Major Accident

[Flying_gage]

Any word on the dog?

You must have been darn close to the threshold on those repairs!

 

[Yo Hoot]

They sell brand new take-off full 8ft beds here for under $1000. If the body shop knows this they might charge full dealer price and make a bundle.

 

[GCP]

I would insist on two spring packs. Start off with two new ones instead of one that was used for 20,000 miles and an accident, and a new one.

That's a good idea. I hadn't thought about that. Good thinking Yo.

Any word on the dog?

You must have been darn close to the threshold on those repairs!

Unfortunately no word on our pup and we are all heartbroken over lose.

They sell brand new take-off full 8ft beds here for under $1000. If the body shop knows this they might charge full dealer price and make a bundle.

Yep. On account of the body shop being in a rural area they have access to beds that are pulled off by dealerships and C&C outfitters.

 

[BGlidewell]

Doors can be VERY hard to get right. Don't make the mistake of accepting the truck back until you are CERTAIN everything is correct. One of the ways they get around warranty work is to make a return very inconvenient and once you accept, your out of a rental if you had one. Make a list now and use it when you pick the truck up. Make sure they show you all the new parts used in the repair for verification,

 

[Grizzly]

I had a similar situation where a lady on her cell phone T-boned my 2000 Toyota Camry, which was 1. 5 years old. The insurance company gave me a choice, they could fix it or they could totaled it. I didn't believe that with the amount of damage to my Camry, the car would ever be the same again if fixed. I choose Total. I had a tough battle with the insurance company to get top dollar for my Camry, which I made out very well on. A year later I ordered my present 03 Toyota Avalon.

george

 

[guldam]

That image of the rear of the truck and the guard rail is sobering to say the least. Hope you find your dog, and get the truck back to as good as new.

 

[orhusky]

Sorry about the loss, hope you find your dog soon.

 

[GCP]

I greatly appreciate all the well wishes. We have made every effort in attempting to find our dog. She may very well pop up somewhere down the line.

 

[GCP]

You must have been darn close to the threshold on those repairs!

Actually the cost of repair wasn't even close to 50% of the trucks value.

 

[Bob4x4]

I greatly appreciate all the well wishes. We have made every effort in attempting to find our dog. She may very well pop up somewhere down the line.

Being a loving dog as the goldens are I''ll bet some family has adopted her

 

[mikeberry]

I too am leary of the damage assesment. I am not in NM though and your body/fender man may be top notch so I am not knocking him. I have a friend who I consider to be the best in the business who has fixed lots of full size trucks. Be very wary of the following from what I see with your pics:



-Damage to exhaust, looks like the tailpipe took the guardrail full force, remember this is a 6. 7 truck with delicate and $$$$$ exhaust parts. Eeven though they are "upstrem" of the damage check them closely.

-Just because it is a huge beefy axle doesn't mean the shafts or housing can't be bent when subject to forces that they are not designed for.

-Likewise the frame will look good until you get it on a machine. Of special note is where the shackle hangers attach.

-Brake parts esp. for that right rear.

-Be very wary of the cab being "racked" or tweaked out of plumb basically. It is very hard to tell until you get into it farther but you may notice the rear windows sound "tight" with a knock test and getting that left rear door jamb perfect again may be a chore.

-Tail housing on transfer case. Even though the force was away from the transfer case, the sudden stopping/whipping of the driveline can damage it and the rear of the transfer case.



Again your body guy may be the best and I'm not there. Just want you to be informed since that is why the site is here.

Glad family is ok, and will keep positive thoughts for Haley.

 

[GCP]

Mike,

All of your above mentioned areas of concern are very valid. I have and will continue to stress the importance of these components with the repair shop. I will also type up a checklist of items that I will scrutinize prior to accepting the vehicle.

Anyone else have any suggestions?

Thanks to everyone.

GCP

 

[Grizzly]

GCP, When it's all said and done and all the repairs are completed, the cost of the repairs will be more than the retail value of the truck. I would have your insurance company total the truck, fight for the best settlement and call Dave Smith in Kellogg, ID for a brand new 2012 or 2013. Many body shops are known for low bidding repair cost and make it up, and then some, on unknown changes. With that much damage your truck will never be the same and you'll always be unhappy with it. I hate to paint such a gloom picture, but I've been there.

george

 

[mwilson]

GCP, When it's all said and done and all the repairs are completed, the cost of the repairs will be more than the retail value of the truck. I would have your insurance company total the truck, fight for the best settlement and call Dave Smith in Kellogg, ID for a brand new 2012 or 2013. Many body shops are known for low bidding repair cost and make it up, and then some, on unknown changes. With that much damage your truck will never be the same and you'll always be unhappy with it. I hate to paint such a gloom picture, but I've been there.

george

X2 with that much damage. George is spot on.
I don't wish to be negative but you are asking for opinions so here goes.....

Body shop will create another bill for unforeseen damages when the truck is completed.

We have a body shop, I see it happen all the time with big trucks. Some of it is our fault, but most of the time the adjuster under estimates the damages.
You will be at the trucks value if not more. Then the little mysterys start in like leaks, wierd tire wear, rattles, vibrations, etc.
Fight for a total, IMHO. From the pictures I would.

Besides this was not your fault, don't settle for a half assed repair. You were going down the road minding your own business.

Mike.

 

[HBarlow]

I didn't want to be the one who offered the negative comments to cause worry for the owner but I'm glad George and Mike did. I agree. That truck will not be the same. It almost certainly has frame damage. It is also very likely as they both stated there will be additional damage found that will run the estimate up.

