Advice Wanted // Post-Accident Repair

I recently joined this group after purchasing my very first Taco on June 10th, unfortunately I was hit by a driver who pulled a U-turn into me one week after I purchased the 2017 TRD Off-Road I had been saving for for years. Minor injuries, but some substantial damage to my truck and other car was totaled.

Initial damage assessment revealed the following:

Bumper, hood, passenger door and front quarter panel require replacement
Both passenger side control arms (upper and lower) require replacement
Passenger front wheel and tire require replacement
Lower control arm perch (or mounting base) on frame is bent

Looking for any experience or insights with the bent control arm perch - is this easily straightened or will I be looking at alignment nightmares for years to come?

Still waiting to hear from shop and insurance adjuster, but hoping someone here will be able to share something to help me with that conversation.

Thanks!

 

Sorry to hear it man, glad you are ok. Pictures?

 

Welcome to the forum, damage doesn’t sound too bad. Just make sure that the shop that repairs your truck uses OEM parts and not cheap crap or junk yard parts. Here in Oregon we have the right to choose which shop does the repair not the shady insurance company.

 

Attached a couple of photos immediately following the accident, I have the truck at the dealer’s collision center and will verify all OEM parts (which I am certain they will use since truck is still under warranty and they warranty repair for life of the vehicle).

 

Ouch!

 

Welcome to the site. I would get it fixed, file a diminish value claim, and trade it in for a new one.

 

I understand your advice, but since I have only had the truck a short time and trust the repair shop performing the work, can you please give me a little more on your recommendation?

Are you thinking there may be additional, unseen, damage? Or that what I described is enough to warrant reading it?

I ask because I have heard both ends of the spectrum on this - “no big deal” to “get rid of it” and would help to understand the basis.

Thanks!

 

Sorry to hear that.

On tw we typically reserve the use of “help” in the title of people who actively need help, like someone stuck off road. It’s easy to edit the title if you click on “thread tools” in the upper right if you could change it please.

 

this ^^

they can fix it all they want, but it'll never be the same when it came off from the factory. tell them to take the truck and shove it

 

It doesnt look too bad to me. It says the mounting is damaged.

Id explore your options but I dont see anything too crazy.

 

It's out of your hands at this point and i'm not sure what advice people here can really give to help you.

It's really between you, the bodyshop and the insurance company at this point. The only advice i've seen thus far is claiming diminished value.

 

Since I am unfamiliar with the Tacoma frame / suspension, I guess I was hoping those with more experience would be willing to share their experience with similar repairs - I understand the body shop and insurance will have their assessment but would really prefer to get a driver / owner perspective if possible.

So far I have responses ranging from “doesn’t look too bad to me” to “get rid of it.”

So, I guess I will frame my question more specifically: “Does anyone have experience with this type of damage (either from accident or off-road adventures) and how did the repairs work out for you?”

 

@mpatrick had similar damage on his second gen

 

you posted one pic youre gonna get alot of differing opinions..

 

IMO you have to have it fixed. I would demand it be fixed back to OEM spec. After that time will tell you if that fix was a good idea. At that point you can keep it or trade it . When you first get it back look it over hard. Is the gap between the fenders and hood the same. Is that gap even between the door and the fender? Does the bumper line up , or is there gaps that go from wide to narrow ? Pay a lot of attention to the wear on the ft tires. Drive thru a puddle slow when the rest of a paved surface is dry and get out and look at the wet tread marks. Do the tread marks appear even or are they light on one edge or the other ? Look at all the fasteners , nuts screws, and bolts you can see. Get down and look and pull on the skid plate. See if there are any loose parts ie the skid plate hasn't got ft bolts ..

Trust no one, look at everything look at all the old parts too. See if there are broken bolts on them.

 

I had this on my 2ng gen. They replaced the frame. Said it was bent beyond being able to repair efficiently and keep a alignment.

 

Thank you for the response, Early Man! I appreciate it and will follow your advice.

Mpatrick: WOW!!! A new frame? Not sure why they would not just total it out at that point, but I will definitely ask some questions re: frame repair / alignment down the road. Thanks for sharing your experience, this really helps!

 

My wife's 2011 had similar damage to the driver side. The repair ended up being almost $18,000. The frame was bent and straightened. No problem with that repair. Work was done by a Toyota collision center. All OEM parts. After the repair, check and double check everything. Just because you are having the repair done at a Toyota collision center, it doesn't not mean that the repair will be perfect. We had no mechanical or panel issues but we did have some paint issues.

 

Ya, I was surprised as well. But I was $500 under the price I needed to meet to total it supposedly. If it wasn’t for having after market parts, (which were not covered in my claim) and I had all stock parts, they would of totaled it forsure.