Well, as has been my luck ( 3rd restored car in a row! ) I had a gentleman back into me at an intersection. He was in a Honda Pilot, so his rear bumper hit just above the bumper outriggers and proceeded to crush the bumper cover and spring up the hood. No damage to the headlights, and no damage to the condenser, radiator or PS cooler. Insurance has evaluated it and declared it a total loss. I had Agreed Value insurance on it, so I will get my agreed value, but have the chance to buy it back and either part it out, or fix it.




I'm considering fixing it, if the buy back price is not too high. The rest of the vehicle just went through a 1 yr renovation, and is in very good condition ( including respray 1 yr ago). I enjoy driving it, and sort of know how to fix what might go wrong, plus I have all the excellent help here on this forum. It will have a salvage title, but the cost of fixing it myself plus the buy back cost will be so low I can drive it a few years and then either part it out or sell for $2k or less and be OK.

I would like to hear any of your thoughts or experiences on this type of repair. I've studied the parts books, looked at diagrams and pictures on the net, but it's not real clear on some of the underlying bracing on the bumper cover.
So far I've determined that I will need:
1) Hood - Considering buying one that is CFS color. Might be good enough not to need paint, and if it does need paint, then no issue with the edges and underside color.
2) Bumper Cover. Not as many available, and most seem to have some cracks, etc. Figure I'll have to repair what I buy, so color not so important, as it will likely need a full respray anyway. Might try to "fix" the one there first. Lots of info on PUR plastic repairs on the net, and it won't cost me a lot to try. May be good practice for one I buy, if it also needs some repair.
3) Curved Brace from radiator to Bumper Cover. Mine is bent up. Think I might be able to straighten it back to near it's original curved shape
4) Brace under top center of bumper cover, where it bolts to the top of the bumper cover, is more than likely bent. May try to straighten, or replace.
5) Driver's side headlight support ( white nylon looking part) is broken. Hard to find, but will try and locate one. Might be able to glue this one back together enough to work...
6) Jaguar badge was damaged, but I think I can save it.
7) Hood Hinges. May need straightening, or replacing. Available on Ebay, so may just buy a set and be done. Not sure if they are damaged, but the hood is buckled up a couple of inches, and that movement has to come from somewhere.

Sure would like to hear what your thoughts are. My alternative might be to keep all the money from the insurance, and maybe buy a Mercedes CL500. I know they are money pits, so I keep trying to talk myself out of one.

 

Don't try to fix the bumper cover or hood, too mangled. If you do decide to repair, I may have that nylon mount. Replace the hinges.

 

I would fix it for sure, knowing the car is a big plus. Not getting to running gear is always a plus.
Look for one smashed in the rear or door area and there you go.
You are close enough to California to maybe find one in Pick and Pull Junk yard.
Good luck, and sorry you have to go through this.

 

That sucks! I'd fix it and enjoy it again personally, as long as you're doing the majority of the work yourself. Mine has an R-title, but I still love it. Previous previous owner hit a deer. Smh. Like you said, if you find someone who doesn't really care about the title as long as it's fixed right, and seeing what you might ask for it if you decide to sell, I don't think you'd have any trouble selling it on if you decided to. Of course you could always just sell it as a parts car if you buy it then change your mind

 

Yuck. I'm sorry for your misfortune.
Where do all these ****** white stick drivers come from ?

I'd agree with the others that it's worth considering a repair, particularly now you have her in an otherwise known good state.

Tom Bachur's story might give you some encouragement, as the damage is similar. This first thread discusses the damage and repairs:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...5/#post1448855

This thread is about a subsequent issue, but contains before-and-after shots. In his case, the outcome was excellent:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...3/#post1515548

 

It still amazes me what passes for 'total loss' nowadays. I'd definately go for repair if the buy-back is reasonable.

