Disturbed Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Thursday morning on the way to work I was stopped at a cronstruction zone when a guy in a work van was not paying attention and hit me at 35-40 mph without even slowing down. The bed and tailgate are trashed but it seems like the vans bumper went under the Comanche's bumper and the major impact was not on the unibody frame rails. I was able to drive the truck home but the insurance adjuster was here yesterday and is sure they will total the truck. It is a 1988 in fair condition and has 140,000 miles on it so I am sure they are going to try to screw me on what it is worth. I spend 6+ months getting this truck into a reliable condition and my 2 year old son loves the truck, he talks about "daddy's blue truck" all the time, now it sits in my shop smashed up. Here are my questions, has anyone every dealt with having their Comanche totalled due to the age even though it was very repairable. I am not expecting to get $5000+ for thsi truck even though it is worth that to me, but I would like to see $2000-$3000 plus the cost of having to buy the truck back from the insurance company. I just have a fear of them wanting to give me $750 and wanting $250 for me to buy it back from them. What can I expect as an offer from the insurance company both for the value of the truck and for the cost to buy it back and what can I do to make sure I get the maximum amount for the truck. I am not looking to rip the insurance company off or do anything not 100% honest, I just want a fair price for my truck. I know I don't need to tell you guys how rare these trucks are and how hard it is to find something in decent shape. I my opinion they should give me what it would cost for me to replace the truck, not what some stupid book says its worth. Any suggestion when dealing with the insurance company. My second questions is does anyone have any suggestion or know where I can take some measurements to see if the unibody/fame is bent? Like I said I drove it home and it seemed to drive OK but before I start trying to repair the truck I want to try to figure out if I need to have the chassis pulled to straighten it out. I am sure at some point there was documentation that was used by body shops when these trucks were newer when repairs were needed to be sure the chassis was straight. Any help you can give me would be greatly appreciated. I love this truck and had every intention of passing it down to my son when he is old enough to drive, I am sick about this. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexluthier72 Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I bought a car (jeep XJ) 4 years ago that was "totalled" from the dealership, they did not inform me it had been totalled. (they had it professionally "restored", and it visually looked perfect) I sold it after replacing the rear end 4 times in 4 years. Apparently the rear end was tweaked enough that it continued to eat rear Differential bearings every year. (to the tune of $1000 per year to rebuild) Pay special attention to the rear axle. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGross Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 I bought a car (jeep XJ) 4 years ago that was "totalled" from the dealership, they did not inform me it had been totalled. (they had it professionally "restored", and it visually looked perfect) I sold it after replacing the rear end 4 times in 4 years. Apparently the rear end was tweaked enough that it continued to eat rear Differential bearings every year. (to the tune of $1000 per year to rebuild) Pay special attention to the rear axle. Good luck. I'd think the 2nd time it happened, I'd just swap the rear axle. Be cheaper and easier, just sayin'. That's pretty hurrdurr to do that 4 times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 You'll never see $3000.......sorry for your loss. You might see $1200 and it may be totaled with the insurance company owning salvage rights and you losing the truck. Some states force a 'salvage title' on major repairs.....TN does. If you want to keep your truck offer to settle with the insurance company for an acceptable amount and do the repairs yourself. Buy another box for $350 and get on with life. As for the frame? any reputable shop will be able to measure and tell you. Life's a bi--h sometimes. We ate our 98XJ three weeks ago after my wife totaled it.......I'm looking for another and it's not worth the claim. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disturbed Posted October 22, 2011 Author Share Posted October 22, 2011 You'll never see $3000.......sorry for your loss. You might see $1200 and it may be totaled with the insurance company owning salvage rights and you losing the truck. Some states force a 'salvage title' on major repairs.....TN does. If you want to keep your truck offer to settle with the insurance company for an acceptable amount and do the repairs yourself. Buy another box for $350 and get on with life. As for the frame? any reputable shop will be able to measure and tell you. Life's a bi--h sometimes. We ate our 98XJ three weeks ago after my wife totaled it.......I'm looking for another and it's not worth the claim. I am planning on doing the repairs myself, nobody