Lexus meets '86 C10 (pics of damage)

[heavychevy91]

Sorry this is soo long its a long story...


So it was a beautiful Saturday (9/18) morning, my buddy and I were heading to my cousins house to help him swap the front axle in his K5 Blazer. We are sitting to make the left turn into his neighborhood.... and BAMMMMMMM a Lexus plows into the back of me doing about 40~45 mph. We were dead stopped. We were pushed about 20 ft forward. I was in shock. One min were sitting still and then bam, I look at my friend and was like, "what in the heck just happened?" I got out and asked the other guy if he was okay. He said yes and his kids were fine too. I said okay good I’m calling the cops now. There was coolant spraying everywhere out of his car and my truck was hit pretty good too. He hit me so hard it bent my trailer hitch down into the ground and my ball was dragging on the asphalt when we went to pull it off the road. (He bent the friggin frame!)

The first officer to arrive was a park officer and he helped us exchange information and check to see if everyone was okay. The other guy involved was being kind of weird about the whole thing at first he refused to let me see his driver’s licensee claiming it was personal information. I replied it may be but that’s the information I get when you hit me. The officer came over and helped clarify at this point. blah blah blah more legal stuff goes on. They ask me if I need a tow home and I reply no my trucks still functional. (Luckily I was going to work on my cousin’s truck so I had tools to unbolt my hitch at the scene)

About 3 hours later that day I get a call from the other guys insurance company (Geico). They ask me if I would be willing to take my truck to a body shop to get an estimate. I inform her that I do all my own work on the truck and if I went and got an estimate that’s all it would be and that I would be doing the work myself. She said that’s fine. On Wednesday I take it to one of their Insurance/ body shop places the guys comes out and looks at my truck and says it most likely totaled due to the frame damage. He writes down some notes. He said since I want to keep the truck I basically have two options. They can total it and give me the amount, then I can buy it back from them with a salvage title...or they do a property "damage claim" and write me a check for 74% of the trucks value (right under being totaled) and I can just go on my merry way.

He calls me back and says my truck is worth $2,925 and he will do the "property damage" check for $2,162.50. With the price of a new bed, new bumper, new trailer hitch, and going to a scrap yard getting sections of frame rails and splicing them in... Plus paint I’m probably looking at right around $2,000 if not more. Im pretty attached to the tuck. Already put a new motor in and rebuilt the trans and I’m not afraid of the work. BTW my truck was garage kept since new until 2000 so theres not a spec of rust on it which is rare for my area.

I believe the value of my truck was too low given the guide lines that assessment document shows and the price of comparable trucks for sale in my area.

Input?

Thanks
Tim

[heavychevy91]

more pics. also i do have the file the Insurance Adjuster sent me about the appraisal of my tuck

[Captkaos]

I would take it to more than just "their" shop.  I would also be prepared for a battle.  What does your insurace company say?

[Lt.Del]

"that's personal information"    Hahaha  what a dummy.  You handled that just right--"that's the info i get when you hit me"   right on!

That guy needs to not only take a safe driving class, but, take a class on exchanging info when in a wreck.  I guess he thinks you should just drive off and wish it didn't happen since there would be no way to contact him.  ??

I hope everyone reads this thread, and the one by Mike Phillips whose red blazer was hit in the but end also and bent all up.   As a general rule, our trucks are worth so much more than book values.  What does that mean?  It means call an appraiser that deals with classic cars/trucks and get a written appraisal.  Then, call your insurance agent to have on record the value of your vehicle in case you are in an accident.  It will be on record as to the value of your truck. Once the accident happens, it's too late.   Your truck, judging from the pics was probably worth 4x the amount they are willing to pay.

As Chris states, never, ever use the body shop recommended by the defendant's insurance company.  You know there is a relationship between the insurance company and body shop company.  Politely say, "no, I have a body shop in mind, thank you" and take it to the most expensive place that exists--then do the work yourself and pocket the balance.  Of course, being totalled, it is a slightly different story, that is why you should have a current appraisal on record.

I would've come out grabbing my neck and back personally and perhaps fell on the road.  Those seats in our trucks arent the best for neck safety.  Atty would get you double your money lost at work, double hosp bills for pain and suffering.  You could then get a new truck.  Chances are the guy was probably on the phone or texting when he ran into you--either that or he was just blind....talking punitive damages then...more $$

[heavychevy91]

Capt, I did take it to another shop in the area as well the guy took one look at the frame and cringed. So I talked him into writing an estimate if I fixed the frame and had him do the rest. He quoted me $2,496. When I told the insurance company this they kept going back to the fact that the value of my truck was only $2,925.    

http://www.nadaguides.com/default.aspx?LI=1-22-1-5013-0-0-0&l=1&w=22&p=1&f=5014&y=1986&m=1035&d=7239&o=7948~7946&vi=95775&z=21046&da=1

I would think I could at least get close to fair value for my truck. I dont know if its just them trying to low ball me or what. I did try calling my insurance agent just go get his opinion (I only have liability on the truck as of now) I did not reach him but I spoke to his secretary who recommended getting another estimate but didnt offer much more than that.

