I Got Some Bad Trail Wounds

[jonahgetz]

there are lots of benefits to using a shop backed by the insurance co. You typically get a warranty by the shop AND the insurance company.

Yes, this is exactly what my rep told me, as long as I stay with Progressive then the damage will be warrantied. The shop website also states a lifetime warranty on repairs.

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[Mgg253]

Yes, this is exactly what my rep told me, as long as I stay with Progressive then the damage will be warrantied. The shop website also states a lifetime warranty on repairs.

the additional insurance backed warranty can be nice. Personal experience: failed repair that was completed at a shop of choice backed by the insurance program warranty. After a move 850 miles away the insurance company paidfor a new repair at a local shop. Rather than making the car go back to the shop that gauranteed the repair. They then worried about getting the cost of the repairs back from the old shop that completed a poor repair.

 

[jonahgetz]

the additional insurance backed warranty can be nice. Personal experience: failed repair that was completed at a shop of choice backed by the insurance program warranty. After a move 850 miles away the insurance company paidfor a new repair at a local shop. Rather than making the car go back to the shop that gauranteed the repair. They then worried about getting the cost of the repairs back from the old shop that completed a poor repair.

That's awesome! Yet another success story that puts me at ease. This is good to know.

 

[The Last Cowboy]

You need some of this

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[TroyBoy]

Wow this is incredible, we have the exact same pillar fold. Yours isn't noticeable, I've just been staring at mine for so long it's all I see. I think we found the weak spot on the body, we're like the early gene pigs just testing things out I guess.

Love your tube doors by the way.

Yeah yours might be dented in a bit more. not the best pic of mine but believe me it bothered the hell out of me for a long time.

 

[dgoodhue]

I would get the body tub repaired professionally. If you're mechanically inclined, I would replace the parts can be bolted on yourself. The part you were going to upgrade, upgrade them. Used rock rails are cheap. For the doors, look around for some used ones, get the soft top if you want it.

While the black does a very good job of hiding the damage in pictures, you mentioned about wanting a tan soft top. I am not sure that is going to look that great. You have a new Jeep don't settle like its 15 year old beater.

One last thing, I never use the insurance agency approved and warrantied body shops. The insurance companies undercut them on labor rates and I find those shops have reputation for doing poor quality. I have a trusted body shop that I use for accidents to my daily drivers.

 

[omnitonic]

Similar story - insurance agent said they can not define off-road and can not use dirt-road or dirt-trail as a definition as we still have quite some of those in the country and it would be bad for business to loose the "farm" accounts.

That really is a totally valid point. I've really pushed the limits of the kind of road I can drive on successfully since I got the Jeep, but I keep quibbling over the fact that technically I have only taken it off pavement. I've never had it anywhere that wasn't a public road. There are some really bad public roads out there!

 

[dgoodhue]

It seems like you are taking the damage in stride. I am not really an off-roader, but I have done a bit drag racing. My mindset is that I have to be willing to sustain a failure. If I am not willing to absorb the repair cost of blowing a motor or transmission, I should not be racing. I would think the same goes for off roading.

 

[omnitonic]

Also, on body shops, your mileage can and almost certainly will vary, but when I got ass-ended in my truck, I just went with the flow. My wife was moving out in the middle of that mess, and I actually had the other party's insurance rent me a pickup truck, so I could help her move out. I felt so bad about everything, and I wanted to be so helpful. Wow. If I were going through that again, three years later, I would give her a can of kerosene and say here, this will take care of all your crap.

Anyway, the point is that body shop the insurance wanted to use actually did impeccable work. I've seen several people deal with horror stories, like major electrical gremlins, alignment issues, paint color never matching, and so on, and I had none of those problems at all. The truck is literally just like new, and one of those fancy shops on the Motortrend channel couldn't have done a better job of restoring it to stock condition.

It probably helps that we don't really have any crappy body shops around here. These guys are kind of the whole show, and they're actually good. Well, here's hoping you have similar luck getting your gotchas dealt with.

