Toyota Tacoma in the body shop: much dinero ahead

[MillCreek]

On Wednesday on my way home from work, a 17 year old woman, who got her drivers license two weeks ago, decided to wait until I was in the intersection, traveling at 35 MPH, before turning across my path from the left turn lane on the other side of the intersection. Despite much anti-lock braking and cranking the wheel to the left, the physics were inevitable, and I struck her 2002 Chevrolet Cavalier on the right rear quarter from the right rear passenger door back. My hood, grill, bumper, right fender panel, headlight, fog light and right front wheel took the brunt. I had to have the truck towed since the tire was rubbing against the frame.

Fortunately, her father did add her to the insurance. I filed a claim with my company, Safeco and they can worry about subrogating the claim against Allstate.  The police arrived, listened to everyone's story, and gave the young woman a lecture about closing speed and pointed out the sign above the light about left turn yielding on solid green. I pulled the officer aside, told him that I had grandchildren older than her, and I had no reason to want her to get a ticket since she was already having a bad day. The officer agreed not to write her a ticket.

I told the young lady that the important thing is that no one was hurt, and this is why we have insurance.  Thanks to the braking, no airbags were triggered in either vehicle.

I will be interested to see the total bill for rehabbing the 2016 Tacoma, and I bet it will not be cheap.

 

[dogmush]

I'm going to guess $6k-8k unless the suspension got bent. If that's messed up, then more.

[Hawkmoon]

I'm going to guess $6k-8k unless the suspension got bent. If that's messed up, then more.

I'll guess that's right in the ballpark.

[230RN]

"I pulled the officer aside, told him that I had grandchildren older than her, and I had no reason to want her to get a ticket since she was already having a bad day. The officer agreed not to write her a ticket."

Was that a good idea?  Just askin'.  IANAL.

Terry

[HankB]

Do you have a doctor? If something like back pain shows up, you may need more $$$ to be made whole.

If the other insurance decides to total out your vehicle rather than repair it, paying out something crappy like KBB value, that extra $$$ might become even more important.

[brimic]

Ouch :(

[TommyGunn]

I sympathize;  last month had my 2017 Camry fixed.   It was parked, unattended, in a parking lot, completely innocent, and an old geezer in a 2001 Ford 150 tried to park and whacked the front left corner.  Thankfully he had insurance and the body shop and that company settled it.   

[Ben]

Bummer, Millcreek. I hope the other party's insurance takes care of everything. Having a 4Runner a couople of years older than your Tacoma, I'd be interested in the total repair costs.

Regarding Hank's comment: I think used Tacomas are still a "high value target" in the used truck market. I wonder if in the case of a "total", the insurance takes that actual "popularity" market value into account at all.

[MillCreek]

I just ran the Kelly numbers with the truck's configuration:

Private party: $32 to 34K

Trade in: $ 29-32K

I bought it new in November 2015 for $ 41K.

Edited to add: I remember when I first started looking for a used Tacoma in 2015, and the local prices for a used model were so high, that I decided to pay the relatively small premium to buy new.  They seem to really hold their value.

[Hawkmoon]

Regarding Hank's comment: I think used Tacomas are still a "high value target" in the used truck market. I wonder if in the case of a "total", the insurance takes that actual "popularity" market value into account at all.

They look at the estimated cost of repairs compared to "book" value of the vehicle. They do NOT look at "popularity." They use their own book, which I don't think it either NADA or Kelly's Blue Book. (Not sure on that.)

I went through this a couple of years ago, with a similar accident with my [formerly] pristine, very low miles 2000 Jeep Cherokee. Damage estimates were hovering around $5,000 and "book" value was around $4,800, according to my insurance company. At the time, the vehicle had about 30,000 miles on it, which of course is ridiculous for a 17-year old vehicle. I found legitimate ads, from dealers, for 2000 Jeep Cherokees with more mileage that were up for sale at prices over $10,000. Didn't matter -- the insurance company was unswayed. Their book didn't factor in the popularity or what a 2000 Cherokee with only 30,000 miles would actually sell for. The book was the Bible.

The body shop was my company's preferred shop in the region, and I had been a customer of the shop in the past. They understood my desire to not have the vehicle totaled and they made some concessions to keep the repair cost under [but just barely] the threshold that would have meant totaling it. But it was far too close for my comfort.

In the case of a 2015 (or 2016) Taco that's worth north of $30k, I don't see how that could become an issue.

[MillCreek]

I am now cruising the highways and byways in a rental Dodge Grand Caravan from Enterprise.  I almost stumbled getting out of it because it is so much lower than the Tacoma. Enterprise was all out of subcompact or compact cars but offered to put me in a full size truck or minivan at the same Safeco discount rate.  I thought my work commute would be easier with a minivan than a full size truck.

[MillCreek]

$ 5400 estimate, including my $ 1000 deductible. Allstate has accepted responsibility for their driver and will pay the subrogation request from Safeco.  I will be sure to get the deductible refunded from AllState.  The estimate included a parts source list, and it is amazing how many of the parts are coming from auto wrecking yards.

[BobR]

$ 5400 estimate, including my $ 1000 deductible. Allstate has accepted responsibility for their driver and will pay the subrogation request from Safeco.  I will be sure to get the deductible refunded from AllState.  The estimate included a parts source list, and it is amazing how many of the parts are coming from auto wrecking yards.

