Whata Crappy Day **Wrecked My Truck** PICS

[Panelman55]

Can we say "Lawyer". Thats the same crap load I got form them on a VW bug I crashed. The first offer was 650.00 I told the ins man I had a loan owed for 1000.00 for a new engine and would not settle for a dime less. the next offer was 800.00. Again I said no, and don't call me any more call my lawyer. They hate Lawyers. Next offer was 950.00. I took it because that was all I had in the car. The engine cost 450.00 and was 4 years old. Then the shocker was when the tow truck backed into the yard to get it. He left in a hurry without it. I think he saw the gun I was holding and changed his mind.

[RuralRoute C-30]

Been watching this thread and how it would play out. Sorry to hear you are now at the negotiation time...it never is pleasant or fair.

Actually Bob makes a good point on any potential medical issues due to this accident. Insurance companies hate having "open cases" where an accident is not medically closed with a settlement.

Just as a leverage tool it may increase the bottom-end paid to you if this is something brought up as well and that you are willing to sign off on any future claims possibly related to this accident.

Case in point: I had a mishap with the Illinois department of Transportation once. Basically they cut a large hole in the highway, went to lunch, failed to cone/barricade the hole or the lane it was located and I was the unlucky one to find it first. They were quick to pay for the car, it was totaled, and literally came to my door with the deal I kept the car as well if I would just sign off on any medical issues in the future. Similar as you, I even declined medical treatment at the scene as I did not feel hurt "at the time" nor suggested I would be seeing a doctor in the future. Granted the air bag was a sudden sensation and it broke my sunglasses!

Yet they/their attorneys knew the case was in truth not "closed" until I did agree on signing the medical release of any future liability.

Point here: Like Bob mentioned, medical release forms can be a powerful negotiating tool in the game you are unfortunate now to have to play during this 'negotiated settlement' period. Use the same tools they use to keep them honest, and be honest as well.

Basically do what you can without an attorney...but suggest you have talked to yours. Keep 'em fair...they won't do it willingly.

Mark

[willett]

hey thats not so bad, now you have an excuse to fix those rockers!

[Gemp]

The whole deal sucks....

[bigblazerboy]

nooo i liked that truck a lot that sucks man. hope you get it all fixed up

[Steviebinmiss]

dang. That was a nice truck. how old was the punk that hit you?

[SSC's76]

Originally Posted by Mil-Spec

Yeah I'm OK. Thanks for everyon'e well-wishes.

I missed a call from the other guy's insurance company this afternoon, wanting my side of the story. So I'll give em a call in the morn'n. I'm sure before they called me they call the other guy first. I am a little irritated that the guy at my Ins Co., who sounded disinterested in my situation, told me that because the accident was completely the other guys fault my Ins Co. had ZERO involvement in this situation. This guy wasn't my actaul agent so I'm gonna call back and talk to my agent.

Yeah I really hate the idea of totalling out the truck. My head has been spinning playing out all the possible ways this could play out. I really appreciate everyone's points of view. As for sheet metal at a minimum I'm gonna need: Fender, inner fender, both doors, Lower patch for the quarter, bother rockers and the floor board drop-offs.

Exactly how do they determine the value of the vehicle? I looked a NADA's webiste for classic vehicles and for my Suburban, Low to Average Retail is anywhere between $2500 to $5500. Is this scale or one similar to it not what the Ins Co. will base their estimate off of? Or do they use something with lower figures?

Yep like I said they use autotrader.com not NADA for older cars. They look for a replacement "being sold for currently value" then they low ball you. Your truck looks nice from what I can see IMO it would be on a high end value. Go to the autotrader website find some thing close to your year and condition. Then go back to the ins and say I cannot find a replacement for the total loss under X$. They do not want to pay for a repair so you need to approach this as a replacement then opt to buy it back and have the repair done. Granted there is no hurry on your end your truck still runs so its not a matter of must fix. The reason they do not want to fix your truck is because they dont want to pay for a rental car while the repairs are being done. Just tell them I want to be made whole and I am not going to agree on any offer that will not repair damages caused be your insured to my veh to bring it back to pre accident condition. Play it out for a few weeks, let them leave messages and they will threaten "finial offer" were going to "close the claim" and such but nothing is set in stone until you agree and cash a check. Its sad they play these games but you need to play back.

[Mil-Spec]

Well I took the day off to deal with the Ins Co. I didn't feel like have a argument in the office. But right now we're playing phone tag. So we'll see.

Did get out last weekend in the beautiful weather and clean the truck up a bit. Took off the running boards and ripped up trim.











Free ground clearence


Did find this under the rear seats, pretty neat.


I remembered awhile back seeing a suburban in a salvage yard so i went back to take a look at it. Not the right year but I was thinking if the doors were decent i could use them. But I call today and they told me they don't sell part anymore and they are just gonna "shred" it. Didn't make sense. i may call again or show up and try again.

[BGRAFX]

Man that's a perfectly good blue suburban and there is the other white truck in the background!! i hate seeing trucks go to waste.

