Another one (almost) bites the dust.

Was stopped for a school bus picking up kids on my way to work when I was rear-ended. Thankfully there was another vehicle between me an the bus. Even though it needs a new frame, GEICO had decided to fix it. Having it done at the local Toyota dealership, so hopefully it will be done right.





Happened on Sept 17th, they said I'd get it back around the 26th of Oct. Not holding my breath. I doubt they'll even have the new frame by then.

Can't discuss my injuries, because there will be litigation. Serious, but not life threatening.

 

No airbag deployment? Guess they think they can do the frame swap for under $20K

 

Amazingly not. I heard the guy's tires screech right before he hit me and took my off the brake. That might have been the difference. The guy that hit me, his deployed.

Estimate was $19.2k

 

Oh man, that’s terrible. So you have carfax reported frame damage but it’s not totalled? Your truck is essentially worth scrap now?

 

Oh dude, I'm glad you're okay, but you need to get a diminished value claim if they're gonna fix it.

 

That definitely made a difference. Nice move.

 

More importantly than the health of your taco is you, I assume that you have been checked out by your doctor for any long term effects of this accident. I know people who have had problems for a long time after a rear end colision.

 

Second this. Especially considering its a Tacoma and they hold their value so well. I wonder if they are fixing it partly because its so hard to get a replacement these days?

 

What sucks about accidents like this is that the driver that rear ended you is at fault for hitting you but you are at fault for hitting the car that you got pushed into the rear end of. Fortunately the insurance companies fight it all out. Main thing is that you are ok. Doesn't surprise me that Geico is fixing it. Truck is worth a lot more than $19,200. If it were a different market I'd say get it fixed then take the truck and your diminished value settlement to your dealer and buy a new one, but that might be a tall order right now.

 

Make sure you claim diminished value, but only after all of the work is done and before you accept or sign anything else.

 

Coming from some background in insurance. Get the shop to complete a full tear down and try to get the car totaled. Geico likes to hire a lot of new adjusters, who don’t know how to kill cars like this. You do not want to deal with a truck with damage this severe. Escalate the issue, as much as you can to a supervisor. Get angry and upset, but don’t settle for anything less.

 

How do you get a "claim diminished value"?

 

You tell the agent for the other party's insurance that you would like to claim diminished value on the vehicle. They will calculate the fair market value of the vehicle pre damage and again post damage. The difference is diminished value and they cut you a check for it.

 

Sometimes you may need to hire an independent appraiser and get the car valued. If the offer comes back to low when you file it with the other insurance carrier.

 

Very true, I have a friend who had to do this but it worked out in his favor in the end.

I wouldn't be shocked if OP claims diminished value and they tell him the truck appreciated after the repair so he in turn owes them money back.

 

Wow!

Glad no one was hurt except your Taco.

What kind of damage is done to the frame? Can that be repaired and put back into specs?

Total loss may/may not get you an acceptable value to help with your next purchase.

I'm curious about dinimished value too.

Ed

****

 

They will try, but that’s why he needs to put the work in. Hopefully the appreciation in value works in his favor.

but I hope he gets out of this vehicle. I don’t trust a lot of body shops with big hits like this. Half of his truck the dealer is going to try and say the truck has a voided warranty. And who knows what other issues will pop up once it’s been repaired.

 

I'd make it a project vehicle at that point. Cut the back off and LT all the way.

 

Glad you're okay. The same thing happened to Guss_15 and he was told a frame would take 12 weeks to ship. That doesn't include the time it'll take to install

 

Thankfully I have underinsured coverage, because the ass clown that hit me had state minimum coverage. Not even enough to cover my damage, let alone to the guy that was in front of me. GEICO told me they're not paying the guy in front of me a dime since I was at a complete stop when I was hit, said "OK, not my problem". And NJ allows diminished value claims against your own uninsured/underinsured personal property coverage, so I've got that going for me too.

Yeah, was already planning for this. Going to look at a few beaters this week. Rather buy something for $3-4k that I can flip in a few months than waste $2-3k on a rental since GEICO rental coverage maxes out at $1,500.