Totaled? Lawyer?

Hey there! I was in a nasty rear ended yesterday. Frame damage was sustained, body damage to rear driver bed, possible suspension damage...many upgrades on truck incliding lift, 35s and wheels, are compressor and airbags. I'm nervous of a few things-

1. I tow over 8.5k lb all the time and rely on safety and strength of my truck- can this be repaired and not at a loss in overall integrity?

2. I am nervous about getting worked by insurance in terms of replacing all ad ons or compensating me appropriately, diminished value compensation and obtaining a rental truck as it's a work truck...should I get a lawyer? I'm new to all of this and want to do my due diligence but not sure where to start.

thank you for your time and advice. P

 

Whew! Hope you are okay… how’s your neck and back? I’d go to the hospital to get checked out just in case there are after effects. Yes, I’d contact a attorney for both you and the truck since that was some shot in the rear to bend the frame rail unless that is an engineering crumple feature. Hope you’re okay!

 

I don't think you'll lowballed on value with the book values being sky high right now on used vehicles.

Depending on your insurance company, they'll either 1)total it. or 2) replace the frame. I'm leaning towards new truck time.

If they don't total it the big issue will be what else it messed up. Bending the frame like that probably shoved the driveshaft into the trans. If it bottomed out it could have damaged the trans housing, mounts, motor mounts, t case and 100 other things.

My buddy had a Tacoma that as rear ended similarly. I told him totaled all day long. To our suprise his adjuster wrote up an estimate just a few thousand under book value with a full frame replacement. Once the shop got into it they found all sorts of broken and bent parts along the way. Eventually after 4 or 5 requests from the repair shop for more money from insurance, and a letter from a lawyer citing safety concerns they totaled it.

Not saying it will happen to you, just pointing out having a lawyer handy may be a good idea.

 

hope no one was hurt!

A lot depends on what you actually elected to pay for in coverage on your truck and what the person that rear ended you has.
Rental car while truck is being fixed is dependent on your (and their) insurance.
Only the insurance company can tell you if they’ll total it or repair it - none of us are the adjuster assigned to your case. A lot depends on the cost of the repairs and the valuation of the vehicle.
As for ask the upgrades you’ve got - unless you’ve been working with your insurance company to explicitly add major upgrades to your insurance coverage, then there’s a high likelihood you won’t get full value out of them. It’s one thing to keep receipts and logs of add-ons, but unless the insurance company is in the know and has added them to your coverage, it’s necessarily what they signed up to cover you for.

best of luck.

 

If it's 100% the other driver's fault, does it matter that you haven't explicitly added add-ons/mods to your coverage?

 

Yes, the insurance will only cover what’s original. You modifying the truck and not adding those modifications to the truck will not be covered.

 

Can't you simply file a personal property damage claim against the at-fault driver?...to be covered by their insurance.

 

Ok - I’ll start with the 2nd question first as it’s easiest.

- No, an attorney will do you NO good. An attorney works for you, taking a cut of what they negotiate. Ideally it’s more than you could ever hope to get on your own and you get more. 99.9% of attorneys have any interest in arguing property damage cases - and that .01 % - they pass it on to a legal assistant and just take a cut. No attorney is interested in arguing value of your mods.

Now as to the mods/value add/diminished value - only app,use if your dealing with the OTHER guys insurance - yours has a very tight contract to follow and they will.

 

OP got rearended. Most likely not his fault. If not his fault then the offending driver's insurance will cover whatever got fracked up.
Let's say the OP had a slide in camper and the back of the camper got fracked up. Property damage....

 

Get an attorney and not an ambulance chaser. Do it first thing Mon A.M. you will be glad in the end.

 

If not injured then a lawyer is not needed yet. Diminished value fight doesn't necessarily require a lawyer. Lawyers suck up $$$. Wait and see what the other driver's insurance does. My 07 tunny got rearended. Wasn't my fault. Had police report. I let my insurance know what happened. Met Life. They handled everything to my satisfaction. My way. Waived my deductible. Rates didn't go up. Met Life billed the offending party's insurance. Done...fini...

 

A lawyer should be able to add legal fees to the claim, OP will need to ask about the law in his state.

 

You are only covered for aftermarket upgrades if you purchase that through insurance. I just bought mine today, insured with progressive. There is a specific category that covers upgrades\mods. It’s extra but covers anything you have as long as you can provide receipts \purchase\install.

 

Thank you all for your input- here is the question- I should be going through the other insurance as I was rear ended at no fault of my own-why is my insurance being questioned so much? It's the other persons I am contended with right?

