2013 Tacoma TRD Sport Rear Ended

I did talk to USAA and they said if I did file with USAA then I wouldn't be able to claim DV because it would be first party so I back off.

 

Honestly, and I'm not just saying this, you can't even tell my truck was ever wrecked, unless you know exactly what you're looking for. I was a pain for the auto body shop because I was so OCD, but in the end, they did a fantastic job and the truck looks great. Using all brand new Toyota genuine parts helped that a lot, I firmly believe. I've towed quite a bit with it since then, and have noticed no issues. Very happy with my end result, given the circumstances.

 

Coming in here late, but here's my 2¢ worth:
Your USAA is obligated to represent you in a claim against another driver/insurance company. The State insurance Commissioner will confirm this. The claim of second party position is all in the semantics. You want reimbursed from the 3rd party. Without getting snippity, inform them that you will be pursuing this claim against the other party. No insurance company wants a court decision, and would seriously consider a nuisance claim payoff. I read the court decisions posted by someone earlier in this thread, and i think I came up with 11 states that had decisions, all of which were in favor of the DV concept. No other state had decisiuons, which means that any lawsuits filed were settled out of court. Between the two insurance companies involved, you should get an offer to make you go away.

By the way, don't threaten with the Insurance Commissioner thing.... We've all heard California Insurance Commissioner jokes.

 

Ok I'll bite first thing tomorrow I'll get my insurance involved. My truck hasn't even been fixed yet so I might wait to get them involved when its complete but I'll ask tomorrow. Geico has already accepted the repairs and what not so I haven't even brought up DV yet. I was going to wait for the car appraiser value it first. Then submit a claim. Then If I have issue I'd go for USAA.

 

Geico is replacing everything with Toyota genuine parts which was a little battle but I got it.

 

I don't know about that. I believe you have to sign off on the repair before hand, so any DV claim might be shot down with your signing off.

 

Oh no I haven't signed anything yet.

 

Called USAA and they said that in the state of California they can't pursue Geico on my behave its not in my policy. But they did tell me to get an appraisal and Geico should pay so I'm optimistic.

 

Hey what have you found don't go with AAG sorry I recommended them I read a couple of reviews and no bueno!

PM me if you find anything good I'll do the same.

 

I contacted a place in Santa monica that wanted 600 bucks to do a inspection and a 50 page report. I believe you can include that fee in your claim as part of the dv claim

 

What was the place you contacted?

 

http://m.yelp.com/biz/auto-mediator-diminished-value-auto-appraisal-experts-santa-monica

Maybe he can hook us up if we get two cars done in San diego

 

Oh yah I saw this place it was the only with reviews I could find. Maybe I'll call them on Monday and see what they say. I was a little hesitant of the reviews they looks like they cooked their reviews.

 

Okay, I'll admit that I stopped reading everyone's posts about the frame damage and DV. Unless you are in the industry, its likely you have no clue what you're talking about.

1. There is no way in hell they will total your vehicle. They owe to fix it or replace it. Whichever is cheaper. Frames are fixed all the time. Good shops have quarter million dollar frame pulling machines that can get them to exact specs and are proven to be very reliable means of repair. There are occasions when the frame cannot be fixed. In that case, it is GENERALLY cheaper to total the vehicle, but not always, depending on the value of the vehicle.

I work for a big insurance company. It is our practice (not required by any law) to give OEM parts for current model year with less than 15k miles. Again, this isn't required, because right when you drive your car off the lot, its technically a used car. The insurance company doesn't legally owe for new OEM parts anymore. However, most standard insurers (the big companies, including Geico) will write for OEM parts on newer (current model year, low mileage) vehicles, because its the right thing to do. Your truck is not a 2014 or 2015, and my guess is that it has more than 15k miles. The insurer wouldn't owe for OEM parts. I would try to negotiate with the shop if i were you due to the small price difference.

