2018 Explorer - Written Off... Buy it back?
 

Hey guys so here’s the scoop.

My 2018 Explorer with a solid $3,000 in additions and brand new tires was just written off.

The damage looks to be INCREDIBLY minor, the rear bumper is 98% fine, the back hatch needs to be replaced, but otherwise it is pretty much flawless.

They are offering to sell it back to me for $11k..

When I had the truck the interior was absolutely flawless mint, when I got the truck back there’s a number of small scuffs on the number of the door panels and trim . I made it clear that I wanted the trim and panels to be replaced if they were perminantly scuffed, as they were perfect when I had it. This is a big part of their price evaluation for writing it off.

Keep in mind I did have very recent pictures of it all.

The rear hatch is damaged and needs replacement to be perfect again. The front bumper looks like it needs a single bolt... or zip tie.. the rear bumper cover plastic isn’t perfect, but everything is 100% and the actual bumper itself hasn’t been touched

It is all just cosmetic stuff, it looks like the damage is super superficial and minor.

Their payout to me in total completely covers the cost of my vehicle, so no matter which way I go I’ll be satisfied.

I’ll post some pictures.

My big question is is that if I fast track this how quickly could I get this thing back on the road registered ... do I even need to fix the back hatch ? It still seals and closes... no broken glass...

Anyone with any experience?

https://imgshare.io/image/920KP

I’m confused. A car bought last year for like $65,000 is written off because of 5k of damage? Something doesn’t add up here

This is exactly why I want to buy it Back!

It honestly only has one cosmetic panel that’s damaged do I even need to replace that ???

Plastic bumpers? You sure the end panel, floor and subframe aren't damaged? I've seen so many vehicles (especially with hitches), where the damage looks minor, til you look underneath and behind panels and the frame is buckled.

If you buy it back as salvage, everything needs to be repaired. You'll also need an alignment, mechanical and structural inspection (by an authorized inspector, different from OOP/safety inspection).

This makes 0 sense. You should have been provided a copy of the estimate. Post that

https://ibb.co/MR3P7PW
https://ibb.co/bmkgxnR
https://ibb.co/cCzjbqP
https://ibb.co/N2THVc6


I asked her for documentation, she didn’t have any she could send me.

There is no trailer hitch

Do you have some sort of emotional attachment to the vehicle? Otherwise I'd just provide receipts for the upgrades and then go buy another one, the hassle of going through the repairs, getting it road legal, and then later selling a rebuilt vehicle don't seem worth it.

It's a 2018 Explorer. Dime a dozen. Argue for a higher valuation then take the cheque and get a new one.

Buying back to put on the road, unless if it's a rare classic, is almost always never worth the effort - especially for a modern appliance mobile.

I bought back my NA Miata and the guy who bought it off me to rebuild and put back on the road swore he would never do it again. Go in with eyes wide open...

The total payout to you does not even out if you keep it.

Get paid out, buy a non rebuilt one.

Rebuild it yourself, you lose 30% of the value if you end up selling it next year, ten years from now. Due to a rebuilt title.

Normally I wouldn’t even consider buying it back but look at the damage ....... it’s nothing...

On the surface..

Wait until you’re able to read a report as to why it was written off before giving this any more thought.

So call back and tell them to send me a report? She said she didn’t have one...

The information I did get is that they were going to repair it. Until I told them that I wanted every trim panel replaced that was damaged (as I kept it flawless) once that went through, they changed it from fixable to write off

Doesn’t even look like many trim panels could be damaged. Tailgate inner trim, rear latch floor trim, maybe rear spare tire trim.
Oh well comments like this from people and everyone complains insurance is to high

Vr6gti That’s exactly what I was seeing cosmetic and barely at that... There’s always that possibility that I hit a bit of a jackpot with making sure my vehicle was immaculate and having a bunch of pictures of it being immaculate right before the theft. for $40,000 I want a perfect explorer, for $11k I’ll deal with some scratches..

I highly doubt that that damage caused any sort of even minor damage like wheel alignment issues..

So let’s say I pass the mechanical inspection no problem ...

What’s all involved with the body inspection? Do I have to replace everything that’s dented?

My money's on:
Bumper cover
Upper/lower trim
Licence plate trim
Latch assembly
Parking sensors
Rebar
End panel
Part of the inner 1/4
Hatch
Any misc clips, hardware, consumables
Possibly the trunk floor
R/R, straighten, prep and paint

What makes you think it might be ok to leave damaged panels and still pass inspection?

Pre collision condition. With pics before, during and after repairs. Plus a wheel alignment.

So it was a stolen recovery ?

Yes, they had it for a very short period, and it was found fairly nearby

Thank you for that Fliptuner!

Any ballpark on what you think it might cost to repair? Worth it in your opinion?

Attachment 30942

Perfect example how the bumper cover, is not indicative of the extent of the damage

Wait it was stolen and then crashed? That's another reason I wouldn't want it back, how do you think thieves treat the drivetrain of a stolen vehicle? It'll work fine now but down the line it'd be more prone to failure.

If it was stolen then different story. Would you want to sit in those seats not knowing what those drug induced homeless people were doing in there.

See I knew that wasn’t the whole story. Icbc almost always writes off theft recovery. The list of unknowns is just too high