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Let me start by saying this is a thread that I hoped I would never have to write. I have come to these forums for numerous things and the community here has never failed me once! Thank you all for that.
On January 7th I was with my wife and two friends at a local ski resort in Southern California, Mammoth Mountain, in my 2006 F-150 4x4 with snow tires. We were staying locally and driving up to the lodge to ski after it had snowed around 12" the night before. On our way up going around the outside bend of a turn, a 22 year old kid in a 2 wheel drive Toyota who did not have chains on was coming down the hill and lost control and slid across the lanes and directly into my drivers side front tire. I saw it coming, briefly, and attempted to move out of their way. They impacted us and sent us into the snow bank.
The other party involved could not produce an insurance card at the scene of the accident so I filed a claim with my insurance State Farm. State Farm has since been able to find out the other party does have Gieco insurance and they have accepted 100% fault for the accident. I have requested to keep the claim through State Farm as they are my insurance company and have been helpful so far. They will then go after Gieco to recover the money after the claim is settled.
The reason I'm writing here is this, I was hoping that they would total my truck because "it'll never be the same", but they just got back to me (15 days after the accident) and estimate the repairs at $5000. The drivers tire took the entire brunt of the crash. I was traveling around 25 mph in 4H, and the police officer at scene estimated the other car to be doing around 35 mph at the time of the accident. At scene I was able to see that the lower control arm broke off the hub on the drivers side, and the steering linkage is broken on both sides (the tow truck driver had me try to steer as he pulled it out of the snow bank and the steering wheel just free spun). The CV joints seemed to look intact, but axle housing was split open almost all the way to the front differential. I couldn't see anything on the passenger side due to the truck being buried in the snow.
My questions are these:
Do you guys think based on the pictures and described impact that there will be more damage? The truck still isn't local yet, so I'm waiting for it to get here (San Diego, CA) for a shop that I trust to look at it.
What else should I be concerned about? I'm going to have the frame looked at and make sure that it wasn't damaged with the lateral impact that it took. I guess I'm worried that there will be a lot of damage to the entire front drivetrain, and the complex 4x4 system seeing as it was in 4H at the time of the accident.
Additionally if anyone has any experience dealing with insurance like this please let me know. We are coming up on 3 weeks since the accident without anything much being accomplished (first appraisal was completed on the 22nd). I'm worried that once we get the truck down here and looked at they will say the cost is too high to fix and THEN they will total it... just more time wasted for me. I will also be going after Gieco or the individual for the Depreciated Value. I have heard that when some insurance companies find out you will be doing this they add that cost to the repair cost and will end up totaling the vehicle.
If anyone here knows of any GREAT repair shops for things like this in the North San Diego County area I am open to suggestions as well!
Sorry for the long post, thank you all for your time!
The only damage to the body on the drivers side can be seen here on the front fender. It is unknown how the other side faired due to the snow bank.
I was wondering .... I see now it's a 2016 Accident involving a 2006.
Truck looks fixable ... can't comment on what your ins will do, how high the estimates will be before they total it. A good shop will have it fixed so you'll never know it was dinged though.
When my Dodge Magnum was t-boned last year, I thought it was totalled but the dipstick estimator came up with a $4k estimate. It ended up costing about $6500. I've heard that the estimate has to be about 3/4 of the value of the vehicle for them to total it. It ended up being close on my car because retail was about $9500.
I guess I should add that it has 115,000 miles on it. From my research the fair market value is from $15,000 to $18,000. I'm not really concerned about the body work. My big worry is the front end. Suspension, drivetrain, and the ability to get the truck back in alignment.
My thoughts with the initial appraisal at $5,000 plus anything that comes up after we get the truck on a lift and open it up, and then the depreciation value will add up to $10,000 quick.
If anyone has any input on things I should be looking for in the front end that would be very helpful. I'm going to have a shop that I trust go through the entire front end.
If it were me and your concern about alignment and what not get it fix and maybe replace some parts on the passenger side. Drive it for a bit and if it's not right and you can swing it trade it in. Not saying trade it in for a brand new truck but something newer??!!!
Looking at the pictures and the estimate, I wouldn't worry about it, seems like an easy fix and no frame damage. If the repair shop finds anything additional, and they will, the insurance will pay that. Most importantly find a good shop, that is the best suggestion I have.
Also I speak for. Experience, check my galary here. A few years back my 2006 fx4 was hit going through and intersection, and estimate was 14k in damage. The shop took a few months to fix, and found additional 3k damage, so 17k total.
Years later, truck still drives great, shop did good job. My truck didn't have frame damage but it was a big deal because I got spun out and hit every side of the truck and went into the woods, smashed in the front end to the frame member but frame wasn't damaged. I got hit on the rear wheel so hard it cracked the inside of the bed. Shop needed to replace bed side and new axle.
That being said, I don't want to sell my truck because yeah, dirty car fax. But I don't plan too.
I doubt you have frame damage but when you take it to the shop (whenever you find one) point out the 4wd damage so that they don't miss it. One good thing is State Farm is a great company. I've been through 3 accidents with them and they were awesome, 2 totals and one repair. The repair went really well and never knew that the truck had been fixed. The two totals SF ended up paying me more than I paid for the trucks so I came out ahead. Sorry to hear, accidents suck. Make sure your rental is fully paid for whether or not you have full rental coverage with SF, the other insurance company should pay the full bill.
I've had State Farm my entire driving life...when I was in the autobody trade many moons ago, they were the best to deal with...Geico was the absolute worst (Geico used to stand for Government Employee's Insurance Co)...
Hopefully the body shop will measure it out and make a decision from there...
Typically vehicles used to total at about 80% of the value...FWIW!
Hope it works out for you! Just be thankful that all involved are ok!
