Crashed JLU Rubicon Ocean Blue - advice needed auto body repair

[BubbaJezus]

Bonus Snapchat photo included.

I know an NCC cruiser when I see one! Good to see a fellow Delawarian on the board.

Sponsored

 

[Redneck_Jedi]

So sorry that this happened to you, but glad you and your family are ok.

 

[8flat]

OP don't worry about aftermarket parts, most good body shops will not use them unless forced to by the ins. company, it's simply not worth their reputation which is like gold in the autobody biz. And besides, the JL is so new there is no choice in this matter, aftermarket body parts don't exist yet. So it'll be all OEM.

I doubt they'll total it, considering it's a ~$50k vehicle. My buddy just had his new F150 hit so hard they had to replace the frame, ins. company refused to total it.

Just find a reputable bodyshop that's been in business a long time, they'll do it right. Paint matching is down to a science now, and if they can't get it right a good shop will blend the basecoat in to the next panel and then clearcoat it all. (in this case they might blend into your drivers door, for instance) I did this all the time, it works very well even with metallics and tri-coats (pearl colors) as long as you're dealing with a competent painter. It's not rocket surgery, lol.

- an ex-bodyman

 

[8flat]

Glad your not injured1st of all . With the air bags deployed they should total your Baby .If I was in your shoes I'd want it totaled the paint will never match and it will never be the same along with a diminished value . Settle with the ins.co. and get a new Baby !

COMPLETELY untrue that the paint "will never match". (I've literally done this hundreds and hundreds of times)

But you are completely correcty about diminished value. Happened to me on a brand new rig, not fun. We should be able to get a settlement from the other guy's ins. company for that exact amount of diminished value, but I am told it's a tough battle to win?

 

[Shots]

Gary, that's a very level headed response about the repair, and I agree with all of it. I think it can be repaired well, and wouldn't be surprised if they do it instead of totaling it out.

....
I went to the dealership and had their appraiser give me a written statement.
It had what my vehicle would be worth if it had not been wrecked, and what it was worth after being repaired. The difference between the two is the amount the insurance company would have to pay you. ...

That's exactly how my diminished value claim was handled. The insurance company told me to get quotes from 3 qualified shops. They did exactly as you mentioned: Quote price of undamaged, and quote price of fully repaired. The difference is the diminished value. All three quotes were about the same (which was expected because I simply wen to 3 different Dodge/Ram shops) and the insurance company immediately cut the check for the diminished value.
For what it's worth, I did have to talk to a couple people at the insurance company to get the DV claim going. Most of the agents don't even know such a thing exists, or they don't know how to process it. Once I got an agent who know how to do it, it was a lot of leg work on my part, but otherwise a breeze to file.

....Someone in an earlier post mentioned that you should threaten to retain a lawyer. Do not do this unless you are ready to hire a lawyer. Insurance companies are not any easier to deal with if you threaten them with a lawyer....

Agreed. Keep in mind, they are not worried about a lawyer. They've got lawyers working for them so it's no extra expense or extra hassle for them to simply let their lawyer deal with you. I'd only threaten a lawyer if you actually intend to use one.

...I wouldn't sweat it too much. Jeeps are so modular that you could probably fix it yourself in your driveway with enough determination and a week of Asperger-level focus. The body panels don't exactly require laser precision alignment.

Ha ha. That's actually a pretty good point. You see FrankenJeeps all the time off-road. I'm sure the JL is just as modular as all the prior versions. If John Q. Citizen can replace the entire front end of his rock crawler in his garage, no doubt a shop that specializes in auto repair can put one back together as good as the factory robots. Heck it may be better than stock after the repair. You'll have a hand crafted Jeep instead of a robo production line built one. I'm thinking a human touch would have avoided all those early production weld issues. It's little things that the human can see that a robot doesn't.

 

[Patsloft]

My beautiful baby blue got wrecked this weekend by a careless driver without a license who came into my lane in the snow/ice. Supposedly he has insurance (not sure how without a license) but we are going thru my insurance at Geico.

