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Wtf! Rant!

biscuitboy87

NAXJA Forum User
Location
CA/OR
this is the third time my xj has been hit. twisted the body this time.
funny thing. body shop calls and says it'll cost 1800 buck to fix, and i ask a few questions and they say "well, we didnt check that"
and i think to myself whoa! aren't professionals supoosed to follow certain rules and have certain things to look for...
so i send in the photos i took of the accident, and the appraiser for the insurance co call me the next day and says "the damage you describe sounds to be a total loss"
and i'm thinking why dont they just put it on the rack and tweek it back? its not that complicated is it?
so then i call the insurance co and the adjuster says "well its been in an accident before so we'll only give you half the market value"
and i'm thinking that the ins co and body shop gauranteed it would be factory spec the first two times so why not give me the value as if it hadn't been hit because they said it would be as good as new (thats the law right?)
so now they want to say that they cant guarantee that the body shop did the proper work in the first place so they dont have to pay for it "as new" value.
so... thinking of litigation at this point. i think i will sue the transport company who hit me and let them deal with their insurance company...
so far no documents have been signed at all. arrrrgggghhhhh! i'm just so pissed i had to vent. in the end i will prevail, even if i have to go postal. it just kills me to know that the responsibility of reparations belongs to the ins co. and they are trying to weasel...worst thing is the adjuster KNOWS what he is doing is wrong, but is doing it because he gets a bonus for bringing in the claim under 5000 dollars. its a stupid XJ for gosh sakes, just give me fair market value (not percieved value) or fix it...
if anybody else has insurance gripes just list them here...misery love company.
 
Yeah, I feel your pain and frustration. I just rear-ended somebody while I was driving my mom's acura saturday night. Did a lot of damage to the other guys car(bent the unibody) so it might be totaled, we dont know yet. My mom's car is fine though, the bumper is marked up pretty good and a little off in position, but nothing a body shop can't fix. Dang ABS brakes didn't kick in on this road with a little bit of loose gravel/dirt on it from contruction, I slid right into the right rear of his car. If I was in my Jeep I would have mutilated his car, LOL. I'm just hoping that AAA will take care of this one! That way I can: :anon:
 
Good luck fighting with the insurance co.Mine just got totalled and I fought tooth and nail with the jerk-offs.I had a pretty well biult 90 XJ and after my deductable and salvage buy back I ended up with just under $2600.As for straightening out the bent up uni-body it probably can be done BUT it wont have the strength it used to and I personally wouldn't drive one after it was "bent" and straightened.Just my opinion.I think you should cut your losses and find another one,then use as many parts off the old one that you can.Thats what I'm doing(I scored a 97 in good shape for $3500).
 
Once the unibody has been tweaked, or even wheeled really hard, things start to get a lot less structurally sound and start to flex. Anybody who has wheeled hard for any length of time will be able to show you cracks starting to show up in the body sheetmetal. I've had mine on its top and pushed everything back out and got everything straight. Even with significant underbody strengthening, the body racked bad enough on a fairly easy obstacle that I broke my windshield and ended up with a wrinkle across the top. I say all of that to support the statement that if the unibody gets tweaked, just pulling it back in line is no guarantee that it will stay that way and that it will be as strong as it once was.

If you are going to wheel an XJ with big tires on big rocks, you really should strengthen the unibody BEFORE you tweak it rather than later.
 
Unfortunately, it's just a numbers game to them ... they're not emotionally attached to the vehicle.

They not only figure the cost to repair ... but potential ongoing cost after repairs---plus the daily rental car/storage yard fees. They will try to get you to sign off with a disposition. The longer you sit on it due to disagreement, the more it cost them ... and therefore should give them an incentive to an equitable settlement.

If the unibody is tweaked, personally I would cut my losses, the emotional attachment, and get as much as you can from your insurance company using your collison---and have them waive the deductable. Then take the "At Fault" party to small claims, or hire a lawyer. Just remember, an attorney will cost you $250 per hour or take 33% on contingency ... I doubt its worth the trouble.

Property damage is difficult to settle beyond fair market value or high book value or the repair costs unless you can prove it's worth more... which raises the issue of why the vehicle wasn't insured for more than book value to begin with.

If there was an injury ... like, they ran over your foot, then I would hire a lawyer and sue for policy limits---and if that was the case every lawyer in the country would be knocking at your door.

Good luck with it ...

biscuitboy87 said:
this is the third time my xj has been hit. twisted the body this time. [edit] it just kills me to know that the responsibility of reparations belongs to the ins co. and they are trying to weasel...worst thing is the adjuster KNOWS what he is doing is wrong, but is doing it because he gets a bonus for bringing in the claim under 5000 dollars.
 
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yeah...i was just ranting because there is emotional attachment. a new in same condition here runs 10 to 13 grand, but ins. co. is only offering 5k so the battle will lead to war soon enough. i would love to cut the losses, but i want a fair replacement...even 7k would be fine w me cause i could find one here for that in decent condition.
theres a super clean 01 at the dealer with rubicon rims for 18k with 20,000 miles on it (lease return, but i know who leased it and they pretty uch only took it to tahoe a few times)...but 18l is way too much IMHO.
anyways i tend to take things personally...thank goodness i have more than one car...they will pay, oh yes they will pay!
 
I hear ya .. I've been in this situation several times over the years and it just doesn't seem to work in our favor. They see sheetmetal with four wheels and we see a passionate work of art.

Hang in there ...

biscuitboy87 said:
anyways i tend to take things personally...
 
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