If you read the fine (sometimes not so fine) print on your auto insurance policy they will use recycled (junk yard parts) when available.

I just had a transmission replaced on my Grand Cherokee by State Farm and they wanted to use a "recycled" transmission. My Jeep has a lifetime warranty on the drive train and Chrysler wanted to use a Remanufactured transmission to maintain the warranty. State Farm argued and balked and would only do the recycled. They did agree to warranty the transmission as Chrysler would in the event it needs work in the future. And yes, I have that in writing.

bob

[MillCreek]

The estimate notes that if any non-OEM parts fail for as long as I own the vehicle, they will replace them at no cost for parts and labor and cover a rental, if necessary. 

[brimic]

The estimate notes that if any non-OEM parts fail for as long as I own the vehicle, they will replace them at no cost for parts and labor and cover a rental, if necessary.  

Does that include rust?

ETA: I'm always leery about non-OEM parts and practices.
Many moons ago, my Dad had a '84 Bronco that my little Sis crashed in a bad enough way to cost several thousands in repairs.
Insurance used non-OEM parts, so my Dad sold it immediate after it was fixed. He saw the truck a year later (it had a recognizable paint job) and it was rusting badly on the replaced panels.... then again this is just a single data point, and all cars in the 80s (and earlier) rusted through pretty quickly.

[Ben]

Does that include rust?

No kidding. I was unaware of that "parts from a salvage yard" thing. How do you do quality control?  I could see using new, non-OEM stuff, but I would have thought Toyota (I'm assuming work is being done by a dealer?) would push for OEM for guarantee of parts/work.

[MillCreek]

I have actually read about this in my risk management/insurance journals, and OEM parts from the actual manufacturer are largely a thing of the past, at least when it comes to body work.  There is a thriving industry now of pull apart parts yards that extract parts from wrecked vehicles, and manufacturers that build replacement parts to meet or exceed, at least theoretically, OEM specs.  The most important factor that made this possible is real-time computer inventory and overnight shipping.  All the parts yards and suppliers are linked, and I see that a replacement grill, for example, is coming from a yard in Sacramento.  

Edited to add: and to Ben's point, I have having this done by Gerber collision, a nationwide chain.  Back when I was the director of risk management at Mega multi-state healthcare facility, I sent all of our facility vehicles to Gerber: they do excellent work at a reasonable price, and they are a preferred repair facility for most of the major auto insurance carriers.  I thought then, and think now, that you are likely to get better results from a shop that just does body work as opposed to a dealer, for the typical car.

[MillCreek]

55 days after the collision, I picked up the truck today.  Approximately $ 11500 in repairs plus add a couple thousand on top of that for my deductible and car rentals.  Somewhere along the journey between the body shop, the Toyota dealer, and the mechanic, someone rifled through the truck and took anything of value from the interior. About $ 300 or so in my survival kit, first aid kit, knives, sunglasses, ASP baton, emergency jumpstart battery, and various other items.  I was surprised to see they left my backup ammunition.  Good thing I did remove my truck gun from the vehicle before it was towed.

I filed an online crime report, not that it will do any good, or that any of the items are identifiable.

[Ben]

55 days after the collision, I picked up the truck today.  Approximately $ 11500 in repairs plus add a couple thousand on top of that for my deductible and car rentals.  Somewhere along the journey between the body shop, the Toyota dealer, and the mechanic, someone rifled through the truck and took anything of value from the interior. About $ 300 or so in my survival kit, first aid kit, knives, sunglasses, ASP baton, emergency jumpstart battery, and various other items.  I was surprised to see they left my backup ammunition.  Good thing I did remove my truck gun from the vehicle before it was towed.

I filed an online crime report, not that it will do any good, or that any of the items are identifiable.

Holy crap! That's a big jump from the $5400 posted above. Insurance still handling everything without balking?

Bummer on the theft. I hate thieves.

[MillCreek]

I am waiting for Enterprise to email me the final car rental receipt, at which time I will submit everything to my insurance company, who will subrogate against Allstate. I am assuming that everything (except the theft loss) will be paid for.  At least the thief will be well-equipped for any emergencies.

PS: It turned out that various parts of the suspension did have to be replaced, as did the power steering rack and pump. That was also part of the delay, since after the body work was done, they noticed steering problems on the road test. Thus the trip to the dealer for diagnosis, and then the trip to Firestone to install the replacement steering parts.

[grampster]

"I pulled the officer aside, told him that I had grandchildren older than her, and I had no reason to want her to get a ticket since she was already having a bad day. The officer agreed not to write her a ticket."

Was that a good idea?  Just askin'.  IANAL.

Terry

Yah, that's OK to do that.  As long as the police took a report and indicated on the report who was at fault, a ticket doesn't mean anything.
Signed:  Former badge #151.

[BobR]

Theft loss should be covered by your homeowners insurance. Question is, does the stolen stuff outweigh your deductible?

bob

[MillCreek]

Theft loss should be covered by your homeowners insurance. Question is, does the stolen stuff outweigh your deductible?

bob

It does not, and I don't have any pictures, receipts, etc. showing ownership and value.

[castle key]

Why must you assume the loss and hope your insurance covers the theft?

The crime occurred while you had no control over the vehicle and could do nothing to prevent it. Are you also responsible if a customer slips and falls in their shop?

Perhaps the shop that failed to secure your vehicle or has a rotten, thieving, scumbag employee should pay up.