RIP?

Looks amazing!!!!

 

If all else fails...

 

without knowing much about your neighborhood i would keep an eye out for damaged vehicles in your area. (parked in the backyard/garage) if possible. couldnt tell if you traded any paint with the perp but i would be pissed off enough to walk around a few blocks.

 

Its not totaled. If airbags blew it would be. Frame will be fine. Still sucks seeing that happen.

 

Probably under 10k to fix if it only needs one fender. No way that's totaled.

 

I didn't know this - so airbag deployment is the standard whether a vehicle is totaled or not? When I was a paramedic I saw some pretty insignificant MVA's that had airbag deployment.

 

Depends but if airbags are deployed, the cost to replace them typically exceeds the cost of the vehicle, hence totaled.

Matt

 

Fascinating. I had no idea.

 

Try and make sure it goes to a reputable shop for repairs. Toyota certified shop? Toyota OEM parts for repair and go over it with a fine tooth comb when fixed. If you don't know what to look for take a person who you know that knows trucks and what to look for after it's repaired. The good thing is most if not all the repairs are just a matter of unbolting and bolting on new parts,no structural damage hopefully.

 

A couple of thoughts.

It is likely not totaled. The damage appears to be all sheet metal.
Get the police report. The report should detail the information from the video.
Get a copy of the video from the neighbor's camera.

You may be able to identify the specific Penske truck with a plate or truck number.
Talk to the local Penske truck rental. Have your police report in hand. You want to discover the renter of the truck.
Get all the info you can about the renter.

Send them a registered letter with the police report, copy of the video and ask them to submit to their insurance. I suspect the Penske truck had some damage.

If they balk or refuse or don't reply. The next path is small claims court.

Meanwhile, turn all this information over to your insurance. They have bigger legal muscle. They would likely pursue because they don't want to payout.


I have a long story about events along these lines. This is a lot of dinking around, but in the end it will place the responsibility onto the correct people.

 

If you have a video or witness statement, the police need to have that info for the report. Your insurance company will do an investigation of sorts, usually to verify the details of the police report, so that they are sure of the circumstances, weather conditions, who is at fault, etc. In the cases of a hit and run/leave the scene, they are going to try to verify that fraud did no occur. The witness statement and video will make that very clear.

My insurance covered the value of my "aftermarket" parts (TRD wheels, bilstein 6150/6100 and associated parts) by prorating value by date from when they were purchased. Receipts necessary. They even gave me value for the tires since they were close to new. Overall, I got almost $3k added to the valuation of the truck on its own. Coverage of "aftermarket" parts is not a standard policy device, so check your policy and keep that in mind when renewing or updating yours. The added cost is usually insignificant but depending on the coverage it may have a cap to how much it will pay out on those items. Basically, know the details of your policy. This will probably be a moot point since it looks like the cost to fix will be significantly lower than the value of the vehicle, so repair is likely, but good info to know since you are paying for it every month. Also, you can often get a good idea of total loss or not by using the state insurance laws that apply and requesting the collision shop's estimate to also be sent to you when the finish and send it to your insurance. Adding 10-15% to the estimate is a good idea to cover "hidden damage", your insurance will probably do the same when crunching the final numbers.

https://www.carinsurance.com/Articles/total-loss-thresholds.aspx

This year alone I have had 2 total loss accidents so I have learned much about the process and the system overall. My insurance has been great, all things considered. Neither time was I at fault, and my premiums only went up according to the value if the replacement vehicle.

It's not a standard, but it adds a huge amount of cost to the repair.

 

I agree with others here. Without proper tools or a visual on the frame, it appears to be just body panels that need replacing and she'll be good as new.

 

The bad news is what if the renter of the Penske truck didn't pick up the insurance when they rented it ? Maybe that's why they fled .

 

@Bleep100

While your statement maybe true. The renter remains responsible for the damage. NOT Penske or the OP.

Not having insurance is NOT a reason to avoid restitution for damages caused by the renter.

 

Yes on top of them fixing it. They never offer it they just hope people are uninformed and don’t know about it! Only can be used when you’re not at fault though.

 

I work in a body shop and we had a 4Runner come in with rear frame damage and Toyota OEM procedures said you couldn’t section it...any chance you could get me a copy of the final bill so I can check it over for you?