[old Rusty C10]

there looks like a good deal of good stuff at that yard i hope they dont shred it all... you should not have taken anything off.. it makes the damage less.. I wold also get on the phone with the state and complain this insurance company is dragging their heels on this and then id inform them you will be suing the other driver for the damages youll see how fast they start to move

[Mil-Spec]

Originally Posted by old Rusty C10

there looks like a good deal of good stuff at that yard i hope they dont shred it all... you should not have taken anything off.. it makes the damage less.. I wold also get on the phone with the state and complain this insurance company is dragging their heels on this and then id inform them you will be suing the other driver for the damages youll see how fast they start to move

Yeah it seems like they would make more on a vehicle by parting it out. But that yard is a lot emptier than it used to be. Off camera to the picture shown are stacks of compacted car. They told me that they haven't sold a car part in about 2 years. Which is about the time that scrap prices went up. At a glance there were 3 73-91 chevys, 70 Impala, and what looks like a 70 Torino. I imagine the price of scrap does not compare to what a Torino shell could sell for. That's just me.

Regarding the removing of the Damage. The Co. has already decided to total it out. So at this point removing anything isn't going to affect the outcome. You would think as the owner you would have the right to say NO I don't want it totalled out and I want you to fix it. If it that is more than they wnat to spend, well that's just par for the course.

Besides my neighbor's greatly appreciate removing the ripped up stuff (they'd love for me to get rid of the whole truck). They're the kind that sit behind their curtains looking out the window while they call "Code Enforcment". They're just swell, lemme tell ya.

[grinch4om]

take it to a reputable shop, get a reasonable estimate, present it to the insurance company. It's your truck, their client hit you. They cannot demand where you go to get it fixed. They cannot take your truck. They can however ask to see it fixed. Been here numerous times when my classics have been nailed. Stand your ground, old risty 10 is spot on.

[Mil-Spec]

Originally Posted by grinch4om

take it to a reputable shop, get a reasonable estimate, present it to the insurance company. It's your truck, their client hit you. They cannot demand where you go to get it fixed. They cannot take your truck. They can however ask to see it fixed. Been here numerous times when my classics have been nailed. Stand your ground, old risty 10 is spot on.

How does that work if the other guy's Ins Co. wants to Total it out? They are not telling where to take it nor do they want to fix it. They just want to "Total" it and to cut me a check for $1290 and move on.

Regardless I'm keeping the truck, here in Ohio you can buy it back under a Salvage title if it does get totaled. But if I can take it to a shop and get it fixed and stick the Ins Co. with the bill, I won't lose any sleep over that either. And would rather just get it fixed.

My question is, is what kind of rights does a person have with regards to Ins. Co. decisions? And if you don't agree with their decision are they still required to payout?

[old Rusty C10]

the law is that the insurance company does not have a "right to salvage" any vehicle they do not directly insure.... in other words they cannot take your vehicle as part of the settlement.
the law states that you can have the vehicle repaired at the shop of your choice, it just has to be a licensed auto body repair shop.
YOU need to go get a couple of estimates at a couple of local guys.
In that estimate you need to include color matching paint blending replacement of the rocker, replacement of the running board and hardware, allignment of body panels, matching the reflective stickers, pinstripe and lettering ( painted yours is painted and not cheap stickers) wheel allignment, replacement of the fender and both doors and repair to the rear quarter replacement of the wheel trim ring, a rental car for at least three or four days while your truck is being repaired etc etc
At that point you tell the other insurance company you want your truck fixed for the higher of the estimates and if they tell you no say ok no problem and sue the owner of the car that hit you. You DO have the right as the owner of the vehicle to have it repaired to the same condition as it was prior to the guy hitting you. This means used parts as your truck is far from new. You can give the estimates with new and used parts if you want..
Think of it like selling your vehicle you list it for $5000 and someone offers you 2500 do you say ok or do you dicker back and forth??
the insurance company can try to slow you down and lowball you but thats why we have courts. You do , however need to present a reasonable and viable case to the court. This means if you do sue the owner of the other car you not only need estimates but you need proof of what your truck is worth. Get copies of like trucks in Hemmings craigslist and ebay as well as local listings. Argue that your truck is a classic and being its an old firetruck you wanted to restore it to that grandeur for use in parades and as a classic vehicle in car shows.This establishes the value of your vehicle as a classic as opposed to some piece of crap the city threw away after they were done abusing it and its no longer a $300 truck. You also need to show proof of all mods and repairs done to the vehicle to show its worth more than the average city throw away.
All of this has been said now,,,, do your homework and what you have to do or forget it all and accept the paltry $1290 the insurance is offering. Youve been told several times here what to do and how to do it..I know if that was my truck id be walking away with about $2500 or more.
You can also bear in mind that every day i serve legal process , have worked for insurance companies as an adjuster/investigator( where i tried to lowball people like this insurance is doing to you), work for lawyers doing accident investigations(trying to maximize payouts like im doing for you) ,and have had several accidents where i was hit not at fault and have always maximized my payoff.. I know what im talking about...
PS i just gave you the advice a lawyer would give his client hes getting paid to represent... you just saved yourself a minimum of $350 on legal advice