car wreck need advice

ok so brief rundown... i was going through an intersection, turning left and some idiot ran a red light and hit me. its not to bad but i think i could have some mechanical damage to the front end and i want some advice from the experts. basically he hit the side of my bumper the bottom of my fender and he hit my tire. i had to have the fire dept pry the fender off the tire so i could move it but all in all its ot that bad. the thing that i am worried about is all the crap thats connected to my tire that doesnt like sharp hard blows...ie: tie rods, ball joints, etc.

i have to call his insurance co. today so i want to get everything together before i talk to them so i know what to tell them.

Thanks in Advance.

Honestly, I would call my insurance, cry like a baby and let THEM contact his insurance. When in doubt, tell them it's FUBAR and let them prove it. We pay out the ass for insurance and you have the right to demand FULL SATISFACTION. Dont let them bully you, make sure that it goes to a shop of YOUR choosing. JMO.

Bored400 said:

Honestly, I would call my insurance, cry like a baby and let THEM contact his insurance. When in doubt, tell them it's FUBAR and let them prove it. We pay out the ass for insurance and you have the right to demand FULL SATISFACTION. Dont let them bully you, make sure that it goes to a shop of YOUR choosing. JMO.

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I dont know how Co is but in Ca its state law that you get to take your vehicle to a shop of your choice for repair.

Let the adjuster and the shop determine what needs to be fixed. Since there was a tire impact, they'll do an alignment to determine what suspension components need replacement, and then go from there.

Your insurance will be contacting his insurance, the process is called Subrogation. If he's at fault, they will collect, and you'll get your deductible back at that time.

Any collision that made contact with the tire is likely to have caused damage to the steering components that might not readily be apparent. Also, the side load on the axle may have damaged the hub unit bearing, the axleshaft u-joint, and possibly the outer knuckle. It's also likely the track bar joints and frame mount were damaged. Add to that the tie rod ends and the steering box. It looks like this ins co. owes you most of a new front end.

right i realize all of that damage that may have occurred. my only thing is how can i prove that that all needs to be done. i am just worried that i am going to get f***ed on this deal.

Take for instance....My gf was taking me to work one day when a semi decided he wanted our lane.His back trailer tires raked the front end and front tire on her 97 accord hard enough to put us into a curb.

After she got her car out of the shop for repaint and fender work I asked her if they said anything about checking the front axles and such and she said no.I told her to expect problems out of her front end in the future and she said that it was handled by "professionals":laugh: and that I don't know because I don't do this kind of thing for a living...

Long story short I just got through replacing both half shafts and wheel bearrings that the "professionals" over looked a few months ago......There sure is something very satisfieing about being right!!!

ok so heres the latest...i just went and got a quote for s***s and giggles. didnt say anything just let these guys do what they get paid to do...
of course as i suspected they only quoted body. but the quote still came out to 1857.00. i have a feeling that they are just going to total the damn thing. anyways any thoughts?

If you want them to not total it, it may be to your advantage to not bring up any of your concerns about what may have happened to the front end or any other possible damages, hope that they mistakenly write a much too low estimate and get most of the repairs done, before you bring up your concerns about the front suspension, etc..

If all the body work has already been done, the insurance company won't total it unless there is such a huge amount of additional damage that it offsets what they have already spent.

If you want it totalled, bring up every concern you can think of.

rowicki said:

right i realize all of that damage that may have occurred. my only thing is how can i prove that that all needs to be done. i am just worried that i am going to get f***ed on this deal.

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have them do an alignment, if things are damaged, they will not align properly

outlander said:

Take for instance....My gf was taking me to work one day when a semi decided he wanted our lane.His back trailer tires raked the front end and front tire on her 97 accord hard enough to put us into a curb.

After she got her car out of the shop for repaint and fender work I asked her if they said anything about checking the front axles and such and she said no.I told her to expect problems out of her front end in the future and she said that it was handled by "professionals":laugh: and that I don't know because I don't do this kind of thing for a living...

Long story short I just got through replacing both half shafts and wheel bearrings that the "professionals" over looked a few months ago......There sure is something very satisfieing about being right!!!

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wow... body shops outside of Los Angeles are lazy. I worked as an adjuster and they tried to hit me up for every suspension component they could think of every time, just hoping I'd pay for it all and they'd score some extra cash.

rowicki said:

ok so heres the latest...i just went and got a quote for s***s and giggles. didnt say anything just let these guys do what they get paid to do...
of course as i suspected they only quoted body. but the quote still came out to 1857.00. i have a feeling that they are just going to total the damn thing. anyways any thoughts?

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alot of body shops won't get into mechanical issues, they'll send it out to get diagnosed and repaired, an alignment is the best way to tell what needs to be replaced.

the insurance company will look at what cars like yours are selling for (true market value) and compare that to their estimate (not your shop's estimate, i'm telling you right now, its inflated with filler, shops gotta make money somehow) and then subtract the salvage value (what they'll get for your Jeep at auction) from the Jeep's value and see whats the more cost effective option.

Example:

Say your Jeep comes back as being worth $2500. Their estimate is $1500. The salvage value on your Jeep is $500. It would cost them $2k to total it vs $1500 to fix. They'd fix it.

However, if they think there's gonna be additional damage, they'll have the shop tear it apart to check before starting repairs. A $500 gap can be eaten up quickly with suspension issues. They might choose to total it right there to save money in the long run.

If they total it, you still have the option of keeping the vehicle. Then you'd get the salvage value subtracted from the settlement. So in the above example you'd get $2k and to keep your Jeep, then you could try and negotiate a deal with a shop to fix it, do some of the work yourself, or say hell with the body and make it a wheeling rig.

Ask the insurance company for a copy of what they have your Jeep valued as, and then ask them about unseen damage...that is, damage that occurs down the road from premature wear on parts that were affected by the accident, but showed no signs of damage at the time of repair...which is what you're concerned about.

Also make sure, if they don't total it, that it's taken to a shop of YOUR choice. If it ends up not getting totaled, the insurance company may or may not write you the check, they may go ahead and pay the shop directly. Either way, when you go back to pick it up, go over it inch by inch, and insist to take it for a test drive before you accept the work done...even if they have to have one of their guys go with you on the test drive. Even though I trust the guys who did the work on mine, the 1st time around they missed the bent hub on the wheel. Fortunately, I had somebody following me at the time, who called me and told me before I got on the highway with it wobbling all over the place.

Accidents suck, i've gone down this road twice in the last year and a half, and there's nothing fun about them. The first time, I called my Jeep dealer and got the name of a good body shop that does a lot of work on Jeeps from them, and they ended up being the ones to repair it both times. So if you're confused as to who in your area does good work, give your local Jeep dealer a call and see who they'd recomend.

Also make sure that you get a fully insured rental, one that is comperable to your Jeep, at no cost to you what so ever, for however long the repair takes. In my case, the first accident, my Jeep sat at the body shop for exactly one month getting repaired, so the other persons insurance had to pay for a rental for a month, and the second time around it was only two weeks.

It's no picnic, but hang in there....it'll all work out in the end.