Is it totaled? (Early/late Friday edition)

So today, I was minding my own business, tilling up a section of my front yard, fighting relentless tree roots, when my neighbor's 75yo mother across the street decided to gun it, in reverse, out of the driveway in her Lexus RX350. Nevermind the equipped rearview mirror, side mirrors and backup camera -- who needs 'em -- she drove hard right into my driver's side front corner. She casually walks over and says, "Is that your truck? It has a little boo-boo."

So now here I am, listening to my driver's door creak open, considering what type of fun I'll have, arguing with adjusters, getting quotes, etc. And I have a couple questions...

Given the unfortunate circumstance, how does one go about seeking diminished value? This is the newest, nicest truck I've ever owned with perfect history, detailed service/maintenance records, etc. I'm disappointed to have this negligent incident smear its history.

Next, I thought during the repair I may be able to make some upgrades and I was curious if/how that could be done. For example, upgrading my OEM foglights and/or headlights. Would I just need to pay the difference of the OEM part vs. desired part?

Oh, and is it totaled???

 

Obligatory part out.

 

good excuse to put on a bumper IMO.

 

Damn, these things are fragile, aren't they?...

 

Police officer asked how fast she thought she was going, she said, "I don't know, 2mph?"

 

Did you btch-slap that little old lady and side-spit some chew into her face?
I think a back-handed right-hand-slap from left to right at a 35 degree upward angle with a 180 pound per square inch force
would make me feel better.

But to the question at hand - looks repairable for sure.

 

Ugh that sucks sorry

 

Modern vehicles are designed to crumple to save occupants. They take loads more damage from much less force than stuff pre 1990, but that saves the people inside. Necessary evil, I suppose.

 

In my experience the insurance company will direct you to a shop to take your Taco for a teardown of the damage but you might have the option to use your favorite shop for that. Then they assess the damage and if the damage is less than the blue book value of your truck they will pay to fix or offer to buy your truck if it is "totaled". I hope not/doubt that it is "totaled". So at this point you can have the shop do some or all of the repairs and take a cash settlement for the remainder. For example: you could get a steel bumper instead of replacing the plastic and aluminum.

I feel really bad for your neighbor who reminds my of my neighbor who backed into the house across the street causing tremendous damage. It sucks to grow old and we all do it (or die young trying). So be grateful that nobody was hurt.

As frustrating as this all is (I totaled my Taco last year) you will get past this and be grateful for insurance and you will live to drive another day.

 

I had a similar event on my 2020 in Sept while parked. Was approx. $2800 for new OEM front bumper, black lower valence thing and the lower grill piece and I think the black thing behind the bumper. Prep and Paint is the big $, parts were fairly cheap.
If possible go thru her insurance, get a estimate from who they prefer and have them cut the check directly to you then you can spend it to upgrade as you wish.

 

When I’m my truck was backed into by a delivery truck in October my total was 2,800 for repairs. That included the OEM led headlight, repair to the driver fender, new OEM front bumper, driver side fender flare, etc

 

I appreciate it. I just hope I can find a decent shop to get it looking new again. Worried about them matching/blending cement. Not sure if they'll replace or repair the creased fender. Definitely need a bumper, maybe fender flare (broken tabs), headlight (broken tabs), foglight, the grille is crooked - not sure if anything is broken. The inner fender was bent up onto the tire... Wondering if an alignment check is in order?

She had some decent speed. Told her it's a good thing it wasn't one of the countless kids riding bikes around here, or people walking dogs, etc. It's almost like she mistook the gas pedal for the brake.

 

Sorry Op! It’s a headache for sure

 

I appreciate the input. I wasn't too hard on her. Checked that she was alright (I'm an RN), said that I was glad it was my truck and not a person, reassured her multiple times that it was fixable and that her Lexus could get fixed, told her to not let it ruin her Sunday.

I just couldn't help but post the obligatory "is it totaled" thread.

 

Looks pretty similar to my damage. Ideally, I would like to upgrade to OEM LED headlights... Not sure if that's doable through this process. Last accident I was in was 15 years ago when a firetruck totaled my truck. So I've never dealt with the repair aspect.

Not sure how your passenger side looked, but it seems to have tweaked my whole front end.

 

Yeah I had limited to no door gap on the driver side as they translated the fender backwards. Pretty similar color too between cement and lunar rock. The repair place was a certified Toyota body shop which I highly recommend. And make sure the replacement bumper is OEM and not capa

 

Yep, looks just like mine. Definitely want OEM parts. And I thought about checking with Toyota... Figured they ought to get the color match right.

 

Oh and to answer your question. My passenger side luckily had no damage. I can see where the headlight gap on your truck’s passenger side is decreased. Hope your hood didn’t get bent too..

 

Even the Toyota body shop I went to had a difficult time matching lunar rock. They messed up the first round and I made them redo it. Thank goodness they took ownership of their mistake and did it on their dime the second time.

 

Yeah, hoping the hood is just being thrown off a little by the bent driver's side fender. The bumper was pushed to the passenger side and is slightly pushing that fender flare too.