2005 w/66k: Totaled?

Do y’all think she’s totaled? I’m so sad right now…

 

Totaled.

 

Might say yes? I've seen some that got quoted $20k+ and wasn't totaled.

Sorry to see OP

 

Hope you and everyone are okay. What happened?

 

Man you kept that thing in nice shape! Bummer, hope you're okay.

On the one hand, if the frame is fine you might be able to save it. That fender pinched up against the driver's door is concerning. That and the airbag deploy..
On the other hand, your insurance might call it because parts are hard to come by right now. I've heard stories like that on here anyway..

Good luck. If the frame is bent or if the suspension is really mangled, you're not gonna want it back.

 

Yea everyone was fine thankfully. Was following someone around a blind curve. We came up to someone pulling a skid steer and they were going probably 5mph. Person in front of me slammed brakes and I couldn’t stop or swerve.

 

On the plus side:
- Nobody got hurt
- You submarined the vehicle in front of you, so your frame is probably not bent
- The truck looks like it was well cared for
- It is fixable

On the minus side:
- You crunched a lot of sheet metal including the core support
- The driver side air bag went off
- Tacoma parts are very valuable right now, so the parts may be worth more than the truck

Good luck and if the insurance company does total it, be ready and willing to push back on what they offer you. Do not accept the first (or second) offer.

 

IF the insurance decides it is totaled and it doesn't have any frame damage - you could consider buying it back from them/fixing it and keeping it.

I did this on a car and it worked out great - it was 'totaled' b/c the cats got taken out by a log when I slid off a road; the OEM cats were = to the value of the car; I bought it back, bought aftermarket cats [for 10X less than OEM] and put a new clutch in with the extra $$ that I cleared, kept the car for 100K more miles before I sold it.

You do have options - keep that in mind.

 

It's up to us. lol

 

the airbags deployed so the insurance will probably total it - it is worth more to them in parts than to fix it/you get it back/etc

get a complete and accurate estimate [using OEM parts, you can alter this when/if you do the repairs/keep it] so you can make an educated decision

if they choose to total it, ask them what they are giving you for a replacement truck and what they would sell the wreck back to you for - do the math with that estimate in mind, what replacement trucks are going for/etc. and see how it all lines up for you


you may wind up with a salvage title, are you okay with this? ask them up front so you know
if you plan on keeping it, probably - but it is one more thing to factor in

i am assuming no frame damage, that is the one thing - depending on how/where/bad it is, that would make me not want to do this - also if the engine block was impacted in any way/shape/form as these things could lead to future problems


good luck - i would be hella sad too but maybe you can turn this one around

 

I Thank all of you for your input. Any words of advice helps and is greatly appreciated.
My insurance company wanted to tow it to a salvage yard for the adjustment and I said no.
I’ll be hearing from a local field adjuster in the next day or so.
Im in Chattanooga TN

 

Does your truck have a new frame?

 

The only reason I would lean towards insurance buy back is due mainly to the low mileage motor.

 

After denying my insurance company to have it adjusted at a salvage yard…… I Just spoke with field adjuster who looked at my truck. She is so nice and I really enjoyed talking to her. Also, she drives a 2010 taco lol.
She wants to total it for 17k because of her belief on the frame condition. I dont want to total it cause, in my opinion, it’s not replaceable.
She’s working with me and is taking out her number for frame. Truck it going to my very close family friend’s body shop tomorrow for his estimate.

 

when there is front end damage- esp when the front end gets pushed in that far I worry about engine block damage- sometimes hidden or not visible when inspecting

 

I would take it to your own body shop and get your own estimate. And see what the minimum parts are necessary to make it usable for your standards. The insurance company can pay you down to a value of $200 or something like that and you can fix it and change to liability insurance to make it driveable. Looks too good to total to me as long as the engine isn't damaged.

 

I would have said fixable until the pic with the popped bags.

It's dead Jim.

Looked like a real nice ride, especially with the low miles.

 

Glad your ok.

Always be nice to the adjusters. (Should be nice to all) They will do a whole lot more to help if you are nice and simply explain you position and goal. Piss them off by being an ass and making demands and they care less and want your claim done and closed.

 

Yep, Hae seen it a couple times at my dealership where a car has been in front end collision and "everything" got fixed and now there is a terrible belt squeak. Little did we know it was at the body shop though... Basically every new part you could imagine on the serpentine drive and then found AC compressor mount is bent out causing a ton of runout.