 

I guess the "total loss" is due to the estimated cost of repairs exceeding the book value.
Since this was not your fault you shouldn't have to suffer a loss and you shouldn't have to fix it yourself.
The car is repairable and that should be done and you shouldn't have to pay for it. The value of the car is irrelevant because you're not selling it.
You just want your car fixed and the guy who hit you is ultimately responsible for that.
I would pursue doing everything I could to make myself whole without spending a lot of money, especially since you have taken good care of the car.
After you get the money from the insurance company, what about buying the car back, then suing the guy who damaged the car for whatever it takes to make you whole?
I'd get a repair estimate, do the math, and see how much money you'd need from this guy.
I've sent repair estimates to people who damaged my cars and I tell them to pay me in two weeks or I'll file a complaint with the police and take legal action for restitution. Works every time for me although I never had to deal with anything over $1000. The money shows up in my mailbox.
People don't want an at-fault accident on their record since it increases their insurance premiums. Let them do their math and see what happens.
The concept is simple: you caused damage to my car, the insurance is covering only part of what it takes to fix it, and you're responsible for the balance.
In New Jersey I have 30 days to file a complaint so I need to consider the timeframe.
Even when there is no police report I've still done this as the police have a record of every call the respond to. Get this documentation from the police and mail it with the estimate, insurance payoff, and buyback cost. Tell the guy that you need X number of dollars by X date or you will file a complaint in Court. You have little to lose.
And that picture looks almost as painful as Prescott's broken ankle in the game against the Giants. Ouch.

 

Darbysan,

stu46h is correct! You were not at fault in the accident and the other guy's Insurance has to make you whole.....You need to call your Attorney or one of the Attorney's that do Auto Accidents.....They should repair your Car without you paying a Penny! You need to call the Claims Guy and tell him what to do not let him tell you! Now if you had hit the Guy in front of you, rather than him backing in to you.....It would be a different story.....

These things are what Attorneys are for!

Billy Clyde in Houston

 

Thanks all for your thoughts. As for the insurance, I had Agreed Value coverage on the car, and they will pay me the total of the agreed value- no questions. With that payment, I will be able to fix the car after buyback and have money left over. Other guy's insurance will have to pay all of the Agreed value, including my deductible, but I leave that to my ins company to handle. The other party has accepted responsibility. All said and done, I should come out well ahead by doing some of my own work ( it is a hobby!).

As for Total Loss and Salvage title, Nevada has a statute on the books regarding this issue. In my case, for a car more than 10 yrs old, and needing only a hood and bumper, by Statute it cannot be called a salvage vehicle. There is also a separate provision that states that if the cost to repair is less than 65% of the vehicles value, less the cost for Paint or Electronics, then again it cannot be called a Salvage Title. I went through this about 12 yrs ago on another vehicle, and although it took a while to convince the Ins company, they eventually relented and I kept the clear title on that vehicle. I suspect I will be able to do the same here.

On another note, I have located a 2002 XKR that I can possibly buy for parts. I know the Bumper Cover can be used as long as I also use the '02 Fog lights, and I'm pretty sure the hood is a bolt on. Just wanted to check to see if anyone has any other issues with me using those parts. I need to make a decision Very Quickly on the parts car, so look forward to hearing any issues regarding these parts.

 

darbysan,

Hey Man, this would be a great time to bring the 97 into the 2003-04 stage or even into the 2005-2006 stage. Just change out the Nose Piece, Grill, Tail Lights and replace the Head Lights with the newer ones with the Black backgrounds and you could have any year you want.....

You are correct in that the Hood, Nose Piece and Grill are all interchangeable, as are the Fog Lights....You could make it an 03 without any Bodywork.....
Good Luck with the Insurance.......I have a set of 2005 Tail Lights in the Garage that came off my 2005 XKR....I changed mine to Victory Edition Lights several years ago...You would need to have them rewired...I think!

Billy Clyde in Houston

 

I'm glad this is going to work out for you.