touches my cars but me unless absolutely necessary (inspection, etc). This is not major repairs, the total it due to the age of the truck. The difference between you XJ and my MJ was the loss was your (your wifes) fault, if I had wrecked the truck it would be a shame on me kind of deal and I would deal with it. In this case I was at a complete stop at a construction zone, it wasn't raining, foggy, or dark, and I was visibile for at least 100 yards, maybe more and this guy still managed to smash in to me. I am not taking a loss due to someone elses mistake if at all possible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 You'll never see $3000.......sorry for your loss. You might see $1200 and it may be totaled with the insurance company owning salvage rights and you losing the truck. Some states force a 'salvage title' on major repairs.....TN does. If you want to keep your truck offer to settle with the insurance company for an acceptable amount and do the repairs yourself. Buy another box for $350 and get on with life. As for the frame? any reputable shop will be able to measure and tell you. Life's a bi--h sometimes. We ate our 98XJ three weeks ago after my wife totaled it.......I'm looking for another and it's not worth the claim. I am planning on doing the repairs myself, nobody touches my cars but me unless absolutely necessary (inspection, etc). This is not major repairs, the total it due to the age of the truck. The difference between you XJ and my MJ was the loss was your (your wifes) fault, if I had wrecked the truck it would be a shame on me kind of deal and I would deal with it. In this case I was at a complete stop at a construction zone, it wasn't raining, foggy, or dark, and I was visibile for at least 100 yards, maybe more and this guy still managed to smash in to me. I am not taking a loss due to someone elses mistake if at all possible. I'm not going to argue with you and the laws in your state (unknown) maybe different but loss is loss regardless of who is at fault. Their insurance company is not required to do anything actually but represent their party and you may be required to sue them. You can make all the demands you want but if they decide to total they will and cut you a check for the value. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimoshel Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 As much as I have no use for the SOB's this is what lawyers are for. Try to settle with the ins co first but if you don't get any satisfaction then let them know your ready to go to court. Surely you're suffering from blurry vision, headaches, whip lash, bad dreams, etc, etc, since the accident. Let them know that you're a nice guy and if you get what you want from them , then there will be no further legal action on your part. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 In fact the person who hit my wife his car was totaled and our insurance company paid out. Emotions and attachments and wishes and desires mean nothing. The car has a value and if it's cheaper to total than repair.....that is their choice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CGross Posted October 22, 2011 Share Posted October 22, 2011 Emotions and attachments and wishes and desires mean nothing. Correct, and I'm sure the insurance company would push to get it off the road that much more if you intend to hand it down to your son. The truck would be 34 years old by then and considering the rate cars are evolving, it's a pollution machine in comparison to cars now, muchless another 14 years. Plus, the safety factor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lexluthier72 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Mine ended up being the rear frame, not the axle itself, even after replacing the whole axle assembly, it still continued to eat bearings...The frame was tweaked just enough that the mounts lined up, but still put stress on the drivers side axle bearings.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJCARENA Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 I had a car totaled before and the insurance only wanted to give me $1200 for it. I went and searched Autotrader and Craigslist to show them that it was worth more. I found around 10 other like cars (mileage/condition) and printed the ads. Showed this to them and they finally settled with a price I was happy with.($2500) I also had reciepts for a lot of the parts that I replaced. Let them give you the value first and then go from there. So you could try this, if they try to lowball you, and they will. