I think I may have totaled my 2020 TRD Pro Tundra

Make sure if it isn't totalted you will be pursuing diminished value equal to repair bill. This may push the repair to total the vehicle. They will laugh at this but your dealing with the bottom level. If you were at fault you get no diminished value.

 

Not necessarily accurate.....states differ in what's allowable and some insurance companies don't want to touch the diminished value discussion. Ask me how I know - I will be happy to upload pictures on my pristine 4runner that was totaled two days after I paid it off by a guy who ran a red light going 55 mph. Had a herniated disk in my back as a result and hired an attorney. They denied any claim of "diminished value" and they eventually totaled the car. Initially the other insurance company wanted to get an estimate for repair. It was 5 years old, had 100k miles and EVERY air bag was deployed.

When the topic of injury came about, they used my previous back surgeries against me and said there was no way to know that the accident caused the "new" injury, despite having a clean MRI a year prior. Each insurance company has lawyers looking out for the best interest of their companies. After it was all said and done, my insurance company (GEICO) got a much larger payout on the 4runner than initially offered and the lawyer got much less than what I was expecting considering my injuries........came out in the wash. When there was discussion of possibly repairing my car, I mentioned diminished value and got laughed off of the phone.....

YMMV

 

Its repairable. Glad everyones ok

 

Shawn474 if your not willing to go to court you will not get an equitable result. Its that simple. I have won cases against insurance companies. They are cowards and they will avoid litigation at all cost. Your injury was an easy $175K. As far as states I am in in Texas but the truth is always a viable defense.

When the topic of injury came about, they used my previous back surgeries against me and said there was no way to know that the accident caused the "new" injury, despite having a clean MRI a year prior. (you had a pathetic lawyer, they must make you whole to the second before the injury) I guess if an old fragile person is in accident they get nothing they were already frail? I recently saw a payout of $70K for soft injuries not requiring surgery for an accident at speeds under 2mph in parking lot. All insurance companies want to avoid litigation at all cost. Period.

some insurance companies don't want to touch the diminished value discussion. They wont have a choice in front of judge. Most small claims courts are good to $20K. Send one page letter of demand, file petition to court in your town. wait for phone call, cash check.

 

Times have changed.....it used to be that insurance companies would settle for exorbitant sums of money. They had retained lawyers who would advise them and it behooved those lawyers to get paid their fees and NOT go to court. In the last 5-10 years the larger insurance companies have put full time lawyers on payroll with the explicit purpose of blowing up and claims of injury / disability to limit the payouts. The days of $100k payouts without significant injury are gone and will get so tied up in court and processes that its a battle of attrition.

I could have went to court - it would have cost me a lot more time and money. The lawyer wasn't the issue - you have to find a doctor who will put their reputation on the line and potentially be willing to testify that the injury was direct relation to the accident. And that it caused permanent or long term damage.....it isn't as easy as people suggest. I was treated with PT and steroid injections. My lawyer got me enough to cover my costs (co-pays, parking, etc) with enough to have a little bit of pocket change to put down on the new truck. I was satisfied given all the facts and circumstances.

Here are some pictures:

 

Guy at work got T-boned hard, found ambulance chaser lawyer who sent him to rehab 3 days a week, not a thing wrong with guy. In fact after two months he said I not going to physical therapy anymore, not worth it. He got $38K not including any property damage. Attorney gets 40%, if he got nothing attorney got nothing.

 

I’m glad to hear that “everyone” is OK! Hard to say if totaled or not. I’m leaning toward them totaling the vehicle, mainly due to the air bag deployment and cost of parts with the state of economy we are currently in. You should know something soon! Whatever the outcome is, I hope it becomes a blessing in disguise for you and family!

 

Yet we wonder why premiums are so high and we are in such a litigious society…..unethical lawyers and unethical people profiting for no reason. I am all for being compensated for inconvenience, etc but that’s borderline criminal

 

Lawyers have always been the problem. Gutless wonders.

 

It's state by state. Oregon allows it, insurance companies fight it. You'll have to fight back and lawyer up thru your insurance company.
I started to do a DV claim when my Accord got hit, and after learning how much I'd actually be able to get IF I won, it wasn't worth the amount of time and effort

 

Looks like the A-pillar is good, rockers are good/fair, and frame/suspension should be fixable judging by the angle of the wheel. So it appears that the damage is all ancillary. The insurance company will want to fix that.

Here in KY anything less than 80% of the value of the vehicle and they'll try to fix it. It's a shitty rule, but that's how it is.

 

Id say totaled cause airbag

 

Not to get off track but Diminished Value is Law in Texas and it is a very simple process. If they do not pay a reasonable submitted amount and they want to argue then it is as simple as filing in small claims and then they end up paying all fees incurred plus the reasonable submitted amount! Do to a recent case that is about all I can say about that!!!! Making it RAIN!!!

 

please remember if they DO NOT total it, when it comes time to trade it - it'll have a huge "black mark accident" against it via CarFax. It could easily ding ya several $1000, IMHO

 

Anything over 2002.00 shows up on CARFAX in Texas. Or something like that the number is close??

