RIP KJ

Well, my KJ is gone . I was going down a highway at about 60mph, when a 17 year old kid driving his parents' old Ford Ranger decided to blow a stopsign coming from a side street. He attempted to cross the highway right in front of me. I was unable to swerve out of the way due to traffic in the other lanes. I jumped on my brakes, but still ended up hitting the rear corner of his truck.

https://ibb.co/12DZ0C3
https://ibb.co/r27WDfp

It's kinda hard to see in the pictures, but the radiator and trans cooler are bent all the way back against the engine block. Insurance hasn't done an official report yet, but they said they're 99% sure it's going to be a total loss.

I put in a different engine. Replaced the whole exhaust system, the steering system, the entire suspension, pretty much the entire cooling system, rebuilt the transfer case, numerous other things. I went to about a dozen junkyards to get different colored interior trim pieces, and all the silver ones from Limiteds. I basically turned the interior of my Sport into an extra fancy Limited.
But the insurance of course doesn't care about any of that. All they see is a 15-year old vehicle with 200K miles. So I'll probably get like $20 from them.


I just picked up a 2014 Jeep Patriot. It's nice, a lot of useful features that the KJ didn't have. But still, after all the work I put in my KJ, I'd trade this Patriot back for it in a heartbeat.

I'd keep it and fix it if frame not bend

Dig up receipts for all of your upgrades. My brother did this when someone t-boned his 65 vw Baja and was actually compensated respectfully

Whoa, glad your ok brother.
Look for another KJ, I'm loving mine and only had it for a few months.
Well, actually it's the wife's.

Big Al said:

Whoa, glad your ok brother.
Look for another KJ, I'm loving mine and only had it for a few months.
Well, actually it's the wife's.

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You gonna part it out? If the doors are rust free id love to get two of em.

document, document, document everything you've done, send it to the other guy's insurance as a big ass stack of paper, with a valuation. look up comparables, not just in the 200k range but lower miles as well. If I can get $3000 from an insurance company for a 1992 Dodge Shadow for a similar type of accident (teenage driver pulled out and I banged her tail) you can probably get more.
It doesn't hurt to try.

Sorry Royy to hear about the collision. Hope the cops gave the teen some tickets for failure to stop etc.
I hope insurance does understand how much work you have done to your kj, & buying back from them after a good settlement, might be something u would consider.
I'd try to fix it, like Tom said, as long as frame isn't bent. Might be able to find a lot of good front end parts from a JY.

I'm glad you were able to walk away. I would be devastated if this had happened to me. Our KJ is part of the family.

I 100% agree with SOTA and what several others have already posted. Documentation of the work you put into the vehicle can make a massive difference in what you receive from insurance. I have a buddy in the biz. His advide to me has always been "Never say yes when you're not sure, and stay all over your insurance provider to make certain they are advocating for you."

Good thing you're OK.

As others have said, don't take the first insurance offer, haggle with them about the upgrades.

I would try to buy it from the insurance co and fix it . -Plenty of black KJ'S to get parts from.

Thanks for all the advice about dealing with the insurance everyone. I've gathered all the receipts for all the major work I've done on it. Just waiting to hear from the insurance adjuster now.

As far as buying it back and fixing it up goes, unless the insurance pays me a LOT more than I'm expecting, it probably won't be possible. I'll need to use most of the insurance money to cover the downpayment for the new vehicle, which I put on my credit card.

And out of all the KJs I've seen at junkyards here in the state, only very few had usable front end body parts. So I'd have to buy the majority of the stuff new. That would add up to a lot of money, due to the sheer amount of body parts I'd have to replace. Plus radiator, trans cooler & lines, etc. Plus, not knowing if the frame is bent, and not knowing if there's damage to the front of the actual engine block... I'm just not in a position where I can afford to spend that kind of money on restoring a second vehicle, unfortunately.

Too bad you are not closer , I have parts
and deal with the insurance company like its your Ex wife
They try and give you very bottom dollar

The insurance company ended up offering just a little over 4k, which was honestly a lot more than I was expecting. I might have been able to squeeze a couple hundred more dollars out of it, but I just wanted to be done with the whole situation. This was at least enough to cover the downpayment for the new Jeep, and the first couple of monthly payments.

They did say there was a small crack in the frame, so properly repairing it would not have been an option for me (not without spending way too much money on it at least).