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MJRemi Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 You said you were hit by a work van. Have your insurance company do the leg work to find out if it is owned by a company and being driven by an employee or representative of the company. There's a better chance of receiving total repair value with a corporate insurance company. Get 3 estimates of complete repair from reputable repair shops and use those to show what it will take to "make you whole". You are not obligated to go along with the insurance companies value of your truck. If you must, you can file a small claims lawsuit without an attorney and can include your filing fees as well. It could cost the other side much more in attorney fees and court costs than it would to pay you off. Whichever way you decide, good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 Ok here is my totaled MJ story. About 2 and a half years ago my 91 Comanche was sideswiped while parked on the street. In short, Liberty Mutual would not budge off a $2500 valuation for the truck. It was sideswiped on the drivers side, damaging the bed, the driver door, fender and a tire. Damage estimate was over $5K. I took the car to several local body shops and picked the local Maaco, because of a strong recommendation from my long time mechanic. They did a great job of fixing the truck, completely repainting the entire truck, the shell, installing two (not one, but two) new doors with power window and door locks, changing the door locks, and a number of other small items. All for less than three grand. I did manage to get about $3800 out of Liberty Mutual by playing their game. Took me a while to bump them up to 2750 for the truck (buy back was $100) and got another grand for "loss of use". In total, my truck looks very good, the body is damn straight. But the SOB insurance company did brand the title as salvage. Bottom line, it took several months, and I had other transportation, but I got my truck fixed. I might have done better by going to small claims court. That would have taken some more time. I got the money I needed to fix the truck better than it was before the accident and accepted a salvage title. But my truck will be kept till it is run into the ground. I drive it 2 or 3K miles a year, the Comanche will have another 50K miles by the time I am 85 - and I will be running better than me. As far as all the money and effort you have put in to fixing the truck, Liberty Mutual told me, that was just normal maintenance, so my bad luck. Bottom line, your truck is worth only what a willing buyer and a willing seller will pay for it. I once told my inssurance co. to go buy me exactly the same car - they said that was not their buisness. Consider taking the other guy to small claims court. BUT you MUST do all your homework and know all your facts to present them in front of a judge. You have to prove your arguement that the truck is worth more at fair market value than the insurance company will lowball you. Good luck and don't get too greedy. You should come out OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 On these car club sites, we tend to think first about the cars! We should all ask how you are feeling after the accident. Sometimes we walk away feeling OK and a couple of days later we don't feel so good. Seriously, I had a coworker walk away from a one car rollover in Utah then wind up off work for nine months and some bad surgery. Be sure your body is good. The truck is just metal. You can buy another truck. Regards. johnj92131 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnj92131 Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 As much as I have no use for the SOB's this is what lawyers are for. Try to settle with the ins co first but if you don't get any satisfaction then let them know your ready to go to court. Surely you're suffering from blurry vision, headaches, whip lash, bad dreams, etc, etc, since the accident. Let them know that you're a nice guy and if you get what you want from them , then there will be no further legal action on your part. Good luck. Jim, you want to be very careful about claims for medical issues, without a documented trail you can push it just so far. That said, you are on the right track. But don't quote me, ever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mvusse Posted October 23, 2011 Share Posted October 23, 2011 A few years back when my 87 was still dent free (but quite badly rusted, and nonmatching color front fenders and header panel) a crunch in the rear lower corner of the bed side would have totalled it out. Cosmetic damage only. Explained to the insurance company that I would really like to keep it with a clear title, and they explained to me that they could then only pay me 80% of the truck's worth. Anything over 80% would total it out. So I got almost $1100 and kept my truck. I then went and spent the money on a lift kit.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeep Driver Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 In fact the person who hit my wife his car was totaled and our insurance company paid out. Emotions and attachments and wishes and desires mean nothing. The car has a value and if it's cheaper to total than repair.....that is their choice. Need to make a correction here. :) Got the call from the insurance co. invest...........my wife is not at fault and our insurance co. is not paying out. Really good news for us and I'm happy about that.......We will now not have to pay the 36 month surcharge. Happy happy. You need to take pics and make your case.......glad I did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejndssn Posted October 26, 2011 Share Posted October 26, 2011 sorry about you lost btw where are the pictures http://www.comancheclub.