Should I rebuild or take the settlement and go shopping?

This is a 4x4 2004 Toyota Tacoma Xtracab with V6 3.4l, 5 speed manual (138.5K miles) I got hit at about 30mph and as you can see in the photos my front bumper took the brunt of it. Air bags did not deploy and both doors work normally.
Progressive totaled the truck and wants to give me $11,432 plus fees and taxes minus my $250 deductible for total of $12,294. I think it's worth a bit more since it had a dealer installed custom front bumper and once I find the paperwork I'll deal with the adjuster.



The salvage value Progressive placed on it is $3135. That leaves about $7500 as my restore budget. I was about to install new shocks and tires.

108K, I had a new timing belt, water pump, brakes, fuel filter, steering rack bushings, front engine bearing and seal, tensioner bearing, timing belt idler bearings, all belts replaced.
At 130K I replaced the clutch disk, pressure plate, flywheel, crankshaft seal, pilot bearing, 4 bushings, and rebuilt the clutch pedal.

As far as I can tell the engine, water pump, power steering pump is not damaged. The radiator is total loss and the air conditioning condenser is destroyed. The two OEM crash plates were crumpled. Both fenders are a loss as is the hood and of course all the grille assembly and supports for the light assemblies.

Using Progressive's estimator's worksheet I worked up a list of OEM factory parts, except A/M radiator, condenser which totals about $3700. I figure that number is flexible depending on how the front bumper is restored. Progressive estimates the labor at 37 hours at a rate of $44.00 per hour. Let's say $2000 for labor.

Progressive estimated they would have to replace the frame: aprox $3300. I disagree. And I know it's impossible to have a solid opinion just by seeing some photos in the forum. I am taking my figures and photos to a couple body shops in Las Vegas Monday.

So bottom line: $6000 restores the Toyota unless the frame is seriously tweaked. With a replacement frame ($3300) and 29 hours labor the cost, that adds another $4300.

$11,000 puts it over my budget; I already figured that. My question is do I do the restore at $5700? Where do I say no...take the settlement?

The resale value for a repaired Tacoma is not really a big factor in my decision. If I restore. I'll drive it maybe 6 more years and I'm retired so more time than money. I have a really good Toyota mechanic and while no wrenchhead, I'm OK doing basic jobs myself.

However I declared Chpt. 7 bankruptcy in 2013 and that I figure will make the cost of borrowing rather expensive plus finding a replacement Tacoma access cab Gen 2 is difficult in Las Vegas. Recommendations?

 

Idk man. If it was me, I would buy another. I'm sure you could find a nice one maybe even with a lift and aftermarket goodies. But I would make sire to have a master tech or friend who is extremely knowledgeable to go with u and inspect it. My 01 was going for just under $8k cash. And I've put more into it since then because it wasn't really serviced well. But I financed mine too as that was the only option for me so I ended up paying more for that, like 12 or 13 I think it came out to after everything. By the sound of it it seems like you could restore yours. Cheaper if you did it yourself. But all that hassle and wait time wouldn't be worth it to me. I would start researching used ones and see what u could get for your money tho. I haven't looked recently but I'm sure there's some nice ones out there. Tacoma owners typically love their trucks and take care of them. Especially any u find that are modified and not basically bone stock. Idk.

 

Pics of the frame? I think they usually try to repair the frame… not replace it. Seems like the truck needs some in depth body work, if you aren't sure on what to do you could very well be in over your head. Might wanna get as much cash as you can and get a new truck..

 

Take the money and run...

 

Idk tho. If there was a way to make sure that the frame is fine, and by looking at the pics, I would say you should be able to do all that yourself. A lot of that is just pull and replace. Maybe a few trips to junkyards or hardware store for bolts, but I'm guessing you can get a lot of that stuff used or even new a lot cheaper than what you're projecting on parts cost. And have a bunch left over. To me just looking at the pics, fenders/hood/grille stuff/ bumper/whatever else that may be damaged, could be easily replaced with basic tools. And if yer not worried about resale value from salvaged title, you shouldn't be worried about getting genuine oem factory replacements either. Aftermarket or used. I'm sure there's tons of tacomas to pick parts from. At least fenders and other cosmetics. Mechanical parts would all be replaced with cheaper aftermarket if it were me. Then, you aren't risking getting into another vehicle that who knows what has happened to over the years. With yours you know everything that's ever been done to it and know what's been replaced and how well it was taken care of. So it really comes down to how mechanically inclined you are and your will to get it done yourself. If you are having a shop do everything, then I would def pass on it. Not worth the labor or hassle.

 

If I ever build another off road truck, I will start with a salvaged title vehicle.

 

Thanks for the input. I understand what you're saying about a restore. I restored a Saab years ago. Then I couldn't get it to pass California smog requirements, though it complied with emissions, because of it's hybrid nature.

I've had this Tacoma since 2005 and it had only 11K on it at the time. I maintained it but it's basically a stock setup.

I'm able to pay a body shop (from the settlement money) to do some of the work and painting but I don't want to find myself with a salvage vehicle that doesn't work.

On the good side I have an excellent and honest Toyota mechanic in town who has done all my specialized mechanical work for the last 14 years. I don't have a good place to work on the Tacoma.
If I take the full settlement and go shopping then it's real possibility I will have to sell my Skeeter be able to afford Toyota payments.

Today I will go see a couple body shops and let you know how it turns out.

