Quote:
Originally posted by bold_n_brazen
I have a 2001 Jeep Grand Cherokee with just over 90,000 miles on it. The plan is to drive it another year and then get something new.
On Sunday, I was involved in a parking lot collision that resulted in a dent in the back liftgate (it's a 4 on a scale of 1-10) and a crack to the bumper and a scratch on the taillight. The liftgate still works.
I went to a Dent Doctor place and they told me it's too big to pull out. The body shop estimates $1600 to replace the liftgate and $2500 to fix the whole mess.
So... what do I do? Do I fix it? Do I submit a claim to insurance ($500 deductable)? Do I drive it as it is, knowing the car isn't going to be worth shit in a year anyway?
I actually (God help me) trust your opinions, so lay it on me.
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Sounds like the dent is not causing any serious damage to the car. Here's my take on it.
If you can live with the dent and the scratch, do so. I did a quick analysis on
Kelley Blue Book of the value of your car, and it came up with:
Excellent $6,100
Good $5,545
Fair $4,580
for a 2001 6 cylinder, automatic, two wheel drive Grand Cherokee Limited with 90,000 miles and no special options. Figure that's about $1,000 difference if the body didn't have the dent versus the dent being there. It would cost you more than that to fix it.
If the accident was your fault, you're out the $500 now, and increased insurance premiums later. (Believe me, for small claims, the insurance companies get their money back. You should consider raising your deductible to something like $1,000 or $2,000 or so - otherwise, if you make small claims, they'll get the money back in increased premiums later, and you also could save on your premiums for the higher deductible.) So, an insurance claim probably is not worth it.
At the time of the new car purchase, you could either trade your car in, and take the $1,000 hit, or you could donate it to a charity and take the full value of the car as a tax deduction. Well, I take that back. You could a couple of years ago; I'm not sure that rule remains in place and unchanged. If it is in place, take the tax deduction, and get a better deal on the purchase of the car - no haggling over the value of the car, etc.
