I came up to KY from FL to visit friends. I am insured with Geico - collision w/ $750 deductible.

I was rear ended while stopped at an intersection for a passing cop car - sirens blaring. The driver, with one tooth and two bald tires on his jeep, "skidded" into me while trying to stop. Shockingly, he has a valid insurance policy.

On the rear, my driver (left side) tail light plastic is obliterated, but the bulbs are OK. Some minor denting to the body panel around the tail light assembly.

While stopped, I was forced into a white minivan in front of me. It left the scene. My front bumper has a 2" gash in it. The grill has a crack in the left vertical side The driver side/left head lamp body panel has a dent right where it meets the hood, such that the hood doesn't sit flush.

I am rather worried that the car which I paid $10k (@ 40k miles) for in 02/16 with almost another $10k in it might be valued at the most dismal value of $2k ish (for a car with 200k miles and multiple problems), resulting in a totaling and a pittance.

My appointment is at 10 AM with a Geico-partner shop here in Lexington.

Geico has already determined the Jeep as the at-fault party.

P.S. I didn't realize how plastic-y the front of a Jeep is.

 

Sorry to hear this. You don't mention any injuries so I'm assuming no one was hurt.


You've got a lot of $$'s in the car and I hope you don't lose out in the insurance settlement.

Graham

 

Bad news is if you didn't have the policy that provides a free rental car during the repair time the insurance company will keep shoving your vehicle to the back of the shop to get the ones with the replacement cars policy out first . Saves the insurance company money not yours . My other car was in the shop for a month although they would not admit this was the reason .

On the plus side you have a driveable car while you decide which route to go .

One option is to wait until they have the parts in hand before you give it up to the shop .

Another is to take the check and do it yourself or a shop of your choosing as they don't get paid until done which shifts the shops who goes first priorities .

One large shop in Kansas City went out of business because the insurgence companys pulled their business as the shop wouldn't follow their priorities not the customers .

 

Technically but not legally (strictly). I don't imagine that I could get through southern KY, TN, GA, and northern FL (read: East Alabama) without some cretinous deputy Sheriff deciding to enrich the town coffers at my expense. A busted tail light is practically a stock joke...

And no, I didn't opt for rental coverage, so your scenario is a big possibility.

We'll see how it shakes out. I plan on handing my bills (hotel + food +uber) to the insurance company. AAA's trip interruption covered me from Friday to today.

 

Someone might be able to lend you a tail light and then ship it back once you get home to Florida . It's Christmas you know . Where at in Kentucky ? Keep a copy of the lenders E- mail ( for the police ) if you have to drive that way to pick it up

 

I am in Lexington, milady.

I have found some tail light assemblies on various websites at not-outrageous prices ($175-390). They exist, fortunately.

If the grille can't be spot repaired, that might be more of an issue. Silly: I rather like the weathered growler's patina. The old kitty has seen the sun rise over Quebec City as well as the sunsets of Honolulu. This. cat. has. been. everywhere!

A lender might be interesting...

 

**** that's a lot! I have a spare pair I bought for like fifty or a hundred. They have the chrome bezel as they are from an xj8, mine is an R, so meh. I was repainting the red bezel outlines on my car and bought these as an interim and also to see how the chrome looked. I prefer the stock look on my car.

I might work out a reasonable deal for the pair rather than have them sit on my shelf. If you're interested, I can look at them, get post numbers and pictures.

 

Here's some photos. The right one is perfect, the left has a small mark that looks like a crack but it's on the inside of the light housing. I also did a rub of the markings so that you can see part numbers.

Left
Right
Left flaw
Left rear
Right rear

 

If the repair cost is over 80% of the "fair market value" of the car in Florida, the insurance company is likely to consider it totalled and will give you the fair market value plus registration fees and taxes minus the deductible and the car will be theirs to send out for salvage. Collision repair is so expensive these days it's difficult to say how much the repair cost will come to. This article is informative:

https://www.carinsurance.com/Article...hresholds.aspx

 

Vehicle insurance = legalized extortion.

 

Does someone close by have one he can barrow so he can get back home for Christmas and he can mail it back

Might start a separate titled thread .

 

I’m sorry to read about your accident, it sounds like the people involved were brain dead. I hope you are able to get the car repaired, I don’t like hearing about well traveled cars meeting a bad end.

 

The end is not near .

 

The other party should be paying for rental while car in shop or not drive able.

But that is a likely a constructive total. Total repaint since you have to paint adjacent panels to blend. Both ends involved.