 

[bjm00se]

I just want to give you all an update.

i like the progress ive been making on the repairs, but i was finally able to get into an auto body shop just for another set of eyes and estimate. All together we’re looking at $5-6k for the body damage.

Progressive is ready to go with the claim if i pull the trigger. Auto body shop is saying the $1000 deductible i have is a no brainer for this amount of damage. I also realize they’re in the business to get me as a customer.
...

They’d cut me a check for the hardtop, unrelated to the body damage.

What do you all think?

Well, it depends.

It's nice to keep a nearly new vehicle in nearly new condition. The various plasti-dip options that have shown on this thread are OK, but I tend to expect to see them on vehicles sporting 10 years of use, not nearly new ones.

But it comes down to how you'll use your jeep. I go offroad with a cautious and conservative mindset. My primary goal is "don't break my sh*t" and I'm always willing to turn around and come back another day. I've driven the 11 year old Tacoma in my profile pic from the day it was new without getting damage as severe as the damage you've already racked up. That's not to throw shade on you - different folks have different mindsets and that's OK!

On the other hand, we have the guy on these forums who was shown in a video that a JLU on potato salad hill. He came on the forums and mentioned that he'd been in a dozen rollovers over time. He's not me, and I'm not him.

So, what happened? Was this a one time slip up, and you're going to be more cautious in the future? Maybe get some off-road training from like https://barlows.us/4wd-training/ or https://www.4x4training.com/TrainingClinics/trainingclass.html ? And then, when challenging yourself on the most difficult trails you've encountered, doing it in an experience group with knowledgeable spotters? Then when exploring on your own, keeping to trails that you already know you can drive without damage, because you've practiced and proven on harder ones?

Or, was this an example of the kind of trip you're going to keep taking - going out and testing yourself on the most difficult trails while on your own? Some folks only move forward by testing themselves in this way. It's just that a brand new 40k jeep is kind of an expensive way to get those experiences.

If you're not going to be a little more cautious in the future, I'd say there's no point in taking the insurance hit, because it's just gonna happen again, and insurance will drop you if you keep filing claims.

 

[ML7]

They are called Trail Trophies and except for the top/door damage will probably become more of a badge of honor, maybe the door paint but other than the top it looks like - Good work!!

 

[jonahgetz]

One last thing, I never use the insurance agency approved and warrantied body shops. The insurance companies undercut them on labor rates and I find those shops have reputation for doing poor quality. I have a trusted body shop that I use for accidents to my daily drivers.

Yeah, I wish your shop was in PNW area.

 

[jonahgetz]

Anyway, the point is that body shop the insurance wanted to use actually did impeccable work.

It appears I'm getting mixed opinions but at this point, because I'm new to the PNW area, I'm going to have to stick with the insurance recommendation. Thankfully its warrantied, the repair is terrible, I'll fight to make sure it's fixed properly.

 

[jonahgetz]

So, what happened? Was this a one time slip up, and you're going to be more cautious in the future?

First Jeep, wanted to have some fun. Got trapped in a bad spot of the trail and I needed to get out of there before dark. A lot of bad planning and poor decisions were made, I learned my lesson that's for sure.

Or, was this an example of the kind of trip you're going to keep taking - going out and testing yourself on the most difficult trails while on your own? Some folks only move forward by testing themselves in this way. It's just that a brand new 40k jeep is kind of an expensive way to get those experiences.

That's the thing, in most situations I'd accept my self repairs and move on, but the fact that this is my first brand new vehicle and its 3 months old, just tears at me. Happy I decided to make the decision I made and go forward with getting the repairs done professionally. 10 or 15 years from now, it would be a self fix and cover up, but its a 3 month old so it's getting a full repair and put back to square 1.

Live and learn.

 

[jonahgetz]

Just a quick update.

Body work is scheduled to start June 1st. I'll keep you all posted with updates on the repair. The shop is estimating 2 weeks for repairs.

Hopefully I will walk away knowing of a good body shop in my area, and hopefully I won't have to use them again.

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