Quote:
Originally Posted by Paul Workman
Well, Lee...mebby you can 'splain it to a dummy like me?
The whole concept of a vehicle being "TOTALED", is a little fuzzy to me. I've had a couple cars "totaled"; one in particular that concerned me was in very good condition other than being in a wreck that only ended up crushing the front & rear clip. Ran great, new tires, brakes fresh, fresh rebuilt engine and trans (Jeep Cherokee, actually)...totaled???
I got a check for that car, but couldn't find one in anywhere near the condition my wrecked Jeep was before the accident. I felt then and now like I'd been ripped off. What were my options beside buying it back from the salvage yard (which, BTW, wanted more for it wrecked than the check I got from the insurance company...WTF??...another story tho).
And, is there not a chance for some unsavory collusion between and insurance company and an auto salvage yard, e.g., totaling a car when repairs would fall well under the market value of the parts in a majority of cases?
I wouldn't have been the least surprised if my car was 'totaled' after busting up the nose and hood - i.e., how many wrecked ZR-1s does an adjuster have to base his estimates on? Is that even a factor?
Just curious, cuz I'm close to that situation again (my truck got hit as result of 2 others mixing it up on a highway intersection and me getting caught in the "collateral damage".) |
You're probably looking at 20,000 worth of repairs on that car. And that's assuming the damage to the engine is mostly wiring and cosmetic. By the time you add in the time the insurance company is going to spend sorting all that out, it's cheaper for them to write a check for 26,000.
List of what that car needs:
hood
headlight assemblies
inner fender
vacuum canister/pump/lines
radiator
oil cooler
radiator shroud
air filter housing
bumper cover
bumper inserts
fog lights
drivers side shock/actuator
engine harness
dash harness
injectors
throttle body
idler pully
dampener
water pump
alternator
AC compressor
all engine sensors
plug wires
injector housing and intake gaskets
heads should probably be pulled so head gaskets
all hoses
most of the vacuum stuff under the intake unless you wanted to delete
possibly a DIS
new computer
probably front wheel
suspension bushings
upper control arm
maybe drivers side door
maybe windshield
tires
full paint job
labor
And you almost always have the option to buy the car back from the insurance company instead of waiting until it goes to a salvage yard. It's never cost effective to buy it back from the salvage yard after the fact if it's your car. That car probably has a salvage value of 2000-3500.
The 1990 that I posted a picture of has no frame damage and runs and drives. Needs a front bumper cover, rear bumper cover and rear quarters. In the end, I could have bought one in decent condition cheaper. The only saving grace is that my dad does fiberglass work. Otherwise, it was just a nice parts car. Just parts and full repaint will be a break even venture if we went to sell it.
As far as your Jeep, the fact that it was a unibody was likely the deciding factor.