You will likely be offered a value based on numbers close to NADAguides.com. You may want to do some research and gather some data to show what maintenance was done and what other cars in similar shape have sold for. (This is tough for you an the insurance company since these are thinly traded)

You can also opt to buy the salvage back. Find out your states law regarding rebuilt cars.

The salvage buy back will be very inexpensive so you may be able to get it rebuilt and keep it. Especially if you can source a less expensive source for parts and repairs.


You can go through the negligent parties insurance or you can go through your own. You might check both as one may offer more money than the other. If you go through your own ask the other carrier to reimburse your deductible and submit your rental car receipts to them for reimbursement.

 

Ric is giving you good advice: the car is worth, maybe, $4000 to $6000 depending on how much the adjuster is willing "donate" for all the repairs and parts you have put into it. Your best best is to let Geico total it, buy it back, and truck it home and use the Geico amount to fix it as time permits. I believe Fl will let you reregister a totalled vehicle once it is repaired.

I worked for Geico just out of college, a good company (maybe not as good as USAA or as Liberty Mutual likes to advertise they're worth), but honest and all business. You have a lot more in this car, based on mileage and date of purchase than it is worth -- and that is a hard fact. Key is to decide if you want to keep it. Now, if the Jeep guy is insured by Nationwide or Allstate you will be better off getting your money from Geico and waiting for the subrogation settlement . . .

 

20 years as a State Farm Agent and 7 as a claim rep will do that....

Jhartz your garage and my garage are eerily similar. LR and E30's and old middle aged jags....

 

Yep, freedom comes from jumping off BMW . . . nothing but Jag V8s for years . . .

 

I don't particularly need a rental, and I'd rather that those $$$ are plowed into the car (if that's even how funds are allocated).

I really just want the panels beaten out and the tail light replaced. A repaint seems...excessive.


But yes, I have kept meticulous maintenance records. Some are here with me, but many more are in FL. Hell, I put $1k into this month: a brand new set of matching tires, an oil change, coolant, and a new thermostat + housing.

Other items include: front shocks + mounts, religiously done oil changes, new transmission, manifold gasket, real axle seals, and refreshed differential oil.

At this point, I am not even fighting for a valuation for what I put into the car (those were emotional and convenience decisions). There's the issue of getting a car in comparable repair. I can get an XJ off of a used car lot for peanuts, but how much deferred maintenance is begging for my attention and dollars?

There's also the relationship between my car and me, which borders on that between a knight-errant and his steed. We've been through....a lot. If it were feasible (due to the money invested in purchase + maintenance over the last 22 months + replacement hassle + being stranded 700 miles away), I would pursue legal action.

As this is my only vehicle, "as time permits" means ASAP.



Edit: Apologies for going on a bit. I brought the car into Geico's designated express repair shop here in Lexington, KY (Fortune Collision). Apparently, I will be hearing with info later today. My questions were phrased as seeking a timeline of repairs. They didn't seem too fazed and said that it depends on shipping the parts (primarily the tail light).

Edit 2: What impact, if any, does being away from home have on the situation? If I want to (or need to) be a b-tard, I could demand the costs of my maintenance here in KY and travel back to Florida

 

The most important thing is to keep the car from ending up with a salvage title. Since it is a steel car, the repair procedures are common, the hitch is finding a shop that will do a quality repair on what they will consider to be a throw away car. I would buy some of that tail light repair red plastic film at Autozone or wherever, and cover the broken lamp. Then drive it home, (travel by day, it will attract less attention). I think that the best thing is to get the car on your home turf. It would be maddening to deal with a shop so far from home. No matter what settlement the company offers make it clear that you do not want the car salvaged. That salvage title will destroy any future value of the car. Most important thing is that you are okay. Best wishes.

 

I haven't left KY. Even without this repair, I was planning to stay until the 2nd or 3rd.

My mind has been all over the place. In certain respects, moving on to another car with some thousands in my pocket would be interesting. Driving some very late model BMWs and Mercedes had me impressed with modern braking and transmissions. Also, the substantially reduced spontaneous transmission death rate... But it is a Jag...

I am fond of the BMW 5 and the Audi A6 and A7 (+ XJs of course). I used to have an Audi A6 in New Zealand. The more varied parts options and wider network of dealers and independents is also on my mind (I turn up in weird places).

I dropped the car off at 10 AM today (12/26). A shop rep and a Geico rep went over the front and rear damage. I thought i might hear back with a verdict (including a time line if repairs were in order) by this afternoon. Nothing so far. We'll see what tomorrow brings.