Tacoma Involved in a Hit and Run

No way that happened front to rear.

Look at the way the bed is buckled, then look at the tire marks going from the road onto the curb.

Definitely rear ended

 

Adjusters will never tell you "oh yeah, it's a total loss" right off the bat. Proper evaluation will need to be performed by a bodyshop first. I'd say don't worry yet, sit back and wait until they give you their official answer. As someone who's been in the industry for sometime I can tell you that most probably they will total it. If they don't, tow it to the shop of your choice and have them re-evaluate it (which you should've done from the beginning). Never let your insurance company take it to "their" shop, they will almost always low ball you.

 

That sucks OP. The good news is it looks like the corner of the bed kissed the Cab. That’s going to raise that bill quite a bit. Maybe the frame got tweaked doing so. Also hard to tell exactly from the photos but the rear axle looks out. So there is a chance maybe it gets totaled out. The rest of the damage looks pretty superficial. I’d be expecting a repair though

 

Never ever take it to the insurance company’s shop, this is car repair 101. Take it to the local high end Ferrari/Porsche/whatever collision shop.

 

That very top picture with all the rear damage looks nearly exact to an 06 tundra i bought from an insurance company in 2010 that they totaled. One of my friends who owns a body shop, and i were eventually able to repair it like you never knew it was in an accident. Lot more damage on this taco, imo its history unless your ready to take-on a big project.

 

Hopefully they total it out for you so you can have a new truck and have the piece of mind that it's safe.

 

That's brutal, sorry OP

 

There is a lot of misinformation here in regards to what constitutes a total loss. In California, it looks like they use the total loss formula. For your truck to be a total loss, the Repair Cost + Salvage value must be greater than the Actual Cash Value (ACV). Typically with damages like yours if it's close they will deem it a total loss given the potential for a supplement.

See the attached link. https://www.mwl-law.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/AUTOMOBILE-TOTAL-LOSS-THRESHOLDS-CHART.pdf

I'm not so sure repairing it is more cost effective than totaling it as you suggest. A 2017 Tacoma will have a decent salvage value so it may in fact be more cost effective to total the truck. Ask your adjuster (he likely will anyway) to run a valuation on your truck and also run a salvage quote. Once you have those along with the estimate you should have a better idea on where you stand and what next steps need to be taken.

 

Wow.....

 

"everything is fixable"

dude that looks totalled

 

I recently got rear ended at a stoplight in my 17’ DCSB. The damage didn’t look to be more than a new rear bumper and a few dents in the tailgate. So the adjuster gave an initial assessment of about $2300. I took the truck to a local shop with a great reputation and they came back with a bent frame and internal bed damage. The adjuster came back with about $17,000 in damages. With rental car expenses of about $2,500, I ended up with total cost about $19,500. So, it adds up quickly!
Also, I was without my truck for about 5 months due to the problem of getting parts in the middle of this pandemic. Toyota picked up some of the rental expense because the initially sent the wrong frame.
I would say that your truck is a very good candidate for being totaled because you have damages front & back.

 

I've always wondered about how that works.

Seems like it's to the shops advantage to repair vs total, but under stating the cost of repair does no one any good.

If you believe the insurance company is only interested in saving a buck, then you should have faith that they are not going to repair a vehicle that should have been totaled. There is no thing in it for the insurance company.

Unhappy customer, big bill, open ended rental, unknown end state....... Write a check and get em on the premiums.

 

I certainly see that, but what I could not get past was how the paint transfer looked.

Reading your post, and reviewing the paint transfer close up, it could've be a reflection or it could be I'm misreading it altogether.

I thought someone hit it from the front, at the wheel, came up under the bed indenting deeply into the under bed which pulled the metal inwards giving the impression of a read end hit when it was a deep glancing blow.

I would normally have expected an extensive debris field behind or in front to support with conclusion by I see minor debris.

Also, I could not tell if the tire marks were from this collision. I Don't see how they line up with an impact that allows the other vehicle to hit and run.

I do see plenty that supports your theory, just a few thing I struggled to explain.

 

Insurance might be a different game now, but back in '98, my paid-off '95 Pathfinder took a wicked hit and run to the front left. Knowing it would never be straight enough, I wanted it totaled, but my insurance wanted to fix it. They said if there was $400 more in damage, they would total it. I ended up "buying" the extra $400 in damage and accepting the difference in the payout.

At the end of the day, I feel I was ahead on the deal because I got a fair settlement and was able to replace the Pathfinder with a new one. Any chance your insurance will share with you where the "fix it" or "total it" threshold is?

 

U are entitled to a LAWYER !!

good luck

 

Thats totaled

If they dont total it, your pretty much getting a new truck with your old engine in it. Except for the roof and the doors, every panel is getting replaced along with the rear axle and probably the frame.

 

I doubt they will fix it. Insurance has their cut off. Usually 70% of vehicle value. Once they factor rental vehicle and salvage value etc. they will likely stroke it. Happened to my 2016 and damages were nowhere near this bad. Plus good luck getting any parts from Toyota. I can almost guarantee they will just write it off and move on.

 

A lawyer for what? Can't sue someone when you don't know who they are!

 

in some states one can sue their own insurance

 

I opted out for caliber from the jump because they were one of two collision repair shops that my insurance company partners with. After reading this comment, I began to think wether I can go to a different shop of my choosing or not. So whats your understanding of the assessment portion? Can I go to any collision shop, outside of what my insurance company has limits too?