Geico wants to total my 06 CRD - help!

MidwifeMimi · **Posted:** Mon Nov 11, 2013 3:31 pm

Y'all have been such a great help to me before, so I am here asking again. I was t-boned by a nasty little Honda on the interstate (they had bald tires, it was raining ...). The Geico adjuster says my Liberty is totaled because of damage to the frame. Boo hoo. He is offering $11000 to me. It has 221000 miles on it, which he says brought the value down. Is that a fair price? It is a limited, all the bells and whistles, immaculately kept and regularly maintained. My other question is - is he right about the frame? I called my local body shop guy and he says they can straighten the frame. The adjuster says it will never be "right". Any thoughts? Thanks in advance. I loved that car. :cry:

Hexus · **Posted:** Mon Nov 11, 2013 3:39 pm

$11000 is a good price. Especially with 221k on it. I wouldn't expect to get that out of mine, and I only have 131k on mine currently and it's also a limited, 2006, etc. etc.

The engine inside of it is definitely still good, lots of members here would love to pick some of it apart.

It is a very fair price, if the frame is truly bent, it will never be the same. Think of it like a piece of paper you have crumbled into a ball, it'll never be straight again, even if you flatten it out on the desk.

SFHLibertyCRD · **Posted:** Mon Nov 11, 2013 3:49 pm

That is an excellent price and you could easily replace your car with one at least as good with half the miles or less. I paid 12k for a GDE tuned limited with 68.5k miles, Samco hoses, new glow plugs, etc. You might have to travel to get one, but keep an eye on autotrader and the forum classified section.

Though I understand the sadness of seeing a car you love go, and especially if it has been good to you for that many miles, which it sounds like many CRDs might not.

MidwifeMimi · **Posted:** Mon Nov 11, 2013 3:57 pm

Thanks, guys!

papaindigo · **Posted:** Mon Nov 11, 2013 5:37 pm

Operate on the theory that if you don't ask the answer is no. On that basis I'd counter with $12,500 and maybe you can get $11,500 to $12,000. You might check online for similar vehicles before countering. A quick look from here shows several ranging from $10,000 to a rather optimistic (pretty low miles) $14,000+ but keep in mind that's a) asking not selling and b) on top of selling you will likely have sales tax and tag/registration to get a replacement vehicle. If you can get closer to $12,000 then you can shop a purchase price of $11,000 with a bit of a cushion for tax/title/tag and some minor work (at minimum you need to do fluids and a TB if it has not been done but the latter can get you a cut in purchase price)

GreenDieselEngineering · **Joined:** Sun Jun 07, 2009 5:10 pm **Posts:** 1111

Very good price for the miles, but try to get more if possible. See about being able to keep the wrecked CRD to part out. The engine has definite value in the $3-5k range. Hope everyone walked away fine.

geordi · **Posted:** Tue Nov 12, 2013 1:00 am

$11000 is a fantastic price for those miles.

They will be willing to deal on the buyback, but negotiate the cash value FIRST before you mention one word about a buyback. Chances are, they will want in the neighborhood of $1500-2500 for the buyback - The last vehicle we had killed was a Mercury Mariner Hybrid. 2006, 180k miles, they offered about the same value as yours. That means we got hosed on the value. Their buyback was $1600.

For $1600, to be able to take everything off the CRD and part it out to the members here... I'd do that all day long. Very good investment, even considering it could take some time to sell off everything.

Fixing the body might be an option, because this is a unibody vehicle it doesn't have a "frame" as such. Anything crumpled underneath can be cut around and replaced with another section of floorpan. The problem is... A branded title. The insurance company WILL want to brand the title with a designator of the total loss, which will ruin the value if you ever go to sell it. It could possibly also prevent you from even re-insuring it. The state will make you jump through hoops to get it re-certified as a 'salvage' that will have the same effect.

racertracer · **Posted:** Tue Nov 12, 2013 3:42 am

MidWifeMimi,

If you don't have a place to store the vehicle while it is being disassembled and you are not capable of parting the vehicle out yourself, then a buy back is not a good idea.

