Flash Flood + XJ = No more Jeep

[Jump This]

You know.....I can use some of those parts!!
BTW are those the folding side view mirrors? :wave1:
Rick R

 

[ryurabbit]

You gotta buy that one back, I would!!! Its definataly fixable and then you would have a nice fat check to spend on lifting it and stuff. Even if they only give you a few thousand after the buyback you could fix it for 2000.00 or so as long as you didn't run the engine in the water!

 

[Kejtar]

We'll see how that goes. Today was just the appraiser, but he basically called it a write-off due to the extent to which it was flooded. Once again, though, the adjuster isn't returning my calls or answering his phone, so my confidence in them is waning. I'll decline from mentioning the name of the insurance company at this point, but they are oe of the larger ones. If there's no forward motion on their behalf by lunchtime tomorrow, I'm going to start going up in the their management food chain until I get to someone who will deal with this properly.

That sucks, when I rolled my jeep Sunday, I called Allstate on Monday, they had an appraiser at my house by Friday AM (got the jeep home) and the total loss adjustor gave me the $ figure by Friday PM and I had a check in my hand by Tue (or was it Wed?). And the buyback on my jeep (which was dry) was $600 or so. So push on them and call them and bitch them out (If you got AAA you might want to tow it out of there)

 

[casm]

You know.....I can use some of those parts!!
BTW are those the folding side view mirrors? :wave1:

Yup, those are the fold-in mirrors. A friend of mine called dibs on the carcass, but if he decides to not go with it we could try to work something out. In all likelihood, though, this would mean you'd get to deal with the insurance company. Read on for background on that...

You gotta buy that one back, I would!!! Its definataly fixable and then you would have a nice fat check to spend on lifting it and stuff.

I agree with you in one sense, but here's my thinking on that:

1) I still owe Chrysler Financial for the remainder of payments on it. Before I can do any further work on this Jeep (or any other), I need to pay it off as I can't afford two sets of payments.

2) You can't properly see the extent of the damage in those photos. Remember that it's been vandalised and that things have been stolen from it; also, rocks were nailing the upstream side for several days. From what I could see today, it looks as though the driver's side front wheel buckled under the front in all of this, and the entire interior was soaked. Hard.

3) Call me superstitious, but I'd rather walk away from a totalled vehicle and get another one than rebuild the one that I walked away from in the first place. If someone else wants to take it on I'm fine with that, but I figure that there's a reason why it and I went the ways we did.

Even if they only give you a few thousand after the buyback you could fix it for 2000.00 or so as long as you didn't run the engine in the water!

I ran the engine in the water. Or, at least, I remember it running in the water. For how long I'm not sure, but it was quite likely sucking in silt and water.

Also bear in mind that the intake is sitting low in the water. Even if it didn't suck anything in, the water was over the roof for a couple of days. Sheer pressure alone would've forced water into the cylinder bores - along with more silt. Even if the plugs were removed and the water blown out, there's no way of knowing what made it past the rings.

The interior is toast. Bigtime. There's half-an-inch of silt in everything and it all smells like a cross between a Georgia swamp in August and a wet dog. Seriously, there is no amount of drying-out that will ever improve that. All electrical toys (windows, mirrors, etc.) are pretty much goners as a given.

(Notice that I keep using the word 'silt'... This isn't accidental.)

Since most of the drivetrain is still sitting in water, I have no idea what damage may or may not have occurred to it. The t-case is likely shot, ditto at least the rear driveshaft (judging from the angle things are at and the terrain). Front axle... Who knows, still can't see, but likely screwed. No idea on how the unibody fared.

I'm not saying it's unrecoverable, but it's probably beyond economic recovery. Bear in mind that I'm not trying to put you off, but as this was my DD (and the replacement needs to be the same) it most likely can't be recovered to anything approaching the same standard.

Anyway, assuming my friend doesn't want it, I'll offer it here first. Just be aware of what you're likely getting into - this really isn't an el cheapo conversion project.

 

[Jump This]

I'd only want parts.....and believe it or not....I AM a water damage restoration contractor...(okay....so I work on flooded houses...but can a Jeep be much different than a house! :laugh3
Parts is Parts!
Rick R

 

[VegasAnthony]

that thing is toast


I had a real problem with progressive a while back

wouldnt return a call to save my life

side note my old insurance company had a no buy back policy on any cars they insured(found that out the hard way)

 

[casm]

that thing is toast

No kidding. Fortunately, I escalated to management yesterday and there is actually progress being made.

I'd only want parts.....and believe it or not....I AM a water damage restoration contractor...

Cool. You were the first to respond, so I'll put you down as Plan B At least you know what you'd be getting into in this case, so if my buddy flakes we ought to be able to work something out.

Oh, and this is apparently going to be covered in one of the local free papers as their front-page story... Historical documentation for the lucky receiver of the carcass

 

[Jump This]

I would be proud to own a piece of history!!!
Rick R

 

[casm]

I would be proud to own a piece of history!!!

Welp, assuming my buddy doesn't get in touch with me over the weekend to let me know if he's interested, I'll get the number of the salvage company to you. Meantime, pictures of the remains taken yesterday during recovery can be found here. This definitely wouldn't be a project for the faint-hearted...

 

[ryurabbit]

That tow truck driver should be shot!!!! He left the door open while pulling it back and then ruined the door and maybe the unibody on the waterfall. I would show the insurance company that one. Maybe they could use it in the bargaining for salvage fees. I would have wanted it except thats what I'm fighting right now. Not a straight panel on my jeep. Take a look at Calico run 22-23. That green jeep with the missing hatch is mine. Anyway its still fixable youd be suprised what can be salvaged. We had a diesel truck that fell all the way in a lake completely dissappeared that we were able to fix. It wasnt perfect but it all worked again. The insurance company wanted to leave it claiming it would be too hard to recover it but the parks and rec. I think siad it had to be removed.

 

[Jump This]

It still looks better than Wabbits!! :laugh:

 

[casm]

That tow truck driver should be shot!!!! He left the door open while pulling it back and then ruined the door and maybe the unibody on the waterfall. I would show the insurance company that one. Maybe they could use it in the bargaining for salvage fees.

This is exactly why I went out on every recovery attempt (all three of them), with the appraiser, etc. I'm sure they're going to try to ding me on that plus the vandalism damage it sustained due to their non-responsiveness, so having photographic evidence that this was once an A+ condition XJ is probably going to come in rather handy.

I would have wanted it except thats what I'm fighting right now. Not a straight panel on my jeep. Take a look at Calico run 22-23. That green jeep with the missing hatch is mine.

Ouch... You've got my sympathies on that one. Good luck with your claim.

 

[Kejtar]

Ouch... You've got my sympathies on that one. Good luck with your claim.

His claim?? His claim mean he has to come up with enough spare time to spend some quality time with his jeep, a hammer and a welder