I was rear-ended by a USPS truck the other day, with damage to the rear bumper, rear tire cover, tow hitch slightly bent, trailer plug bent and the rear tailgate door having an indent from the tire being forceable pushed in. More concerning I have noticed one tow loop is pushed inward, I'm assuming damage to the rear crash bar and possibly the unibody.

Wonder if anyone else has run into a similar unfortunate situation... what damage was found after further inspection and/or any recommendations on navigating this properly to ensure I don't run into any issues further down the road.

Thanks

USPS truck Damage

Rear of myDefender

2023.5 110 Defender

 

Sorry about your accident. I got rear ended twice, once in a 2020, and once in a 2023 Defender and both times the car was a total loss. It is hard to tell from the pictures you provided if your frame is damaged. Best advice is to take it to a body shop specializing in aluminum repairs, preferably a Land Rover certified one, and let them put it up on a lift so that they can inspect it thoroughly.
Good luck and hopefully yours did not get any frame damage. Make sure you ask for diminished value from the insurance company.

 

Glad you are OK, that is the most important part.

Looks similar to the damage I had after being rear ended. You will need a new bumper cover, the shock absorbing piece under it, new heat shield, new crash bar, tow hooks probably a new hitch. Be sure to inspect the spare tire for damage and put it on a tire balancing machine to determine if the wheel was bent. They may want to repair the rear door, but push to get a new one if that spare tire mount is really pushed-in. I did not have any unibody damage and I suspect you won't either as the spare tire absorbed most of the impact.

 

Thank you Paul,

I am hoping for no unibody damage... Did you work out any diminished value for the accident on your vehicle?

 

No, I did not even think of that. I use the Defender for work and deduct most of the cost of the vehicle anyway. Will be interesting to see how much trade-in value is deducted for the accident when the 2025 I ordered to replace it arrives in November.

 

Yours looks / sounds about like mine... somewhat lengthy thread, but pics are in there (just my iPhone pics, nothing fancy). Was rear-ended on the freeway at ~40-50mph by a GMC work van. Lost the rear window, rear tire and door pushed in / damaged, tow hook, tow hitch / receiver, every rear body piece of course, even muffler up to the catalytic converter. And a full side repaint because of a tiny chip in the rear quarter panel caused by rear panel pushing into it.

ALL that said, at a JLR manufacturer-certified shop, $21k in parts and another $12-13k in labor (Washington is NOT cheap). And remarkably (especially based on the full shop estimate) no frame damage. I am afraid of what the poor thing looks like torn apart while waiting on parts, but it escaped without anything to the frame itself.

Here's the thread I posted w/ pics and description etc. Hopefully doesn't scare the crud out of you when you go get an actual tear-down estimate. These things can be expensive. Hopefully USPS also has good insurance so your insurance doesn't have to subrogate against theirs!!!

https://landroverforums.com/forum/20...reeway-122065/

-Matthew

 

Don’t be surprised by a really low adjuster bid. Insurances do that to just start the discussion and to let the shop you take it to do the deep dive. The insurance I was dealing with gave me grief about LRs hourly rate their “certified aluminum body shop work”, so just be aware of that potential…

as far as diminished value, I’ve never had luck in the two accidents I’ve tried to claim and acquire that. I don’t know who these people are that are lucking out on getting any real meaningful diminished value. Mines always been under $1,000. And that was before Covid causing insurance companies to clamp down harder on reimbursements.

glad you’re okay. GL with the repairs.

 

Thank you everyone for their replies and well wishes. Very informative