My Tacoma up a creek. How f*cked am I?

My son is a licensed insurance salesman, but I’m not so I’m just gonna weigh in with my opinion for what it’s worth which is basically nothing.

That’s a grey area. We as human beings always want black and white answers to everything but the problem is that there usually always is a gray area tha basically comes down to a judgement call.

Some people are always going to try to take advantage of that when they know in reality that the shit was their fault. That’s why the rest of us pay so much for insurance.

In your example I think it comes down to common sense. I’ve been over many water crossings on legal roads where it was obviously safe to cross. I’ve also turned around on many because they looked pretty iffy and I wasn’t 100% sure it was safe. Personally, if it looks more than a few inches deep, I can’t see bottom, the water is swift, or there’s a good chance I’m gonna hit a deep hole, I ain’t doing it.

 

I am with you and I totally get it. The grey area is what it comes down to. I guess it depends on history, insurance company -- and now even credit scores play a factor.

The OP seems like a nice person (I mean I have no evidence they are not) but in this case it seems more intentional than accidental. I wish them well of course but I am with you -- I would rather be more prudent and more cautious.

 

Don’t know who you’re referring to but that’s why I asked and didn’t assume anything. Still waiting for an answer?

 

Insurance companies are fraud, why not?

 

I assume you know this answer already... but here's the short and sweet... It's illegal and being busted for insurance fraud will land you in prison. Probably not an ideal situation for any of our members. And yes, insurance companies take it VERY serious and make examples of folks on the regular.

 

That and it bumps up insurance rates for the rest of us…

 

this lol

don't get why this is so hard to get. be honest and don't screw yourself over along with other insured drivers with similar hobbies

 

Personally I would have tried to see if there was another shop your insurance would work with that wasn't a dealership, as it would likely save you money on the repairs, and bring total repair cost down, avoiding a salvage/total

then again, maybe you're trying to get the highest price so they can pay you out on the salvage, in which case great move lol

 

If insurance writes it off and pays you out they are going to own you as a customer for the next 7-10 years. If you have accident forgiveness you will be fine provided you pay and stay. If you dont have accident forgiveness your rate will skyrocket. (Basically you will be paying back the payoff over many years) Sucks doesn't it?

 

Believe it or not but people drive into water not knowing the depth all the time, it’s still an accident. Just like getting into a collision with another object or vehicle, it’s an accident and not intentional. Intent is hard to prove but red flags make the claim be looked into further. Recent policy inception, lowered deductible, upside down/late payments on lien, other prior claims(with unrepaired damage). Insurance does cover stupidity and mistakes happen, that’s what it’s for but some people they aren’t smart enough to not brag when they are committing fraud.

There was a claim I heard of with a young lady that unfortunately admitted she was trying to hurt herself when she ran into a telephone pole when she wrecked her car to the police at the scene, the claim was not covered because that was intentional.

 

Funny answer...clean it up, take out any fuses that have lights showing on the dash and sell it quick for a bundle.

Real answer, you did correct by reporting to insurance. I did not read entire thread. I do not have your specific policy, but I do not believe there would be a specific exclusion for what you were doing. So you would be covered. Take out your policy. Open to section 4 or part d damage to your auto. Look under exclusions to see if it says anything about off roading or recreational use. If not you’re fine. Don’t take this the wrong way, we have saying we always cover stupid. Someone not used to off-roading would say that is stupid.

If the water was into your dash most companies will make it an automatic OTL. Obvious total loss. It is not just what you see on the outside wires and surfaces. The jewt (padding) under the carpet may be molding. Same with seat foam and cloth. The water could have gotten inside numerous computers that may not show failure for weeks to months as they corrode. The back side of the dash and gauges. Etc

 

Truck hasn't really needed anything outside of regular service before this and I've been unimpressed with the shops I've tried. Some highlights:
1)Place that installed my new tires/rims left white tire install lube splattered all over my new black rims which I believe they did to hide the gouge they put in one of the rims. When I went back the next day, they blamed it on a "rock" during my drive home the and wouldn't do anything.
2)asked for tires to be rotated during maintenance but the rim with the gouge from #1 hadn't moved so knew it wasn't done
3)asked stop to check transmission fluid level and was told transmission is "sealed unit with no way to check fluid"
4)asked shop about installing energy suspension front body mounts (some front end noise going over bumps/dips). waited 3 hours only to be told they "couldn't figure out how to write up a quote in their software" when I called them for an update
5)factory IFS skid left sitting off to side of shop following oil/filter change - didn't notice that till I got home

I figure there might be a higher chance the dealership knows how to fix the thing.

I'm not necessary trying to get a payout. I'm actually a bit conflicted. I like my truck, but I don't really want to be dealing with electrical problems for the next X years I own it. On the other new and used prices are crazy right now compared to when I originally bought mine.

Yeah, I have accident forgiveness which I'm hoping helps. I've already been with my current company for a number of years. I've checked occasionally to see if anyone has better rates but never see anything lower so as it stands currently I'm fine sticking with them.

And to the people that keep mentioning insurance fraud, I told the truth. I provided the exact location and said I drove into water that turned out to be deeper than I was expecting which caused me to get stuck.

An update for those interested: Dealership already has almost 10k worth of parts/labor they want to do as a starting point: 2 harnesses (harness A and harness B I think they said), airbag computer, and starter + 32 hours of labor. Also wanted me to authorized 4 hours labor for further diagnosis but I asked them to wait to see what insurance wants to do.

 

Mate why would you even try to cross something that deep.

 

I really hope if works out for you. Another reason I go to the dealer for service is that I then have a paper trail and it is all with a Toyota dealer. That way, if there are issues I have the potential to escalate with Toyota and they tend to work things out in egregious or extreme situations. I know a lot of people who have issues with dealers -- and those are well documented -- but I have been lucky. For something like you are facing, I would much rather work with a Toyota dealer and one of their certified master mechanics for long term reliability. I would totally feel different if there were tons of great specialty shops near me doing work that I knew and could trust. But, unfortunately, I have not found that to be the case.

Given the whole issue you are facing, I totally see why you would go to the dealer for that kind of service.

Best of luck on your claim!

 

Good to see TW hasn't changed much since the last time I checked in. I'll be back in another 6 months

 

And everyone wonders why insurance rates are so high,Tacomas are not and never will be boats/submarines,get it through your thick skulls.

 

Experience is the greatest teacher...there was also some hidden lesson you may have needed to learn by this and at least you now know what not to do. Be glad you are physically unharmed; money can always be earned back.

 

Jeez that all sounds like a nightmare lol. Sorry you had to deal with all that. I have an offroad Toyota shop I go to that's pretty experienced so they're my trusted go-to...sucks there isn't one near you.

Yeah dealership was definitely the right call in this case then lol. Hope it works out for you man, seems like a lot is going to go into the repair

 

No reason to take not coming back at all off the table.

 

He's talking about D-bags like you.
What's the purpose of being a JERK!