One month old 2016 TRD Sport already rear ended

Hey everyone,

I already posted this in the San Diego BS thread, but wanted to get some opinions from everyone.
I've never had to make an insurance claim, so I don't know if my company is being shady or cheap.

Hey everyone,

I have a 2016 trd sport dclb 4x4 that I've only had for a month, that was rear ended in in OB the other day in a 3 car accident. I was in the front so the guy in the middle took the most damage.
Cosmetically the damage is very minimal. Luckily, the guy hit my tow hitch and it punched a hole in his bumper, but his car will most likely be totaled because of the damage to his rear.
Of course the guy who caused the accident only had the 5k liability, so I had to go through my insurance.
His insurance assested the damage and said it was the tow hitch and the bumper step that needed to be replaced, and my bed and tailgate had shifted to one side a bit that would have to be looked at to determine if more needed to be done.
My insurance recommend Caliber Colision in Mission Valley. I took it there and they said they just unbolted the bed and re aligned it and will replace the bumper step and call it a day for under $500.
I'm wondering since its going out of their pocket they aren't being thorough enough and maybe there's other issues with the frame.
Anyone have any experience using Caliber Colision? I'm wondering if I should take it back to Toyota and have them inspect it. Truck has less than 2k miles on it.
I mentioned there was a bit of play in the wheel and they determined that it was fine... Makes me nervous.

 

Caliber in San Antonio fixed my wife's first Prius when it was rear-ended, and the rear hatch never closed right again. USAA had them fix my old Corolla when IT was rear ended. They did such a bad job I chose to go to Sterling the next time I was hit (happens a lot in San Antonio). They made it perfect, and even fixed the imperfections from Caliber.

The paint was a spot-on match, they did that well. However, their straightening job needed a lot more work. We also found tiny metal slivers in the carpeting of the back hatch (where the dog rode), indicating their cleanliness was needing work.

Each shop is different - yours may be 5 stars - but my experiences with them have been less than stellar. I find that independent shops looking to build a reputation do the best work.

Fortunately, since leaving San Antonio I stopped getting rear-ended.

 

Bring it back to dealer and ask for full replacement cost...you now have the carfax HIT ..

If you do not stick up for YOU now it will be stuck to YOU later ....

Your choice.....I had a similar scenario and brought mine back to dealer; they put it on frame machine and luckily replaced just the rear bumper BUT my insurance ( Liberty) covered it all...They went after the dumba$$ that hit me.....Be careful with yourself also, I ended up with tears along ribs from the seatbelt and Liberty took care of this PLUS

 

I was just concerned because Caliber works hand in hand with Geico,and since they are paying, maybe they're cutting corners and trying to get me to accept this fix when there's hidden damage.
I was hit pretty hard. Enough to wreck the Nissan Cube that hit me. I just don't see the bumper step is all that's wrong.

 

What's with all the 3rd Gen accidents here lately? It's like a magnet.

 

Any misalignments can indicate the frame is bent.

 

I think it's just SoCal in the rain. Last month it rained and my wife got hit in her Prius. I also got rear ended in the rain here in my 13 trd sport as well.
It's just dumb California drivers.

 

I guess I'll just have to take it to the dealership and get the truth and pay out of my own pocket.

 

You have the right to take it to any body shop, not just what the insurance company recommends. I would get three estimates, and submit those. Not saying all companies are this way, but usually when they recommend ONE particular shop, someone is getting a piece of the pie. I would probably take it to the dealer body shop because it is a new truck. Keep in mind the diminished value also. You shouldn't have to pay anything out of your pocket.

 

Well, hopefully it is only the bumper step cover that needs to be replaced so if there is a ding on the carfax report it won't be horrible.
They were telling me that the bolts on the bed are torqued to a certain spec so it absorbs an impact and the energy isn't transferred to other parts.
Everything was aligned within toyotas specs, so they say.

 

Legit curse. They have a recall for that?

 

These 3rd gens have a scary attribute that is the frame being bent after low speed rear impacts, and it is magnified mostly by having the tow hitch in place at time of impact. Puts all the force right to the frame instead of bumper absorbing it. Multiple folks on here have had this happen in their 3rd gens

 

i was an appraiser for an insurance for 10 years. and caliber collision was one of the best shops (about 8 different ones in so cal) out there.
if your worried about frame damage have them put it on the frame rack and measure it. even out of pocket its 2 hours setup and measure at about $60 an hour for frame time, if theres minor mash (most likely) or a diamond in the frame it could be pulled, but like stated above, a hitch can make frame damage worse (no absorption of energy).
calibers are a franchise but for all the different ones i went to from huge volume and top of the line equipment, to smaller ones, they all did quality work. (my only exposure was so cal calibers though)

take it to another shop. your insurance cant make you go to a specific one. (you probably got or will get a anti steering letter from them stating that same fact, part of all the form letters that get sent out on all claims).

 

Find your own body shop. I'm not sure of the rules out there but in NH we have the right to take it wherever we want to get fixed and the body shop will deal with the insurance adjuster. Insurance companies recommend certain body shops because the have agreements with them and want to get your vehicle fixed for the most cost-effective price possible. My Tacoma was 10 months old when I got into a minor fender-bender in a parking lot (my fault). I took it to the body shop recommended by Liberty Mutual for the assessment then decided to take it to another local place where I actually had the work done. The second place did a top-quality job and I'm sure had the bill to prove it. I'm not saying all body shops recommended by insurance companies are bad, I'm saying to make an educated choice as to who will repair your truck.

 

They already told me the work would be completed at Caliber and I should be able to pick it up on Monday. I did read the reviews on Caliber on Yelp and the reviews were mostly positive. I'll give you all an update when I pick it up on Monday and ask more questions.
I'll also tell them I'm going to take it to the dealer and have them take a look as well to see hat they say.
I'll be so happy if everything checks out good and there really is only the bumper step replacement and I can drop off the stupid F-150 rental they gave me and get my Tacoma that I waited months to get from the factory.

 

Yet Toyota said the new rear bumper would reduce damage...

 

I'm praying that when I heard the skidding and impact of the second car coming into me in my mirror, I gunned it and tried to get out of the way, helped minimize the impact.

 

Cali drivers + rain = full retard, either they slow to a crawl or completely ignore the fact its raining.

 

Hard to minimize damage via bumper when you hit the hitch first

 

in reality a 3rd party crash (dude hits a car and runs that car into another, in this case you) is usually is low impact. and the rigidity of a hitch and the shitty crush zones of most other vehicles on the road, other vehicle damage can be much more than a conventional framed vehicle.