Crash repairs-OEM vs Aftermarket Parts

Sounds like your in good hands if you follow Shark’s and WJCOs advice.

I don’t think I saw it in the posts, but for the vehicle build sheet, you can do it for free on jeeps website. It may ask you to register the jeep, but once your logged in, there is an option to print it out if you want it for your records.

Good luck!


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WJCO said:
Depends on how fast you want it fixed. If the other driver has decent insurance, the claim should be paid quickly and you shouldn't have to deal with the deductible. However, sometimes to get the claim going faster and get your vehicle repaired faster, your own insurance will pay the claim minus the deductible while they seek compensation from the other driver's insurance, which you will likely eventually get your deductible refunded.

I've had two accidents in the last 5 years where other drivers (both uninsured) were at fault. Each time, I had to pay my deductible to get repairs going quickly. One was an honest mistake where the driver of the other car didn't realize that their parent (who owned the car) had the insurance expire about a month prior. They made it right and it took a few months but I was refunded and all is good.

The other one was a mess and the driver had no license, no insurance and caused major injury to two people in a third party car. The district attorney got involved and this was years ago. This driver has to compensate court restitution first, then medical bills, then compensate me for my deductible. The judge ordered that she pay interest to all parties as well. However, this accident occurred about 5 years ago and I've only received 300 dollars of my 1000 dollar deductible. With interest, I should receive about 1300 someday. The district attorney told me up front that uninsured driver claims like this takes years. I don't even own that vehicle anymore.
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WJCO said:
I've had this happen as well. Fucking blows.
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Wow, you've had it worse than I, that's sure a lot to deal with when you've done nothing wrong, but that's the way these things are isn't it. :(...this guy is insured and probably with the minimum limits, which shouldn't be an issue unless they total my Jeep, and that doesn't seem likely. I'll be heeding the advice from you and Sharkey regarding filing a claim (or not) with my Insurance, as my son had a small claim on my insurance a few years back, so I best be mindful of this. Time is a factor of course, but making the Jeep right is much more important to me than getting it done in a rush. Thanks for sharing your experience.
 
wjtstudios said:
Sounds like your in good hands if you follow Shark’s and WJCOs advice.

I don’t think I saw it in the posts, but for the vehicle build sheet, you can do it for free on jeeps website. It may ask you to register the jeep, but once your logged in, there is an option to print it out if you want it for your records.

Good luck!


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I'll check that out, I've not heard of it. Thank you! :yup:
 
WJCO said:
Depends on how fast you want it fixed. If the other driver has decent insurance, the claim should be paid quickly and you shouldn't have to deal with the deductible. However, sometimes to get the claim going faster and get your vehicle repaired faster, your own insurance will pay the claim minus the deductible while they seek compensation from the other driver's insurance, which you will likely eventually get your deductible refunded.

I've had two accidents in the last 5 years where other drivers (both uninsured) were at fault. Each time, I had to pay my deductible to get repairs going quickly. One was an honest mistake where the driver of the other car didn't realize that their parent (who owned the car) had the insurance expire about a month prior. They made it right and it took a few months but I was refunded and all is good.

The other one was a mess and the driver had no license, no insurance and caused major injury to two people in a third party car. The district attorney got involved and this was years ago. This driver has to compensate court restitution first, then medical bills, then compensate me for my deductible. The judge ordered that she pay interest to all parties as well. However, this accident occurred about 5 years ago and I've only received 300 dollars of my 1000 dollar deductible. With interest, I should receive about 1300 someday. The district attorney told me up front that uninsured driver claims like this takes years. I don't even own that vehicle anymore.
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This happened to my business recently, a worthless drunk guy hit our 2017 van head on at 3 in the afternoon, my insurance ended up paying to fix my van. Really pisses me off


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As mentioned choose a shop you want and request OEM parts. It's your right. The only thing which may be affected is warranty work on the repair. Typically insurance companies and body shops will provide a lifetime warranty if it's repaired at an approved shop.

Last year I was side swiped on the freeway. The kid had what appeared to be valid insurance. Called his company and he had already reported the accident. They said they had to check into his policy as they weren't sure of the coverage. As a result I initiated a claim with my insurance (Statefarm). They acted quick and set up an appointment with a Statefarm approved shop to have the estimate done though I wasn't going to use that shop. He determined the estimated cost of repair and cut me a check, less $500 for my deductible on the spot. Statefarm contacted the other drivers insurance an determined he wasn't covered and changed the claim to an uninsured motorist claim. They sent me the additional $500 within days and assured me I wasn't going to be rated as I wasn't at fault. My premium did not change. However I ended up switching insurance about 6 months later as I saved a lot by switching to Mercury.

Just a couple weeks ago my wife was rear-ended. Mercury also took care of everything and since she wasn't at fault our deductible was waved. The only hang up was the shop trying to get parts during due to the holidays. His insurance covered the difference in rental car coverage too.

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You guys are lucky you don't live in a "no fault" state where your insurance pays for you, but still assigns blame and ups rates arbitrarily. Double the cost, triple the headache, rate goes up for everything.
 
Nataqua said:
Except that it needs to be towed to Lithia...I'll figure out how to get that done. I get it...Lithia has no investment other than to make my Jeep right regardless of cost, the rest are in each other's pockets. I didn't realize that about getting rated, thank you for that info too, Mr Sharkey.
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Then add the cost of towing to what you demand from the insurance company. Again, you should be out of pocket exactly ZERO dollars.
 
Hey all, finally checking in with the results of the wrap up of repairs. Thanks all for the advice and commiseration!

After checking with several people who have experience with Steve's Collision Center and meeting the repair manager at Steve's Collision Center I decided to go ahead and let the Jeep remain there for repairs. I did go to the Lithia Dealership and get the spec print out for the Jeep and it does have the 3.73 gears (Max tow Pkg). :thumb:

Anyhow, the repair manager at Steve's Collision Center, Jeff, happens to be a Jeep enthusiast and I felt we had a good repoire. I asked about OEM parts and strait away he ordered OEM parts and sent back the other parts. The frame did suffer some damage, it was sort of knocked out of square, and it was re-squared on the rack. The axle, and housings were sent out to a axle shop and eventually it was decided it wasn't repairable. So a new Mopar axle and housing was ordered and my gears were transferred to that. This seems to be why the work took so long, overall about 5 weeks in the shop. A brand new tire and rim was ordered and installed, as well as bumper, fender trim, control arms, brake caliper and the body work done on the quarter panel is excellent.

I picked it up last Friday and at this point I really can't tell it had any damage at all. I am quite relieved and pleased with the work done. I guess only time will tell if there are structural irregularities unknown. I'm happy to have her back and soon she'll be parked off street as I just sold one of my classic cars yesterday, so there's a spot in the carport for Nataqua, and a bit of cash for some upgrades.. :D Things are lookin up!
 
Sweet! I know what it's like man. Mine was in an accident 4 years ago and was out of commission for almost 3 months before everything was straightened out. :icon_crazy:
Glad it all worked out well in the end.
 
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