Rock Hit, Undercarriage Damage, What Would you Do?

[Finally-a-V]

If you tell your insurance agent, but don't actually file a claim yet, I don't see how that would affect your insurance any.

Right. My agent was pretty cool. You could call him and ask his advice. He'd then give you options and let you know how your choice would effect you and your policy.

 

[Speed Racer 007]

Calling the insurance company, before getting an inspection from a dealer, is probably the worst idea I’ve read on this thread. Obviously, none of us have any idea what your deductible nor premium is on an annual basis. Nevertheless, it looks like everything is cosmetic, so no reason to replace/repair anything. The aluminum plate did what it was designed for.

Not sure why you're saying this as it's a NO FAULT claim, doesn't do shit against the policy. I've put in a handful of similar claims with different carriers over the years and all I had to do was pay the deductible!

Good luck "duck man." haha

 

[rubberduck]

I don’t know if this is true but my Google research indicates that hitting “natural” road debris is “at-fault” with the premise being that one should avoid the debris. Hope this isn’t true as this is pretty stupid. Further research shows that people swerving to avoid road debris causes a lot of more serious accidents and injury. I was always taught that unless one has time to determine a safe exit route around the debris it’s better to take the hit. Now there are situations where taking the hit is far more dangerous than a possible unsafe braking or lane change maneuver. - Like hitting a deer at 75mph.

There was one instance when driving my AMG on an Interstate highway where a semi tire blew and debris was hurdling through the air. I did slam on the brakes enough to rapidly decelerate to avoid the debris, but it was not all that safe a maneuver because I didn’t have enough time to check behind me. I was going off of knowledge that was 15 to 30 seconds old and the fact that there was not much traffic. That one is really a crap shoot because a large section of tire hitting the windshield can be bad news. In the case of a small rock (not a boulder) I did and would follow the general rule of only avoid if safe to do so.

 

[Speed Racer 007]

I hit a large raccoon in my AMG last year that did 4K in damage and that was classified as NF. 250 deductible and I moved on

 

[Berserker]

Here in Texas there is a legal requirement to report an automobile accident that causes more than $1,000 of damage.

 

[AZHEAT]

Calling the insurance company, before getting an inspection from a dealer, is probably the worst idea I’ve read on this thread. Obviously, none of us have any idea what your deductible nor premium is on an annual basis. Nevertheless, it looks like everything is cosmetic, so no reason to replace/repair anything. The aluminum plate did what it was designed for.

This. The insurance company is not your friend, no matter how cool your agent seems. Even if you don’t end up making a claim, this can end up being an “open claim“, from what I understand. It usually makes absolutely no sense to make small claims, given the fact that increased premiums will typically more than make up for any small payment they make. I look at insurance as catastrophic only coverage and wouldn’t consider a small claim

Even multiple ”free”, no deductible windshield replacements can be problematic from the premium standpoint and there have been instances of people actually being dropped due to multiple claims like this.

With what we pay in premiums it‘s tempting to make even small claims, but rarely a good idea.

 

[dstewart51]

Ive hit several animals that did signifcant damage, a deer at 60 MPH dead center, and a raccoon (I think) at 110. Both times it was a no fault claim with my insurance. The deer I could understand, but it was amazing how much damage the racoon did. Both times in previous vehicles.

 

[Finally-a-V]

FWIW...I believe a deer is a comprehensive claim. In theory, your rates should not go up. At least that's how it was when I hit a deer years ago. One would ass-u-me rocks would be the same. That said, I had a co-worker years ago who swerved to avoid a deer and ran off the road into a curb and jersey barrier. That became a collision claim as the insurance company said she "lost control" of her car.

 

[rubberduck]

This is my understanding. To keep using the rock situation, if a rock falls off a mountain and hits the car that is comprehensive, if a rock is laying on the road stationary that is collision.

 

[dstewart51]

So the rock slid off the mountain direclty into your way and there simply was no warning or way to avoid it. Sounds comprehensive to me.

 

[Finally-a-V]

And thank the Lord you missed those big boulders.

