How to get max replacement value? -Tacoma may be totaled.

I need some advice, insurance advice please.

2009 Taco Dbl cab TRD 4x4 auto 100k, 5ft bed, towing pkg, fog lights, auto start, tonneu cover, running boards.

My Taco n i have been together 12 years, then last week we had an accident. First time i’ve ever collided w another vehicle, 30 behind wheel.

This AM i got word from collision repair shop that she might be a total loss. The frame is tweaked in a bad way. The accident was not even that bad, imo; I squarely ran into another car at 20mph, unfortunately. But fortunately no one was hurt, my airbags did not deploy, i could still drive my truck even. She’s 2nd gen btw.
So my question to yall is if she is totaled how do i make sure to get max replacement value for my Tacoma? Progressive insurance. Wotever payout i get is wot i will have towards new ride so…
If you are familiar with 2nd gens n recalls-there was a recal/fix for my frame bc of bad steele n rust issues. I had that addressed, but any one think my frame being tweeked all the way down has anything to do w that by chance?
I want to say the right things when i talk to my insurance adjuster in any way that it might go. Any insight greatly appreciated.
Thank you my fellow Tacoma lovers.

 

Just to confirm, you did or didn't drive with the radiator cracked? Would you consider buying the vehicle back if it's totalled?

 

…just to be clear - the auto body shop called me before progressives adjuster went to look at it at the body shop.

 

There ain’t much you can do as far as the insurance company is going to pay you. It’s up to the insurance company. If your truck was pristine and low mileage you may get a little more. They pay fair market value or book value. They don’t pay “replacement” value (except on certain policies for newer vehicles). Wait and see what the insurance company offers. If you think the offer should be more then you can negotiate with them but you need something to base your request on. For example if say your truck had only 10,000 miles on it, a new paint job, new tires etc. etc. they may increase their offer. Remember your truck is 16 years old, it just isn’t worth that much. Sorry about your truck, at least no one was hurt.
Lastly your frame replacement has nothing to do with anything. Toyota has replaced 10’s of thousands of frames.

 

@dalansder no, i didnt drive it w a cracked radiator. The transmission radiator was also not cracked but squished. Progressive offered me to purchase it back for $8600. And want to settle my truck for around $18000. It only has 96K on for an automatic 2009 TRD off road, double cab (i think, 4 doors anyway). The 3 tacos they are evaluating mine against have way more miles and none have the TRD off road package. Ill upload the report if anyone wants to take a look and see if you think it looks fair. Please reply with any remarks you may have or if you know of any same year as mine that have recently sold for more.

 

If the company wants to settle for $18,000 sounds good to me. The truck is 16 years old, new it was only about $28,000 to $30,000 or less. Sorry but there is nothing special about your truck. Nice truck but nothing special. I’d take the $18000 and start looking for my next ride.

 

This is not entirely accurate and you're not completely at the whim of the insurance company.

Progressive is truly one of the most awful companies to deal with. Everybody likes them because their rates are low, but you find out why their rates are low when you actually need the insurance.

It's worth shopping around regionally to figure out the answer to this question:
"if I wanted to buy this exact truck, configured this exact way, with this exact condition, accessories, etc., how much would it cost for me to get the keys to that truck and take it home as my own?"

That's the number that you need to have in mind.

So you go to Carmax, craigslist, auto trader, bring a trailer, car lots. Everything. You go shop for as close of a clone to your wrecked truck. Whatever condition that the destroyed truck was in 1 second before the collision happened, that's what you're looking for. That needs to include the acquisition cost. So if a dealer prep fee is standard in your area and hard to avoid, that's what you include in the price. It's literally the exact price that you would need to pay to acquire the vehicle in your driveway.

Armed with all of this information, you get your number, and you compare it to the offer that the insurer has. They will present their bank draft to you as if it is the end all final response, no negotiation. It is in fact in negotiation and it does require a little bit of back-and-forth with your justification and their justification.

Then if their number is fairly accurate and legally it should be, then all good. I don't know what that would be, 90%, 95%. I don't know. They'll tell you they have some sort of special software program and blah blah blah. It's a black box to you. That's the point. The information asymmetry does not benefit you.

Arm yourself with information.

 

Good luck. How much do you think a 16 year old stock Taco is worth? If you can come up with evidence it is worth more I’m sure you ain’t looking at much more. But if you want to spend a lot of time for the possibility of a few bucks more go for it.

 

I don't own one, I'm not OP, I don't care how much money they get or don't get. I'm just trying to offer some advice for people to make sure they're not getting screwed.

Probably not something worth spending an entire week doing, but a couple Google searches I don't think it's really a huge investment of time.

If you're willing to just bend over and spread the cheeks for the insurance company on a promise and a whisper in your ear, that's fine.

But maybe an hour worth of work to make sure you're not getting ripped off I don't think that's unreasonable when we're talking about nearly $20,000.

 

Definitely look for comps.

If you have the documentation of the new frame, produce that. I know if it was me I'd argue for more than the "usual" since my frame is 4 yrs old.

 

Hit up the estimators on KBB and Cars.com or other similar places. Get a base line for what they are going for.

 

This is wot I’m doing now. Getting comparables to send to insurance agent.

 

I got $14k when I sadly lost my 2007 last September.
Had about 310,000 miles but was in great shape. I would have gotten at least another 200,000 miles on it easy.

 

18k is a decent chunk towards a new vehicle.

KBB says around $16k-$18k for a 2009 TRD sport with 90k miles and great condition.

Take the money and run.

edit: That's private party resale value too. KBB says trade in value is 13.6-15k.

I'd take that 18k.