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=31972 well here's mine i got 2600 for it cause and the and they too 640.00 for the salvage fee :hmm:. seems that this is my truck and i just don't get it :hmm: that i have to pay to get it back :fs1: sounds like a scam to me :yes: cause i didn't sell and it wasn't my fault. i could :rant: for hours :headpop: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Walkenvol Posted October 27, 2011 Share Posted October 27, 2011 You were sitting still and someone rear ended you going 30-40 mph without slowing down? Unless there was a miracle working you have physical damage also. That sore neck and back you have now will be something more 10, 20, or 30 years down the road. This comes from a guy who both myself and my wife have been in accidents in our younger years and are now beginning to see the real effects as we approach 50. In no way am I encouraging you to fabricate an injury, but I found out the hard way it is very common for the effects of an accident as you described to show up days, weeks, months, or even years later. You were minding your own business and someone else's careless mistake has caused your financial and probable physical loss. You deserve to be fairly compensated and the insurance companies are in the business to pay out as little as they can get away with. The guy and company he was representing pays their premiums to be insured. From my experiences, if I were in your situation I would go to my doctor and honestly document whatever discomforts I'm experiencing. I would get a replacement vehicle to drive and expect the setlement process to take in excess of a year. The insurance company will attempt to low ball and drag it out hoping I will give up and take whatever they decide I should get. Just look at the several earlier comments about how your screwed on any fair settlement as those folks think its impossible to get fair treatment. I would decide what I honestly thought is fair compensation for my combined losses (financial, physical, lost time both involving the accident and spent in the settlement process) to which I am legally and morally entitled to be compensated. I also believe in what goes around comes around so in the end I wouldn't try to get any more than what I was entitled. Once I decided what was fair, I would ask a minimum of 5 times that amount from the insurance company with the plan of negotiating down to what I perceived as fair. They will delay me for at least 1 year then I will have to get an attorney to file suit against the driver, his company, and the insurance company (be sure to now add this expense to my earlier settlement number). If my number is still less than $25,000 and I have properly documented my losses to justify my number, then the insurance company's lawyer will have them settle. Its a pain in the arse, but you have to roll up your sleeves and fight as the insurance company has zero interest in making you whole again. The insurance company has no incentive to settle until its scheduled to go to court. Crappy process but that's the world we live in. Good luck and I mainly wish you good health! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Disturbed Posted October 31, 2011 Author Share Posted October 31, 2011 Update: Went to the Dr. last Monday to be sure I was OK. Was checked out and they say I am fine, other then the typical pain for any shock like that. No back or neck issues, Dr. said if there was any questions if I had more server injusries she would be sending me for more tests but she said she is confident that there is not serious damage and wants to follow up with me in a few weeks to look me over again. Some said I must have had someone looking over me, and yes I believe I did., I could be in much worse shape. Still not 100% back to normal but feeling so much better. I have been fighting with the insurance company every day and not making any progress. Had them revalue the truck and it came back even less, not willing to work with me at all. On the advice from a friend of my dad's who owns a body shop I called the adjuster who wrote the estimate. Told him where I was at and want I was hoping for (clear title). 20 minutes and two calls to his supervisor later they will be cutting me a check for $1800 and I will keep my truck with a clean title. I got lucky and had an adjuster who is a car guy and understood what I was going through. Just got a call from the girl assigned to my claim and she said they will be sending out the check and I will have my check in 5 business days. Would have I liked more money, sure, did I get a fair settlement, yes, did I do it on the 100% up and up, yes, I would not have done it any other way. At this point I think the only way this could have turned out better is if it hadn't happened at all but it took a lot of time and effort on my part but I am glad I didn't give up. Tonight when I get home I can actually start working on my truck, of course I am in the middle of installing Torch Height Control on my Torchmate CNC plasma table so maybe I will finish that up first and wait until my check has arrived and then decide is I am going to repair the bed or just build a new one, I saw a really nice looking fabricated bed on this site and my just go that direction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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