 

Take the money and find another nice tacoma for around $12k. It might take time to find the right one, but it will still likely be less time than it takes to rebuild this one -- even assuming you don't find any surprises in the rebuild.

 

Unless you are gong to keep the truck forever, Id take the money and run - The salvage title will be an issue whenever you finally decide to sell.

And you know once they start digging into it they are going to find more damage.


My last car I had a similar front end accident with when it was only 3 months old. Intial estimate was only 5000 so they authorized a repair but as the shop starting working on it they found more issues and discovered the frame (unibody) was bent and need straightening. they had to file an updated claim on my insurance and when all was done it ended up being $8000 + of damage on a car that I bought brand new for only 21k. If they had known up front it might have been totaled.

The record of that damage (happened in 2003) followed the title to this day and came up when I was negotiating the trade in on my Tacoma this year.

 

If the salvage was 1k, I'd keep the truck. If I was going to build an actual off-road rig out of it anyway, I'd keep the truck. Any other reason, buy a different one.

 

Agreed. Unless you want it for offroading I would take the money and get another.

 

8/4/2014 @ 4:12M PST

I spoke with the estimator and she says the frame rails are shifted to the left and it's a unibody so not possible to straighten. That is why she specified a frame replacement. My mechanic recommended a one person shop who might undertake the work; he has a frame straightener. I spoke to him and now I'm waiting for his numbers.
Is it impossible to straighten that 2004 Tacoma frame? Or will it always have problems even if straightened? This rig gets used on the highway more than it does off-road.

I hear you that it's likely other problems will be uncovered. My credit union offered reasonable rates given my 2013 bankruptcy

 

The frame rails are shifted………. but its a unibody so the frame needs to be replaced haha what is she talking about….. the truck has a frame with cab and bed sitting on top of the frame. Depending on how much the frame is tweaked it could be repairable. The frame shop should be able to tell you if its fixable or not

 

Good thing for her (the estimator), it's no longer ambiguous that cars don't have frames, since crown vics are no longer made. However, its common sense that all trucks that have a separated cab and bed ride on a steel frame. Or maybe she thought your truck was a Ridgeline.

 

So...4 days later and I have heard nothing from DunRite Auto Body, the local body shop. I took some photos and a parts list crafted from the Progressive estimator over in person to Kyle Rommelfanger and he seemed enthusiastic...at the time. My feeling is if Kyle couldn't call me about the job how diligent would it be if he was actually doing the work?

I also took my job to Certified Auto Body in Vegas and the owner, Kurtis Rossborough, explained that though he'd like to help me, there are liability issues involved if the shop repairs the Tacoma and at some later date there is anopther insurance claim. He and the business could be facing a liability lawsuit cause they undertook repairs on a "totaled" vehicle.

So I am out in "shopping world" I don't like it. Especially car salesmen and false leads online.

 

Salvage title cuts the value in half. I say you go find another one. I bought a 2003 extra cab 4x4 manual in Las Vegas in 2013 with 89K miles for $13K. That was at the Toyota dealership.

 

After it's totaled, can't you buy it back from the insurance company? Looks like an awesome start to a crawler.

 

All my Toyota truck in the last 15 years have been totalled wrecks that I bought from the IC auction.

If I was shopping for a project Toyota truck, this one would have my attention real quick. You have a great oportunity to put this truck back together yourself and make a great, reliable, daily driver.

As for the value of a salvaged toyota truck, the value of a 10 year old clear titled truck and the value of a salvaged titled truck starts to even out as they age. If you keep the truck for yourself and drive the thing until there is notheing left, the salvage title means nothing.

As for getting the frame pulled, you just need to find an independant garage with a decent frame guy. They are out there. Everyone of my trucks had to have the frame pulled straight and they all drove just fine with no strange tire wear.

The frame shop will be able to pull that with ease. You could make it easier for them and ask about welding in the new core support while there. That part makes it easir for the frame guy to get things lined up.

If it was me, I would have the new fenders, core support and hood present. They can dry fit and get all the allignments spot.

By the way, any independant body shop is going to take a long time to get to you. They stay in buisiness by taking the quick jobs and getting them out the door faster. Bigger jobs will take them longer. Make sure you can tell them not to hurry and they will get you a better price. If they can work on your project while things are slower, everyone wins.

I wasn't sure from your post, are you willing to work on it yourself? This is a great opertunity to save and make some money.

 

Koditten,

Well that was an interestng idea you have. I could work on it myself for bolt on parts. I don't have an inside place to work on it however.

I haven't taken the insurance's offer yet. I understand the engine parted out might be worth $2500 alone. The transmission is solid as is the rear diff and 4x4 transfer case. At 138K I noticed the engine was losing some power pulling my Skeeter bass boat. Never overheating or anything like that. To buy it back is $3135.00. Progressive offer approx. !2,000 for compensation.

Saturday I went to look at a 2005 Access Cab 4x4,V6 auto and found the bed length is only 5 ft. Not suitable for my needs.. The dealership wanted $14250 plus $1200 in tax and fees???. it needed a timing belt replacement plus something wrong with the cruise control. Light comes on but didn't activate. Needless to say I walked on that.

Still trying to decide what to do....thanks for all the input

 

Even for part out, you'd still need a place where you can part it out and expect it to be taking up space for at least a couple of weeks.
If you decide to take the insurance money, I suggest you do a search in your area of comparable trucks with the same options and see how much they price out. You can then in turn ask the insurance company to bump up the price as I know they have some wiggle room on the figure they gave you. I used to work in insurance.