Need Advice! 22 Years, 320k Miles, 5 Owners, and Zero Accidents... Til Now

So if you've been on a few of the threads lately you've probably seen me commenting. I've never officially introduced myself as a "new member."

TL;DR Insurance priced a "recycled bumper" as a replacement, which seems to be a cheap copout to me. Would you argue?

Long story: Traffic ahead of me came to an abrupt stop. I was sitting at a complete stop and had a girl in a PT Cruiser rear-end me. Initially it wasn't bad. Then she decided it was a good idea to back up and give "more space" not thinking about the fact that people were slamming on brakes already behind her.

Cutting down on already limited space behind her, a Volvo rear-ended her. At this point she had put the car back in drive, and slammed the gas pedal instead of the brakes when she got hit; hitting me even harder until she finally cut the engine off as it was stuck at WOT.

As far as my injuries are concerned they said I'm having typical spasms and what not. Also said I'm showing the majority of signs of a minor concussion and will need to get scanned if symptoms don't improve within 10 days. Also, injuries affecting the posterior of my neck, c-spine, and a cervical strain. Will have to go to some physical therapy to help along with meds.

The real important stuff- my truck:

The bumper is obviously twisted, my hitch is bent downward, the rear driver side of my bed sits lower than rear passengers, tailgate doesn't line up, and I can pick the rear driver corner of my bed off of the frame easily... Once they've determined their client is at fault I will be taking my truck to a trusted body shop where they will scan and measure the frame to make sure there isn't any damage. Progressive (at fault drivers company) has put a value of $350 for a "recycled bumper" and bumper caps. The rest will have to wait till the liability is determined.

Not entirely sure what information I'm looking for here. I guess I want y'all's advice on the bumper for sure. Would y'all argue that you don't want a recycled bumper, since that's subpar to what was originally on the truck?

Pics for fun. Don't really have a lot of great ones that I can upload atm. May upload more later.

 

"recycled" could mean off of another Tacoma. They will almost always go for used parts of OEM quality to save money. as new OEM is about 30% more.

you can always ask what/where the bumper is coming from. the main concern as you stated is frame damage. whether it has to be bent back or aligned straight again.

 

Sorry about the accident, but...SCREW THE TRUCK!! You need to be MUCH MORE CONCERNED ABOUT YOUR INJURIES!!

 

Go and get some quotes at some shops you trust.

 

x2 on asking where the recycled bumper is coming from. If it is just a used OEM bumper from another Tacoma, I wouldn't worry too much as long at it's in very good shape.

 

Progressive is one of the worst insurance companies I've dealt with. They will try to pass off aftermarket parts and do anything they can to cheap out on fixing your vehicle, including claiming that you have to have it repaired at one of "their" body shops.
Get your insurance company involved, they should be the ones fighting for proper repair of your truck. They have a lot more leverage in dealing with another company than you do.

Also, make sure your injuries are fully taken care of, even if you have to milk it a little bit. They will try to screw you on that too.

 

Previous insurance adjuster at USAA here.

They are replacing a 15ish year old bumper. Is your bumper brand new? No. As such, they do not legally owe you a brand new one. They owe you to return your car to the condition it was in prior to the accident. There is no logical argument here. A Toyota Tacoma steel bumper is a Toyota Tacoma steel bumper.

 

I had a kid in a BMW hit me on the highway and he suffered MUCH more damage than that PT Cruiser, and my alignment was still perfect after the impact. I got lucky and he hit me straight on and now he has a hitch sized hole in his hood and radiator, lol. I basically just had one more scratch on my hitch and bumper. I just pocketed the money that insurance gave me (like $600 for the bumper).

As far as the bumper is concerned. It's a bumper, USE IT! I did.

Since your tail gate doesn't seem to line up and the bed seems off, you really just need to wait for the full estimate of damages, and see if they can pull it back into alignment. And take it to a shop you trust, don't have it go to "their" shop. I don't know what the laws are like over there, but CA has laws that force insurance companies to allow you to take your vehicles anywhere you want, not just the shops they contract with.

I would re-read your policy agreement, it's usually pretty clearly spelled out what they will replace. As others said, they're under no obligation to replace your bumper with a brand new one, only to return your vehicle to the state it was in before the crash. Recycled just means used... But this is another reason to take it to YOUR shop, not theirs.

 

Bring it to your shop. They'll go after Progressive for any repairs using parts they deem necessary.

If your frame is damaged the least of your worries will be the bumper

 

Sorry about the accident, and I hope all works out with your injuries.

My mother-in-law has a PT Cruiser. It sucks. My father-in-law hates it. Hates working on it, which is all of the time. He refuses to drive it or be a passenger. The only time I have heard him swear is when we talk about that car.

 

Alachua huh? Im in levy, and yes pt cruiser is garbage along with most modern crysler, pt always skips timing belt.
Like others said, recycled might be a used oem toyota bumper. You should see my bumper lol, i used it as a rear loader hahaha.
GLman and sweet rig! She will be back up no time, took the hit like a champ.

 

There's a lot to respond to, so I'll just go about it in this manner lol

cseaman, I'm actually insured through USAA. Well Progressive hasn't accepted liability yet, so this was just the initial visual check. I have already told them I plan to take it to my preferred shop where they will measure and check my frame and what not. My main concern I guess is what exactly is a "recycled" bumper. As long as it's like new I'm fine. You're right, mine has age but it's still like new and I expect it to be so once done. I'm planning for the worst and hoping for the best. the misaligned bed, it being loose, and the hitch is the cause for my concern.

drr, I've dealt with progressive before when I got T-boned and they totaled my 2007 Acura TL-S. It honestly wasn't too bad.

Skrain, I was mostly kidding about the truck being the important stuff. I'm taking my health very seriously. However, the truck is my baby haha.

Geico already denied liability, which I agree with.

 

Same here

 

Curious as to getting my company (USAA) to handle it. I was going to wait to hear about the liability, take it to my preferred shop to get a quote, and if I disagreed with the company then contact USAA and see what it takes to have them argue with Progressive.

Oh, I'm also keeping a log of missed time at work. SO far I'm at 11 hours lol.

 

Always let your insurance fight for you.

 

Thanks! and yeah, I'm in Gainesville Florida. Been in Levy a few times. Gotta get you to come out to some of the meets!

 

But when do you get them involved? Like after liability has been determined? I have both auto and medical claims open. Only other incident I had totaled my car, and they offered what I thought was slightly more than fair so I didn't argue lol.

 

Yea!! Ive wanted to meet with lee aka taconobaka and that crew. I moved here last year, still hopping jobs and trying to get settled.

 

Sorry about the accident OP and as others have mentioned, get yourself taken care of. Physical therapy early on will help - get those muscles worked out and loosened up.

Let your shop take a look first before you start worrying about individual parts. As far as the recycled bit - most insurance companies prefer to source parts like this first to return it to "previous (not new)" condition. That being said, if the part doesn't meet your expectations (or the expectations of the shop), your insurance company should step in and help lobby the other insurance company on your behalf.

 

Gotcha man. Well if you can try to make it to the Citrus meet! have you heard of it?