 

[rubberduck]

Now that you mention it, the rock did look like it was moving right before I hit it.

 

[Akamai58]

A large rock took out my windshield on my BW4 and can't get it replaced until the 17th, $1659. for replacement. It's still drivable but doesn't look good. I will not drive my BW5 in all the rain we are having.

 

[GTANotch88]

What about just pricing out replacement braces/crossmember? and seeing how much a shop would charge to swap them out. Any maybe if an aftermarket catback comes out, you could get that or find someone selling their nice oem takeoff.

 

[rubberduck]

A large rock took out my windshield on my BW4 and can't get it replaced until the 17th, $1659. for replacement. It's still drivable but doesn't look good. I will not drive my BW5 in all the rain we are having.

Is that the normal cost of car windshields these days. I haven't had a windshield replaced in a very long time and this is shocking. Is it Gorilla glass or something else exotic?

 

[MatthewAMEL]

Is that the normal cost of car windshields these days. I haven't had a windshield replaced in a very long time and this is shocking. Is it Gorilla glass or something else exotic?

Not sure if @Akamai58 has an A10 or M6, but I know that on my daughters A10 Accord, it was >$1,000 for the windshield. There are all sorts of weird areas of the glass for the forward looking sensors.

For the BW, I'm going with Exoshield Windshield Protection Film | ExoShield

My wife owned her Wrangler for 10 days before getting the windshield nailed by a rock, we put it on hers. Perfectly clear. Protects against anything short of a gunshot.

The 2023 Wranglers now offer an option to have the front windshield made of Gorilla Glass. It's an extra $700.

 

[rubberduck]

Not sure if @Akamai58 has an A10 or M6, but I know that on my daughters A10 Accord, it was >$1,000 for the windshield. There are all sorts of weird areas of the glass for the forward looking sensors.

For the BW, I'm going with Exoshield Windshield Protection Film | ExoShield

My wife owned her Wrangler for 10 days before getting the windshield nailed by a rock, we put it on hers. Perfectly clear. Protects against anything short of a gunshot.

The 2023 Wranglers now offer an option to have the front windshield made of Gorilla Glass. It's an extra $700.

I know about the Wrangler Gorilla glass and most people on the forums haven’t had good luck with it and wouldn’t get it again. I have a 2014 JKU and have a lot of windshield pebble hits and don’t worry about it unless there is a big crack. It’s a “Jeep thing” as we say.

 

[KatyTxCT5V]

Is that the normal cost of car windshields these days. I haven't had a windshield replaced in a very long time and this is shocking. Is it Gorilla glass or something else exotic?

Windshields with “HUD” and “low sound laminate” are a couple of extra factors for increased costs. My A7 Audi was $1,744 and thank god I had purchased the windshield protection plan for $1,200 for up to 5 windshields or 7yrs, whichever come first. The plan puts back in OEM glass and alignment of cameras.

When I asked the Cadillac dealer, they claim glass protection plan wasn’t as good as the Audi I currently have.

 

[Berserker]

When I asked the Cadillac dealer, they claim glass protection plan wasn’t as good as the Audi I currently have.

They tried to sell me one of these. IIRC, it was like for 3 or 4 years, covered one replacement, and had a total cost equal to about one replacement.

 

[1Evil55]

Not sure if @Akamai58 has an A10 or M6, but I know that on my daughters A10 Accord, it was >$1,000 for the windshield. There are all sorts of weird areas of the glass for the forward looking sensors.

For the BW, I'm going with Exoshield Windshield Protection Film | ExoShield

My wife owned her Wrangler for 10 days before getting the windshield nailed by a rock, we put it on hers. Perfectly clear. Protects against anything short of a gunshot.

The 2023 Wranglers now offer an option to have the front windshield made of Gorilla Glass. It's an extra $700.

Dont waste your money on the gorilla shit. At least for a Wrangler it will not hold up like you think. I've replaced the windshield twice in the last year in my JLUR. Both times I held out til the spider effect.. Visit the JL forums and you will see the GG isn't worth it.