Well on thanksgiving while I was stopped at a red light a kid rear ended my 2006 SV8. My wife saw him coming up fast, and all she could do was yell sh*@!! She said after that all she could see was the top of his head (he was looking down and texting). He got my bumper cover, left tail light and about 1 foot into the rear quarter panel, but missed the boot. Official Jag/aluminium body shop is well known for crappy work near me. Took it to a well known aluminium body shop (not Jag approved) for an est. They wrote it up at just over $5300. That's replacing the whole 1/4 panel. They then said there aluminium guy most likely could repair whats there, without replacing the whole panel at about half the cost. I would prefer this as it's way less evasive, and may keep it out of the "totaled" range. This would only involve working the damage out, and not cutting into the structure. this would avoid the issue of having to replace the whole panel for structural reasons. There is no frame damage, confirmed in the est.
We shall see. I don't want to become a member of the "they totaled my XJ8 club" on this forum.
PS The body shop listed the Jaguar part number for the full 1/4 panel in the est, but what they don't know, is they can't buy it. Only an authorized Jag body shop can obtain them. That's what I'm told, but I can order it from Merriam Jaguar. Maybe it's just a myth from Jaguar?
The kid is now having a hard time answering his phone, after I stuffed it up his A*@.

 

Sorry about the wreck, that really is a raw deal. Hope it all works out at the independent body shop.

 

I'm sorry to hear it Mark. Can't believe $5800 would total an 06 SV8. I'd be suing the young lad. It's the only way to stop these knuckleheads from texting. Hit em where it hurts. In the wallet. As part of the settlement, have hime surrender his license for a year if law permits.

 

Very sorry to hear of this accident Mark.

I hope the knuckle head is made to pay for his actions.

 

Driving while distracted?? slap him silly financially, make him pay big time...

 

Mark,

I'm totally disgusted to hear that you were nailed by a texting driver, but thankful that you and your wife weren't seriously hurt!

It seems like half the drivers on the road are texting or similarly distracted at any given time.

I'm sure that getting your car repaired is going to be a major hassle, but hopefully it will all be worth it.

Please keep us informed.

Cheers,

Don

 

I'd like to apologize for my fellow teenagers. Texting and driving is an epidemic that should be treated the same way as drunk driving.

Glad you're OK and hope your car is back to full health soon.

 

Sorry to hear, Mark, but glad you’re both okay. Was there no reporting officer on scene to address the texting while driving issue?

 

sorry to hear about your accident. it really is a serious problem, and unfortunately only grows. my friends car got totaled in a similar situation.

I understand the pain of the bill, i was in a fairly low speed fender bender and that bill was about $4-5k

one thing i would do is take advantage of the situation, go through insurance and make sure your car gets the best repair possible. even if it makes it a $10k job. you pay all this money for insurance, its time to use it. and the best part is that its the kids fault, so you wont get penalized. you can also sue for diminished value of the car.

the officer should have given him a ticket as well, that will hurt his insurance. not sure if you can sue him for other things, im sure you can but if he's a broke kid, you wont win much.

 

OMG that sucks. So hard to be safe out there these days.

I was late to work yesterday because a texter caused a 3 car accident on the highway to work. There were 3 different incidences that morning within a few miles of each other, apparently all due to "distracted drivers".

There is a law in Oregon with hefty fines for getting caught using any electronic device (except for built-ins) while driving, which is all fine, except they also made it illegal to do so while at a STOP! That's going too far.

 

Oh, man...this is becoming more prevalent daily. Glad no one was hurt. Have you checked the TMV or FMV using KBB or similar web sites? I'd accept nothing less than a full repair and sue the bejeezus out of the kid. Has the kid admitted to texting? Are there other witnesses? If so, and if he has nothing petition the court to garnish his future earnings and make him pay dearly.