 

if a car shows an accident on carfax 55% of people won't even look at it. Even if a car/truck has ZERO damage but is shown to be in accident on carfax expect a 5-8K drop in value for anything under 3 years old. Truth be told if a car has been wrecked it IS NOT WORTH AS MUCH. The panel gap will never be perfect, the paint may not be as clean and more than likely they use cheap aftermarket parts. I had a dimished value case years ago, insurance offered $1400? after multiple jack off sessions. Most lawyers said no more than $4k. I hired Autoloss to work up an apprasiel which came back at $9400 (Repair bill was $9300 all cosmetic). I did my best to prove the Autoloss appraisel wrong prior to filing and only proved it RIGHT. I walked away with $8500. A one page court petition and $55 and case was settled in 2 mintue phone call. You have to get past the idiot customer service representatives and get to the decision makers usually the idiot lawyers.

If you have a 5 plus year old car, than diminished value starts to drop pretty quick but in this case its a 2020? holy crap it taken a hit and that great get the diminished value have the truck repaired and be driving around with an extra $18K? in your pocket. trust me when you go to trade-in they will take off almost dollar for dollar your repair cost.

 

In Texas two year statute of limitations and the wrecked party can have anyone they want repair the vehicle!!!!

 

Again since his is a 2020 he will probably get approved for OEM parts. If older than 2 years even if you take to dealer they will use aftermarket parts. Remember dealers are not owned by the manufacturer. Rule 1 don't buy a wrecked car, you won't have to worry about if it was repaired correctly. rule 2 don't trust Carfax most accidents are not reported 3) if buy used car pay $300 for independent inspection

 

So glad someone else was thinking the same thing I was

OP if the accident was your fault you can't claim diminishment of value against your own insurance if it wasn't, hire a private appraiser after the repairs have been complete and have them appraise your vehicle. Ask him to specifically write up two appraisals one before the loss and one after the loss using the final repair estimate and then turn around and present it to the other carrier. Most of the time if you present the paperwork that comes from an actual appraiser they will pay you.

 

Why wait for repairs to be completed?
n Texas, a recent case memorialized the default rule for measuring partial property damages as the difference in the market value immediately before and immediately after the damage to such property at the place where the damage was occasioned. J&D Towing, LLC v. Am. Alternative Ins. Corp,l 478 S.W.3d 649 (Tex. 2016). In other States, the principles of law are the same. At the moment the vehicle is damaged, that is when we measure the loss amount. These common laws form the basis for the guidelines used by most professional appraisers. The effective date of the appraisal has to be identified and utilized in order to define the value and market properly.
In the context of inherent diminished value, there is no exception. Judges have been known to get it wrong, but nevertheless we measure the loss of value at the same time we measure the extent of the repairable damages, immediately after the damages occurred. Repairs DO NOT even have to be completed before an accurate estimate of inherent diminished value can be produced.

Present all the paperwork you want, be 100% committed to going to court. I showed my Autoloss appraisal to the insurance company they want from 1100 to 1200. LMAO. got $8500. You have to get around the customer service idiots. I suggest going straight to a demand letter. They include an example in their report. What makes it so easy now is using Carvanna for comps which is optional. One thing for sure without a certified appraisal you get pennies. What I say, you say, your buddy say, means nothing, pay the $375 for appraisal, write letter, get paid.

 

Putting the sentimental reasons aside, would you want this truck after it's repaired if you were purchasing it? No. The gaps between all panels will never be the same, the truck will always pull, or make a weird noise. Was it from the accident? Or is it a bearing going out? Dump it, and let the Insurance company deal with making you whole. if you have an option error on the side of safety. You don't want the headache.

 

I highly recommend doing a DV claim. Hire an experienced DV appraiser and don't give up.

Sincerely,
- A guy who won a DV claim in California against state farm.

 

Yeah...my Accord mentioned previously..when I went to trade it in, I had three values from three different dealers. Book for clean trade was about $21k. I got one offer of $16.5k, one for $10k and the third was "we don't want it". This was a 8 month old car with 4800 miles.

 

I would love the truck after repairs if I get dimished value ck of $15-18K. I driving around a known commodity for $30K. There is nothing wrong with a wrecked vehicle with panel misalignment if you get equitable cash in your pocket. On flip side avoid any used vehicle with mechanical damage. they use the cheapest chinese made parts for AC's, alternators, suspension components etc. You will have future problems. Oh the useless lifetime warranty bs, you feel like taking it back every 6 months and renting a car?????

 

Just providing everyone an update that I got a notice from my insurance company this morning that they are totaling the truck. Damages were listed out in detail in excess of 30K. Now on to figuring out what the payout will be. I'm hopeful it's closer to $53-55K or more but have a feeling they are going to offer ~$47-49K. Open to opinions on what you'd be willing to fight for if this was your truck. Thanks all!

 

Sorry to hear. The good news is there are still some 2021 pros floating around. Jump on one before they're gone. Good luck

 

$30k! seems a bit inflated did the insurance company write the estimate or the shop? Don't get into your feelings just yet in the meantime do some research on other Tundra's being sold in your area and present them to your insurance company if your not happy with whatever settlement they provide you with

 

Must have been frame damage.

I’d get on Autotrader and Car Gurus and start finding the true replacement cost you’re looking at.

 

The more pertinent question is what do you owe? When my 4runner was totaled it was paid off - and insurance gave me $27.5 which all went toward the new vehicle purchase. The problem right now is that the used market is so inflated. If you owe $35k and they give you $55k, that $20k is a nice down payment on a new truck. But you will be paying inflated used prices on a replacement truck as well.......if you have receipts for any aftermarket add-ons, wheels, new tires, etc. you can sometimes provide them to increase the initial offer. But, wait until after they come back with their initial appraisal though.

 

It’s a shitty situation for sure. At least if you get back what you put in to it you can move on. Fair market value of current trucks being sold is good advice to present. I hope it all works out for you.