Another thing I didn't want to bring up earlier but will now - the insurance company is almost certainly paying for used salvage yard or second rate new body parts stamped in Communist China or who knows where.

I would be very concerned if this were my truck.

Does the body shop in Childress or another shop have a frame machine?

 

[GCP]

I would be very concerned if this were my truck.

Does the body shop in Childress or another shop have a frame machine?

No need to apologize for being "negative". I count on the wisdom and experience of the TDR knowledge base. So thanks to Grizz, Mike, and Harvey.

The truck was taken to Vernon, Texas in part because of their ability to measure out farmes and check for damage and square.

I'll keep everyone posted as the saga continues. I can't do a lot until after 1 January.

 

[HBarlow]

That's encouraging if the shop can and will measure the key frame points. I would think that the rear spring hangers are critical after the impact with the guard rail.

 

[JR]

^^^^ Those are all very valid points and enough to cause reason for concern. However, there are still competent and honest people (I know, those words are scarce anymore) that are capable of fixing the truck correctly. Years ago, I was hit head on in a bad snow storm by a teenaged driver. We hit driver side tire to tire. Luckily, I was only going about 35 mph, but multiply that by her speed and it was pretty ugly. It completely ripped the front tire, control arms, strut assembly, and cv joint right out from under my car. Not to mention lots of body damage. It was all laying in the road as a complete assembly, still attached to the tire. I had the car towed to a local frame/body shop who happens to be a friend of mine. He put it up on the rack and inspected it. his estimate was right on the fence of totalling the car (80% of the cars value) and he asked me what I wanted to do. I asked him and he said without a doubt he could make it right but if I wanted to total it he could do that as well. I was admittedly skeptical about repairing it, but the car was less than 2 years old and paid for, and I did not like the thought of purchasing another new car as I knew that I was going to take a loss financially by going that route. So I had him fix it. I put another 150k miles on that car before selling it, and I never had any issues whatsover related to the accident. Of course, my decision was made easier because I know and trust the man who repaired my car. And it may be difficult to find someone who wont cut corners as mentioned above. But if you can find an honest frame shop and you stay involved with the repairs and make sure they are putting new oem parts back on your truck, it can be repaired correctly. I doubt they will even consider totalling it if the damage is only at 50% of the trucks value, unless the frame is bent beyond repair, then it will be deemed a loss no matter what. Good luck with the repairs, and more importantly, finding your puppy.

 

[JR]

Hey GCP, you said you had an id chip in Haley, does that have some kind of a gps signal? Im not familiar with those, us Ohioans are a little behind in the times :-laf

 

[GCP]

^^^^ Those are all very valid points and enough to cause reason for concern. However, there are still competent and honest people (I know, those words are scarce anymore) that are capable of fixing the truck correctly. Years ago, I was hit head on in a bad snow storm by a teenaged driver. We hit driver side tire to tire. Luckily, I was only going about 35 mph, but multiply that by her speed and it was pretty ugly. It completely ripped the front tire, control arms, strut assembly, and cv joint right out from under my car. Not to mention lots of body damage. It was all laying in the road as a complete assembly, still attached to the tire. I had the car towed to a local frame/body shop who happens to be a friend of mine. He put it up on the rack and inspected it. his estimate was right on the fence of totalling the car (80% of the cars value) and he asked me what I wanted to do. I asked him and he said without a doubt he could make it right but if I wanted to total it he could do that as well. I was admittedly skeptical about repairing it, but the car was less than 2 years old and paid for, and I did not like the thought of purchasing another new car as I knew that I was going to take a loss financially by going that route. So I had him fix it. I put another 150k miles on that car before selling it, and I never had any issues whatsover related to the accident. Of course, my decision was made easier because I know and trust the man who repaired my car. And it may be difficult to find someone who wont cut corners as mentioned above. But if you can find an honest frame shop and you stay involved with the repairs and make sure they are putting new oem parts back on your truck, it can be repaired correctly. I doubt they will even consider totalling it if the damage is only at 50% of the trucks value, unless the frame is bent beyond repair, then it will be deemed a loss no matter what. Good luck with the repairs, and more importantly, finding your puppy.

I agree. There are definitely honest hardworking shops out there. I believe that having this accident out in a very rural area is a blessing in disguise as far as the repair is considered. I have had numerous conversations with the owner of the body shop and I suspect he is one of those genuinely reliable and honest small business owners. However, that does not mean that I can let up on my constant vigual in insisting that the repair be done correctly.

Hey GCP, you said you had an id chip in Haley, does that have some kind of a gps signal? Im not familiar with those, us Ohioans are a little behind in the times :-laf

The microchip installed in Haley's shoulders is a small RFID chip that contains her name and the name of her owners and our phone number. Any vetinary clinic or civil animal control facility will automatically scan for her chip upon her arrival, giving them all the information necessary to return her to us. It's a neat piece of technology that is required by law in the city of Albuquerque.

I will however look into a GPS tracking collar for our next four legged family member.

That's encouraging if the shop can and will measure the key frame points. I would think that the rear spring hangers are critical after the impact with the guard rail.

They have measured the frame and all points measured to spec. When the accident occurred all of the forces where absorbed laterally. In other words the vehicles impacted like a couple of stunt cars in a chase scene in a movie - door to door. At no time did the trucks collide perpendicularly. Because of this all five people walked away from the accident and both trucks suffered severe body damage, but little mechanical damage. All of the mechanical damage occurred at the rear passenger side from the guardrail. But, as I said earlier, all of the issues everyone have raised are very valid and must be scrutinized.