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Wagoneer Severe Crash Experience?

890 Views 17 Replies 7 Participants Last post by mike2608, 2 d ago

mike2608

Discussion Starter · 25 d ago (Edited)

Last week we were T-boned by an illegal passer. The driver of the other car took full responsibility at the scene, 3rd party witness spoke to the cops. All people and the fur baby are OK. Ticket issued to the driver.

That's the end of the good news.

My 2022 S3 (15,755 miles) was severely damaged. The driver's door is destroyed, the floor and kneepad are bucked. Side curtain and driver's backrest airbags were deployed. Both front fenders do not align with the hood by over 2". The left front tire is in contact with the upper control arm. And the left rear quarter panel is wrinkled.

Because the other driver is totally At Fault, I chose to skip over my insurance and go directly to his. The process has been moving forward until the adjuster thoroughly examined my car...

According to the adjuster, Crash Parts are not available yet, no prices known, nor labor hours for their replacement. As well as a pre-cash Fair Market Value is not yet established.

Has anyone else been into the situation with their Wagoneer or Grand Wagoneer needing substantial body work or has been totaled?

I need to know if the adjuster is blowing smoke or this is a real problem?

Thanks

Wheel Tire Automotive parking light Car Land vehicle

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1 - 18 of 18 Posts

Evensen

· #2 · 23 d ago

Diminished value is going to be critical. Frame damage likely. Totaling it is probably best outcome for you. Glad everyone is OK.

mike2608

Discussion Starter · #3 · 23 d ago

Fair Market Value not point of contention. Yet.

Adjuster’s estimate came in at $24k. Prolly close to 1/3 of FMV. Current plan: Repair, with caveats.

Body shop got it this afternoon. Their authorized to disassemble and find hidden damage. Then re-estimate whether Total or Repair is the better deal.

Fortunately, it’s a high-end shop and SWMBO’s son is lead bodyman at there. If it is worth repairing, I know it will be done right.

Since I made my initial post, I did some research on how to determine FMV. There are some fudge-factors that BOTH sides can use👍

Omega

· #4 · 21 d ago

Bummer man, good luck!

mike2608

Discussion Starter · #5 · 21 d ago

Minor update:

Picked up rental car. 2018 GMC Acadia. To describe it as “Not a 2022 Wagoneer Series III” is a MASSIVE UNDERSTATEMENT😖

Reactions: 1

Moby

· #6 · 21 d ago

Sorry to hear about this, and glad everyone is ok.
Thanks for posting everything so far, and the pics. Since this is a new model vehicle it's interesting to see how things play out with repairs, diminished value, parts, etc.
Please keep us all informed on this, I'm definitely following.
Hope everything works out, and quickly.

mike2608

Discussion Starter · #7 · 21 d ago

Well… “Quickly” has come and gone🥺

We’re two hours shy of a full week since
the crash and Ins Co still has no clue between Repair or Total Loss🥴

Besides unknown depreciation, throw in unknown salvage value, unknown parts prices, unavailable parts and questions surrounding cutting and welding certain kinds of sheet metal😵‍💫

mike2608

Discussion Starter · #8 · 13 d ago (Edited)

Well, its UNofficial…

Got a call from my insider at the body shop. The frame is slightly bent. Not enough to see, but the super-precision measuring system show it up to a few millimeters out-of-spec.

The real problem is: The entire left side of the body shell (from the firewall to the liftgate) has to be replaced as one piece. Plus pulling the dashboard sub-structure into place.

That means having to remove THE ENTIRE interior, open 35 feet of seams and then put it all back together.

His opinion is that the amount of labor will push the cost-of-repairs well past the 75% threshold (then add the cost of renting a full-sized SUV for 2 months!).

We asked, “if it was his car..” he would not repair it.

So, time to start shopping in earnest for a replacememt.

Anyone got an S3 in Luxury White and Sea Salt they are looking to part with?

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Reactions: 1

Moby

· #9 · 13 d ago

Sorry to hear that. But its a good thing that repair shop you chose did their homework and were honest about the full repair details. And just myself hearing the scope of that repair I wouldn't want it repaired, it wouldn't be the same afterward. Way too much surgery involved.

atxatxatx

· #10 · 13 d ago

Should be totaled by insurance with that much work involved, it's going to be a really expensive body shop repair. I'd get the appraiser involved again. Sorry to see, but I'm not sure I want that vehicle back especially when they need to remove the entire interior. Good luck.

mike2608

Discussion Starter · #11 · 13 d ago

Yeah, too much surgery!

I know cars. I used to do all my own maintenance & repairs. Anything that could be unbolted and reattached was fair game.

But, a complete teardown and restoration of the body shell on a practically New Car makes no sense. Let it go for salvage parts. 3 doors, liftgate, all the front airbags, hood & fenders. the entire driveline… Will get someone else’s car back on the road sooner🥲

As much as we enjoyed that particular Wagoneer, it performed as designed and spread the energy of impact across the body shell and frame.

