Car Totaled Due to Frame Damage - 1999 Tacoma

I was rear-ended on my drive to work this morning. Now my rear bumper is bent down significantly. The frame is just a rusty mess like you wouldn't believe. So imagine for a moment trying to remove the bumper and bumper brackets and replace it with a new one.

The wizards at St. Farm told me to take it to a body shop for estimates. I took it to two different ones, one was private and the other was in their Preferred Provider group. Both shops told me they would not or could not repair the damage. They wouldn't even write an estimate.

Now St. Farm has me taking it in for an estimate by one of their staff. What can I expect and what should I be fighting for? Full blue-book value? Cost of a new bumper? New frame? A new 2016 Tacoma?

Any help or advice would be greater appreciated.

 

all the insurance will cover is accident damage and you can bet they will blame the rusty frame foe the extensive damage and tell you its only covering the bumper and bumper brackets.

you need someone to defend your interests in this so keep looking for a trusted place to do a true estimate and give you good advice.

also you need to check if your truck is covered in the frame rust warranty, you may be able to get the frame replaced and that is a huge factor as to what to do next.

 

He wont be able to get it replaced in a 1999 Tacoma, those were bought back and scrapped if they had rusty frames. Only the 01-04 Tacomas got frame replacements.

 

Lets see some pictures of the damage??

A rusted out frame is one thing accident damage quite another .

Thing is if you don`t have the skills or have a friend to do the work the cost would be so expensive !!!

Pictures !!!

 

I would take it to Toyota and have them look at the frame because if it is covered under the frame warranty then Toyota will buy it back for 150% of bluebook from what I have been reading.

 

^^ 99's are past their coverage life. 15 years after in service date. At this point I believe 01's are the oldest tacos that are still within their "in service date" IF they were inspected and depending when that date was even some of them may be already past coverage.

 

Yep, nothing can be done about the frames on the pre 01 Tacomas, the warranty is gone and you are screwed if your frame rusts on a 95-00 model.

 

Yep I had the frame looked at last year and it barely passed. State Farm quoted me $1000 for the repair but the shop says there is a good chance they will damage the frame swapping out the bumper. I'm trying to get a clear answer from them what the payout is if that does happen. Will try to post a picture soon.

 

well you definitely want to buy it back for salvage value and selling the parts off it will bring you several thousand dollars for it. unless its completely trashed truck everything undamaged on it has good value here with other taco owners looking for those parts from seat belts to ash trays you would not believe hoe every part of it has good value. just saying to think hard before you let the scrap guy take it because he is going to keep it himself and sell all those parts

 

Noted. The truck is in perfect working order. Would be a shame to scrap it or part it out. I could skip the repair, pocket the cash, and use a jack to bend the bumper back....

 

I wouldn't play with weak frames so have it boxed in and fully reinforced in the bad sections or better even to source a salvage yard frame from wrecked truck to swap out the rear frame sections with would be my suggestion on the permanent way to make it last you forever. many people do this to "save" their trucks