My Truck-Is it a right, off or no!!!

[brickNblock]

(6:10pm last night)

..we were just saying good-byes to the son-in-laws brother and his family, (2 kids, 18mos & 4yrs. in the back seat baby chairs)..as they turned their vehicle southbound an proceeded away, waving, a '99 4-D chrysler sedan came from the north at great speeds and noisy as heck. We watched in dis-beleief as this vehicle then drove off the road, across the neighbours front yard and back to the road but not before smacking my parked truck in the driveway, thinking it was comming over the top of it we ran back to the house to see this vehicle spiral up and land on the road on all 4's, take off down the street dropping various parts of his car behind including the rear bumber w/lic.plate... He was apprehended at a trailer park about 1/4 mile futher south by some gutsy RV owners til police came.(they pulled him out of the car window and wrassled him to the ground).

I forgot to mention he took out the hydro pole & sattelite dish on the front yard as well quite a bit of sod ripped up.

 

Power had been returned by 11am this morning but is still in temp cables lying across the front yard but alas, no sattelite...we have no cable yet in this rural area.

I spoke with my insurance this morning..........

With the $1,000 ded. on the prop. ins. it isnt worth the claim...the dish is only $80 and the hydro pole free..to us, the yard, Ill repair it myself but my truck..?

The ins. has been fast to move on this....

I have been to Quinte West OPP for the traffic report and relayed it to now speaking with the adjuster,,,not just the agent. This fellow had a suspended licence and was driving a borrowed vehicle or one not in his name anyway but apparently, not stolen according to the OPP.

 

My question to those that know:

My truck is a 1993 GMC 4x4...yes, it is old...Forgot to mention it is a write off acccording to the police.

Hardly worth anything for year etc... but, this truck was in mint shape, well maintained and running, a re-built motor installed last February, new rubber and rims this past week, new break and fuel lines as well in-line fuel pump this past month. Plans for this truck were great with the body work just stARTED ON IT in readiness for the paint job I wanted.

My ins. company had recent pics of the truck due to value I didnt agree with on coverage and I rewarded by them by a larger premium for it....

 

I may be jumping the gun here but it'd be sure nice to get some inside knowledge prior to me getting royally screwed by these folk which is a nightmare I have heard of before.

If they right it off.....do I keep the truck too...say if I only get what a '93 is worth?..(100%-I wouldnt keep it if the frame is bent)

If they repair it...How far can I go in getting them to bring it back to the shape it was in before the mishap?.and do I get to be 100% happy about the work>

I always thought I had too much insurance, now I know why...but just how much is enough. I didnt have collision on it..!!(yet)

The appraiser will be here this evening and I just dont want to get burnt...we have been through quite a bit in our lives and wont stand at all for any further screwing..!

Any assistance with this is greatly appreciated...

please PM if you wish to keep annonymous...

Thank-You

-pete

Edited October 4, 2010 by brickNblock

[Rod Caster]

I can't really help but that guy in the Chrysler sounds like a real jack-. That would have been scary seeing him flying down the road towards your family!!

[johnnyb]

The fact that the OPP said it's likely a write-off, and that it's a '93 would have me thinking yes, it'll be written off. To get the most replacement money though, you need to arm yourself with some information, because I'd expect a pretty low amount from your insurance company.

You want to approach it like this: "What can I buy a '93 GMC 4x4 with xxx,xxx kms on it, and x,y,z equipment, and in the same condition as mine was?"

 

Look for all the ads you can find where people are SELLING vehicles like yours, so that you can sya to the insurance company "If I want to replace my truck, here's what it's realistically going to cost me".

 

When my sister's van was written off, she got lowballed as expected. She offered to fax them all of the ads she had found where vans like hers were selling for more than what the ins. co had offered, and they upped the amount.

 

Just my $0.02. Glad you and your family are ok...hope it works out as well as possible for you.

 

 

 

 

[aplumma]

Pete bad luck bud sorry to hear.

 

If you have the receipts for all of the work that was done by a shop or the receipts for material you installed dig them out. You are going to need to prove that the value of the vehicle is more than the book value. Their defense usually is if it was worth more than blue book then it should have been appraised and insured for the correct amount. You can google any vintage car insurance and get what you needed to do before the accident. This will give you an idea on their line of defense so you can plan as best you can.

 

 

Art

[I'mHooked]

They are going to use a 'book value' for the vehicle, established based on year etc. and ranked on various vehicle 'conditions' ie. poor, fair, good, excellent etc. This will be their starting point. Say it's considered to be in 'good' condition. They then have a maximum value established for your model in this condition. They will then look at the cost of repairs to bring the vehicle back to that 'good' condition. They will only pay for repairs upto 80% of that predetermined value.

If the vehicle is valued at $1,000.00, they will pay upto $800.00 to fix it. If it is estimated to be $900.00 for the repair they will write it off and offer you a settlement.

 

This is due to the 'salvage' value of the vehicle, which is about 20%. If they offer you $1,000.00 for it, they will get their $200.00 back from the scrap people, which means they're out the $800.00, or 80% of the value.

 

At least no one was hurt.

Edited October 4, 2010 by I'mHooked

[esoxansteel]

My brother in law had a old lady hit and write off his old S10, the insurance offered him 1500.00 but like yours the truck was in meticulus shape, he carped and complained and ended up receiving 3500.00 as the insurance could see the condition of the vehicle. do not take their crap and get what its writefully worth, as you wont replace it for what they will offer

[brickNblock]

Thank-You for everyone's input..

