Is My Tacoma History? :(

Thank you for all the support and info, guys!

I do have gap coverage, but I think that it only kicks in if the vehicle has been totaled?

One thing I've noticed with all of this, is how awful state farm insurance is. No help from my agent at all, and still not a peep from the other guy's insurance. Nobody ever came to look at my truck, they just said it is repairable based on how I described the accident over the phone. Idiots...

 

When all this settles a bit I'd be shopping for a new insurance company

 

State Farm is great!.... Until you need them.

Jake?! Wtf! Where'd you go?!

 

If it goes the repair route, how do I know the shop is using genuine Toyota parts? When I talked to the shop that State Farm wants me to go to, he said sometimes he gets used parts for the repairs, and didn't seem to care one bit about my concern for the quality of the parts he would be using.Is there any way I can insist on only using brand new parts directly from Toyota?

 

Oh that's BS, you can take it to whatever shop you want

 

Take it to one of Toyota's body shops at one of the dealers.

 

Gap coverage is usually attached to collision coverage. Are you sure you dont have collision coverage? There should be a deductible. Most of the time is about $500-$1000.

Not sure about your state. In CA, whether or not you get OEM parts depends on the age and mileage of your car. If your car does not meet those requirements, you can insist all you want but the insurance company is under no obligation to pay more than necessary to repair your car. Also, State Farm is garbage. Geico and Progressive have the best claims service.

 

Take it to the most expensive shop you can find. Someone who works on high end cars like Ferrari or Porsche. Demand genuine Toyota parts. Then sit back and watch the estimate price climb.

 

That'll fix ol' state farm Jake's red wagon right up

 

I honestly have no idea how all of this is going to go. My truck only had 14,000 miles on it, so I'm hoping I get OEM parts.

Since I was hit by a drunk driver, my insurance company (State Farm) probably won't give me anything, and I will have to go through his, which I think is Farmers.

 

I honestly could not agree more with this post.

Do not "insist," DEMAND.

 

What determines if its totaled or not is the Blue Book value. If it cost more than 70% of the Blue Book Value they total it out. Unfortunately, in this case, Tacomas have a high Blue Book value. Like one of the other posters mentioned, you don't have to take State Farms Recommendations. You can take it to any shop you want. Check the Yelp reviews. Most dealerships do not have in-house body shops, usually only a kiosk for a body shop that they have a contract with. Some times they are great, sometimes not.

 

If somebody rear ends me I'm going to floor it and drive into as many power poles and other obstacles I can possibly collide with

 

First, your carrier "should" have nothing to do with repairs. Depending on how old you truck is (I didn't see or notice) ALL companies will and can legally use used parts. The way they justify it is, it's a used truck. Second you carry it to the shop YOU DEMAND, not that any one suggest!!! I'm a old guy, and sadly State Farm is as good as you can get IMO. I have home and auto and had several claims on both. They just put in a brand new central unit (struck by lightening) not a penny out of pocket, even put us up in a room until new unit was installed. Replaced my roof a few years back due to hail damage. A couple of auto claims and none have resulted in any rate increase what so ever!!!

 

What city and state are you in. I'm sure you can get plenty of recommendations for shops here. Also, if you want it to total, just mention it to the shop that you hope it totals out. They still collect from the insurance company if it totals for storage, and the estimate, if they have to do any disabling. They would rather bid it high using all new oem parts and copious labor, rather than bidding it cheap to get the job, and then have you keep returning the car to them, to redo stuff, or complain because it's driving weird.

 

Once you sign off, they dont "have" to do anything. A reputable shop will, however, if they were reputable you wouldn't be having any problems. There are two types of body shops.

 

If you have full coverage (collision) you have the option of going through your own insurance company. You just have to pay your deductible. Once everything is repaired and paid for, your insurance company will go after the drunk's insurance company for reimbursement. If no coverage exists on his end, your insurance company will go after the drunk directly for the money. This is called subrogation. If they succeed, you may get your deductible back. Not saying you have to do this, just giving you more options in case you prefer to deal with your own insurance.

If you dont have full coverage, then you are stuck going through his insurance. And if they deny liability, no coverage exists, or not enough coverage exists, your only option is to take the guy to court. If he has no money for you to sue for, then you are pretty much bonned. This is why everyone with a new car should get full coverage.

 

Fight the insurance company if they don't give you enough money whether it's totaled or not. I totaled a car and was low balled by $4000. Fought them for 2 months and raised enough trouble to them to pay me the proper amount. It will be worth it! Ask for supervisors, supervisors of supervisors, threaten with attorneys, talk to the better business bureau... etc