Last night about 5:40 I was on Germantown Pkwy (one of the busier streets) around here and traffic was horrible. I'm approaching an intersection and was not going to be able to make it all the way through so I stopped before entering the intersection. A 16 year old kid in a Ford Ranger was not paying attention to what was in front of him because he wanted to switch lanes when he couldn't. He plowed into the back of me doing about 40-45mph. Now his insurance gets to buy me new parts and maybe new paint on a few body panels.

I've put pictures on my FaceBook here. If that doesn't work let me know and I'll try and put them on PhotoBucket.

I stopped by a friends body shop today after work and he saw how bent the trailer hitch was and was asking how bad the damage was to the other guys truck since my trailer hitch is shot.

I haven't called his insurance company yet but is there anything I should be sure to mention or ask when I call them tomorrow? My friend said something about getting compensated for the value lost when I go to sell the truck?

 

When a car is in an accident, its value goes down significantly, so try and get the insurance company to cover that cost. Also make sure you are getting all OEM parts, not cheap aftermarket.

 

Ford12508, is there a way to figure out how much value is lost from an accident? I'm 24 and never had a wreck so this is all new to me.

A guy who used to work for my grandfather has his own body shop so I'm going to try and stop by his place tomorrow so he can pull the bumper off/back and get a look at all the damage and give me an estimate on the price and then I'm going to go to another body shop that my friends dad owns and get an estimate from him so I have 2 estimates for the insurance company. I'll make sure both of them quote OEM parts.

Thanks

 

hmm, i could use that hitch, the towstrap always falls off when i'm getting pulled out of the mud

 

White paint, bumper and mount with hitch took most of it, that's gonna be an easy one for a good shop to fix so you'll never know it was damaged.

Even if it might be true with you ... it's not true when applied to the general market.

If it's fixed reasonably professionally, 90% or more folk do not deduct for that.

Even among those who look at it that closely, half will simply evaluate how well the damage was repaired and consider it as OK if it is indeed "OK". Not like the old days when paint was hard to match and seldom lasted, now many paint repairs are better than the OEM's paint.

 

97isnotold, let me get all this crap sorted out then I'll PM you about the hitch.

tbear, where'd you come up with the 90% number? And I don't know how well you can see it but both body panels have at least scratches and missing paint so wouldn't they have to repaint the entire thing to fix them?

Does anyone know how much it would cost to get a PTM bumper with reverse sensors? Maybe someone who has done it could give me an estimate. I'd rather have PTM instead of chrome and the chrome bumper with sensors is like $850.

 

My guy here would paint what needed to be painted with a blend and 15 minutes out of his booth it'ld get it's first waxing. You would never know he did it. He spent 200K on his system 20+ years ago when others said he was crazy.

His insurance is paying, why not let them put a matching chrome bumper with sensors on it?

You question my ball park figure but you don't question his ?

If you were to be looking for a truck just like yours, and you found yours after it's been properly repaired, a bumper, new sensors, new hitch/mount, and paint that shows no sign of mismatch .... and the truck has what you want .... are you gonna walk away?

Do you think your truck, once fixed properly, is any less of a truck or that it's worth any less?

 

OEM from TascaParts.com:

-Bumper:
--PTM: 378 + cost of paint
--Chrome: 362

-Step pad: 106
-Sensors: 80 per

Also figure in new brackets, tow bar, shipping, etc...

Definitely not cheap.

 

Note to self, put a hitch on my truck, asap.

 

tbear, I was just curious about where you came up with the 90% number. My friends mom was rear-ended in her scion and she got paid for loss of value on the car or something like that. I forget what it was his dad called it. I wasn't doubting anything you said.

I spent quite a few months looking for the truck I have but in black and couldn't find it anywhere around my area without it having a ton of miles which is why I got a white one instead. It's not exactly what I wanted but it had everything I wanted except it was white instead of black and I can deal with white until I can get it painted.

I think the PTM bumpers look better than chrome, that's why. Like you said, his insurance is paying for a new chrome bumper with sensors so if a PTM bumper with sensors is less, why shouldn't I if I like it better?

Actually I would walk away from it. I walked away from several trucks (and bikes when I was looking for another one) because they had been in accidents before buying this one. It just makes me feel better knowing that if I buy something it hasn't been wrecked and needed to be fixed. With the way my luck goes, I'd have an issue with a part that was repaired once I bought it. I've got enough problems and money going out of my pocket due to health issues and needing a liver transplant that it's just peace of mind for me and I'm willing to wait for peace of mind on my transportation since it'll probably never happen with my health

 

Friend at the body shop called up someone today to get a price on the chrome bumper and he said for everything was $850 but I don't think he included labor. Maybe I'll take it up to Ford too to get them to price it out for me also.

blue, where'd you find the $362/378 prices? I'm looking at it and see $532 for chrome and $366 for PTM.

Either way, it's still going to be quite a bit.

 

i might have been looking at the wrong year.

check TascaParts.com and FordParts.com

FordParts.com you can enter your vin, and it will show you exactly what is on your truck currently.

 

Thanks blue! Much appreciated.

PS: The parts you got back look great

 

Not sure if anyone said this but I know with Nationwide, they will not put on OEM parts. They use LKQ or like kind quality. Usually off another wrecked vehicle where the part was not damaged. Sent to bodyshop, painted to match and put on. If you wanted OEM parts, you have to come out of pocket for the difference. That is just with Nationwide. Hopefully you have a much better insurance company. As far as the estimates you get, they are useless and a waste of your time. The only estimate a bodyshop will go by is what the adjuster writes. If the adjuster misses anything which they always do, the bodyshop contacts the adjuster, he comes out and will write a supplement check which you will never see. Wheather or not that specifc part gets put on is how trustworthy the bodyshop actually is. I've had a few incidents where this has all happened to me and had to learn some of this on my own. There are also a few but very few loopholes that bodyshops will use to get the OEM parts without you paying for the difference. Hopefully since you know the bodyshop owners on a personal level, they will do you justice. Do post pictures if you get a chance. And do contact the other insurance company asap to get your truck fixed.

 

His insurance company is StateFarm, which is also mine, and they've always been fair. We had both a car and a motorcycle stolen from our house and we got more than what they were worth from them. My mom hit something in her car and they got it fixed perfect and she pocketed money.

I've got pictures on my FaceBook but I'll try and get some on PhotoBucket tomorrow if I get time. If you're not looking for the damage you most likely won't notice it but if you know it's been hit, you'll see it.