I've noticed there are four kinds of drivers in my neck of the woods: many, many (very) elderly
(the Q-tips who can barely see over the steering wheel and have forgotten the rules of the road) <heck I'm 67 and don't feel a day over 66>, the good ol' boys with their SUVs or Pickup trucks raised 6" or more (just tempting gravity), texters of all ages (driving with their knees or simply head down) and folks who obey signs, drive a proper speed (not necessarily the posted speed limit <heh-heh>) and use their turn signals. The first (3) miscreants neither use signals nor turn on their lights when the wipers are on (state law).

Driving while on the phone even while making a call is akin to DUI (hands-free or not). It's been proven and I was once in the mobile phone industry big-time.

Best of luck with your bad luck. Please keep us informed.

 

Sorry about your accident, as already said glad your both alright. Repairs are so terribly expensive that they all too often exceed the quote value of the car, then they are totaled. Hope your situation has a avoids this terrible outcome.Soccer mom turned into my 04 XJ8 changing lanes, caused almost $3,000 in damage. Hated getting bumped, but real damage was basically just a parking lot dent, with a repeater light, with lots of tire rubber on the paint & trim. I took the money, cleaned most of the rubber off, replaced the repeater light, put the rest in savings towards another one. You don't see it unless your looking close, all over it's easy to miss. Hate it, but the $3,000 goes a long way towards another one, and that should hopefully be a better use of the money.

 

Just replied to your message Mark (better late than never!). Just to let everyone know, the rear quarter (amoung other parts) is supposed to be dealer or approved shop order only, but you can still get them, I did when I did my 'unapproved' repair. Check ebay, some online dealer sites, etc.. You'll find one. Also, you can repair aluminum panels with old school methods. While it doesn't have the memory of steel, you can get it back to shape with body tools. Now, my quarter was actually torn open, but just for fun, I tried to bang it back to shape, and guess what, If it wasn't for the rip in the Al, I would have just done that. Oh, and a good welder that knows how to work with Al can also weld up tears/cracks. Out here there are a bunch of farm guys that can weld anything, so think about that if need be. The real question is what will your insurance let you do. Mine said factory replacement of panel or nothing, but as many have seen, my repair was as good as factory, but not allowed by the lawyers.

But, I was told with mine that it wouldn't have been totaled even if I hadn't done most of the work, close, but not over the limit. Mine had about 170,000 miles on it at the time too, which really cuts into the book value based on my insurances calculations of values.

Good luck!

 

There is a 2005 xj8 flooded here in Texas with the the back intact and 550$ but its British racing green

 

I have chosen to have it repaired, vs cut up to the c-pillar. Body shop said should not be a problem. Lots of labor. The official procedure just seems too invasive for this kind of damage, it would never be the same. (rattles and creaks) All the panel lines still match up. So she should still roll down the road straight. After the repair I'm going to make them pay for a 4 wheel alignment too, at the dealer !!!
Any more suggestions?
I don't think with a repair like this, it would slow any of you down from buying this car. But it will never be for sale.






The car now has a cast



Do you know how hard it is putting duck tape on a Jag with tears dripping on the tape?
Really!!! Duck tape on a Jag!! How low can I go.



Tore that jeep up.

 

I did the duct tape too, it hurts, but I like to think of it as helping a poor wounded creature, and it does look better than a gaping gash/hole!

Seeing the damage on the Jeep reminds me of my incident. The F250 that hit me looked like it took the worst of it, just showing how solidly built these Jags are, and says something about how other brands are built!

 

I thought #MeToo would be too drastic.

A couple of weeks ago a driver who didn't know what the mirrors were for backed into my pristine '98 XJ8 L right rear quarter. I'd had it less than two months. Could have been worse, my daughter was getting out of the car and for a few feet could have lost her legs.

Here in the colonies a primo x308 can be had for <US$3000. The bad rep on reliability on Jags has made them wonderful, comfortable, high speed, reliable daily drivers. This is my second Jag, the first an X300 I waited over 6 years to buy from a neighbor and still have. Two Jags, how good can life be?

I should get the 308 back from the shop Wednesday, and will have to put the '86 Fiero SE back under the awning.

Life is too short to drive boring cars.