works is I have 25K with a $300.00 deductible. The bad news is if they total the vehicle then I am screwed which I have a feeling they might try and do. No insurance company wants to shell out money. They also may try to say it is not worth fixing based on the age and value vs the cost of the repair like Andrew said. I have already contacted two certified mechanics to take a look at the Jeep. If the frame is good and can be repaired I will fight them to fix it.

I pay the $300.00 and the rest is on my insurance. It does not mean they will in fact pay out the entire 25k for the repair. Here in WV uninsured coverage is mandatory in this state. No matter what you drive or insurance you have everyone automatically has to have it.

The one thing that makes me mad when it comes to insurance I make sure to have it and I always pay on time. I make sure my vehicle is safe to drive and legal. I am a safe driver too. When crap like this happens it can make one think what the heck am I paying for with the bs that goes on. A lot of insurance companies look at the age and book value like Andrew said. He is right with the 60% rule. So you have to watch the insurance company because they really do not want to pay. On the other hand they will hunt and see if they can find the driver who is at fault and dig around to see if they have insurance first. They will look at the vehicle itself too if the person driving it is not the owner. In my case the big question is did the owner of the Ford Taurus have insurance on the car?

andrewmp6

The 25k is the max they pay total,What that means medical bills repairs to car or cars you hit.The odds are the older the car the faster they total them out.A friends 80s chevy truck in nice shape was totaled out last year when it was rear ended and only bent the back bumper and brackets.But he bought it back and repaired it for 300 bucks lol.

bad_idea

I have no first hand experience, but I know of folks who have. So take what I say w/ a grain of salt. My understanding is if the insurance company totals the vehicle, you can buy it back.

For example:
Insurance totals and pays $2000.
You buy vehicle back for $400.
You repair yourself for $200 in parts, performing the labor yourself.

It can work out for you, after the headache. If you perform the repairs yourself to keep cost down and skip the repaint.

extrashaky

That's not exactly accurate. Oklahoma is the only state that uses 60%. The threshold for whether it must be totaled is set by each state's department of insurance and/or legislature. States that use percentages vary from 50% in Iowa to 100% in Colorado. Other states use the Total Loss Formula:
OP's profile says he's in West Virginia, which uses 75%. Kentucky also uses 75%, by the way. See link for other states and more info:

When is A Vehicle Considered a Total Loss?

Insurers are allowed to total a vehicle at less than the threshold if the claimant agrees. But why would an insurer pay out 100% of the value plus tax, tag and title fees for a totaled vehicle, when they could pay out 60% of that value to repair it instead? In those situations you'll usually have to fight them to get them to total it unless the vehicle just isn't worth anything to begin with and they just want you to go away.

extrashaky

You'll have a salvage title in that case, which comes with restrictions in some states and hardly any consequences at all in others. Usually you have to have the repairs inspected by a law enforcement officer before you can register it again. In some states it remains a salvage or rehabbed title, while in others you can reinstate the clean title after it's been repaired. You have to figure out what the rules are in your state to decide whether it's worth it. It's also a good idea to ask your insurance company about insuring it after the rebuild.

ReeKeR

bad_idea & extrashaky thank you both for your input. I will check into the salvage title if it goes that way for sure. BTW this is not my first Jeep build. The only difference with this situation it is my first accident and I have never done this on a Jeep Cherokee Sport.

My dad had me tag along when he did builds on vehicles. First one was 1971 International Scout, 1985 BMW, 1988 Jeep Wagoneer AMC 360 engine, and a 1975 CJ 5. I got used to becoming a junkyard rat lol.

The longest was the CJ. That CJ 5 was a special project his friend did the work on it. I know with my Cherokee Sport there are more parts available for it. I love my 99 Jeep and I am not giving up on it. Thank you all for the info!

-Kerrin