Got rearended, few questions

[SMR1TL]

Well crap, only had it for 4 months and I got hit. About a 40mph impact while I was turning. Spun me around and tossed me into a field. Wouldn't ya know, it was a Ford F350 that nailed me Been driving for 10 years now and this is my first real wreck... excluding a run in with a garage



My questions are about part prices.



How much do the following cost:



front right fender (hit a post in the spinning process)

SRW bed

rear bumper

Trailer support bar under bumper.



Thats all that appears to be damaged after a 30min going over. I am extremely surprised in how little damage there is... His entire front driver side was destroyed pretty much. We had to pry his door open lol.



I just want to get an idea on what they cost before I go round and around with his insurance company and the local body shops.



If the forum will let me post pics I got two for yall

 

[SMR1TL]

pic of the tailgate

 

[Blakers]

I know how you feel. I totalled by perfect 95 back in April when a little old lady in a Neon pulled out in front of me and I drove over it. That got me the 03, but I never would have traded had I not have had to.



It's good no one was hurt and that it was the other guy's fault.



Best of luck to you getting your baby back the way it was.



Blake

 

[Fireman]

Rear bumber-$520



Tailgate unpainted- about $300



That's all I can tell you, not much, but it's a start.



Hate it happened man.



Fireman

 

[Posm]

You may want to look at some of the big flat bed manufactures for take off beds. Your color is popular and might find a bed and tailgate for less than the tail gate costs. The tail gate is about $1000. 00 from what I was told. That includes prep, paint, decals, and hardware.

 

[bighammer]

Sounds very familiar. My 94 was rear ended in MArch by a kid in a small car. He went under and bent EVERYTHING. I thought it was done and bought the 03 a day or 2 later. Sounds like it held up well if that's all you need. Might want to have a good shop check your frame and alignment. Mine was racked a couple directions. (diamond and twist) Good luck with it.

 

[rashwor]

Drunk driver...

ran a stop sign at 70+mph, and there were skid marks for her starting 100 feet before the stop sign, so no telling how fast she was actually going. Fortunately for me, I broadsided him instead of her broadsiding me. Otherwise, I might not be here. I was doing about 55mph when I Hit him and trying to stop hard! Ended up with my '92 being totaled by her insurance company.



Everyone had minor cuts and bruises, but nothing major. When the EMT crews and State Trooper got the door of the car open, beer cans and bottles fell out on the ground and the smell of alcohol almost made the DPS officer throw up. It was the strongest I had ever smelled. The woman and her brother had been setting in a beer joint drinking all afternoon and had plenty in the car for later too.



Took a month of arguing with her insurance company and paying for my rental car and me refusing to settle, but I got what I wanted for the '92 and then bought it back for salvage value. Still had enough for the nice down payment on the '99 I bought new.



I learned alot about dealing with drunks and insurance companies. Found out that most insurance companies that have "Mutual" in the name, have mostly high risk customers with previous "problems" and are HE!! to get anything out of. The insurance company would only sell her a 3 month policy. Living in Texas as well as just being plain stubborn has its advantages. I could hold out till the insurance company gave in and settled to the price I wanted. I got really lucky... the policy was good from 03/07/99 - 05/07/99. The wreck occurred on 04/29/1999. I worked late on the job that day... I haven't since.



Repaired the '92 and it drives and runs as good as it did before the wreck, so, I have a spair CTD!



Sorry for the long post. You are not alone. Sorry for the inconvenince and glad no one was seriously hurt.