First, the Jeep performed amazing on the impact. it was a hard hit and driver front and side airbags deployed and passenger airbag, thank god or the outcome would have been way different. We walked away with minor bruises basically.
Thank you for that Jeep!

Now the tough part, my jeep is less than a year old. How do I make sure they use OEM parts and the airbags are reinstalled safely etc.? I think they will repair it, I don't think it will be a totaled... I'm so saddened that my brand new jeep is now going to be a mess. The pics don't look that bad, but the front end is pushed in probably about 16" from where it's supposed to be.

Any thoughts about how to make sure they use OEM parts (not after market) etc.? I'm also worried about the color being off after repair etc.

Thanks!

It would have to be spelled out in your insurance contract, just a warning about Geico they are extremely cheap with accident payouts Good luck

 

[Andy2434]

Ouch! Sorry to see this. However, I am pleased to read that you were not hurt in this incident.

Good luck moving forward.

 

[Dogboyslim]

Good luck with Geico. Just a note of caution. You said you were going through Geico, which means you are not filing a liability claim, you are filing a collision claim. You are subject to the terms of your policy. Read it. Geico will then attempt to subrogate against the at-fault driver and/or the other insurance company. Many of the discussions about diminished value are applicable to the liability policy of the at-fault driver, but may not apply to your own coverage. The person that suggested you get a rental car for loss of use...not if you file a collision claim, unless you actually have Rental Reimbursement. My main point...read your policy, see what is applicable. If you don't understand the provisions, then maybe consider talking to a lawyer as a consult to explain things to you.

As to the prior comment...low premiums don't often align with generous claim payouts.

 

[guarnibl]

When my vehicle got hit a few years ago (barely any damage) and air bags deployed, the car was totaled due to air bags deploying. That was literally the reason. Airbag deployed? Totaled. Geico. Cost of air bags was very high... this was a Toyota -- can't speak to a Wrangler though.

Also, Geico paid out way above what they should have. I actually received essentially listing price of the current vehicles on the market + sales tax. I was very surprised.

YMMV on diminished value claims.

 

[beachbumm78]

Ouch! So glad ya'll are okay (excluding your Jeep) & the Jeep did its job! Good luck with the insurance. Like others have stated its all dependent on how your insurance co. is and the total cost of damage vs. Jeep. I know when I had Geico, and was in an accident (avoided hitting a huge raccoon & hit a mailbox & cattle guard gate instead---don't recommend haha) ended up getting totaled. But they did tell me that the avg. cost to fix one airbag is $5k. that was over 10 yrs ago. Not sure now how much those cost.
Good luck & keep us posted!

 

[Rudicon]

Thx for all the info everyone. Adjuster is going out tomorrow.

 

[Jeeporama]

Oh the humanity, another blue rubi brother harmed by a careless driver.
It's ok because you survived and so will your Jeep, tis but a scratch, and it can be fixed

 

[parrotheadphan]

So sorry to hear of the crash. Hopefully they can get your Jeep fixed and back to normal as soon as possible. At least you were able to walk away with minor bruising.

 

[viper88]

All these discussions about when they will total it or not is really up to the insurance company. So, just because one company does something does not mean another one will do the same. I had an Audi get totaled by Chubb with about 40% of value in cost to repair. In that case, the fault was 100% on the other driver (she went through a stop sign at 35mph while talking on her phone and admitted it.) Anyway, please keep us updated on the estimate, the value, and what Geico decides. The main thing is that nobody was hurt!

There is a world of difference when you are insured with Chubb.

 

[AlrightAlready]

If you have any more detailed pictures, Shoot me a PM and I might be able to give you a little advice! One thing for sure, research body shops and go with one that refuses to take short cuts and is known for top tier work. You are looking at quite a significant amount of damage. Do not settle for less than perfect repairs and accepting diminished value or having it totaled out with some compensation. Good luck!!

Sponsored