As others have stated, the price Geico Insurance is offering you is a good price considering the mileage you have. A good running vehicle with a good carriage, clean interior and with that many miles would fetch between $4, 000 to $5,000 today.

I would try to get as much as possible from Geico. It's too much of a headache and an expense to part it out if you are not able to do the work yourself.

Then I would try to locate a good used CRD with a lot less miles and buy it with a warranty, if possible. Maybe difficult to do these days.

I am impressed with the amount of miles on your CRD, an indication that you must take care of it.

I would like to know if you have any horror stories to share. Any major repairs?

1. Have you experienced any major engine problems?
2. Tranny problems?
3. The number of timing belt swaps on the vehicle?
4. What type of oil have you been using?
5. How many torque converter swaps, if any?
6. Are you the first owner?
7. Do you do your own maintenance?
8. Are the miles on the odometer highway miles?

Etcetera.

Racertracer

MidwifeMimi · **Posted:** Tue Nov 12, 2013 8:45 am

My husband is out to sea a lot, so keeping it and parting it out is not an option for me.

I will answer some of your questions, but will have to wait until I get home to look up the others.

We have had no major engine or transmission problems. This has been a GREAT vehicle. We bought it brand new and have done all the routine maintenance according to the owner's manual. I believe the timing belt has been changed twice - at 100k and again at 200k, but I will check on that to be sure. I know all the fluids and filters have been regularly changed, it always seemed like it was time to change some fluid or filter! My husband did some of the maintenance, but he is gone a lot so I have been through a few mechanics before I found the last one who has been wonderful. Now, don't laugh - it is my local DCJ dealership! The shop foreman and the lead mechanic live right near me and are both nice guys. I had a bad experience with a local mechanic who only does Jeeps and assured me his guy knew diesels - not true - and so I took a chance on the dealership. I told them that I had access to a great forum of knowledgable CRD owners and that I knew where they both lived. When I did the GDE tune, Derek was interested and made sure no one tried to flash or plug in their little diagnostic tool when I brought the car in. I had a glow plug fail, so I ordered the 7v metal plugs from Italy and he installed them. Overall, a great experience there. Plus, I could take my car to his house and he would drive it in and then home for me when it needed work. We live about 25 minutes out in the country, so this has been very nice. Anyway ... I did do the tune from GDE, put the new glow plugs in, but nothing else spectacular. Most of the miles would be considered highway miles, since we live so far from town. I remember when the car was newer we had quite a few issues with the torque converter and it was replaced, but it was all covered by the warranty. We have used 5W40 synthetic oil (I think).

I loved that car. I am very sad to see it go. I have not seen it since the accident, but I will be going over today to get the rest of my personal items out of it.

Someone asked if we were injured - no major injuries! I was driving and took the brunt of the impact, but I have had some aches and headaches and nothing more.

Thanks again for your help and advice. I will check my records when I get home and see if I have anything else to report. I am trying to console myself by thinking that it had so many miles on it that it was probably going to give me some major problem soon. I did notice recently that I had to add a little antifreeze from time to time, so I wonder about the integrity of the head and bolts. I would still rather replace the head than think about buying another car. I am unsure about buying a used Liberty, because how will I know it has been taken care of as well as we took care of ours?

I have a few pictures of the car, if anyone is interested in seeing them just send me a message and I will email them to you. It does not look bad to me, but apparently it is. The adjuster told me the known damages were $9000 and the frame was bent.

racertracer · **Posted:** Tue Nov 12, 2013 10:30 am

Thank you, I appreciate your responses.

geordi · **Posted:** Tue Nov 12, 2013 2:46 pm

Where in "The South" are you? Perhaps a member is nearby that has the space and time to do the buyback instead.

Rixram · **Posted:** Fri Nov 15, 2013 4:08 pm

Hmm. $11K would go a long way towards getting a 2007 or 2008 Grand Cherokee CRD, ya know.... GDE has ECMs for those too! I'm hoping to move up to one of those in a few years, myself.

racertracer · **Posted:** Sat Nov 16, 2013 7:19 am

Rixram wrote:

Hmm. $11K would go a long way towards getting a 2007 or 2008 Grand Cherokee CRD, ya know.... GDE has ECMs for those too! I'm hoping to move up to one of those in a few years, myself.

