just got in a fender bender....

[mengleff]

just got into a fender bender in sacramento. i was driving my stock '90 Laredo. the front fiberglass piece above the grill is broken, all the corner stuff; corner lights etc, my passenger side front fender is buckled and binding the passenger front door. there are some heavy duty scratches on the body cladding on the passenger side, and my front pass. side wheel has a small gouge.
an older lady in a '02 VW bug pulled into my lane, and the accident is very obviously her fault. the CHP came and took a report, the officer said it was fairly obvious, she admitted changes lanes, and she said we "came out of nowhere". anyway, so assuming that everything comes out the way it's supposed to, what should i do? the person that is handling my claim at progressive(my insur.) has contacted me already, and they're filing a claim immediately with the lady's insurance. where should i take for estimates? what will the dealership do for me? should i just take the cash and modify? i've been planning on a build-up, but i wasn't going to do it for 6 mos or so...
i've never been in an accident in my vehicle before, so i'm a bit lost as to what i should do to make sure i make out ok. no injuries or anything of that sort, just fix-it money.

 

[WHEEL'er-DLR]

bender....sorry about your mishap.
1st....get some recommendations in your area for body shops. go and get three estimates. 2nd... then post some pics on this site, that will help us give you some ideas. with a '90 keeping the money for repairs or fixing it depends on the damage and your desire for mods. it sounds like that the items you listed will need to be replaced though. 3rd... keep us informed, i'm sure you'll recieve lots of in-put! if you can post pics now...do it.

 

[JJ13]

If your door is binding it is very possible your
Jeep will need to be put on a frame rack and straightened. Also I will be very surprised if you are able to just keep the money, the insurance companies have that all down to a science. I would say get it repaired if you plan on keeping it...if not get rid of it and get another, or chop it up and use it for a wheeling rig.


my .02...good luck

JJ13

 

[PhatXJ]

Did you go to the doctor to get checked out for injuries? If you did, you will recieve compensation to settle. In other words, if it was blatantly the other persons fault and the cops agree, you get your rig fixed which is paid by the other insurance company, and then in order for the claim to be closed, it has to be "settled" out. It can't be settled until you say it can be. If you go to the hospital, they usually write you a compensation check for a standard amount. This is not disshonest or anything, they have standard amounts they give for certain things. The disshonest stuff is when people try to get more by saying they were hurt worse and stuff.

An old man ran a red light and T-Boned me in my Jeep. His ins company paid for my Jeep to get fixed, then they paid me one thousand dollars to sign my name and say that the claim was done.

 

[mengleff]

thanks for the suggestions guys! i posted this in the sierra chapter forum to hopefully get some suggestions from sacto xj'rs about were to take it here in town. i've been to great valley a few times, so i'll probably take it there initially, and rosemont auto on kiefer come recommended, but i don't know if they do body work; ie; to give me an estimate. i don't think i'll be all that excited if i don't get a cash option.
neither i nor my gf were hurt at all, there wasn't much of an impact, i was locked up when i hit her, and it was more of a side-swipe that halted both of us. i munched the whole side of her bug though, those bug fenders sticking out just that little bit was enough for my bumper and fender to catch and just shatter the plastic all the way up the side.
i'll try and get some pics posted here tomorrow or day after.

 

[Bronco]

I would take the cash and use it to fix up your rig (replace the fiberglass with bone yard stuff, bang out the tin and lift it) as long as the frame isn’t to bent just go with it. If you part it out I got dibs on the t case and trany

 

[WesternXJ]

Welcome to the board

Take your Jeep to Gamboa's and Bertilluchi's (sp?). Get as many estimates as possible and DON'T take thier offer! Let your insurance company go after hers if need be.

 

[mengleff]

aight, here's the damage... i have an appointment at bertolucci's tomorrow to get an estimate. i talked to a guy with my insurance today, to get an idea of where we are and what i should be doing, and he says, since they have not contacted me, we're just waiting for them to assume liability, which will probably happen after the chp releases the report -15 days after the accident. i'm headed to the pick 'n pull tomorrow, they have some hood vents for me. just a heads-up to you peeps in the sacto area, there are 3 (2 after tomorrow) sets of chrysler lebaron turbo vents at the big yellow place out in the recycle area...

'see if this works...

 

[mengleff]

ok, here they are...

thasseet.

 

[mengleff]

i guess they don't like that...

well here are the pics...
http://www.imagestation.com/album/?id=4289736429
'their' insurance company did not have an agent in the area to come and do an estimate, so they sent me to harrold ford. the body shop there estimates $2,500 before tear-down to inspect for hidden damage. that's more than i thought it would cost. that's what i paid for it. looks like i might be able to set some cash aside for a membership after all when's the next meet and greet?