Truck totalled- need advise

[Scot]

I am sick.



On Tuesday I was on the way to work and was rear-ended hard by a Ford PSD with a Ranch Hand bumper and driven into the vehicle in front of me. Truck was nice for its age. There were no injuries.



I am not a body man and do not play one on TV, but I can see a lot of the damage.



tailgate and valance below it. very minor pooches in the floor corrisponding to the Ranch Hand.



rear bumper destroyed and slight damage to the rr quarter where the bumper got it.



front bumper, core support, grill, valance, radiator. Cannot see inter cooler to know but does not appear to be hurt. All damage is on the outer 18" of the left corner



the fender is pushed into the door which is pushed into the b -post. no distortion noted in door or post.



Their insurance is wanting to give me wholesale



Two options:

-$900 for mileage

-$213 for cracked windshield

-$187 for misc body damage

-$671 salvage value

for a value of $3453



or



A check for $4424



I could probably fix it for that myself but this will not come close to buying a comparible truck in this market or any other on planet Earth.



I asked insurance to provide me a list of trucks in the area in the same condition and price and they refused.



Any suggestions would be appreciated. I have a rent car provided through Monday evening.



Pictures later.

 

[paccool]

Take it to a shop and get an estimate as to how much it will cost to fix. Then you can tell the insurance company what you need for the damage. They are trying to get out of this as cheap as possible, don't give in.



Sounds like you are OK, that is the most important thing. The truck can be fixed or replaced. Look at it this way,think of how much fun you will have setting up another truck the way you want! (I know, it's hard to replace a truck you really like) I would feel real bad if this happened to mine!

 

[willyslover]

do you have a family attorney... you do not have to take the insurances "BID"... they have to make you whole to at least what you had... or replacement value per local prices...



your insurance broker might be able to guide you

 

[Scot]

rear

 

[Scot]

front

 

[Barry]

Is that Venus, Texas????

 

[Scot]

Originally posted by Barry

Is that Venus, Texas????

Yes

 

[Barry]

If you want to keep the truck call me tommorrow at my office toll free 1 888 279 9168 and I think I can solve your problem with $$ left in your pocket... ... ...

 

[sparks57]

Hey, I'm interested. Send me some pics.



The thing wouldn't let me PM you back.

 

[Thierry]

scott , call me late afternoon or evenings and I will let you know what happened with my insurance claim



Thanks

Thierry

 

[jlast]

Not exactly sure how your insurance is, but with my accident I had to provide two independent apprasials, cause my insurance apprasial was over $3000 less then what I ended up getting. This was on an 79 model vehicle.



I suggest you do the same, I believe they are quoting way below market value on your truck. At least $2000 lower then they should.



I see a few options,



I suggest supply two different apprasials or what your insurance requires, you do not have to settle on what your own insurance quotes you. Then decide if you are going to buy it back or not? they already quoted a buy it back price of $671 according to the info you posted. Then between the $$ you got from the total minus the buy back you should be able to fix it and still have money left, little more time and hassel, but you should come out in the end.



Or two apprasials, let them total it and buy it back for me, I would be more then willing to take that truck off your hands at that price and make it worth your while, just contact me. Is that all the damage?



Two apprasials are needed period They are to appraise before the accident value of truck. Insurance already optioned total so it can stay that way.



it sounded like it wasnt your fault, so you can get your personal auto insurance after this insurance company that is low balling your trucks value.



Any other proof you can provide to help your trucks value would also help, contact any dealer that sells these trucks, the can provide the market value as well as might be able to appraise your truck. Ebay sells of truck close to yours also represents close to market value for a truck compareable to yours.



Foremost stick it to that insurance company, stand up for a fair value on your truck.



any other ? ask. PM or email

 

[Plandon]

about your wreck

What ever you settle on,don't forget that insurance copmpanys have no use for your truck after they pay you. So just buy it back from them for scrap price or so, then fix it with your check. Its done all the time. Heck you can probley part it out for more than its worth.