I wouldn't do that Captain Rick, Too many problems with the Mercedes engine in that diesel jeep and the engine cannot be rebuilt.......... Mercedes does not offer replacement parts.

Here is a cut and paste from a post on the Edmunds forums.

" Well we finally dumped this vehicle. It had 134,500 kms with warranty to 160,000 over the next 2 years. We loved the fuel economy, the towing ability, off road ability was great but would have improved with a lift kit and it was comfortable. But after huge warranty repairs we decided we could not take the risk of keeping it. A crate engine is about $35,000 for this thing.

We concluded that the Mercedes engineers who designed the 3.0L CRD V-6 engine had consumed far too many Schnapps and Pilsner's while designing this engine. There is just no excuse for some of the blunders they made when they put this one together. "

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f12fdb9

MidwifeMimi · **Posted:** Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:29 am

I am in NC. It's done - we signed the papers and got the check yesterday.

I saw the Jeep - what a mess! The Geico man said it will be sold at the local salvage sale. Such a sad experience for me. I loved that car.

We are going to take some time to look around and find a suitable replacement. I like the looks of the Audi Q7 - any opinions on that?

BTW - this forum is awesome. Ya'll have been such a help to me with my Jeep through the years.

racertracer · **Posted:** Sat Nov 16, 2013 5:37 pm

MidwifeMimi wrote:

I like the looks of the Audi Q7 - any opinions on that?

If you buy that car, your name will be "fast GrandMimi"

MidwifeMimi · **Posted:** Sat Nov 16, 2013 10:37 pm

Ha! I love it.

thermorex · **Posted:** Sun Nov 17, 2013 12:09 am

Don't forget, Audi is a very expensive maintenance car if you go with dealer work. Jeep dealer maintenance is cheap compared to Audi... When it works, it will leave a smile on your face, but when it doesn't... Parts are also very expensive. And I am a guy that really likes Audi. Same for all German cars. You get the practicality, design, elegance and handling of a top quality car, but when a computer goes bad, you'll want to pull your hair out... It drives you nuts.... Many computer related issues are dealer only. When they run, are a pleasure to drive, but when they don't, you need to win the lottery. For example a jeep computer you can get with 3-700 bucks, an Audi one, way over 1000. And the darn thing doesn't have only one... Don't mean to make you not buying what you want, but please make sure you know what you're getting into. Once again, I really love Audi (my first 3 cars had been Audi, one gasser, one diesel and one turbo diesel, this back on early-late 90s - I lived in Europe then), loved them, but back then those weren't too computerized. Now, all I hear is ppl complaining about computer issues.

Rixram · **Posted:** Mon Nov 18, 2013 12:08 am

racertracer wrote:

Rixram wrote:

Hmm. $11K would go a long way towards getting a 2007 or 2008 Grand Cherokee CRD, ya know.... GDE has ECMs for those too! I'm hoping to move up to one of those in a few years, myself.

I wouldn't do that Captain Rick, Too many problems with the Mercedes engine in that diesel jeep and the engine cannot be rebuilt.......... Mercedes does not offer replacement parts.

Here is a cut and paste from a post on the Edmunds forums.

" Well we finally dumped this vehicle. It had 134,500 kms with warranty to 160,000 over the next 2 years. We loved the fuel economy, the towing ability, off road ability was great but would have improved with a lift kit and it was comfortable. But after huge warranty repairs we decided we could not take the risk of keeping it. A crate engine is about $35,000 for this thing.

We concluded that the Mercedes engineers who designed the 3.0L CRD V-6 engine had consumed far too many Schnapps and Pilsner's while designing this engine. There is just no excuse for some of the blunders they made when they put this one together. "

http://townhall-talk.edmunds.com/direct/view/.f12fdb9

D'oH!

Geico wants to total my 06 CRD - help!

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