..it is much appreciated as I have no idea about these things only buildings and how they are built.

The appraiser just left the scene after only 15min of inspection and agreed it may be a right-off but said they will do all they can to see if it can be repaired first. I explained to him the newness of several items incl. the engine and he basically informed me that to make sure he receieves the receipts for these itmes , dated and will take them under consideration whern he makes his report. He also noted the newness of several items as they jump out in your face new and made notes ,(apparently) about those.

I have these receipts and will do so...heck, they total close to $6G, maybe a litle more.

Brand new interstate battery I coulda bought for the boat instaead...dang!(maybe 30days old)

 

I'll do as asked but will not take any crap from them...

I wonder, worse comes to worse, can I remove items from the truck as in new items required? I am not speaking of the motor unless it comes down to that!

-pete

[spincast]

You can tell them to get you an equivalent vehicle if they decide to write it off - tell them you do not want the cash, but a replacement vehicle. That means the same year, same upgrades (that you can prove with reciepts). As you have already provided them pictures and requested an upgraded value before the incident, and they increased your premium, they have already acknowledged that your vehicle is worth more than the book value of a car of similar age without the upgrades. If they failed to take into account what the actual value was as a result of those upgrades, then that is their failing.

 

All that being said, even though you are 100% not at fault, and therefore not meant to be subject to an increase in premiums as a result, they likely will, especially if you settle in excess for what they had allocated, increase them over the next few years if they have to pay out of pocket (as opposed to collecting from another policy) and it will be difficult to prove the claim was the cause for the increase, depending on the size of the settlement. As a note, once its settled , or before your renewal is due next year, ask for a copy of your 4 year loss record, and see how the accident is listed (from an at fault perspective).

 

A couple other thoughts / questions - is your property and vehicle underwritten by the same company? If so there could be implications to the claims as they are caused by a single event, not two - the fact that two of your items were damaged is not a decider in the settlement if a single action caused the damage; AND - you mention the vehicle was not his, and not stolen. Did the owner of the vehicle have insurance? There are some pretty big legal implications behind that little item. Did the driver take the vehicle with the owners permission or without ( I assume the first as you say it wasn't stolen)? Depending on this, and the details of the vehicle owner's policy will determine how much that policy will cover your damages - but if it was inured, it will cover yours - it just wont cover the owners. I won't begin to explore the liability of the vehicle owner if they knowingly let that person take their vehicle in the circumstances - but I will say (because it sounds like despite what happened to you and your family, you were all very lucky) - something needs to be done about this guy (and those who let him drive), because next time he may not miss the car with the family in it.

[spooner_jr]

Your insurance company replacing your vehicle is not an option. What they will settle on is what you could reasonably sell your vehicle for. Get as many comparables as you can find, and that should give you an idea of what they should be paying you. You do have the option of keeping the truck, and they will deduct the salvage value from the payout. For example, if the truck is worth $3500, and the salvage is $200, they will pay you $3300 and you keep the truck.

[Whopper]

Sorry to hear about your misfortune

 

It's good to see you out and at em though

 

Good Luck

[Billy Bob]

Bad news......you're screwed. They will offer you X amount and that's it.

 

Good Luck,

Bob

[bigbuck]

Get ready to rumble with your insurance company. As mentioned before, have all your receipts ready, go on autotrader and see what comparable truck is out there and for how much. You have to look for similar mileage, that is how they rate what condition a vehicle is in for black book purposes. Unfortunately, you probably won't get what your truck is really worth but fight tooth and nail to get as much as possible.

[OhioFisherman]

"This fellow had a suspended licence and was driving a borrowed vehicle or one not in his name anyway but apparently, not stolen according to the OPP."

 

Here it is illegal to let some one that doesn`t have a license drive your vehicle. If it wasn`t stolen? It sounds like you need to get the owners insurance info and maybe a lawyer?

[walleyemen]

I just went thrrew this with my wifes car, get some vaseline and be ready, sorry for the harsness but thats the reality of the whole thing, they will have a independant appraiser look up 20 vechile like yours from the last year and give you a percentage of the average, i couldn't even come close to replacing my wife car with what they gave us and yes i had receipts as well, doesn't mean much i'm afraid, i fought for a month and got no wheres, they will not repair it, or give you a replacement, it's a harse reality but find another vechile similiar to yours for a reasonable price, all said and done i was still out thousands when i repalced my wifes car(2000 volkswagon T.D.I loaded, 5spd.)If your truck has a new motor in it , buy it back and try to sell off the parts to recupe some value!|Honestly i know how you feel and really feel your pain, even when its not you fault you get screwed!

Wayne

[TC1OZ]

"This fellow had a suspended licence and was driving a borrowed vehicle or one not in his name anyway but apparently, not stolen according to the OPP."

 

Here it is illegal to let some one that doesn`t have a license drive your vehicle. If it wasn`t stolen? It sounds like you need to get the owners insurance info and maybe a lawyer?

 

Only in the USA! A lawyer would be a huge waste of money up here...

[marty5898]

Don't get too down yet. We had a 97 Pontiac Trans Sport - same as the Montana. Our hood flew open on the highway (whole other story there). They gave us about $2200 after our deductible was subtracted - I was more than impressed especially since we were tossing around the idea of a newer vehicle. Hopefully you can benefit the same way.

 

Marty