 

Darbysan,

This is a good place for Used Parts: (https://www.nationwideautorecycling....-parts/JAGUAR/ )

I have used them for a ECU, which worked out very good...The usually have 4 or 5 XK's setting around and currently have an 2001 which looks good...If you have a Friend or if you plan to do the work yourself this is a good place to find what you need....Check them out!
Billy Clyde

 

Thanks again for all your inputs. The potential of the 2002 XKR fell through- Auction price went too high at Copart. I did find and XK8 at a local breakers, and he gave me a pretty good price for everything I will need. Dismantling the car today to be sure I've discovered all of the issues, and then will go over to the breakers and go "shopping".
The Insurance has agreed with me on the No Salvage Title issue. Since I had Agreed Value insurance, they are issuing me a check for the full covered amount, less deductible and buy back. It helps working with a Classic Car insurance co. They understand a little better about the cost to rebuild vs the value of the car.

I'll post up some pictures of the internal damage as soon as I have some pictures to share.

 

Darby,

If the local breaker doesn't work out, I have all three generations of the front bumper as well as the splitter and bumperettes still drifting around. Let me know if I can help.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/market/234320

 

So how much was buy back price?I'm really curious

 

Buy back price was $950!

Got some time to work on the car today. Removed hood and bumper cover. Found the cross beam and center bracket that were bent, were spot welded , not bolted on. 19 spot welds later, got them removed. Was able to straighten enough that I think the cross beam will be usable, as will the center bracket.





The two side brackets where the hood hinges are mounted were bent as well. With the center bracket off, I was able to use a BFH to beat them back into being straight. I measured across from two different locations on the radiator top bracket to see if I was "square", and it was. Now I just have to re-install the center bracket and cross brace, then install the hood and bumper.



The hood hinges were bent as well. I was able to straighten them using my 20 ton press, but the cost to replace was cheap enough that I did that instead. The power steering cooler was bent as well, but easily came back to near straight. Felt like aluminum, and bent back very easily, so don't expect any issues.

Went to the breaker yard, and got my replacement hood and hood hinges. The front bumper cover they had there had a pretty good size crack in it, so I passed on it for now.

 

Sounds like a pretty good deal for a mostly-sorted XK8

Best of luck with the repairs.

Mike

 

I played around with the bumper cover for a bit, just to see what might happen. Since it is PUR plastic, it is heat set, and is supposed to have a memory. Worth a shot. It was pretty well tucked back under the hood, and has two large cracks in it from the underlying bumper. Two of the mounting ears also sheared off at either end of the upper front cross brace. Here is where I started and where I got to with about 30 minutes of work.






The first thing I tried was a little persuasion on the center cave in. It popped out with only a little force from the inside. The upper and lower edges of the grill opening were deformed, but a little application of heat from my heat gun, with a little pressure from a gloved hand, got it pretty well straightened out. A few marks in the paint that look bad in the picture, but this is way better than the one at the junk yard now ( except for the cracks). The paint around the badge area came off when I applied heat, but no big deal- have to paint it anyway.

The two tabs that got sheared off were bent at about a 60 degree angle at the shear, and would not match back up with the part where they broke off. Again, I applied the heat gun, and the two sheared parts just flatted out mostly on their own, to where they will now mate up with the part where they sheared off. Plan to try my new PUR plastic welder on these part, as they say it's easy to put them back on.




Lastly, the two big cracks. With a little pressure they fall back into place pretty well. They close up much better than these pictures show, as I had to hold the camera. With pressure ( maybe duct tape?), they close up to the point of nearly disappearing on the front. For the repair, the cracks have to be ground down about 1/2 way through the material, so a perfect alignment is not going to affect the final look after body working the final repair. Again, I'm going to try the PUR plastic welder on these crack to see how they come out. I'm not expecting a miracle, and expect I may be buying a replacement bumper cover soon, but thought I would try the welder and see how it works out, if for no other purpose but to pass the knowledge along. May even need it on a replacement cover.

 

Thanks. I've got your ad bookmarked, and should know soon whether my repair is going to satisfy my needs.

 

Shoot yeah I'd have bought it back too for that price!