SgtDel, I did read that thread thread and kept telling myself I should get an appraisal. But decided to wait until I got a few things fixed up so it would look better. Probably not the best idea, I guess hindsight is 20/20.

Thanks for the input so far.

as John Lennon once said, "life is what happens when your making other plans."

[Captkaos]

Looks like yours falls under average retail:

Average Retail Value
This vehicle would be in good condition overall. It could be an older restoration or a well-maintained original vehicle. Completely operable. The exterior paint, trim, and mechanics are presentable and serviceable inside and out. A "20-footer".

I would have an estimate based on the shop doing all of the work labor and all.

BTW the name of the site/company is nada"guides", so it can only give an general idea.

[cvbear]

Remember that the value at issue is for YOUR truck, not some hypothetical one in the guide.  The guide values are OK for newer vehicles.  For a vehicle the age of ours, they are mostly useless since the condition will vary so much.  That said, you will probably have to be willing to get a lawyer and fight them if you want to get anywhere near what your truck is worth.

[fitz]

Sgtdel and Captkaos brought up some good points and as they mentioned you can follow along with the nightmare Mike Phillips went through with his truck.
As far as fixing your truck I would start looking for a good parts truck with a solid/straight frame and bed. Then is would basically be a bolt together repair without straightening/splicing your frame back together.
Keep in mind that is some states if the insurance company totals it (like in Mass) you will have to have the State Police inspect it before you can put it back on the road. My advice as far as this goes is to keep track of your paper work. When the insurance company totals it they will provide you with a estimate with all of the damage. In Mass you are required to show proof of where your replacement parts came from. You just cant show up with the truck all fixed and plead the 5th when they ask where the parts came from.
Hope this helps.

[jaredts]

If your truck is as rust free as you say I'd go out on a limb and say its still worth more than $2925--even with the frame damage.  Its just the last foot or 18" of frame that's bent, right?  Easy fix and I'm not so sure you couldn't just do it with some channel or tubing.  Very sorry to hear about this.  Makes me scared to fix up and drive an older vehicle.  No one seems to appreciate what they are worth.

[Grim 82]

It shouldn't be too late to have it appraised by somebody who deals with classics/vintage vehicles, like SgtDel said. I am sure they can envision what it looked like before the crash and give you a realistic value. A friend of mine has an old Kaiser Jeep pickup that was pretty rough when he got it appraised and they valued it at $12k. He used it for collateral to buy his house. From the pics I would guess your truck is worth at least double what they say.

[756man]

A good reason to have collector insurance, such as Hagerty,  you can have your truck insured for what ever value you are willing to pay for. Actually it is quite affordable. You can do a quote online.

[fitz]

A good reason to have collector insurance, such as Hagerty,  you can have your truck insured for what ever value you are willing to pay for. Actually it is quite affordable. You can do a quote online.

So I have this rusted out 85 M1009 that I paid $500 for, can I insure it for $100,000 in case something "hapens to it"?

[756man]

Yes, you can.

[Grim 82]

A good reason to have collector insurance, such as Hagerty,  you can have your truck insured for what ever value you are willing to pay for. Actually it is quite affordable. You can do a quote online.

So I have this rusted out 85 M1009 that I paid $500 for, can I insure it for $100,000 in case something "hapens to it"?

I think the point is that this middle of the road scheme is garbage. If you have a newer car or an older car they can tell you a value, but they don't do justice to anything in between. A '69 camaro and a new camaro book similarly, give or take a few grand. Anywhere in the middle is scrap metal as far as the book value folks are concerned. heavychevy91 is in the crosshairs to get screwed in this deal, just like Mike Phillips got hosed on his blazer.
Fitz; if you dropped a pile of cash into that rusty M1009 and completely restored it and built a 10 second racer out of it I bet you would be upset when somebody smashed into it and offered you 500 bucks, cause that's all it was worth when you bought it.

[frogman68]

Gotta love MD drivers 

Couple of weeks ago the school bus going west stopped in front of our house lights a flashing some idiot rear ended the bus, his excuse the sun was in my eyes I started laughing cop didnt like that I was calling the guy out