I believe they will total it- which works in their favor.
Make sure you put up a fight. It will shock you how much leeway there is with these folks. And dont believe for a minute that USSA has you back.
They are in the business of taking money in and most creative when having to say no.
I would go see a PI attorney. Just keep in mind the insurance company is a huge corporation well seasoned at this game, you are an inexperienced individual with no firepower.

Lastly you dont have to accept the value they put on your car- they have a perverse interest to undervalue your car. You can go get price estimates from 3 Jaguar dealerships.

Very sorry for your loss. An XKR might be in your future.

 

Ken, I agree, no insurance co has your back. Insurance companies are only looking out for themselves at your expense. Don't trust anyone of them any farther than you can throw them!

Once it is repaired, get it to a dealership for an estimate on value. If they tell you it is reduced because of the accident, check the laws in your state for filing a diminished value claim with the insurance company. If you are not at fault it should be a no brainer. (you are entitled to the difference in the value of your vehicle as it was just prior to the accident, even if you are not selling it)

 

USAA has told me repeatedly that I can take it to whatever shop I want. They are waiving my deductible. I think they have acted in good faith. I have not discussed lost value, and may do that, or may not. I realize that USAA is an insurance company and as such will not try to spend more than they have to. But so far as far as I can tell, they are doing what they should. I am driving a rent car until my car is finished.


The estimate came back at $9,600. I recently bought the car and paid $25,400. So it should not be totaled. The body shop has me convinced that they can return the car to as-new condition. So, if they can do that, my car will be back as it was and I will be happy. I realize that the car has diminished value at this point due to the wreck. I am just not sure that I will worry about it.

 

One fib they have already told you is that it can be returned to as-new.
Not possible unless you send the car back through the factory line.
You will have a seam mark where they feather the paint together and a discerning buyer will be able to tell, even without carfax reporting major collision.

So account for 3 things in your dealings.
1. No aftermarket paint can ever be as good as factory
2. The value has been diminished
3. The car wont ever be back to where it was in entirety.

My suggestion would be find the absolute best shop that you can- because until they hit you, this car came from one of the highest quality shops in the world.

 

Do you have any other pics of the damage? Also curious what the estimate includes.

 

Well, clearly things are different. The car is not and will not ever be exactly the same. Even if I take it to the Jaguar certified shop, this will still be true. They will have to blend paint, make sheet metal repairs, straighten bent parts etc, etc too. Loss of value has no doubt occurred.


I am the one making the choice as to what shop is doing the work, not my insurance company. The paint is lifetime warrantied. When I get it back, I expect the car will look and drive the way it did before. I plan to own and drive it for the next 200,000 miles or more - and while I want to take good care of it, I am not saving it to be a show car or a collector's item. I am sad that this happened, especially so soon after I got it, but in the end, it is a car, which in my world is a tool to get me from place to place. I want to have a beautiful, good performing, comfortable, convertible car, which is why I got it in the first place. It is still all that.


I tried to attach the estimate but was unable to. It is a PDF. I don't have any other pictures.

 

Just a heads up. Even though you will pick your own shop, don't be surprised if the insurance company drags their feet every step of the way. We went through 8 suppliments because of constant questioning of the repair estimates after my accident. My shop stuck by their guns though and didn't put any third parts parts on or bend any metal iduring the repair. I was without the car for two months on a repair that was estimated to take tree weeks! And they were located next door to one of the Atlanta Jag dealers where one would expect faster access to parts.

They wound up painting the entire rear of the car (eventhough the damage was in the same area as yours) so blending was not noticable. I can't complain at all about the job they did because it really looks better than before!

In my case though, I was considering trading before the accident so the diminshed value was a concern to me. We are still locked in that battle.

If it were to happen to my current vert, I'd be in the same boat since this one is for driving until the wheel fall off.

I hope you get your baby back shinny as new!

 

USAA is pretty good from my experience. My daughter was rear ended by someone with USAA and they took care of her. As far as "waiving the deductible", since you were not at fault, you wouldn't have to pay that anyway. Good luck with lost value. Doesn't hurt to ask though, especially since it's not your fault. Show them current prices on similar cars, your bill of sales, etc.

As far as repairing to as-new. Sure, it won't be exactly the same as before, but if they do it right and only you can tell, who cares if you're going to keep the car. If it were an investment, then different story but these cars are not investments, unfortunately.... Make sure the shop offers a warranty on their work! The big shops usually have lifetime warranty.....

Good luck. I hope everything works out for you.

 

I have had USAA for over 30 years now, and they have always treated me well. I expect they will continue to do so.

 

Shemp - you have captured my thoughts exactly.

 

Great colour scheme - love the wood !

 

Thank you, Geoff!

 

I would only use a fully qualified Jag repair facility, they have the jigs etc for correct alignment.

Jag in Canada will not sell many parts and definitely structural parts to other than Jag qualified repairers.

The facility (Vancouver, BC) where I had my repair done are repairing cars from Alberta.

 

You are correct - you cannot get parts unless you are a certified Jag shop, at least not structural parts. You can get trunk lids, tail light assemblies, bumpers and other bolt-on items. If the damage to my car was more severe, it would have to go to a Jag shop.

 

So how far are they along in assessing the damage - what are they going to do with that dent in the quarter panel?

 

That dent can be worked out. Aluminum is some amazing stuff. That's why I wanted to see some other angles, to see how hard the sheet metal work was going to be.

One nice thing about aluminum being more common in bodywork is the level of experience most generic shops have gained in working with it.

 

BONDO!!!!!

 

I just took a look under mine at the rear where 110's damage is, I'd be surprised if there isn't structural damage.

 

Worst case scenario, it would work...

 

The quarter panel only has slight damage. Bulk of the damage is to the bumper, trunk lid and tail light.


So the body shop has sent the estimate to the insurance company for review. That is where it stands at the moment.


Looks like the insurance estimate is $11,254. Body shop estimate $9,600. Hmmmm.