And now for the rest of the story...
If you are a veteran and you do not have USAA, you are doing it wrong. I bank with USAA, so it makes sense to have auto and renter's insurance through them.
A few years ago (more than five), I had a 1994 Silverado pickup that I had paid cash for. That truck moved me to South Dakota and took me to some very interesting places deep in the forests of the Black Hills.
I was at a grocery store looking for a place to park, and a young gal backed her truck right into the side of my truck. It put a large dent in the side near the fuel filler tube. It was on private property (a grocery store), so no police report. We exchanged information and took photos of each other's license, registration, insurance cards, and damage to my truck. Uploaded the photos to USAA via their app while still on-scene in case they asked for some other information. All was good and a claim was filed.
By the time I got home, the claims adjuster called and had an appointment for me at a local body shop to get an estimate the next day. I went to the shop and he gave me the bad news. The damage to my truck was $50 more than the truck was worth, so they considered it totaled. I called the claims adjuster and they let me keep the truck and paid me for the damage, less the $500 deductible. I had the money in my bank account two days after the accident!
Today, I went across the street to the body shop to get the estimate for the damage to my Jeep. At first, he said it probably looked worse than it really was. I told him that I did not want to hear the word "repair". The key word here is "replace". If they broke it, they can BMA (Buy Me Another).
They will replace the rear bumper, the plastic splash guards, and the trim pieces that got broken. The heat shield above the muffler was crushed, so that gets replaced. The tailpipe has a slight dent, so that will get repaired. The floor pan got dented too. That is a small well in the back where the spare tire is kept under the floor of the trunk. It is a small dent so I agreed to have them pop that back into shape. He said the job will likely take 10 days to finish.
I left the shop 35 minutes later and returned home across the street. Or as Google Maps claims, 0.1 miles away. As I entered the front door of the building, I received several text messages from USAA. One told me that the estimate had been received. The other gave me options to get the vehicle repaired at that shop or another of my choosing. The third text said that a payment was issued to the shop in the amount of...
$2,031.18 to begin repairs.
So the Jeep was not totaled. The repairs will cost half of the Jeep's book value.
I made an appointment and will drop it off tomorrow so they can tear it apart and start ordering parts.
For those of you playing from home, that makes
@Jessica_Rose our winner! Congratulations!
I will be sending you your Free Ticket. Suitable for framing, lining bird cages, or training puppies.
