My Poor, Innocent Jetta. Totaled or Not? You Be the Judge.

NewEnglander said:
My poor unoffensive, innocent Jetta. Last night it was minding it's own business, parked unoccupied on the street, was hit hard on the rear/side by what I am guessing was a drunk driver in their beautiful, brand new 2023 Mazda CX-5. Their airbag deployed and apparently the car was unable to continue despite their best, dishonorable efforts.

So, the driver got out of the car and fled the scene down the street. The 5-0 showed up pretty quick but had not located the driver last I knew. However, we have the owner name and their insurance company so I imagine there will be more to the story.

Anyway, the nice police produced a good report for me that I filed with my insurance company, USAA, and dropped the car off to my autobody guy around the corner. My guess is the USAA estimate person will look at it on Monday.

What do ya'll think? Repairable? Maybe, but worth it? The wheel is quite bent (indeed, broken) so my biggest concern is not the wheel or the panels but wondering about the state of the axle and everything else one can't see as much from these pictures. Welcome your views!

View attachment 191155View attachment 191156
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Really difficult to see anything. It looks like wrinkled sheetmetal. If nothing underneath is bent then you should be good.
 
USAA is pretty decent they took care of me on my truck. They have a threshold. I am guessing if that is 5000 bucks you won't be seeing that car again unless you are grabbing personal items out of it.
 
So now time for a nice lit up, and a total side of the whole car picture. Can't see much in a close up. I say replace the wheel and drive it.
Paint that side with a nice picture to cover the mess.
 
Auto damage adjuster here.

If correctly written it will be expensive, $7-$9k. If the adjuster is creative, it can become a "constructive total loss".

Clean retail is $17,600 assuming 50k miles on the odo.
Clean retail is $16,025 assuming 70k miles on the odo.
Clean retail is $14,550 assuming 90k miles on the odo.

New Qtr ($1044), damage to wheel house, blend / rpr lr door, tail light possibly cracked, new rear bumper if tabs are damaged beyond repair, blend trunk and roof rail. New wheel, tire, a few suspension parts. Frame machine setup & pull, alignment, misc. items & R&I interior.

MA uses a total loss formula instead of a total loss threshold (usually 75%). With the TLF you can use presumptive damages to inflate the visible damage estimate and make it a total loss.

Let's say the adjuster writes a visible damage estimate to $9k and sees that there is a large chance there could be additional hidden damage. The adjuster can write a hidden damage estimate with all kinds of suspension and internal damage, that might not even be likely, but calls it presumptive to get another $5k in damage. With the cost of towing, storage, and salvage value combined, now you have a total.
 
Owen Lucas said:
Auto damage adjuster here.

If correctly written it will be expensive, $7-$9k. If the adjuster is creative, it can become a "constructive total loss".

Clean retail is $17,600 assuming 50k miles on the odo.
Clean retail is $16,025 assuming 70k miles on the odo.
Clean retail is $14,550 assuming 90k miles on the odo.

New Qtr ($1044), damage to wheel house, blend / rpr lr door, tail light possibly cracked, new rear bumper if tabs are damaged beyond repair, blend trunk and roof rail. New wheel, tire, a few suspension parts. Frame machine setup & pull, alignment, misc. items & R&I interior.

MA uses a total loss formula instead of a total loss threshold (usually 75%). With the TLF you can use presumptive damages to inflate the visible damage estimate and make it a total loss.

Let's say the adjuster writes a visible damage estimate to $9k and sees that there is a large chance there could be additional hidden damage. The adjuster can write a hidden damage estimate with all kinds of suspension and internal damage, that might not even be likely, but calls it presumptive to get another $5k in damage. With the cost of towing, storage, and salvage value combined, now you have a total.
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I remember Jettas lacking a roof molding too, so sometimes you end up clearing the whole roof and other side depending on the shop and if they want to burn in some clear or not. Not sure on this model if that is still the case.
 
Owen Lucas said:
Auto damage adjuster here.

If correctly written it will be expensive, $7-$9k. If the adjuster is creative, it can become a "constructive total loss".

Clean retail is $17,600 assuming 50k miles on the odo.
Clean retail is $16,025 assuming 70k miles on the odo.
Clean retail is $14,550 assuming 90k miles on the odo.

New Qtr ($1044), damage to wheel house, blend / rpr lr door, tail light possibly cracked, new rear bumper if tabs are damaged beyond repair, blend trunk and roof rail. New wheel, tire, a few suspension parts. Frame machine setup & pull, alignment, misc. items & R&I interior.

MA uses a total loss formula instead of a total loss threshold (usually 75%). With the TLF you can use presumptive damages to inflate the visible damage estimate and make it a total loss.

Let's say the adjuster writes a visible damage estimate to $9k and sees that there is a large chance there could be additional hidden damage. The adjuster can write a hidden damage estimate with all kinds of suspension and internal damage, that might not even be likely, but calls it presumptive to get another $5k in damage. With the cost of towing, storage, and salvage value combined, now you have a total.
Click to expand...
Owen, you are awesome when it comes this stuff. You certainly helped me with my truck's accident.
 
RhondaHonda said:
I remember Jettas lacking a roof molding too, so sometimes you end up clearing the whole roof and other side depending on the shop and if they want to burn in some clear or not. Not sure on this model if that is still the case.
Click to expand...
Oh yes, those were super annoying. I've cleared a few roofs for that reason! I think that generation also had the laser welded aperture panels, so instead of drilling out pinch welds, the techs had to grind the welds off, they did not like those jobs!

ls1mike said:
Owen, you are awesome when it comes this stuff. You certainly helped me with my truck's accident.
Click to expand...
Happy to help. I am glad it turned out so well for you, USAA knows how to take care of their insureds!
 
IF he wirtes it for a total then the OP will be in the jungle of this current car market.....
 
If it doesn't total he's in the current jungle of parts and labor availability market... not real sure which would pick... hope he has something else to drive cause its going be out of service for a month best case and probably longer...
 
I’m going to throw in a vote that it is totaled.

This same gen GLI (2017 w/83k miles) without suspension damage was deemed a total loss recently. No airbags deployed in the below vehicle.

IMG_2104.jpeg
 
pezzy84 said:
I’m going to throw in a vote that it is totaled.

This same gen GLI (2017 w/83k miles) without suspension damage was deemed a total loss recently. No airbags deployed in the below vehicle.

View attachment 191340
Click to expand...
I've fixed damage like that before. New hood, fender, and bumper, pull core support straight with winch and then use big hammer to make the radiator fit. Or replace the core support if it's plastic
 
costs run UP in a hurry with todays expensive parts with paint being CRAZY spendy!! good luck!!
 
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