 

[Scot]

Update:

My insurance company subscribes to "Auto Source" which tracks real world prices. They use it to make settlements and use NADA as a last resort. They went to the body shop today and appraised it to determine what it would have been worth. I should hear something from them on monday. They said they would negotiate with the other company in order to get me a fair settlement.



I had a wrecker pull my truck home and set it in front of the shop and will spend some time and see what all is really damaged.



I am going to step back and try to do what is best. If the frame does not appear to be tweaked, I will probably rebuild it. If I can straighten the core support, it looks like I can fix the rest with aftermarket crash parts and paint for ~$1200. The diesel core support appears to be a dealer only ~$950 part. D/C discontinued the hood and tailgate.



I found a complete front clip for $1900 (awful high) but would still have to change the color. The bonus to it would some parts like inter cooler left over to sell.



While the whizzing match continues, looks like I will be driving the '78 Ford body donor truck for my project. I spent a couple of hours last night pulling the 400 engine out that smokes and hammers like the rods are swapping journals and should get another one I have in soon. Maybe I should just run the old one on #2...



Hadn't really planned on doing it this way but...

 

[TXDSLSHOP]

tailgate

I have an aftermarket louvered tailgate that will fit. If your interested. It is the one that drops down in the middle.

 

[sgriffing]

For what it's worth

My truck was damaged in the front.

Basically the front two inches.

Grill,Radiator, core support (Straightened), both fenders, and repair drivers door.

$5500.

They wanted to total it at $3600 but I had it insured for declared value of $10K.

Fight for that list of comparable trucks.

One of my mechanics had a similar incident and they ended up buying him a truck (For more than they said it was worth).

 

[Scot]

Update

My insurance company came out and did the emergency appraisal on the truck. They said it was worth $7K. They are going to do their thing with the other insurance company and settle it. Right now it is hurry up and wait. I am not going to start pulling the front down until the settlement is done.



After looking at it more, I am pretty sure I can fix the core support. I can spend quite a bit of time working this one for the cost of a new one ($950). The intercooler and condensor coil are good.



I did notice that the bed kissed the cab on the right side of the truck.



The wrecker driver who pulled the truck home forced the door open and bent the lip in the process. Happily, it appears that the towing company is going to take responsibility for that.

 

[Philip]

That is a better price than the other company wanted to rape you with. I hope you do save the old girl.

 

[sparks57]

In my experience, if your truck is not in mint condition, anything but basic insurance is a rip off. I had full comprehensive insurance on my truck, and when I got a bunch of paint damage all over the front and sides of my truck from county highway graveling this year, the insurance company said I was going to get 50% betterment. They gave me 600 dollars.



I WAS VERY ANGRY. I couldn't beleive it. I was in for a $2000 paint job, and they were going to give me $600.



My paint was in almost perfect condition. I used to work at a detailing shop, and every weekend I would wax and buff my truck... I put a lot of work into that paint, only to have it ruined.



Sorry, just had to vent!

 

[Scot]

Another update:

Last week the insurance company finally settled. Ended up getting the truck back for $1200. My insurance company is going to go back to Progressive and try to get the balance.



Oddly enough, a friend of my wife was hit head-on and her vehicle was totalled about 2 weeks after mine. The other driver has Progressive insurance and they are trying to give her several thousand less than her vehicle is worth in the real world. Looks like this is Progressive's SOP. Let that be a warning to others.





The truck is dead and taken apart in the shop. I finally got almost a long enough break in the monsoons to paint (outside) the inner fender and backside of the fender. Fortunantly the dust and dirt should cover the lovely fish-eyes.



The core support came out better than I thought it would. It appears to be straight enough to work and the fender lines up well. It was tweaked in all sorts of directions and places. Might get it running tomarrow (so I can paint inside) and should be able to start driving it when the door gets back. It might be multi-colored for a little while.