MY JEEP AND TRAILER HAS BEEN STOLEN: UPDATE Maybe found.

[scumby]

Al, let me be the first to say SWEET!!! You got YOUR Jeep back

The pic doesn't show much detail, but it doesn't look like they trashed it, and you still have your drivetrain and the AXLES. I loved the looks of your rig before and can't wait to see it after the rebuild

thanks but i think it may remain the same looking as it is now. once they total it (i'm sure they will) i gotta try to figure out how to get it back from the west side.

i'm thinking i might have someone pull the axles and have them sent up. then see if i can sell the rest of it.

anyone have an idea what i could get out of stripped down wrangler w/o axles? semi decent tub, 4.0, ax-15, sye 231 w/d-shafts and hard doors, RE 1.5" springs, shackle reversal. maybe some sort of labor trade included?

current plan is to get a tj from anchorage that is already longarmed lifted, winch, hardtop, and sye. then HALF CAB IT! scumby2 add a six speed, a 3 speed stak and mattracks.

[iaccocca]

current plan is to get a tj from anchorage that is already longarmed lifted, winch, hardtop, and sye. then HALF CAB IT! scumby2 add a six speed, a 3 speed stak and mattracks.

Yeah Baby! If life gives you lemons, find somebody with vodka!

[Grumpy]

[scumby]

good news and bad news.

first the bad news. the jeep has been totaled and i can not do a "buy back". metlife said if they were to sell it back to me and it were to blowup that they would be liable. so it will go to auction. this way the auction company has the liability. i'm going to ask that no one bid on my jeep, please. i think i'll start a new thread on this subject.

the good news is it does pay to keep your receipts! i will say i accepted their first offer as it was more generous than i thought. of course it does not cover everything, especially not my labor, i had into it but it will be enough to allow me to start on SCUMBY2.

[TJDave]

First thought is how much I hate thieves. I am so sorry this happened to you Al. I can't imagine how much time you had into Scumby 1, and all the memories you have had in it. I am glad you were able to get some of the $$$ part back from the insurance co. Any compensation for the trailer?

Second thought is.........SCUMBY 2. Can't wait to see what you come up with.

[sams88]

You need to get your insurance people to take a look at the state laws on it regarding "buy back". I just went through the "buy back" myself on my totaled Cherokee. If your insurance company "totals" the rig and you opt to keep it (buy-back), then they have to notify the state that it has been totaled. The state then sends the owner a letter directing him/her to surrender the title to the state, with totaled and the date written across the face of the title. The owner keeps the letter from the state, which has the VIN, etc., on it. You then have to take the vehicle along with all original receipts for parts and repairs to the state patrol for inspection along with the surrender letter. Once the state patrol passes the vehicle, you then take that inspection form, along with the letter of title surrender from the state to the licensing office and apply for a new title that will list the vehicle as rebuilt. So there isn't any liability on the insurance company cause a totaled vehicle can't be driven or parked on streets/highways. If you drive it before you re-title it, it's your butt, not the insurance company..... Now this is in Washington. I'm assuming that's the state this happened in??? Once the state patrol inspects the vehicle, they (the state) are saying that it is safe so there isn't any liability on the insurance company. I think someone in your insurance company has their wires crossed unless you are talking about another state.

[Grumpy]

I think it's as much a case of the insurance company trying to avoid doing their damn job!! Al, do not back down on this! I hate these clowns trying to dictate how it's going to be. It's a racket, and you are only it's latest target...

[SPR]

I suspect that the insurance company does not want to "Total" the rig because doing so drastically reduces the value and future insurability (full coverage vs just liability) of the rig. The insurance company stands to make more money by selling it through an auction house.

[Grumpy]

I will refrain from saying what I really think of insurance companies...

[scumby]

You need to get your insurance people to take a look at the state laws on it regarding "buy back". I just went through the "buy back" myself on my totaled Cherokee. If your insurance company "totals" the rig and you opt to keep it (buy-back), then they have to notify the state that it has been totaled. The state then sends the owner a letter directing him/her to surrender the title to the state, with totaled and the date written across the face of the title. The owner keeps the letter from the state, which has the VIN, etc., on it. You then have to take the vehicle along with all original receipts for parts and repairs to the state patrol for inspection along with the surrender letter. Once the state patrol passes the vehicle, you then take that inspection form, along with the letter of title surrender from the state to the licensing office and apply for a new title that will list the vehicle as rebuilt. So there isn't any liability on the insurance company cause a totaled vehicle can't be driven or parked on streets/highways. If you drive it before you re-title it, it's your butt, not the insurance company..... Now this is in Washington. I'm assuming that's the state this happened in??? Once the state patrol inspects the vehicle, they (the state) are saying that it is safe so there isn't any liability on the insurance company. I think someone in your insurance company has their wires crossed unless you are talking about another state.

interesting what insurance company?

[scumby]

i strongly encourage everyone to check with your insurance company on what your auto insurance and home owners insurance covers.

i.e. you may already know that my trailer (hitched to my jeep when stolen) was not covered under auto insurance nor was the personal property inside of the jeep. so my auto insurance agent hand the case over to my home owners insurance.

home owners insurance called yesterday to start the process of the claim on the trailer and personal property in the jeep. after about 10-15 minutes the women says "can you hold for a minute" so she comes back on the line and says "i'm sorry there is an exclusion to policy that states trailer and camp trailers are not covered unless stolen from the residence"

believe it or not my personal property (tools) would be covered under homeowners insurance but as many others i have a $500 deductable. sure i had more than 500 in tools but after they raise my insurance rates is it worth the hassle.

so in conclusion stoke the fire and throw on the insurance agents along with the lawyers politicians and used car salesmen.

[Grumpy]

They always have some clause to get out of paying...

[TJDave]

Ayep. When my shop and property burnt in Benton City, I got shafted by my insurance co. Learned to read the fine print. They had limits on every catagory of stuff..tools, sporting goods, lawn equiptment, etc. Of course I had way more stuff than was included in their limits, and they gave nothing for the two 1985 Toyota 4x4's that where in there. Then, after all the Red Cross "Hanford Fire victim's" donations where collect, they (RC) stopped by and dropped off a shovel, wheelbarrow, and a plastic rake in front of my burnt shop. Thanx!!

[White trash]

I've learned insurance companies are good with accidents and bad with property damage and thefts... I've had lots of stuff stolen and never gotten even a consideration to cover it. The beadlocks and tires that were stolen from my parents place weren't covered because they weren't bolted to the truck... My 106 cd's back in high school weren't covered when the rest of the stereo stuff was stolen because I had a cd player... If I had a tape deck they'd have covered them because I was transporting them.

Heck the last shop fire at my parents place we just payed out of pocket on everything rather than deal with their bs.

[iaccocca]

I know it doesn't do you any good now Scumby, but I'm sure you are eligible for USAA insurance. They've always treated me well. When my truck got stolen they gave me $9k for it... I had bought it for $10k two years prior. They put me in a rental car for 30 days no question. And, they paid for everything in the truck right down to my Seattle Mariners cap and my Leatherman.
Now later, I had about $1000 worth of stuff stolen out of the Jeep and they just sent me $250, because that was the limit of my policy. But even that time they just sent the check, didn’t have to show receipts or anything. (My Tuffy lockbox in the back of the LJ is better insurance, the Jeep has been broken into twice since then and they haven’t gotten so much as the change in the ashtray… God I wish they would steal the CB, I got my eye on a new one.)
And, I know the body shops around here love to deal with USAA, because they just send the check; they don’t nickel and dime them or try to force them to use used parts.