Engine/Transmission (1994 - 1998) The dodge is dead

[Heetseeker_1]

Well, I considered my dodge cummins one tough rig but it couldn't withstand the impact with the concrete medium on the 14th. I was driving home from work on that morning and a kid driving a Chevy truck fell asleep at the wheel and rear-ended a small import pickup. That import shot foward and lost control, swerving across lanes and came right at me. I braked hard but he slammed into my right front quarter and the steering wheel spun in my hands to hard left. I saw the wall coming and braced for impact and went in at about 60 mph at a 30 degree angle. Both airbags went off and at a speed of about 300mph, the bag about ko'd me. It happened so fast there wasn't a darn thing I could do about it.



So, the insurance company wants to give me only 21k for the dodge and after all the work I have put into it we are negotiating. Guess i'll be looking for another rig soon.



Rats!

 

[T. Baker]

Wow,

sorry to hear that. Lucky YOU did not get hurt. Did the engine get damaged?

 

[Kalaehina]

Just glad to see you're able to write about it to us.

 

[WKener]

Originally posted by Kalaehina

Just glad to see you're able to write about it to us.

I second that!!



I hope you get a fair deal out of the insurance company, keep us posted.

 

[rsaderlund]

Wow! glad to see your ok! Damn Cailf drivers been "dodging" them all my life. Good thing you were in a truck that could withstand it. Oo. Good luck finding another and with the insurance company.

 

[Heetseeker_1]

the game

Well, after messing with the insurance companies twice this year I have come to believe there is a systematic way to get more from them. After my wifes Honda was stolen and we freaked out when our insurance company low-balled us on the replacement value, I am more resolved and calm dealing with them this time.



First, the appraisal. They look at how nice the truck was before the accident... what ever that means. Then they put a value on it, and it will be LOW. You then tell your agent that you reject the value and show them receipts that indicate how well you took care of the vehicle, including towing transmissions and exhaust brakes ect... Then they come back with another figure, higher this time. After you reject that number, you ask to speak to the supervisor and fax him the comps of trucks like yours. You might just get a few more thousand for your truck.



If you doubt that it is totaled in any way, demand that it be taken to a competent shop with a frame machine and good mechanics to assess the damage. My first assessor rated the repair too high in my opinion and the second assessor was a lady who had never turned a wrench in her life. No offense ladies, but I would like a shop owner with wrenching experience to assess my vehicle thank you. We are talking about thousands of my hard earned dollars here, for crying out loud. Any way you look at it, you are going to have to spend some of your savings or get a loan to make up the difference in another truck unfortunately. Any personal injury settlement wont come in for about a year (assuming that you were not at fault) and you can then use that to put back into the new truck costs.



What a PITA.



Steve.

 

[Deezul1]

The adjusters job is to not give you anymore money than he has to, if you dont think its fair dont accept any settlement. In Calif they are required by law to settle within a certain time limit and will deal a lot better when it gets close to that deadline. I had a friend get his truck stolen and the offer was very low for that nice a truck so he told them no problem, find me a truck that nice and buy it for me, the ins co came way up on the settlement to a fair price after that.

 

[Missouri Mule]

When someone else is at fault you can get what you want. Your fault your truck, it is harder to get the money you want for it.



But in this case if the kid was insured just tell them to put a truck identical to yours in the driveway with all the trimmings.



I was hit in the backend( 69 Opel kadet) many years ago (right after the gas crunch started). Insurance company didn't want to give us much for it, so after we looked around (anything small was costly) my Dad told them to go find one and put it in the driveway. They gave him a nice sum of money for it. Matter of fact more than he paid and the fixes he /we did on it.



keep up the good work (get more $$$$)

 

[Todd T]

there are two things to look into. first most all policy's have a appraisal clause. read through it carefully. you should find you have the option to invoke a process of using your own appraiser and negotiating with the ins company to come to terms. you don't have to use their appraiser. second you might also find they will have a substitute auto clause. this process should allow for them to find you another truck equal to yours and once you agree to it they will replace it and substitute it on the loan with the lien holder as collateral.



ever heard of GAP insurance? if you had purchased this with your loan you would ave no problems. gap ins covers the difference of what the ins gives and what you still owe. if you don't owe anything this is not an advantage to you.



glad you are OK, good luck

 

[Dan_69GTX]

What insurance co. are you dealing with?



And thanks for the update.



Dan

 

[Heetseeker_1]

ins. co

Liberty mutual. (for now)