Sclittle

I recently totaled my 2010 JKU and was just curious who has totaled one that was moderatly moded out, and what you did if anything to take some of those mods off.

In April I put on a set of five 35s with some fuel wheels plus some bushwacker flat flares. I plan to take the wheels and tires and purchased a set of take offs from another JK for only $150 to swap them out. Has anyone else done this? What else did you take off and how did your insurance handle it? It's been two weeks and I think I am having Jeep withdraws... especially since this is my just for fun vehicle.

CRAWL TV

You should check out our channel at YouTube.com/CrawlTV. We rolled a very built jeep in January and went through the whole process with USAA. Gathering all 81 pages of receipts was the most time consuming part, but we received the exact amount that we paid for the Jeep the day we bought it, with fair market value for all of our parts. The Jeep was frozen solid when they hauled it off, so we didn't pull a single part. The $35k check that they sent made it all okay though. 👍🏼

Chuck-The-Ripper

By "frozen solid" are you saying that usaa won't allow any parts to be taken off the vehicle? Also, do you know anything about the "buy back" process or possibility?
My jeep isn't totaled but I've had usaa for years and have always wondered.

Sclittle

Thanks

CRAWL TV

Ours was frozen solid, quite literally. We rolled it under water in mid-January. There wasn't a part on it that we could get off of it! USAA has a buy-back option for any vehicle that has collision damage, but they do not allow it for water damage.

Chuck-The-Ripper

Wow lol. I wasn't sure if you were being literal or not. That is crazy. Thanks for the info!

wrangler unl145

I just switched to a new State Farm agent. He asked me how much I had spent on my jeep above the original price and added this to the value of my jeep.

mr72

FWIW I haven't had this issue with my Wrangler, but my last car was a somewhat-modified, restoration-in-process sports car and let me tell you there is really little or nothing you can do to recover the value of extra/upgrade/different parts or mods you do on the vehicle. It all depends of course on exactly what. But a car insurance company is not likely to agree that your 17" alloy wheels are any more valuable than the ones that came on it from the factory, ditto that for your aftermarket bumpers or hood or whatever. They MIGHT give you some portion of the value of the lift if you can back it up with receipts but I would doubt you will get anything like what you think it is worth. You will probably get a fair value for accessories like a winch, trail jack, roof rack, even a new stereo but you won't be able to pull parts off, that's fraud. If you think your parts are really worth that much, you need to buy the salvage then you can pull your parts and sell the rest at your convenience.

There's nothing magical about a Jeep that makes it not conform to the ordinary practices of your insurance company. It's just a vehicle as far as they are concerned and they base the value on original equipment parts and value. I had a $10K custom paint job on my car that was totaled and I only got $7K total for the entire car, and that was after months of negotiating and fighting. Absolutely zero accommodation for suspension, built engine, wheels, tires, etc. They look at the make, model, odometer, and overall approximate original condition of the vehicle and that's basically it. For obvious add-ons you can get some value but you are going to be stuck for most of the stuff where you just swap stock parts for your aftermarket stuff due to cosmetics or taste.

mr72

Good luck making a claim on that. In Texas anyway, it wouldn't happen.

If you want a "stated value" policy then you have to conform to some pretty heavy restrictions on use. It would absolutely rule out a daily driver for anyone who doesn't work from home and isn't otherwise a hermit. In my case the limit was like 1000 miles a year and they'd only cover it if I was driving to or from a car show, parade, or other event.

Sclittle

Today I got the call that it was officially totaled. The wheels and tires added a total of $200 to the final pay out. So it was a very easy decision to take the $150 wheels and tires I bought and swap them out. This was the best $150 I have ever spent, plus when I buy a new Jeep I can sell the stock wheels and tires for around 300-400 depending on the tire.

I am very happy with the insurance company and the value they gave me for my Jeep plus some of the add ons. Although I am sure it will cost me in the long run when my insurance goes up....