Flopped my truck...

Hey folks, I flopped my truck on its side a couple weeks ago. Got her rolled back over and she's fine mechanically but theres some ugly body damage. I live in the mountains and my trucks got plenty of cosmetic flaws but nothing like this. Ive got an insurance claim going and it's at the body shop getting an estimate. With 300k miles I won't be surprised if they total it. From there it depends how much they want to pay out, but I'll either cancel the claim or total it and buy it back and try to get it looking better, I dont need it perfect. Anybody ever deal with this kind of cab dent? Im hoping I could just take the interior panels out and push out the dent from in the truck. Any insurance or body work advice?

 

Maybe try a paintless dent repair tech? Probably won't look perfect, but I'd guess they can get most of it out for cheap money.

 

Paintless dent repair has come a long way and might be the call for the cab. Lots of body parts on the Tacomaworld buy/sell/trade to swap out that fender. If you have a solid frame id say its worth keeping the truck on the road.

 

Yea. pull on that all you can before hitting it from inside. You'll get it mostly. It'll always be wavy so learn to love it.

 

Should be easy enough to find white parts off a truck in a pick n pull. Worth a shot!

 

IMO, you might be able to pull out the dent from the fender, but the part behind the door is toast because it has been stretched.

 

If you let them total it and buy it back that will ding your insurance. If you haven't had a claim for a while it may not raise your rates, but if you do find yourself in a position to make a claim, or maybe even get a ticket, the consequences may be unpleasant.

 

You probably don't even have to deal with the interior.
I'd start with getting one of these cheap suction pullers from HB and see how much you can pull from the outside. Front fender is the perfect reason to get yourself some 3" glass fenders, nothing too aggressive. Dump the rear flares, I personally like the look without the rear flares and the mounting holes exposed, some guys trim but I left mine

You won't even have to worry about paint matching the front fenders. A lil touch up paint on the rear cab corner n your good to go. Be proud of the lil scars your truck gets overtime.

GL

 

creases dont come out. Needs professional body work..I could be wrong

 

Dude needs a Rear Sway Bar

 

Thanks for the advice everyone. Just heard from the body shop they said they are waiting for a call from my insurance but they don't think it will be totaled. (In fact he said he almost never has first gen tacomas totaled! Mines an 02 V6 4x4 TRD)

Body work estimate: $9000 Truck value $10,000. I cant believe 10k is their number. It is about market value around here even with my high mileage but I figured their number would be closer to KBBs 6k. They said they'll have it looking good as new if they repair it. I suppose I'd be happy to take 10k and pull the dents myself but we'll see what happens. I realize my insurance might go up but I currently have the good driver discount and i've been with them (AAA) for 12 years. We will see what happens.

P.S. Rear sway bar wouldn't have helped much, I didn't lose control so much as stick my passenger side front tire into a culvert hole in first gear.

 

@YungSprung How is your rear sway bar theory holding up?

 

Un sprung

 

you should be able to find a door and fender used cheap. And bedside if needed.

but that rear quarter panel of the cab is probably welded on and not easily replaceable with bolts. Therefore would be a good idea to consult with a quality PDR person.

then either not flip it again or get armor and still not flip it. Because armor probably won’t protect against flips unless it’s a big heavy welded ExoCage

HC bumper sliders etc probably only some protection against side rubbing against a wall while it’s still level

 

New fender and just pop the dent in the cab out from the back. It's pushed so far in suction cups probably wont cut it. It will never look "great" because the metal is stretched so much and PDR will have the same issue. I'd just pocket the cash get a new fender fix the cab at home and call it good. I've popped the door dents out multiple times from the inside.

 

You are not wrong. The cab needs a conventional repair, not PDR. PDR would get some of it, out, but not all.

 

https://youtu.be/_tN7QI6bNBU?si=zoNhELZeC8VNDY1c

 

I would take the check from insurance for that $9000, pick up a used fender and swap that in (even if it’s the wrong color). Then I’d remove the interior plastic in the rear and gently push out the cab until the deep dents are gone and then sand and paint the spots where the paint has cracked/chipped off. Truck is already 300k miles, so you’re not going to sell it for a ton anyway, so you may as well pocked the extra cash and put it towards maintenance and upgrades while making the body damage a bit less worse.

My “beater” car was in a hit-and-run where just the back hatch and plastic bumper cover were damaged, so I took the $3000 check and then inflated a dodgeball inside the rear hatch to get the huge dent out. There are some smaller dents left and chipped paint. Also, duct tape holding the bumper corner on to prevent highway speed air from tearing it further.

 

Update #2
So this morning I talked to the body shop and they were starting work. Ok fine, I thought my insurance company just sent them the payment. (This is a DRP shop) Then I get a call from AAA saying they're considering it a total loss. I told him the shop said they were working on it. He calls them again, they call me saying they stopped repairs and now Im waiting to hear from the Total Loss Department at AAA. They'll give me the numbers as far as value and buyback cost. Seems like my two options are
1. Continue with the claim and take whatever they give me to cover my $500 deductible, buy it back, go through process to get salvage title.
2. Cancel the claim and fix it quick and dirty myself, keep a clean title and my current insurance premiums w/good driver discount.
This is my first time making an insurance claim. Any advice based on this?