 

[SMR1TL]

yeah, I have to say wrecks suck. My damn neck is sore today. Doctors say its nothing and it doesn't really hurt, just kinda like I pulled a muscle. After taking it to a few local body shops I got quotes ranging from $7000 to $9000 I didn't see it last night but the bed did slap the crap out of the cab ont he passenger side, the rear passenger door will not open. I was hoping it was just the bed since thats obivously easy to fix. Doesn't apper to have any frame damage but everyone talked about having it checked so I gues I'll see. The insurance adjuster should be coming to see me in a few days... I'm gonna make sure he knows that this was a new truck and flawless before the wreck, and after the body shop is done it will look even better than it did



Oh, and for those that have a complaint about the paint, I now see what you mean. Very thin, not flexible and even the body shop guys laughed at it. maybe I can get my whole truck painted :-laf

 

[MMeier]

It may look better then it did before the hit but damn it make sure that frame is checked by someone who knows what they are doing!! Remember these frames are of new design on these trucks and a lot of shops probably have not worked too much on them!! It may look minor but after a hit like that it may never be the same!! Don't mean to scare you, just be sure you feel confident in the shop doing the work!!

 

[Mr.Goat]

MBroussard



Very sorry to hear of your misfortune. The big positive here is you are not seriously hurt. Dodge is rolling these trucks off the line daily and can make you a new one if need be. Us mortal souls however are one of a kind.



I truely empathize with your situation as the 2003 DodgeI took delivery of last October 2002 was hit head on in February 2003. I wasn't hurt. The truck didn't look to bad compared to the car that hit me. However upon close examination it had extensive frame and driveline damage to the tune of $32,000. They wrote it off finally after 41 days of me saying I would not settle for anything less. As they wanted to staighten the frame replace the parts and send me on my way.



There are two important things to keep in mind here. First off; if you have any drive line damage your 7 year power train warranty is over as DC won't warrant anything that has been collision damaged and repaired. Your insurance company is "supposed" to cover you in these circumstances. However in 6 months time when you have a transmission problem and you return to the dealer, and he say's it is a result of damage from the collision go see your insurance company. And your insurance company disagrees and say's go a see DC. That leaves you in the middle with a brand new expensive broken truck that no wants to fix. One of them will after alot of bickering eventually pick up the tab, but with you caught in the middle driving what ever you can find as the insurance company is not going to give you a rental.

Secondly frame damage; these new Dodges have the hydraformed frames. There not supposed to be drilled, there also not to have any heat applied to them which is a common practice used to straighten frames. Check with DC as I did in this regard they don't condone the application of heat on these frames.



I was fortunate to have a very honest and up front body shop manager at a large DC dealership who pointed out the above two points. The other serious point he made which may or may not apply to you as it is a point of law, is that here in Ontario a vehicle which suffers frame damage has it's ownership branded. This means that if you go to sell the truck the new buyers are made aware of previous damages. This little disclosure greatly devalues your truck as who in there right mind is going to pay fair market price for a frame damaged repaired truck.



Your truck is furtually new, through no fault of your own your new truck has sufferd some serious damage. Insurance companies are not your friends, they will not look out for your best interests. They will do what ever is cheapest for them. But polite informed persistance can pay off in favour. Keep all the above in mind as you try to stick handle your way through this mess. Good Luck! I hope this gives you some ideas. Pete

 

[SMR1TL]

Mr Goat,



Very interesting information you posted. I never would have thought that DC would do something like that. I will definately have to look into that. I didn't think about the whole loss of value due to the wreck either... well I planned on having this truck for a very long time too, selling it never crossed my mind.



This whole situation of mine seems to be getting worse My motor has developed a knock. It was not there the other day. Its not clatter, doesn't sound like a rocker or anything, sounds like a dull tap. It can be hear throughout the RPM range. I think I will take it in and have the entire truck examined by Dodge to see if there is anything wrong, no matter how small. I'm starting to get a little upset that the whole damn truck is damaged. BTW, I get kinda attached to my vehicles and I really love this truck. God this is so frustrating...



Well, by any chance, does anyone know if the insurance adjuster will factor in the "loss of value" and "loss of waranty" into the payment? I guess I will definately have to bring that up, and stress my percieved importance of it. I don't know if its good or bad but he was (as in probably not after this) insured though State Farm.

 

[Mr.Goat]

MBroussard



Like yourself I really like and enjoy my truck. I was almost physically sick when mine got hit and I discovered bit by bit how I was about to get screwed by the insurance system and I felt helpless to do much about it, as I'am just an ordinary guy with no special connections.