2. DV (or DIV, Diminution In Value)- This is negotiable. It is a perceived future loss. On your truck, if you want to sell it right after the repairs, you will almost certainly experience an economic loss based on the severity of damage your truck had as a result of this collision. Probably somewhere in the $5k range, based on the (even minor) frame damage. However, if you keep the truck for 15 years, you will have suffered no loss because the truck will be fully depreciated by that time. Hiring an independent adjuster to evaluate the DV is a waste, if you ask me. They will generally just make up a number based on a percentage of the damages. I am an adjuster and we don't really even look at those because they are almost never accurate. I think the best thing to do would be to get a trade-in quote from the dealer after the vehicle is repaired. Then, have them give you something on paper of what they would have given you if the truck had never been in an accident. Tell Geico you want to trade in the vehicle, but you're going to lose $X on the trade. Where $X equals the difference in the pre-accident value and the post-accident value. Hint: dealers will always inflate the DV on trade-ins, because the average person will just say okay and take the hit, and its an easy way for the dealer to make more money. This means your demand from Geico will likely be higher than what you will settle for. You will then negotiate a fair settlement amount with Geico. They will have you sign a property damage release and then they will cut the check. It is in their best interest to settle with you. If they don't, and you do trade in your truck and take a hit, you could potentially sue the at fault driver for the DV. It will cost them $10k to defend the suit so they want to settle these. You should probably get more than $3k because of the frame damage but you'll have a better idea when you talk about trade in value with your dealer.

An example of a DV claim that was memorable. Brand new Cadillac sedan - current model year, less than $5k in damage. Damage to quarter panel that required cutting into and replacing part of the unibody. Repairs only cost $3000, but we settled the DV for $4500.

The insurers argument, and they are right with this argument, is that you will not incur a loss until you sell the vehicle. The longer you own the vehicle, the less the loss will be, due to natural depreciation of the vehicle. However, you only have a certain time-frame to file a lawsuit. Not sure about your statutes in Iowa, but here in TX, its two years. Thus, the insurers are more inclined to settle DV claims up front to mitigate the litigation exposure.

I work for a very large insurance company. All you have to do with us is make a request and we have a couple guys that handle DV claims for our region and they create a settlement range and negotiate the settlements with the customers directly. The settlements are generally very fair. Not all insurers work this way, because the claimant always bears the burden to prove his/her loss. Providing the pre and post collision trade in values is a pretty good way to get a number in mind and I feel it is hard to dispute.

On another note, we deny most claims on vehicles that are more than 7 years old or have high mileage and/or have significant prior collision history because they are already mostly depreciated.

 

Just read the post about the $600 50 page report. Don't do it. You can't include the cost in your claim unless they specifically ask you to provide that type of report. Otherwise, it is just money spent that does not need to be incurred. Talk to Geico and ask what they usually require for a DIV claim.

Again, I think the pre and post accident trade-in values would be a better, faster, more cost effective approach to getting a fair settlement.

And you're exactly right. DIV will not be covered and is usually specifically excluded on your own policy. The third party is obligated to pay for all damages resulting from the collision, including DIV and pain and suffering from any soreness you had as a result of the accident, whether or not you went to a doctor.

 

Hey thanks for chiming in man!

I completely agree about the deprecation, that is if I keep it for 10 years it wouldn't even matter. I can definitely will get a dealer quote for the pre and post values.

I'm in California and the time frame is 3 years to file but I will be filing only very shortly after the vehicle is back. I will try and get at least two dealer quotes.

 

Thanks for the info

 

Didn't end up going with an appraisal just went with dealer quotes and auction quotes. I asked for the DV form today I'll post updates. Truck will be completed by next Wednesday.

Also frame looks straight as an arrow its just flexed a little bit thank god. I could trade my truck into the deal right now for $23,000 which is actually a lot more then I was thinking. Its only worth about $27,000. Which blows because I paid 31,000 for it. But also got about $8000 in extra goodies IE super charger , leveling kit, bed extender, 32's with toyo all countries and FJ TRD rims.

I'm finally starting to feel better about this but it still stings a bit.

 

That's good news. I think you did very well by posting your accident here, and your last advice from scottabot sounds like he knows his stuff. Please keep us posted!

 

let us know how it goes, the body shop called and needed more money from the insurance to fix the car. havent heard from the insurance but i hope they just total the damn thing.