hey everybody. i just got in the first accident of my life. 17 yr old kid pulled in front of me and didn't leave enough time for me to do anything but drive over him(i mean, his car. nobody was hurt). cop said it was his fault. just wondering what kind of experiences y'all have had with insurance companies before. i've never had to deal with them before, except to pay them every six months.

pics are here http://1stgen.org/viewtopic.php?t=357

thanks in advance for any tips you've got.

dave

 

The kids insurance company will view the damage and cut you a check...the check will not be nearly enough and in probabilty the insurance company rep who looks it over will not count in all possible damages. Next Go to a body shop you trust, have them look it over, tell you what it will truly cost...they should handle the difference with the kids insurance company. Here you are the winner, because if you are in good hands with the body shop, they will go above and beyond to make things right, and charge the kids insurance for it. dont be criminal.....but you have the right to have your truck back in the exact shape in was before the kid hit you. i would try to get it done all at once too...to avoid hassles. redwake.

 

The last wreck my brother got into....(not his fault)....our body shop...(awesome people).....didn't give us an estimate, but instead fixed whatever they saw was wrong when they pulled his Jeep apart....and billed the insurance company. The other guys insurance company quoted the damage to be around $350.00. Body shop labor, parts, other problems unseen by the insurance company, the total bill was around $1,000.00. redwake

 

that's basically what the insurance guy told me was going to happen. i'm just worried that it's going to get totaled because i'm pretty sure there is some structural damage. what happens then? thanks for the info, btw.

dave

 

last year when my truck was backed into front of the bed/ back of the cab it almost totalled. the body shop wanted to put a new bed corner on and new bedside all that. estimate was $3042. i took the check, beat the dents out and pocketed the money (we really needed it) but that's what it would have taken to get it where it would be "like it was" i think they valued my 92 d250 CC at around $6500.

 

What part of Idaho are you in? maybe I can recommend a reputable body shop. Also, may be able to help you with your structural parts needs. I am in SW ID.

 

i'm in boise. thanks for the offer. are you in the area?

 

Actually, Yes I am. I use Western Collision in McCall, little bit of a drive but very concientious and the owner is a die hard Mopar guy, just a little bonus! Hopefully you will get an adjuster that is understanding of the fact that the se trucks are solid but getting harder to find parts for. Definately need to demand OEM parts whenever available, accept no substitutes. Good luck and let me know if I can help.

 

It looks like typical 1st Gen fold-up. Our trucks do not have any support for the corners of the bumpers. They don't have a separate inner fender structure either. That means when you get a corner shot, you get lots of damage. I know. I've been there a few times.
A neighbor backed into the front corner of my 92 D250. It pushed the bumper into the fender. The fender was pushed into the door and the tire rubbed on left turns.
It left a couple rubber marks on the corner of the Ford E-250 van.
Chances are that you've got a couple bent bumper brackets (if you even have them with that bumper), tweaked right frame rail, bent core support, and probably a fender against the driver's door. The core support is made of unobtanium and will have to be straightened.
That's not going to total the truck but it will hurt.
The squished cab corner will be ugly. A good body man will be able to repair the damage but the labor hours will eat you alive.
You left plenty of tire rubber on the kid's car. Be sure you have them go through the front axle. It's not made to take direct impacts like that.

My truck has been through hell. I had a woman in a Camry pull out in front of me when I was doing 40 mph. The front tires left 8 feet of skid marks before I nailed her in a perfect T-bone. The radiator was back into the fan and the truck was hurt to the tune of $6300. It did manage to blow out the side windows and crack the front and rear glass in the Toyota (minor victory).
That came 6 days after a 14 year old kid in his mother's Mustang ran a stop sign. I hit him in the passenger side quarter but only bent my bumper.
Unfortunately, 5 months prior to that, a guy in a short bed Chevy made a right on red into the left lane and stopped 30 feet later to turn left. I was going downhill at 35-40 mph about 5 minutes after it started raining. His bumper went over mine and straight through the intercooler and radiator. That was more than $5500 in damage.
I've got a good driving record but the truck had a really bad time for a while due to others not paying attention. Luckily, my '65 Plymouth Belvedere (twin turbo EFI 440) and my Crossfire SRT-6 have made it this far with no collisions.

The point? If you hit these trucks in any way except straight into the frame, they're going to bend something ugly. The bodies are just too weak to take the punishment.

 

if they determine it's going to cost more to repair than it's worth, and "write it off" you will have the option to purchase it back for 10% of it's book value.
so if they say it's worth $5000.00 , they will write you a check for $4500.00 and let you keep your truck as is, but you will probally have to have it re-certified road worthy.

 

Mine was totaled on 10/31/2005. I've since rebuilt it and had it appraised at $8000 in Dec. of 2006. See if you can find an appraiser to give you a value on your truck. I believe they can value the wreck and give you a pre-wreck estimate. My insurance company turned it over to North West Auto Salvage out of Spokane for them to argue with me. Their first offer was $4500 and I got it up to just under $6000 with cosmetic improvements over the years. Cost for parts was about $2500.

Right now I am shopping for a new Ins. Co if my old one will not give me a value of at least $15,000 for insurance coverage. BTW I have already found two that will give me the valve and the premiums are pretty good.

If you plan to rebuild shoot me a PM I got a pretty good list of parts suppliers.

Bob

 

Ouch, bummer. I think it might be totaled (numbers-wise). But definitely don't deal with the kid's insurance - don't even talk to them. Get good (real)estimates, like was suggested above and let your insurance people do the talking.

BTW, what's the deal with that 1stgen.org site?

 

I read the posts here and on the other forum, and want to add BE CAREFUL of the check the adjuster may write you. I had one adjuster write me a check, but the endorsement section on the back was a mini contract releasing the Insurance Company from any further liability for the incident, including medical! Since my wife had been rear-ended in our '92 Spirit, she had a minor whiplash that if I had signed the check, would no longer be the responsibility of the Insurance company! We didn't have any health insurance then, so I wasn't going to sign anything. Be sure you do not have anything in fine print on the check or any receipts the Insurance adjuster wants you to sign, which might limit your options!! Get your Best Shop estimate, not just any quote. Be ethical, but get what you deserve -- your truck restored to pre-accident condition!

 

why not deal with the kids insurance? mine has a $1000 deductible that i can't afford right now. any particular reason for not dealing with them? thanks.

 

I'm not saying ask your insurance to pay - just let them work with the other guy's insurance to get payment from them. The kid's insurance is going to low-ball the estimate and they are experts at doing anything they can to trick you into accepting the minimum amount they can get away with. Like that part about the small print on the check mentioned above. I'm sure they'll tell you anything to take a check, and soon as you cash it, it's game over.

OTOH, you can explain all the issues with the actual cost for repairs, etc. to your agent who is much more likely to listen with a sympathetic ear and work to get you a fair shake from the other insurance company.