 

True...if you are at fault....

 

I wouldn't expect the offending party's insurance to represent you in your best interests.....

 

True, but the offending parties insurance is never going to cover aftermarket upgrades. Their adjusters will run the vehicle and find out the damage repair cost, the totaled value of the vehicle per their "KBB" style of appraisal. Bigger tires, exhaust, racing flames, window tint will not be factored in.

 

You don't know what the offending party's insurance coverage is. My youngest brother has been with Mercury Insurance for almost 25 years now. Head of the fraud department. My next to youngest brother was with Farmer's for 20 years. Head of the claims dept. PE/School teacher now. I go with their experience and advice.....

 

My point is, it’s going to a fight. Insurance is going to pay the bare minimum they can. My wife was a claims adjuster and my brother-IL is a fraud investigator for over 7 years. I’m simply stating don’t give up, don’t accept the other parties BS first, second or 3rd attempt. Fight the man and good luck brother!

 

Sorry you are dealing with this.

I've never been in a similar situation, so I could be wrong, but as I understand it; you shouldn't be talking to the other driver's insurance provider. Your insurance provider should be, because if the other guy's insurance doesn't pay then yours will have to. They have a vested interest in you being covered in a satisfactory manner by the other company.

 

My State Farm insurance covers all mods to the vehicle and does not use the national vehicle average price. it uses the price in my area. The price of a truck in Ca. is not the same as in the rust belt. Check what your policy covers and make adjustments.

 

Yes - BUT this assumes a. The other person has insurance and b. They have sufficient limits.

Given that eliminates like 25% of drivers in some areas - it’s a possibility.

Again - speak with them first, then have a clearer direction. Way too many variables to come into a forum asking “what should I do” at this point.

 

You know this how - psychic ability ?

This is why I avoid these topics - way too many voices talking with 0 knowledge of what WILL happen - just repeating what they think MiGHT.

As I said OP - so what develops and go from there - the limited info so far is no where near enough to advise on.

 

Frame shop can straighten that out. As long as it's not crumpled/split, it is able to be fixed. I t-boned a car in mine and the front rails were pulled, slightly, back into position. It's not "frame damage" if it can be straightened on a frame table.

 

Small accident like this you are better off dealing with the insurance company without leach sucking attorney who gets 40% with zero skin in the game. I would call my insurance forward all the paperwork and let them deal with the other insurance company. You can always hire a lawyer but once you do your committed to their schedule. Police reports sound all big and important but in reality they are nothing but opinion. Easily contested. Insurance companies dont want to make a career out of claims and your adjuster salary doesn't change based on your claim. If they "feel" or judge other person is at fault they will a happily make sure you are taken care of. If no injuries this is a minor accident. It accidents with injuries where things get interesting.

 

I just went through this two years ago - the good news is toyotas have a very high value in the eyes of insurance companies. If you have receipts for any of the upgrades you can submit them to the insurance company for review and potential payment. It differs from company to company and you may have to pushback a bit. In order to expedite my claim since the truck was my daily driver, my insurance sent the adjuster, covered the claim and then went after the at faults party insurance company for every dollar. There was no "ding" to my policy at all.

 

I'd be taking those wheels off and any other mods that weren't damaged. Buy some steelies of craigslist to throw on there. And I'd wait on an attorney until you find out what insurance is going to offer. Just don't sign anything until it's satisfactory.

 

An attorney will have no interest in getting additional value on the car......there is no meat on that bone for them. If there was an injury involved, they would go after that. But to expect to hire an attorney to get value of modifications back on a car is an exercise in futility......whatever you can remove from the car before the adjuster comes, do it.

 

This, I wholly support this.

I had a less than month old brand new 2017 Ram Sport Lux that I got T-boned in by a red light runner.

Tried to deal with the at-fault insurance company and it was a massive head ache, and they tried to pin 25% fault on me. This because they asked me to tell my side of the story (was all in police report). I told them didn’t see her hit me, which is due to her hitting my passenger rear quarter of my truck. They tried to argue I should have never entered the intersection to begin with, and should have avoided someone running a red light at over 55mph.

I then filed a claim with my insurance so they would handle it. I had to pay my deductible (which was refunded), but it was totally worth it.

 

This. I had a similar situation too and got some good advice to file the claim through YOUR insurance who will (should) work on your behalf through subrogation to get your claim settled through the others insurance - that’s why you pay good money for insurance. It took a while but my claim got paid and settled to my satisfaction and I got my deductible back right away.