Time to say goodbye to it and buy a replacement that is close enough that we can live with…

Reactions: 2

TexasJester

· #12 · 13 d ago

mike2608 said:
Last week we were T-boned by an illegal passer. The driver of the other car took full responsibility at the scene, 3rd party witness spoke to the cops. All people and the fur baby are OK. Ticket issued to the driver.

That's the end of the good news.

My 2022 S3 (15,755 miles) was severely damaged. The driver's door is destroyed, the floor and kneepad are bucked. Side curtain and driver's backrest airbags were deployed. Both front fenders do not align with the hood by over 2". The left front tire is in contact with the upper control arm. And the left rear quarter panel is wrinkled.

Because the other driver is totally At Fault, I chose to skip over my insurance and go directly to his. The process has been moving forward until the adjuster thoroughly examined my car...

According to the adjuster, Crash Parts are not available yet, no prices known, nor labor hours for their replacement. As well as a pre-cash Fair Market Value is not yet established.

Has anyone else been into the situation with their Wagoneer or Grand Wagoneer needing substantial body work or has been totaled?

I need to know if the adjuster is blowing smoke or this is a real problem?

Thanks View attachment 2020

If your smart, LISTEN UP! Find your next vehicle and trade that one in exactly as it is. They would rather have it and your insurance check than a repaired vehicle.

mike2608

Discussion Starter · #13 · 13 d ago

So, take the total loss, keep the title to the carcass?

Then use the carcass as a trade in and the $42.75 in equity towards the replacement car…

Sounds intriguing.

But, right now the broken car is 1/2 disassembled at a body shop. It can move under it’s own power but is NOT SAFE to operate on any public road.

Any suggestions on overcoming those hurdles to take advantage of the Salvage Value?

Reactions: 1

mike2608

Discussion Starter · #14 · 10 d ago

Due to loan rates going up to 6% and the aggravation and cost of transporting the remnants of my 2022 WS3…

I’ve decided to let the InsCo keep the pieces and I’m going to loan myself 100% of the cost of the replacement vehicle at 3.25%. The cash from InsCo will go back into my savings account.

Reactions: 1

Assyrian_knight

· #15 · 9 d ago

mike2608 said:
Well, its UNofficial…

Got a call from my insider at the body shop. The frame is slightly bent. Not enough to see, but the super-precision measuring system show it up to a few millimeters out-of-spec.

The real problem is: The entire left side of the body shell (from the firewall to the liftgate) has to be replaced as one piece. Plus pulling the dashboard sub-structure into place.

That means having to remove THE ENTIRE interior, open 35 feet of seams and then put it all back together.

His opinion is that the amount of labor will push the cost-of-repairs well past the 75% threshold (then add the cost of renting a full-sized SUV for 2 months!).

We asked, “if it was his car..” he would not repair it.

So, time to start shopping in earnest for a replacememt.

Anyone got an S3 in Luxury White and Sea Salt they are looking to part with?

this color got discontinued. You can only get the normal white. I too was looking for this color combo but couldn't find one. I got everything I wanted except for color. We got the Baltic Gray. The insurance should cut bait soon since the rental cost will surpass any couple of thousands here or there. If all fails, they should pull auction pricing on similar Wagoneers and decide on FMV.

Assyrian_knight

· #16 · 9 d ago

TexasJester said:
If your smart, LISTEN UP! Find your next vehicle and trade that one in exactly as it is. They would rather have it and your insurance check than a repaired vehicle.

Interesting thought!....But the hassle of taking in a crashed vehicle won't be free! That is if the dealer wants to bother but times are getting tough so it might work in the right market area.

Reactions: 1

mike2608

Discussion Starter · #17 · 9 d ago

The color AND engine are discontinued for 2023! That’s irritants #3 and #4.

Me and IncCo are going to argue BIG TIME over the pre-crash FMV. There isn’t enough wholesale auction data yet.

Plus $8700 in sales tax (#5) and 10,000 in finance charges (my current loan is at 0%) (#6) when I buy a new car to replace a 9 months in service 15,755 miles vehicle.

I already started the process of finding a replacement car. Very few are produced with the Sea Salt interior (#2).

mike2608

Discussion Starter · #18 · 2 d ago

Almost done.

I found a 2023 mirror-twin of my car at the local dealer. 3.0 I6 and Diamond Black Perl are the only differences. Got the Sea Salt interior.

Stellantis moved some items from “standard” on the S3 to “optional”. They are in my new car. Along with the exact same options my 2022 had. Including, sillily enough, the $45 Smoker’s package!

The rental car was returned and the new car is in my driveway😎

The body shop and I discussed repainting a new Wagoneer Luxury White for $10-15K. Still debating in my own mind if it’s worth it…

I am currently fighting with InsCo over what is a reasonable settlement for their driver destroying my near-new car with his impatience and stupidity.

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