Fisher Price My First Insurance Claim

What about if you found good used???

Check out JY is places where a low mileage truck may just offer you factory parts @ near nothing costs......

then have a shop do the install if you must

oldeskewltoy wrote: What about if you found good used??? Check out JY is places where a low mileage truck may just offer you factory parts @ near nothing costs...... then have a shop do the install if you must

That's an option if i can find the parts quick after insurance pays me. Problem being that the part is 00-01 specific, and i don't see those years in the yards much.

If the insurance pays you, and it's a decent amount, I'd looking into a full Borla system header in all. I'm not a huge header fan on a non performance vehicle, but the Borla on an XJ is an exception and I want one on mine eventually.

Cotton wrote: If the insurance pays you, and it's a decent amount, I'd looking into a full Borla system header in all. I'm not a huge header fan on a non performance vehicle, but the Borla on an XJ is an exception and I want one on mine eventually.

Do they make a full setup? I'd be down for that.

(EDIT) Blahhhhh.... because 00-01, Borla not available for anything but Cat-back.

Got my first offer from insurance. Higher than i was expecting, but is based on using that horrible Walker front pipe replacement.

Two questions:

1) Do i just call the appraiser and say that the Jeep had OEM front pipe on it, and i want an OEM front pipe?

2) Guys "in the know," are they seriously going to cut me a check for the amount on this sheet? Says i need to take this sheet to repair shop of my choice.

I'm curious, what makes the Walker pipe horrible? Is it shaped wrong or what?

Crush bent, not stainless steel, Walker stuff seems prone to fitment issues.

In reply to Swank Force One:

IIRC, the insurance company doesn't have to authorize OEM parts after the vehicle is so many years old.

I know they don't HAVE to, but i'd rather they do so.

Plus the amount of money they authorized for the cat alone is OBSCENE... i don't understand why they would authorize that, but then go with the cheapass front pipe.

There's probably some EPA regulation in place regarding it

so, just take the check and buy what ever you want

I need to find out if the check goes to me or the shop yet... cant seem to get a clear answer.

You are "stuck" getting it fixed at a shop somewhere. You make the appointment, show up, tell them it's an insurance job, hand them the paper, shop confirms the repair, does the work per the estimate (if possible), and insurance cuts a check to the shop minus your deductible.

That is how I read it because they don't want you to "scam" them out of the money.

The first time our car was hit, they cut us a check for $800 to have it fixed at a shop of our choice after the estimated came out. Wife took the truck to her folks in Modesto on vacation and had it fixed by a friend of a friend down there for cheap, so we kept the remains of the payout.

The second time, I had it estimated at a couple of body shops and told the insurance company which shop I was taking the truck to. The insurance co and the body shop sorted it out.

Both times someone had hit the rear bumper of our Highlander. The first time required a new taillight and bumper support, the second was a new rear bumper.

Just talk to your insurance folks and they can help you out.

And now we see why i'm obviously confused. Two differing viewpoints/answers in quick succession. Not the first time in this thread.

I'll just call my broker in the morning. I have a feeling that theyre going to pay me for damages and fixing the truck is my problem.

They frequently will do it either way.

Option one, send you a check and let you shop out the job or blow the money on whatever you want.

Option two, send the check to the repair shop where you're having it fixed.

I've done both, multiple times.

No, they won't typically pay the shop directly, they'll pay you. Like I mentioned before, their legal obligation is to their policyholder, not the shop. And you're definitely not stuck.

I don't have access to the software your appraiser used, but my guess is they used OEM cat because there isn't a direct fit aftermarket replacement available. If the appraiser didn't take betterment, smile quietly and be happy. They don't owe OEM, and that's why they wrote an aftermarket front pipe. Your insurance policy probably states that somewhere. The Walker one is designed to fit the Jeep, so they'll write for it. You can try to argue for OEM, but honestly you may not win that one. If you weren't planning on using an OEM cat, you could probably take the money and get a cheaper aftermarket cat and then buy an OEM front pipe.

at my home it's worked both ways ... Mom had an "oops" and the check went to the body shop ... they cashed the check, fixed the car... everyone was satisfied ... other times the ins. has sent me the check, I've done with it what I wanted

we've just told the adjuster how we wanted it ... the money is ours, how we want to spend it is our choice

Thanks everyone. I need to call the appraiser anyways.

Looking at the parts list, he's got two things on there i DON'T need, and does NOT have the front pipe at all on the estimate.

He's got the Y-pipe, and one of the header portions i guess? (Don't need either of these, cheap parts) Does not have the front S-pipe. (Expensive part.)

Is an OEM cat even available? I know they list for about $1200, but are there any actually in the system? Your XJ is 13 now, and Chrysler had a bankruptcy. Not all of the parts that originally went into building your Jeep are still available.

The Walker is one of the better aftermarket ones out there. I haven't seen the Jeep piece, but I've used plenty of other Walker exhaust parts over the years with no problem.

Rob_Mopar wrote: Is an OEM cat even available? I know they list for about $1200, but are there any actually in the system? Your XJ is 13 now, and Chrysler had a bankruptcy. Not all of the parts that originally went into building your Jeep are still available. The Walker is one of the better aftermarket ones out there. I haven't seen the Jeep piece, but I've used plenty of other Walker exhaust parts over the years with no problem.

Looks like i can get it somewhere if i want to, yes... $1235 is list price.

The Walker part i have a problem with is this one. I DO need this pipe section, but it's not listed on the estimate at all. That said, thepictures for Walker 53440 on current ebay auctions don't look quite this bad. They don't look crush bent anymore, but there's one nasty kink right before one of the flanges.