Prologue

I had a lot going on.  For three months I had been working a new job opportunity and it had finally come through.   That alone might be enough but to add to things, I was going to be selling my home of the last 13 years and moving 200 miles to a new town and a new home.  New Job, New House, New just about everything.  The last few weeks had been particular tough because I was waiting on some processing to take place so I could get a start date and give notice at my old job.  It was weighing pretty heavily on me and I supposed sooner or later something had to give.

Muster

The last several days, I had been working on the customer site.  This required a longer commute and a more complex working environment.  Suffice to say I was pretty tired by the time Friday rolled around.  I got up really early so I could get to work before the traffic got bad.   I threw breakfast down and got out to the Jeep.  It was still dark.

I drove to the end of the driveway and stopped.  Everyone who comes to my house gets the same advice when they are preparing to leave:  "Be careful pulling out - the traffic comes fast and you need to be sure nothing is coming."  I even go so far as to suggest that they watch the traffic light down the road a few hundred yards and wait for it to turn red so the traffic abates somewhat.  We have a slightly blind driveway though really it should not be a problem but people go past doing about 50 MPH so the reaction time is not what it would be travelling slower.

At the end of the driveway I looked to the left.  Nothing coming.  Light still blinking yellow like it does until 6:00am.  Looked to the right.  Hmmmm...  The car coming was about 1/4 mile away and traveling at a reasonable speed.  Plenty of time for me to pull out and go to the left.  So I slipped the clutch, started to move forward as I cut to the left, then out of the corner of my eye I saw the front of a vehicle as my headlights hit it.  And it was on a collision course with the front of the Jeep.  There was nothing I could do but lock the brakes, thank God for ABS, and brace myself for the

C R A S H!

It was like an explosion.   Pieces of metal and plastic scattered in all directions.  There was no skidding.  The minivan I hit continued in the same direction as it had been traveling, from my left to my right, and my Jeep was spun to the right and stopped moving facing to the right.  It was still running and in one piece as far as I could tell, so I drove it out of the road, because I knew that more traffic would not be far behind, even at this early hour.

I sat for a moment after the crash to wait for pain, blood or some other sign of injury.  There was none.   But I came to that sinking realization that the people in the other vehicle could be in bad shape, and for certain the Jeep was not going to be untouched.

I must admit I was pretty mad.  I did a terrible job of containing my anger towards the people who emerged from the minivan.  I wasn't aggressive towards them or trying to blame them, but I was not very friendly.  Much later as I was able to calm down, I apologized for my attitude.

My wife heard the crash but dismissed it at first when she could see nothing out the oblique view from the upstairs bedroom.  But curiosity got the better of her and she soon learned that indeed, it had been me.

And her contribution to what followed was enormous.  She got me calmed down.  She kept me in check.  And since the driver and passengers of the other vehicle spoke no English, she translated for us.  The usual exchange of info followed and the Police were summoned upon the discovery that the driver did not own the car and did not have a driver's license...

By the time the Police came, we had moved our vehicles out of the road and were sitting on my front porch some 80 feet from the road.  But for some unknown reason the Police Officer parked his squad car in the lane of traffic and insisted on conducting a discussion with us on the side of the road.  This quickly attracted attention from the normal bumper-to-bumper traffic that goes by the house in the morning.  And eventually three people who were looking at the Police Car crashed into each other because of the distraction.  It was a disaster.  I can't understand why the officer found it necessary to park where he did, and felt a little bad for the lookee-loo's who paid for it.

I got cited for pulling into traffic, the driver got cited for not having a license, and the owner of the vehicle who had arrived to give the guys a ride was cited for allowing an unlicensed driver to use his car.  Hey!  Get your tickets here!

Once all this cleared up and everyone went home, I took an inventory of the damage.  Here is what I came up with:

And of course the labor and painting.   The frame was clearly shifted to the right. 

The steering wheel centered steered the Jeep noticeable to the right - no surprise due to the nature of the impact.   The frame machine should take care of that.

The winch plate was heavily damaged - the mini brush guard was pushed back and the plate bent where it mounts to the bumper.

The winch was pushed back into the grill.   The A/C Condenser behind the grill was compromised.  The front tow hooks were intact but the mounting bolts were heavily bent.

The right fender was all but torn off the vehicle.  The front bumper was still straight but heavily scratched and one of the rubber bumper pads was gouged up.

The fan shroud met the fan and the net result was a warped fan and munched fan shroud.  The battery shifted despite being well anchored.  It cracked the end cover of the relay box, a part that only comes as a component of a new relay box kit.  It can probably be sourced from a junk yard.

I could go into a long unhealth harangue about my experience with insurance and the body shop.  The main issue to be resolved was the now common "OEM vs. Aftermarket" parts debacle.  My insurance covers OEM parts.  My vehicle parts are commonly available from several dealers.   For some reason the body shop insisted over my written selection to use OEM parts that I was not entitled to OEM parts and would not be getting OEM parts.  I call to the insurance company appears to have corrected that situation though I am going to be watching very closely as it goes back together to be sure that it is not slipped over on me.

To the body shops credit, they quickly let me know that they were unable to source the winch plate, roller fairlead, and number plate holder.  I offered and they "allowed" me to get the parts and bring them to the shop.  I put a call in to Jeff at Adrenaline Offroad and he got them shipped to me at my house.  At this writing I am only waiting for the number plate holder.

When going over the parts to be replaced it surfaced that they were going to replace my factory front bumper and one of the rubber pieces.  The factory cost was about $180.  They allowed me to order an Garvin bumper and pay the additional cost, which eliminates the need to purchase the bumper later.

While the vehicle was in the shop, I removed the J.K.S. "Quicker" Disconnects and shipped them to J.K.S. to be refurbished.  One of the hard bushings was cracked and a couple were a little chewed up. 

Though this damage was not caused by the accident, it was a good opportunity to get them fixed when the vehicle was not being driven.  I did save my factory connects so if the parts are not back when the Jeep is finished, I have options...

I cannot recommend this to anyone.   I was in a fog for almost four days.  The dealings with the insurance company and body shop, for me, are something I would not wish on my worst enemy.  And while I am very grateful the insurance covered a rental car, it's tough to drive a Ford Taurus when you're used to a Jeep.

See my separate write-up for details of the repair...