Have to say goodbye...truck is totaled.

You are lucky then. I used to process the photos from car accidents and seen what happens to adults and children who don't wear seatbelts. This is nothing to brag about. Ask any state patrol officer. I've seen needless fatalities from this kind of thinking.

 

Sorry about your truck, man. Hope you enjoy the new one!

You don't often get to see photos of a truck post-airbag deployment. Which got me thinking, are my seat covers compatible with the air bags? I'm thinking that the seat stitching must be special where the air bag is, some kind of break away thread. I wonder if the Marathon seat covers take that into account. Have an email in with them to inquire...

 

One guy I work with is a retired MD state trooper. One of the jobs he had at one point was a detective of accident deaths. He said every single death he investigated was due to not using a seatbelt. Said most of the time the interior cabins were pretty well intact, but the bodies were thrown around. One ladies car was rolling and coming to a stop, but her head just happened to get pinned between the ground and the outer surface of the door frame and squished it like a grape.

Airbags can be dangerous, but they prevent your body parts and head from slamming hard surfaces during hard impacts, like a head on collision.

 

I have wondered, can you get the option to buy back a vehicle declared totaled? If it goes to auction, I’d guess it’s a dealer auction so you be screwed. Can you ask for the first option to buy it, if desired?

 

Usually there is a buy back option through your insurance.

 

Any idea how much that ends up being on say a truck valued at $25k?

Edit: I see auction value would be deducted from your payout, if your state even allows it.

 

It probably depends on the insurance company and the state laws.

 

Unless you can not get insurance on it in a state that requires insurance.

 

This happen to me ad well!

 

This happen to me in 2012 - Truck came straight to my house though.

 

I am going to have to call State Farm and see about their aftermarket parts policy. If I dump $5k+ into this truck I’d hate to total it and lose access to the truck, and not be covered.

 

I know progressive has an aftermarket parts protection for a little extra.

They call it custom parts and equipment value.

 

You're in buffalo? Where were you off-roading? I am trying to find places to go.

 

I hope that guy’s insurance didn’t pay a dime.

 

How much they paying you

 

Especially with evidence of abuse all over the internet. lol

 

I don't know the laws in other states, but in my home state (Pennsylvania), vehicles that came from the factory with airbags are not required to have them (whether they deployed or simply aren't functioning). Most state don't even require safety inspections, and only care if the vehicle is registered and insured!

It is legal to buy a vehicle back from the insurance company. It would have a rebuilt/reconstructed/salvage title, but you can still register it once it's been repaired and inspected.

 

@Adventure4x4

I drive a 2010 RC 5-lug. I got hit by a drunk driver in October 2015, and the impact was nowhere near any sensor locations. When I dropped my truck off, asked my body guy if my truck would automatically totaled if even one of the airbags deployed (like if I hit a deer or something). He said that for minor to moderate front end damage and a deployed driver airbag (like in a deer strike), my truck probably wouldn't be totaled. He estimated that new steering wheel airbag for my Tacoma would be about $600. However, he said that if the side curtain or seat bolster airbags went off, it would definitely be totaled regardless of body damage.

My body guy (Butch's Bodyworks in Danboro, PA) had a brand new 2016 F150 Lariat 4x4 in the shop about a year ago. This truck was brand new, and the owner had apparently hit a pothole. The truck was traveling at a fast enough speed that the side curtain airbags deployed in addition to the truck sustaining a flat tire and damage to the rear axle. The owner changed the tires and cut the airbags away with a pocketknife, then drove it to Butch's where the insurance company assessed the damage. The cost of replacing the airbags alone was about $4,000! However, this truck was brand new and worth over $50K at the time, so the insurance company did not total it.

 

Even my 2010 RC 5-lug has the RSCA shutoff!

 

Last year, I met a guy at the Carlisle Truck Nationals who bought a totaled '05 DCSB at an insurance auction. The truck had extensive body damage from rolling over, as you can see, but there was no mechanical damage. Obviously an '05 did not have side airbags, and the front airbags did not deploy. The owner of the truck has a car dealership, and just couldn't wait for it to get an official safety inspection, so he put a dealer tag on it and drove it to the fairgrounds!