I have a new frame under mine!!! There was no body damage just the front bumper and a small dent in the frame...Ended up being $11k...NO way would I let them pulll on my brand new truck...Dont be a fool take it to a dealer! Also dont settle for a few hundred on your diminished value.. Progressive settled at $5k on mine

BTW... Its been a year now and not one problem!!

 

Since this is a new situation for me....
Are you saying that the insurance company gave you 5K on top of the repair because of diminished value of your truck?

 

yes google diminished value and do lots of research.. I Found a company..paid like $400 and they got me $5000.. The guy I was working with at progressive told me they would have totaled the truck if they had known that. I mean really think about it..Would you go buy a truck w/ a new frame? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! If they dont total it your pretty much stuck with it.

 

Thank you very much for that info -

Being that this accident was not my fault at all, I am fighting with this insurance company all the way - this will certainly give me some leverage!

 

Diminished value laws vary by state. This poster lives in GA. GA has some consumer friendly laws about diminished value. Progressive lost a big lawsuit in GA over diminished value. Do some research about the laws in your state. If you have any questions post them. Check my user name. I got 20 years experience. I only do Homeowner's these days, but have some auto experience.

 

Well besides what I have posted already about the value of the truck in my own mind, of course I always worry about the monetary value also.
In fact, I was praying that the truck would be totaled because of this. But, it looks like it is going to be repaired, and I had no recourse. I even had my own insurance company's appraiser look at my truck, and he pretty much concurred with the repair vs. total.

I've never heard of this diminished value before today. I live in Penna.
I did as suggested with a Google search, and filled out a questionnaire for one place I found - will see what comes of it.

I'm not out to try and screw anybody. I was just driving home one day last week, and this old man really screwed my truck up. All I want is back where I was 5 minutes before the crash.

 

I'm fairly confident that they'll have to compensate your for the diminished value. Here's some good reading to start. http://www.autoclaimshelp.net/BSB_magazine_story.htm

 

x2

they may fix the truck back to perfect standards...but it will never be the same afterwards. If your frame is tweaked, the truck needs to be totalled or a whole new frame.


metal fatigue is a dangerous thing. once bent, the metal is weaker. you cannot just solve the problem of a bent frame by twisting it back into shape. it'll be straight perhaps, but the original strength is gone

 

Thought I would update.....

The insurance company (the other driver's) informed me today that they will accept 70% liability. I just can't believe this as the other driver admitted fault, and the violation listed on the police report.......

Anyway, this might be a good thing as far as my truck is concerned. I now have to run this through my insurance, and they will battle it out with the other insurance company.

This way, my insurance adjuster will evaluate the truck.

On a side note - this is why insurance is so expensive I guess - why they would assume only 70% of the liability......I guess just to see if I would roll over and take it - now the battle is on!

 

Least he had insurance...Guy that hit me was 16 w/ only his learners permit driving a junky *** KIA.. I had to pay my $1000 deductible....And on top of that the Cop that worked the scene transferred to Florida so They did not give him an at fault ticket, only a ticket for no insurance

 

you may have issues with doors closing and parts not fitting right from now on, I hope they total it for your sake.

 

You have no idea of what you are talking about. Guess how they form the frame? They bend it. I worked in a body shop and was an adjuster for over 30 years and saw, did or paid for thousands of frames to be repaired. You need someone who knows what they are doing with a good frame machine. If they do it properly, you'll never know there was ever any damage. I've driven repaired frame vehicles for hundreds of thousands of miles and I never had the first problem.

 

Anyway, this might be a good thing as far as my truck is concerned. I now have to run this through my insurance, and they will battle it out with the other insurance company.

This way, my insurance adjuster will evaluate the truck.

On a side note - this is why insurance is so expensive I guess - why they would assume only 70% of the liability......I guess just to see if I would roll over and take it - now the battle is on![/QUOTE]


Tell them that 70% in unacceptable. I had a guy admit fault and his insurance ate 100% and then some. If they broadsided you that is there fault and you should be held 0% at fault. I would speak with your insurance agent and tell them that other insurances 70% is BS. If you get the feeling your being jerked around get yourself a good lawyer. Remember insurance will screw you any chance they can get to save money.

 

The other driver is at 100% fault - in fact he just called me an hour ago to see how I was making out - told him the story.....he assured me he told the insurance company exactly the same as he told the state trooper at the scene. I just don't know where his insurance company is coming from with the 70/30 thing.
Anyway, with the advise of my insurance people, I have turned the claim over to them. They are going to pay for the repairs of my truck under my collision, and then go after them for the money through arbitration. This is all such bull......no wonder insurance costs so much.

I will hear from my insurance appraiser on Tuesday with his assessment of the damage, and I'll take it from there.

Oh how I wish that guy never pulled out in front of me, or I was 5 seconds later coming down the road - this has turned into a nightmare for me.

 

yep, and it's a 1 time thing that isn't to occur again.

I work as a Nuclear Pipefitter...aka I make and connect the shiny stainless steel pipes that connect to Nuclear Reactors and support their various subsystems...not the same thing as frame technology, but the basics are the same.

Metal Fatigue is a very real issue. You can bend something once with some plastic deformation...but keep on and you weaken the metal and somewhere down the line you'll get brittle fracture.


Take a 6" piece of .062" wire. Bend it in half. Then straighten it. The force to bend it in half again a second time will be signifcantly reduced.I wish you well with all of your hundreds of thousands of "rebent" miles, but I won't be in one of them.