I'm glad to hear they offered at least 4K...What "new or newer" jeep did you have now??

LibertyTC said:

I'm glad to hear they offered at least 4K...What "new or newer" jeep did you have now??

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A 2014 Patriot Limited. It's a nice vehicle, and I like that it's a lot newer, but I'm really not a fan of the I4 engine. Compared to the V6 KJ, it really lacks in power. And only having a 13.5 gallons fuel tank gets pretty inconvenient at times.

My cousin traded in his Liberty for a Patriot a couple years back. (Didn't like driving something out of warranty, so he trades in regularly.) He told me he missed the Liberty but overall was quite happy with the Patriot. He lives on a farm, so getting around is not always as easy as cruising down down a suburban nicely-paved road.

Is yours new? Because I heard a few years back (there is a post about it on here somewhere) that Jeep beefed up the suspension and transmission in recent years and it received high marks as a nice compromise between being affordable yet also being able to handle some not-so-great driving conditions.

Royy said:

A 2014 Patriot Limited. It's a nice vehicle, and I like that it's a lot newer, but I'm really not a fan of the I4 engine. Compared to the V6 KJ, it really lacks in power. And only having a 13.5 gallons fuel tank gets pretty inconvenient at times.

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The Patriot Ltd is an interesting vehicle, I had looked at one. If I remember correctly the LTD has 4x4 with the larger 2.4 engine.
Even though towing capacity with the 2.4 is limited to 2000lbs with trailer hitch/cooling package, it does have way better fuel economy, so your range should still be better than KJ ?
I think they had a 6 speed auto too.

We picked up a Patriot vs sending my daughter across the country in her Liberty. Its a very different vehicle. We got a 15 with the 2.4 and the non-CV ******. Its 4X4 but not trail rated (there are 2 levels of 4x4 in these Patriots). We loaded it up and crossed the country. With a luggage room carrier and loaded up with stuff for a move, the Patriot barely kept up with traffic coming out of the desert into LA. You had to wind the 4 ****** up to super high RPMs miles on end to stay with pack. I would never think about towing with it.

That being said, unloaded with gear, it is great for the urban area she is in. Its got high visibility all around, has enough get up and go for merging into CA traffic, and if she goes up to big bear lake or heads to the mountains, she can drop it in 4X4.

In terms of the Liberty, even though we are pushing 190K, I just can't get rid of it. I find I drive it more than my Taco. I even tow the boat with it some, but get out the truck for the longer tows.

The Liberty is a small tank. The Patriot is 4x4 4-door car with Jeep SUV styling and traits.

profdlp said:

My cousin traded in his Liberty for a Patriot a couple years back. (Didn't like driving something out of warranty, so he trades in regularly.) He told me he missed the Liberty but overall was quite happy with the Patriot. He lives on a farm, so getting around is not always as easy as cruising down down a suburban nicely-paved road.

Is yours new? Because I heard a few years back (there is a post about it on here somewhere) that Jeep beefed up the suspension and transmission in recent years and it received high marks as a nice compromise between being affordable yet also being able to handle some not-so-great driving conditions.

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It's a 2014. The transmission upgrade was from 2015 on I believe. Mine has the CVT transmission, which from what I've read is definitely a weak point. I looked for one with the upgraded transmission, but the only one I could find close to here didn't have 4x4. But I don't do any real off-roading, so I'm not too worried about it.
Not sure about the suspension. It seems fine so far. And if it ever turns out to be an issue, that's something I can adjust pretty easily myself anyway.

LibertyTC said:

The Patriot Ltd is an interesting vehicle, I had looked at one. If I remember correctly the LTD has 4x4 with the larger 2.4 engine.
Even though towing capacity with the 2.4 is limited to 2000lbs with trailer hitch/cooling package, it does have way better fuel economy, so your range should still be better than KJ ?
I think they had a 6 speed auto too.

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I'm getting about 20mpg, which is the same as my KJ. My KJ actually got better highway mileage than the Patriot. I'm guessing it's because the 2.4 I4 simply has to work a lot harder to maintain 80mph than the 3.7.

jeepop said:

The Liberty is a small tank. The Patriot is 4x4 4-door car with Jeep SUV styling and traits.

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I think that's definitely a very accurate comparison!

When the "trail rated" badge was put on the kj it still meant they actually put the vehicle through its paces. Since then it's a piece of trim. At least that's the story I heard. Not saying your Patriot isn't cool.