However I found being well informed and educating myself to all the aspects of the situation was my best defense. Then using that information to politely but firmly argue my position with the insurance folks. In regards to the insurace folks. These are the folks who ultimately are either going to make you a happy man or a sad one. And trust me when I say they don't give a dam about you or your truck. It all boils down to dollars and cents and what the cheapest way for them to settle.



Your claim will be assigned to a claims adjuster at the regional office of your insurance company. ( This is not the local insurance broker who takes your money for the premiums, as there are out of the picture at this point. ) The claims adjuster is usually a young aspiring insurance person with no real experience except for the one week course they got from there employer on how to handle people like you and me to the best advantage of the company.

Do some digging, find out who there supervisor is, talk to them politely and also find who there boss is. Getting your truck into a insurance company approved repair shop is also a must, because any repairs made to your truck by them will be garanteed by the insurance company. ( This garantee varies but is usually as long as what DC would have. ) The advantage here is you can argue like I did that the insurance company may be replacing some very expensive driveline parts in the years to come caused by unforseen damage from the collision. eg; cummins engine.

Get a good relationship going with the body shop manager. Be aware he is in a very tender postion, that being any information he gives you must be in confidence as the work he gets through the insurance company feeds his family. You cannot betray him to the insurance folks with the information he gives you. He is a key player in the decsion process with the insurance company along with the adjuster. These are the guys who will decide the level and expense of damages to your truck and relate this back to the claims adjuster. If you have frame and drive line damage try to push to have the truck written off, to avoid the problems of devalue, warranty, down the road headaches, etc.



What decides if the truck is to be written off is strictly a percentages game. When the repair costs equal or exceed a certain percentage of the value of the truck they will write it off. Your body shop manager and claims adjuster can give you the percentage number. I honestly cannot remember and don't want to guess.

If you can get them to write it off, great! Your truck will be sold for salvage, and you can order a new one. Whether or not your out any cash on this depends on the terms of your policy and whether you had full replacement cost in your policy.



Well I think I've about talked myself out at this point, and you probably want to digest all this. As you can probably tell this issue is a sore spot with me, and it's fresh on my mind from last spring. My case worked out good in my favour as they wrote mine off. But it was frustrating madning experience that I wouldn't wish on anybody. If there's anyway I can be of further assisstance I would be pleased to do so. Pete

 

[DragRacer]

Matt,



WOW!! Sorry to hear it. I hope everything works out.



Jason G.

 

[Pit Bull]

MBroussard



I'd also be concerned about your neck injury. Go see another Doctor, take some sick time off work. Then tell the adjuster that you are not signing a release for your neck injury until you are sure it is OK. I had a car fixed once but it was 5 years later before I settled on the other injures. I think you will find that the other drivers insurance company will listen better about fixing your truck when they know they have some personal injures to worry about. You can alway have your insurance fix your truck and then get a Lawyer and sue the other guy for the personal injures, your insurance company will go after them for the cost of repairing your truck. Personal injury is usually settled for 3 times the cost of the accident and the medical care and the loss of work. Example Truck $10,000. Doctors bills $700. Loss of work $1,000. Insurance company cuts you a check for $35,000. With a neck injury you may have pain come back in 10 years and suffer the rest of your life. Good luck.

 

[SMR1TL]

Thanks for all the posts guys. This information will probably prove to be invalueable in the next few days. Not sure when I will actually get to see an insureance adjuster but it should be soon and I will be sure to mention all this stuff. I will NOT settle for anything less than what I feel I should get. After all, this was a bran new, flawless truck 3 months ago... .



Once everything is over and done with I will post what happens.



Its funny now, to think If I would have gone home the other way, none of this crap would have happened





Dragracer,



lol, yeah, I'm just glad I wasn't in the Firebird. that thing would have been totaled and I would have probably been dead!!. Also, if you haven't checked already, i posted larger, more detailed pics of the damage on the NTAC board.





-Matt